Chapter 24 Lovely Feelings

As Roy ate his cookie, he had to use all his self control to not blush. Celia actually liked him. Wow. That was incredible! That was fantastic! This was beyond what Roy could have hoped for! When he first met Celia, he had only believed that he would possibly make a friend. And sure, did he develop feelings for her? A little bit. But he had not been expecting those feelings to be returned. It felt kind of good.

Emphasis on kind of, because It also felt kind of weird.

"Roy, are you okay?"

Roy blinked, realizing that he had finished his cookie half and was now staring off into space. He must have looked kind of creepy to the half human hybrid. He focused on her, making sure to put on a smile.

"Yep, I'm fine." He put his sunglasses back on, hiding his eyes from her. "I just realized that I need to get some fresh air."

Celia smiled. "Okay. You do what you need to do."

Roy smiled and got up from the bed. Pulling back the curtain, which he now realized was messier than anything that he had in his room, he made his way out into the hallway. He passed by a lot of nurses as he did so. Most of them were pretty busy, either having their noses buried in clipboards or hurrying to get to their destination. However, those who weren't hurrying took the time to give Roy a greeting. He returned them, making sure to use his most charming and suave smile.

Although, now that he thought about it, it would probably be wise to save an expression like that for Celia exclusively. After all, if they both liked each other, there was nothing stopping them from becoming a couple.

A couple. Roy bounced that word around in his head. Couple, couple, couple. The more he thought about it, the weirder it sounded. The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he had absolutely no idea what should be done. Or what he wanted to do.

Was this a disaster? No, not quite. But it would be if Roy didn't sort his feelings out, and sort them out soon.

Finally, he got to the entrance. As he stood at the entrance to Stonebrim Hospital, he took a deep breath. The air smelt of sulfur, but he didn't mind. He was a koopa; koopas were used to this sort of thing.

"Okay now," Roy said once he let the breath out. "What to do?" As much as he despised thinking hard, he realized that doing so was. necessary in this situation. So, he put on his metaphorical thinking cap and got right to thinking.

What should he do?

First things first; was he being truthful back there? When he told Celia that he liked her, was that the honest to Grambi truth?

Well….yes. It was. There was no doubt about it; it definitely was. Roy liked Celia. He tried to picture her face, which wasn't a hard thing to do. It was...it was beautiful, with it's cherry red eyes and goldenrod complexion. Yeah, Roy definitely felt some sort of physical attraction towards her.

But what exactly should he do with it? That was the million Coin question. He hadn't really thought about the possibility of him dating again, especially so soon after he had broken up with Judy. Oh man, Judy. He still had some lingering feelings for her. And why wouldn't he? They had been dating for two years, and had only broken up about a week ago. Was it really wise for Roy to date someone so early after going through a break-up? If he did so, wouldn't that just make Celia the rebound girl?

Roy sighed. It totally would, wouldn't it? Oh man. If he couldn't date her, then what could he do? Be friends with her? That would probably be a good idea if it weren't for the fact that Celia said that she liked him.

Oh man. This situation really was a messy one. Roy had never turned down a girl before, and he didn't want to start now. If he did, what would that make him? A jerk? If there was one thing that Roy Allison Koopa was not, it was a big fat jerk. He had seen plenty of people in his day who did not treat their girls fairly, and he definitely did not want to be one of those people.

But then, what would be the fair way to treat the girl in this situation? Not turning her down, of course. But then...what?

Maybe having "the talk" with her? Deciding exactly what kind of relationship they would have?

Oh developer. Roy just threw up in his mouth. He….hated the talk. It was just so uncomfortable! There were a lot of things that one had to discuss with the talk, and not all of them were pleasant. He absolutely did not want to have the talk.

But then again, what choice did he have?

Roy swallowed a lump. So it was settled. He was going to have the talk with Celia. He was not looking forward to this.

Buuttt….nothing said that they had to have the talk now.

This thought caused Roy to blink. Then, before he knew it, he was grinning. Yeah, yeah! He would have the talk later! That would be the best thing to do! Especially when he considered that Celia herself was dealing with a lot of raw, unpleasant feelings right now. Didn't want to unload the talk on her lap and expect her to handle it well.

Roy nodded his head and smiled. He was just about to go back in the hospital when a question crossed his mind. If he wasn't going to have the talk with her now….what was he going to do with her?

That question caused Roy to pause. Ugh. Did he really have to spend another ten minutes out here just trying to decide the answer to that question? Darn it, why did his brain have to make things difficult?

So, he took his hand off the knob and racked his brain. Thankfully, figuring out what to do did not take as long Thanks to one simple, four letter word that crossed his mind rather quickly. That word was the word help.

He was going to help her. He was going to do whatever she needed to get back on her feet. Recovering from the trauma on her lungs? Yes. Recovering from learning that Bowser isn't her dad? Yes. Helping her find her real dad?

Ooh. That one would be tough. But it would help her feel better, so why the World Eight not? Besides, he was up for any challenge that life could possibly throw his way.

So, with a grin on his face, he marched back into the hospital. This time, he was the one who greeted the nurses, for he felt proud of himself. He had actually taken the time to think about something. Not only that, but he also managed to come up with a really good plan! Man, to think that he of all people came up with a good plan. That was actually really cool!

When he got to Celia's room, he swept the filthy curtain back with an extra bit of flair. He put on the charming and suave smile before realizing that she and him weren't dating yet, if they would date at all. He put on a regular smile, thinking that would make a little more sense.

"Hey."

Celia looked up from the lunch that had been brought in by the nurses. "Hello. Got some fresh air?"

"Yep! It really helped with the circuittation."

Celia raised an eyebrow. "The what?"

Roy felt a pang when he realized that he had butchered the word. "Oh. I meant...the flow of blood to the brain."

Celia nodded. "Okay. That makes sense."

"Yeah." Roy sat himself down on the edge of the bed. "So, I was thinking about something." He leaned in close. "I decided that I want to help you find your real dad."

Celia blinked. "What?"

"Yep. You need to find your Dad. It's good to have a father figure in your life."

Celia shrunk into the mattress a little. "Roy…" she sighed. "How do I know that my real father would want me? He clearly didn't want me enough to stay."

"Well….sure. But that was what, sixteen years ago? It's possible his mind has changed."

Celia shook her head. "I don't think that's how it works…."

"Sure it is! I mean, we won't know until we ask him, right?"

Celia paused before sighing. "I….I suppose you're right." She looked back up at him. "But...where would we start with trying to find him?"

Roy smiled. "Why don't we ask your Mom? She was the last person to see him."

Celia seized up. She looked down at the blankets. "My...my mom."

Roy, realizing that he hit a nerve of some sort, started to stutter. "Or...or...we can, uh….start somewhere else? I mean, there are probably other people that can tell us where he was."

"No, no,; you were right the first time." Celia took a deep breath. "My mom was the last person to see him. So that means that, if we are going to start anywhere, we start with her."

Roy smiled. "Awesome! We'll leave as soon as you're discharged!"

Celia's face fell. "Yipee," she said quietly.