Mr Leon Kennedy

God’s what was she supposed to even do right now? Any sane person would have knocked before they entered the room, any sane person would have asked if it was okay if they could enter. Nobody would ever just barge their way in without asking. 

 Except, Tyson was no sane person, and he would be the type to barge in without asking for permission. The thought made her heart flutter in her chest as she stared at him, her cheeks lit up like fireworks with bright splotches of varying shades of blush. He was just standing there looking at her, and he looked nervous. No, it wasn’t that he was nervous. He looked scared which was what bewildered Natalie the most. Even when he would stare death in the face, the only look on his face was of annoyance or anger. She didn’t even know if he knew what the word “scared” even meant.

 And… she was scared too. Her fingers clenched and unclenched at her sides and her eyes kept on looking away from them. She would look at his face, his eyes, then look away whether it be at the ground or at some object at the side of the room. Then, she would look back at him. Her heart beat like a ceremonial drum in her chest, hard, fast, strong… and most of all, deafening. So deafening in fact not a single coherent thought was processed, only fragments and pieces of a whole filtered through her mind.

 Did he like how she looked? Did he hate looking at her? Did he want to run away? Was he going to tell her he didn’t want to be with her? Did he… did he…

 It didn’t help the matter that he was saying a bunch of nonsense to her. Tyson was trying to probably diffuse the situation like he always did, with humour, but right now, all it did was fall on deaf and stunned ears as she stood in her room awkwardly. Her cheeks burned red, and her ears singed like iron in a fire, her bottom lip quivered, and her eyes darted around like a frantic fish fleeing a predator. She felt a lump in her throat, and the butterflies in her stomach now swarmed and desperately wanted out of her… but there was no escape.

 “Nat… Nat. Birdy!”

 She felt like she was drowning, and then, all of the sudden, she was out of the water and taking in large gulps of air… all because he finally addressed her—her.

 Now… What was he going to tell her?

“... you look beautiful, Nat.”

 “I… w-what?” Natalie responded as her bottom lip quivered and her voice broke into a million pieces. Was he lying? Was he trying to trick her? No, no he wasn’t. He had that look in his eye, that look that reminded her of all of the street puppies they would run into. She would always feed them even if Tyson rolled his eyes, she always would… and then, of course, she would give him a mouthful for being stingy and mean to the puppies. “I… I do? Even with… all of this?”

 Natalie spoke the second part much more quietly as she gestured to her stomach, and her arm cybernetic arm which he didn’t particularly like. Did he really mean it all? He had to… but earlier, he didn’t like that part of her.

 With a shaky sigh, she sat down on the edge of her bed, grabbing at the fluffy blanket to use as a little pillow to sit on. Her hands rested on her shaky knees as she looked straight at the ground now, her eyes not looking at him. For what must have felt like minutes, all she did was stare right at the ground, looking at specks of dust and dirt and the wooden plank flooring. Until finally, she looked back up, meeting Tyson’s gaze. And she spoke without breaking eye contact even once.

 “Come, sit by me.” Once he had sat down (or if he had chosen to remain standing), she didn’t say anything again for a solid minute as she tried to collect her thoughts. Should she tell him? If she did, he could run away and she would be left alone. What if none of this ended up like those books she read about the prince and his princess he rescued from the terrible dragon? What if he just left her alone… Breathe, Natalie, breathe. Just tell him, tell him and let fate decide the rest. Besides, you can always call mom and take a leave of absence to get away from all of this. Because, what if he died tomorrow, and you never got the chance to tell him? It’s better to know, and sorrow, then not to know, and wallow in what could have been. “I… you know I like you, right? You’re always looking out for me and protecting me, and you’re… God you’re always so nice. You brought me that ramen even, and I know you ordered it fresh… and I know you got a side of crab rangoons with it as well as a little soda… I don’t have to see it, because you always do that for me. I’ve always liked you, Tyson. I… there isn’t any other person I would want by my side forever, other than you. And if you don’t feel the same way and you w-want that… dummy at that shop… then that is o-okay too…” Her voice shook as she said that, but she continued. “...but I have to know, what do you think of me, and you?”