There are two ways to fall in love.
One is like walking on a path as it slowly begins to tilt downward, but continuing to walk as it gradually becomes a walk downhill. You accept this and keep walking down the steeper and steeper hill until, with one foul step, you realize the hill has turned completely vertical. You stumble and trip until you have nothing to fall to and you have, without noticing, stumbled off the edge of a cliff.
The second way to fall in love is more like the ground suddenly crumbling beneath you, giving way and revealing that the ground was not solid at all, and was in fact the hollow roof of an unstable cave, and now, much like the first situation, you are falling without warning.
When Randy first met Howard, they were both far too young to even consider the idea of romantic interest. They were kindergarteners drawing crude doodles of the Norrisville Ninja during coloring time when they happened to see each others handiwork.
"Is dat the NINJA?" Randy asked in excited wonder.
"Duh," Howard answered, not looking up from his coloring, "He's only, like, the coolest ever, who else would it be?"
And the rest was history. Kindergarten and elementary school were highly populated by note-passing, food-splitting, prank-pulling, and other types of shenanigans.
That was the flat path. Of course, as time went on it got slightly less typical and tended more toward bath-taking and video-game-cuddling and enough situational touchy-feely-ness that Randy had a feeling the school was beginning to suspect something.
But he was still walking. He still had his ground.
He still had it until he was given the choice. There was only one way that the Tengu was going down, and it was by giving up his most important, most duty-bound, most worked-for achievement, the only thing protecting his hometown and his family and everyone he had ever known.
It didn't take him more than a second to choose.
It stung a bit, yeah, but the relief far overwhelmed any ounce of regret he may have possessed. Of course, the entire ultimatum was proven to be a farce, but within the moment when Randy let the mask slip from his hand was when he stumbled, tripping and rolling over himself off of the edge until he was just falling downward.
It wasn't like the cliches said it would be, where love ruins a friendship, leaves you wanting more. The feelings didn't leave him at all bitter or hurt. It wasn't hard at all to be around Howard. He didn't share it, of course, being as he was a ninth grader with all sorts of insecurities regarding acne and voice-cracks and failures to get crushes to say yes. But it didn't feel like it was going to be tragic or painful. At least, not in the more realistic way. Ninja-related tragedies still seemed entirely plausible.
In any case, that was the first time he fell in love.
The second, much like the ground suddenly opening up, was a shorter story. The second time was his first conversation with the Ninjanomicon in its human form.
It had occurred when Randy had found a hidden tablet regarding the sorcerer's weaknesses and taken it into the book to be studied. The words and pages took it up and sent him out, refusing to open. And so, Randy was sent to fidget nervously and play video games but lose every time out of a lack of focus. Just as he glanced at the book, ready to try to open it again, he noticed it glowing, but that something about the glow was different.
He approached, but energy shockwaves from the glow forced him back and caused the book to float slightly. The light had grown blinding, and now he had to shield his eyes. When he could look again, the book had taken a different form entirely.
The form was androgynous, with hair as black as the book's covers and eyes as red as its insignia. "This is what I looked like when I was a human," the Ninjanomicon said, "And this is the form I will take so that I can actively help you to defeat the Sorcerer. I will attend school with you from now on. As you likely noticed, the spell takes a long time to cast, so staying a book until the battle would be a foolish plan."
Randy stared for a moment before suddenly exclaiming, with eyes practically sparkling, "Cheese-tastic!" As he said it, he pushed his face into the Nomicon's, clasping his hands with fervent enthusiasm.
The Nomicon looked more annoyed than surprised and pulled away from the grasp. "Uh...right. Quite...bruce."
Only encouraged by the affirmation, Randy was no less excited, though he did refrain from touching, "Aw yeah, that sorcerer is so dead meat, so bruce! So what's-?"
Before he could finish asking, the Nomicon strictly answered, "My true name is none of your concern, but for the sake of appearances I will be named Nomi."
"Can I-?"
"Yes, you can tell Weinerman if you wish. Not that it makes any difference. You shared with him the first secret I forbade you tell him."
"And what-?"
"I have no gender, and no that is not because I am a book but because that was my original identity, but, since this is a very temporary situation, if you would find it easier to refer to me with male pronouns you may feel free."
"No, no, I can deal with 'they.'" Randy wondered if he had seen relief or if it were imagined on his own part. Dropping the subject, he smiled curiously and tried, "How do-?"
"-I know what you're about to say? I have been inside your head. I needed to be to determine if you were worthy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find an unoccupied room to sleep in."
"I," Randy paused, flustered and collecting his thoughts, "have some blankets and pillows put together for when Howard stays over."
"I don't need any. But...thanks." It was the closest to a nice thing that they had said, and it made Randy surprisingly happy with the encounter as the door opened and closed.
When Nomi left the room, Randy sat down on the bed and pictured them. Their strange red eyes, their pale skin contrasting with their neatly combed shoulder-length black hair. Their smug and knowing and dominant smirk, directed at him, that made him feel similar but not exactly the same as Howar-.
Oh no.
And so, that was the second time he fell in love.