A Path To Understanding

chapter 1

Ivy's pov

"Ivy?"

I look up from a webcomic I'm reading, and see Monica looking back at me, expecting some kind of answer. Monica insisted I come with her to eat with our other friends from our class. I didn't really wanna go, but she was stubborn, so I had no choice but to give up.

"Yeah?"

"Did you know Sarah and Sam got together? I totally wanted to see them get together ,you know. And they did!"

"Wait, they got together?" I ask. I've been hearing rumours about something going on between them, but I wasn't really interested because Sarah and I didn't really talked.

"Duh, which world are you in? They got together two weeks ago. Everyone knows by now."

Well, I didn't really cared or shipped them.

"The first couple of our class! Oh, I wonder when someone's gonna propose to me....."

As much as I love my friends, it's hard to say anything when they're taking part in conversation like this. Mostly because they ask my own opinion about romance and I don't really have any.

Don't get me wrong, I get the feeling when someone falls in love with another person romantically, heck, I love watching shoujo anime and sometimes k drama, it's just that.... I've never experienced it. And I don't know if I ever will.

So as the conservation progresses, I sink back in my chair, resuming reading the webcomic. I'm a huge comic reader. I read tons of webcomics and webtoons online and I even have a few collections of manga at my home, despite manga being expensive in our country.

After several minutes we decide to leave the restaurant, having eaten our lunch a long time ago, and I've never been happier to return to my class.

.......

I catch a glimpse of Xavier, a quiet boy from my class, reading a manga in another class.

The class is empty and he is sitting in the first bench, so engrossed in the book that he doesn't know the door of the class has opened because of the wind.

It's a first time I've seen someone reading in our class. Many guys are anime fans in our class, but it's a first time someone's reading a manga from our class. Maybe other guys read it too, just not physically.

Now I'm curious. I have talked to him a few times, he just seemed like a really shy guy who only wants to talk to couple people from our class. I wanna go and strike up a conversation with him.

But will I come off as creepy if I randomly go up to him and start talking in an empty room? I mean, we don't talk that often.

I do it anyway.

"Hey, Xavier, which book is it?"

He looks up, and shows me the book. Bleach.

"Bleach? I've read the first couple chapters online and then for some reason I stopped," I tell him instantly.

He looks surprised. "Wait. You read manga?"

"Yeah? Not only manga, any kind of comics. I'd just been reading one a moment ago."

He doesn't say anything. I feel like I've shared too much but then he smiles. "Wow. Do you have collections too? You can sit, here." He says gesturing beside him. I sit down.

"Quite a few. Yeah. I wish I could collect more, but sometime it's so expensive, you know? But I collect it anyway."

"Yeah, of course, I mean, the guys always say that they don't wanna buy manga because it's too expensive but like, I want to, even if I can collect only a few. Because I just love reading as much as I love anime. Like, I buy only one or two at a time but I buy it anyway."

Wow. It's the first time he has spoken to me this much at a time. And I'm actually enjoying it.

"Which genre do you like?" I ask.

"Mostly fantasy. Slice of life and romance too, but, I don't really watch or read romance that often," he replies.

"Why?" I can't help but ask.

"Maybe because I'll maybe never fall in love? If that makes sense." What?

"That does, you know," I reply back.

"You do?"

"Yeah, I've never fallen in love too, to be honest. I don't think I ever will."

"Oh," he goes silent. He seems like he wants to ask something, but he doesn't.

"You wanna ask something?" I encourage him.

"Well, I...not really...just...you saying that you actually get what I'm feeling just made me happy, that's all."