Chapter 41: Hopes For Maintaining Both Friendships

"You what?!"

"Yup. I actually met Gemma in real life. We both were at a tennis court and she challenged me. Then afterwards, we kept contact with each other."

"That's some bull. I never get a chance to get in contact with a celebrity. I should've asked where you live."

The next day, I was at the library, talking to Blue, Lucas and Xavier. Pretty much about how me and Gemma first met. Much to Xavier's dismay once I brought Gemma up.

"Obviously, it's a girls thing, so you needn't force yourself to do so." I said to Xavier.

"But you were lucky to run into her." Xavier said. "It would've been my chance to shine."

"Your chances always get blown, you know?" Blue asked.

"W-Well, yes… but I'm still not gonna give up on this. I have to consider myself lucky."

"I know, but by rushing it, you would become a bust."

"And obviously, everyone's gonna ask about your gameplan for doing this if they actually see you linking with her." Lucas said. "It would mean that everyone's gonna memorize your mastery of talking to girls in a way."

"Not every girl is gonna take it that way." Xavier said. "They have their own feelings so it's not like they're gonna spill the beans and say how they really feel. It's called personal privacy, I should say."

"You mean hidden feelings?" Blue asked as she and I gained a sweatdrop.

"How is that personal privacy? That's keeping your thoughts in check." Lucas asked.

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"Ok… you got me. For once." Xavier said. "But basically, what I'm saying is that… it's not really acceptable to copy one's strategies because they didn't come up with that. And I'm sure they are not gonna copy what I do to Gemma. It wouldn't be cool anyway."

"That's agreeable…" Blue said. "But overdoing your strategy isn't cool either. Gemma may be nice and all, but you don't have to get ahead of yourself. What if she has intentions of having another boy."

"Wait, hold on." I said. "Wasn't your focus on Candace, Xavier? Because when you were first mentioning the Royal Rally to me, she sparked your interest."

"Yeah, I really do like Candace in a way although she is sassy and a hater, but although she is annoying due to her teasing me so much, Gemma is also my focus. I'm keeping this balanced." Xavier explained.

"So… who are you siding with?"

"My answer is classified." He said with a grin.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah really. You think I would tell you at a time like this?"

"I-I was just hoping who you were going for. But I don't want to be too judgemental about it."

"You aren't being judgemental, Kaze." Xavier said. "Listen, We've been friends for a couple of days now, so of course you don't know who's my very favorite."

"More importantly, did Gemma find you unamusing?" Blue asked me.

"N-No. I was being laid-back because I thought it would be best to make her feel comfortable around me. Otherwise, None of this would've been the same. Candace would've been my only choice."

"I see. It is good for you that you are making her happy. I didn't know if you were really going to stay put on Candace's side even though you haven't told her about yourself." Lucas said to me.

"I-I haven't taken anyone's side yet." I said. "Besides, it's now becoming a tug-of-war between celebrities that need me to pick them. I don't know who would be the absolute choice though."

"Well, it's the most difficult test if you're trying to maintain relationships for both sides." Blue said. "Because think about it. Gemma… would love people supporting her because it makes her happy and Candace doesn't want Gemma and her supporters standing in her way and taking the throne from her. I know we're your friends, but honestly, it's your decision. Do what makes you happy."

"A-Are you sure? I really have to be smart about this though."

"You don't have to be smart. I know you want to maintain your friendship with the two, but you don't have to think this over. You can just be happy with your decision. Me, Xavier, and Lucas are happy with their decisions every time."

"Yeah. I mean, If you were to vote for someone else instead of me, I would be ok with it. Nobody's forcing you to choose someone. It's up to you to decide." Xavier said.

Well… I guess they do have points. Even though I don't want to lose faith in them, I just want to have fun for once so I guess there's nothing I can do about it now.

"Ok. I'll take what you said there. I won't bother it too much. I just want to have fun anyway.

"Alrighty! I'm just glad you'll be there, Kaze. Along with your cool outfit." Blue said with a grin.

"Well… I guess you could put it that way."

"Alright, you three. It's time to get to work." I heard Ms. Sparr say as she was walking towards us.

"Hey, Ms. Lauren. Off-Topic, but are you heading to the Royal Rally presentation?" Xavier asked.

"No, I have lots of work to take care of. But I might get a chance to watch it tomorrow."

"Tch! Boo! It's always work!"

"I don't have 4 four hands, young man. But I know, it's lots of work."

"That's pretty sad the way I think about it." I said.

"I don't think so. When you get hired for an important job, it's expected that you'll have lots of work. And you have to take it seriously because that's how your income grows each time."

"I understand. Even still, I feel bad for you getting that much work."

"I'm gonna do alright, Kaze. What are your plans?"

"I don't know. I'll just wait and prepare for the party and presentation. There's nothing extra for me to do."

"Ok."

"You just wanted to talk to us, eh?" Xavier asked.

"Well, I kinda got bored this morning. This was the only thing I could think of." I said.

"It's fine. You can always say the word." Lucas said. "We can talk if you need anything."

"Thank you. You truly are reliable."

Things have really turned around since Primp Town was really supporting me. Raffina herself and Arle's friends especially. Everything's carrying over to here. I'm just very pleased at how things are going for me. Maybe I just did this to myself, perhaps?

"A-Anyway, I'm gonna head home, get myself prepared, and yeah…"

"Alright, see you later, Kaze." Ms. Sparr said.

"I'll see you at the party." Blue said.

"Us too." Xavier said.

As I now left the library, I was heading for home to get myself situated with everything that I needed to do. These are just quick things so I still have time, but I'm still hoping I could get Gemma and Candace on my side for the quest for the stones. I could really use some novices so this could seem like a puzzle story. In other words, it would be a team of five girls that would have to save the world.

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Ok, now I feel awkward after saying that. But I have to stop these people from creating an apocalypse. That's one of my goals as a protagonist as some people would call me.

…

I'm not sure if I'm really a protagonist though.

Author's Note: Another Mini-Chapter for this one. There will be one more mini-chapter before the party which is going to be pretty entertaining for me honestly.

Hopefully I can get this done before 2022 hits. 2021 has been a trainwreck in terms of getting things situated in order to focus on this story more. I'm sorry if I haven't been uploading lots of chapters. Not only has it been a trainwreck, my comprehension skills have also been a major reason why I haven't uploaded a lot. I have lots of work to do on that. And LOTS, actually. I know I'm having fun with this story, but that's going to be something that needs repairing heading into 2022.

If you guys are enjoying this story so far, review, follow and/or favorite this story and I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Ta-Ta!