8:10 PM. Night had fallen upon the town, the dark sky fully clouded, with only the soft light of the moon making its way through. Amélie had brought me to a local restaurant, called Torbjörn's Dinner, the chief's name. He ressembled a garden midget, and was quite grumpy but he still had a good personality and made great food, that was all that mattered. We were sat at the very back of the restaurant, a table for two people. The menu proposed different dishes from different countries so I got a fish n' chips and my 'date' got herself a Wagyu beef. As we were waiting for our meals, I was trying to start a conversation but y'know how much of an awkward mess I am… Amélie did it for me.

"So, what are you studying?"

-"Oh! Uh, I'm studying Computer Science. What about you?" She wants to know more about me! I already knew she was an art student but there's surely more than that about her.

"I'm an art student." She says, smiling. "Graphic design is my passion." I chuckled. "Oh my god, I can't believe you just placed a meme in your sentence. Amé, love, I think we are going to get along very well..."

-"Of course we are." After pronouncing these words, the purple haired goddess winked at me. We chatted for a good time, about everything: our lives, our family, our anxieties… And I told her about an old trauma of mine, which caused me to have severe PTSD.

Year 2011, David Ingalls Academy. At that time, I was fourteen years old. I was the calmest student ever. Never really talked, always reading a book when all the kids were playing. You could have compared me to Kate Marsh from Life is Strange. I had very few friends back then, who never really cared about me. Some guy and his clique would frequently walk by me, give me nasty glares, laugh behind my back, call me a 'dyke' and various insults at all times of the day. And sometimes, when I let my guard down, they would slap me in the back of my neck. This led me to lock myself in a restroom stall and cry for several minutes, hands shaking and out of breath. Some girl in my class would also often tell me about rumors the bullies would launch. I never understood why she did that. She knew about the ones who made up bullshit yet she didn't stop them or tell on them? That girl was a bitch after all, so why even bother. All she wanted to do was to hurt me like they did.

One day, one of the boys, the most despicable of them, had fucked up. At 4:30PM, the bell rang, I packed up my stuff, went out and he was there, with two of his friends, waiting for me. He started making fun of me because I had "too many freckles" on my face, then proceeded to call me ugly, laughing with his friends. I snapped and gave him the biggest bitchslap which could've made it into the Buzzfeed Top 10 Of The Most Painful Slaps You've Ever Seen Of Your Life. I beat him down, blood gushing out from his upper lip, teeth and jaw breaking, red marks and bruises all over his face. I let my entire rage out, no one had recognized me. My face was crimson red, an enraged expression painted on it. I had become some kind of beast, beating its prey until good to consume.

When I regained my senses, the two boys who stood before the beaten up one were staring at me, their look full of fear. They ran, tail between their legs, and didn't look back. I was relieved, but at the same time, startled by what I had done. I promised myself not to hurt anyone but the damage was already done. The kid's face was barely recognizable.

I didn't actually tell all that to the girl sitting in front of me, I told her a shorter version; which resumes to some bullies were picking on me so I beat the shit out of one of them.

"I did the same thing to some annoying brats, but never felt any regrets afterwards. My parents would scold me but I didn't care, they always learned their lesson. I'm sorry you had to experience that. Do you still get nightmares from the bullies?" She said, a concerned look on her face.

-"Yeah, but not as often as I used to back then. Now it's just once every four months." I replied. "I still get pretty anxious when I hear a group of people laughing... I'll always think it's about me. But since I finally have real friends to reassure me then I'm not that afraid anymore." Amélie softened her glance and put her cold hand on top of mine, grasping it tightly.

"Listen, chérie, if one of those nights you get a panic attack or nightmares, come see me in my room. Don't hesitate." I smiled, a honest smile this time.

"Thank you so much, love. I won't forget that!" I said. Our plates arrived, and I dug into my food, wolfing it down. Amélie laughed. I stopped chewing my food, wondering what was funny. "Why arfff you lauffwhingff?" I asked, mouth full.

"You eat like an hungry lion or something… Never seen that before, haha!" Now she burst out laughing, and her laugh was the most delightful sound I've ever heard. So I joined in.

After finishing my food, I looked out the window of the restaurant to see Lucio and Hana, face literally glued to the glass, grinning like dorks. My expression went from neutral to shock. The tall girl asked me if I was alright, I answered yes. I took my phone out and messaged Hana.

8:36 [You]: WTF ARE U GUYS DOING HERE?

8:36 [Hana]: Seems like you're enjoying yourself with your crush :)

8:36 [Hana]: why didn't u tell us you were going out with her?!

8:37 [You]: sorry, everything happened so fast! weeeell… where do i begin?

8:37 [Hana]: spill the tea!

I could sense frog boy and gamer girl's grins from where they were looking at me.

8:38 [You]: okay so some guy was hitting on amelie in a violent way, so i got him away from her and we fought (more like exchanged two punches). i spoke in a violent british tongue,he got scared and chickened out.

Hana and Lucio both started cheering and applauding from behind the window. I grinned at them and Amélie didn't know what was going on, too busy drinking her water.

8:38 [Hana]: You go girl, totally sounds like you! :D Now, tell us how did u get here with your crush?

8:39 [You]: she took me to her dorm room to patch me up, and to thank me for defending her, she took me to a restaurant! White Knight Action™. jk i'm not like that.

The dorks both shouted "SCOOORE!" so loud, everyone in the restaurant heard them. I waved them goodbye, they did the same to me, and then walked away. I texted one last message.

8:40 [You]: btw, i'll get back to u tomorrow. let's all go to the coffee/tea salon tomorrow!

8:40 [Hana]: understood, friend! and no excuses this time. it's a promise!

I finally stored my phone back into my pocket, and turned my attention back to Amélie.

"I saw and heard everything." She said. I was kinda embarrassed. "Sorry, I forgot to warn you that these two kids are imprevisible." We laughed it off anyway. We stopped dead in our tracks because we heard the chief yell from the kitchen.

"What do you mean you ordered this pan from another company than IKEA?! You're fired! I thought you all pledged allegiance to swedish power, but seems like I was wrong!"

We were both containing our laughs now, tears surfacing up our eyes. I tried paying for us both but Amélie slapped my hand and put her credit card instead.

"Remember that I'm the one who took us to this restaurant, not you. Now, shall we head out to my room, chérie?" I was dead tired, so I didn't decline the offer. "Totally, love." She took me by the arm, and I winced because of the slap she gave but didn't say anything.

Later, we arrived at her dorm room. I sat down on her couch. We talked again, she showed me her stunning artworks and then we watched a bit of TV. I couldn't stay awake anymore so I put my head in her lap. I fell asleep almost instantly. "Trop mignonne." Amélie said, and couldn't help but smile fondly at Lena's sleepy face. She fell into a soft slumber afterwards too.

Translation:

"Trop mignonne." = So cute.