Stop it. She's not going to like me back.
He had been lusting after her again. With that chiding thought, all his daydreams had slipped away. Snapped back to reality. Dazed, he looked around, and realized that he was in a classroom. Yes, that was it. Fifth period, backseat. The loser seat.
Surely no one like Peach would like him back.
Peach, he thought, as his gaze shifted back to her, where it had been fixed.
Peach Toadstool. Everybody's friend. The nice girl. His fantasies, his daydreams... his world, really.
But dreams didn't come true.
Neither would his life. It would never be the way that he wanted it to be.
"Hey, Koopa."
He whirled around at mention of his name. "Uh... it's Bowser."
Then he took her in. Blue eyes. Golden hair. Profile of Peach. He suddenly became very self-conscious.
"Long day, eh?"
He still couldn't take in the fact that she was speaking to him. Her. A human. To him, a mere turtle. Humans were better than turtles. They didn't bond. That's just the way it was. He had learned, painfully, to accept that.
That was another reason why it would never work.
"... Yeah." You idiot. If you want to impress her...
"Sometimes it's just too much."
The twinkle in her eye. Did she understand? For humans, life just seemed to breeze by, a flurry of parties and popularity. But for a turtle like him... He nodded.
"Listen, I've gotta get going, Koop... Bowser. See you around."
"See you."
He locked the door behind him, unusually content. This was an unfamiliar feeling to him. In fact, the last time he'd felt this way was years before. When his father had bought him that toy that he so desperately wanted.
Back when he was still around.