[Spirit of Lust 2] Chapters 213 & 214. (Patreon)

Chapter 213: Intermission - Noelle and Alice.

For the first time in the last year, Noelle Summers didn’t want to get up from bed and go to school. Not that school was that much fun, but she was a responsible girl who did what she had to do. She hadn’t missed a day of school in the last three years, and now she was considering faking a cold or something just to not go.

She fell asleep at 3:00 am, all because of uncomfortable thoughts that wouldn’t let her relax. Now she was tired and would probably have to see people she didn’t feel ready to face.

“I hate being in love…” she grumbled her frustration into her pillow.

Only a single minute later, however, she was up and heading to the bathroom to start the day. Faking a cold felt plain wrong, and skipping school felt even worse.

Once at school, her first stop was the student council office, like always. She almost didn’t want to open the window with how cold the day was, but she needed to let some air in.

They had an electric water boiler and a tea set in the room, a small commodity Alice allowed herself since she drank a lot of tea. Noelle turned the water boiler on and made sure there were still some of those sugarless cookies Alice liked in the bottom desk drawer. There were.

No paperwork to take care of that morning, at least not yet. Soon they would have to start coordinating with the clubs to prepare things for the talent show. They didn’t have an early morning meeting, either, so there wasn’t any specific reason Noelle had to be in the student council office other than it was routine.

Five minutes later, Alice came in, shivering.

“Gah, the days are getting even colder. Is it me or is this worse than last year?” the blonde asked.

Noelle giggled. “You asked the same thing last year.”

“Well, it only gets worse. I also bet it’s colder in the mornings than at night.”

Alice was wearing green wool mittens, black stockings under her skirt, the school sweater under the blazer and a green scarf wrapped twice around her neck. She really had a bad time with the cold weather.

“There’s hot water in the thermos,” Noelle told her. “Want some tea?”

“Have I ever told you I love you, Noelle?”

Noelle chuckled. Every morning she offered tea, and nearly every morning Alice said the same. Noelle wasn’t as big a fan of the beverage as Alice was, but she loved the smell, so preparing it was a pleasure for herself, too.

As Noelle brewed the tea, however, she felt Alice’s eyes on her.

“Hey, are you feeling well?” Alice asked.

“Hm? W-What do you mean?” The redhead tried to play it cool.

“You’re a little pale today, I think. And you sound… kinda down.”

Noelle pursed her lips. “I… didn’t sleep very well.”

“What happened?”

Noelle’s chest tightened. She wanted to vent, she wanted to say the things that were troubling her, and Alice was always one of the two people who would gladly listen to her troubles and try to help as much as they could. She had already talked to the other person, but it was her who brought all these awkward thoughts to her head. That said, Alice… Right. She was actually really close friends with those three, huh?

“Hey, Alice? Did you know?” Noelle asked softly, even weakly.

“Know what?”

“That… No. Sorry, sorry!” Noelle fervently shook her head. “It’s nothing. I was going to ask you something, but I forgot what.” She forced herself to laugh. It didn’t sound convincing.

Idiot! Idiot! Isabelle told her Oliver’s secret because they trusted her not to tell anyone! And here the first thing she was going to do was ask if Alice knew Oliver was dating her three friends. Idiot! Idiot!

Alice frowned and pursed her lips. She received the teacup Noelle gave her, set it aside on her desk and leaned on it.

“Noelle, there’s something I need to talk to you about, and it’s not pleasant.”

“Eh?”

“Crap, I… Sorry, forget it. I shouldn’t have brought it up now.” Alice took her cup and took a tentative first sip. “Let’s talk about it after school.”

Noelle swallowed. “No. Please tell me now.”

Alice grimaced. She kept quiet for a moment, looking to the side at her cup of tea. Then, with a reluctant tone, she spoke.

“I… I like Oliver.”

Noelle’s jaw dropped and her entire body tensed. “Oliver?”

Alice nodded.

“Since when?”

The blonde smiled wryly. “Only just realized it a couple of days ago.”

A couple of days ago? And if she was telling her, it meant Alice was ready to do something about it. Unlike Noelle, who was always at a standstill, wavering on what her feelings were, not knowing what to do about them, and only just now daring to admit them to herself, it only took Alice a couple of days to decide she wanted something and move to get it. She was amazing, as always. But…

“H-Hey, but Oliver is…” she stopped herself.

“He’s already seeing other girls.” Alice nodded. “So you knew already.”

Alice knew, then. Of course she did. She was close friends with those three. “Isabelle told me yesterday.”

Alice nodded again in acknowledgement. “Then you know the arrangement they have.”

Noelle swallowed. “Y-Yeah.”

“If Oliver asks me out, if he asks me to join them… I’ll say yes.”

“B-But why!?” Noelle demanded, unconsciously raising her voice. “That’s…”

“It’s hard to explain,” Alice said with a small smile. “I’m not experienced with dating, and I’ve had bad experiences, but… Oliver made something click for me, and I don’t want to miss it. I know it’s a strange situation, but I’ve known those girls for years, I owe them more than I can ever repay and I love them more than I can ever demonstrate. If they can be as happy as they claim with him, then I’m willing to make this bet, too.”

“...Why are you telling me this?”

“Should I not have?” Alice asked. “I’m telling you for two reasons: For once, it’s easy to see you like Oliver, too.”

OH, COME ON. How easy was she to see through? Everybody knew already!

“But even more important than that, I…” Alice grimaced. “I’ve kept a lot of things from you. We may only know each other for about two years, but you’re already someone really important to me. You’ve always trusted me, but I haven’t been able to reciprocate. I’d like to fix that, if possible.” She smiled regretfully. “I almost called you yesterday to talk about this, but I couldn’t. I was too afraid that you’d hate me, but keeping it from you would be even worse, so here we are. I couldn’t blame you if you did hate me now.”

…

Did she? Did Noelle hate Alice?

“I…”

************

Chapter 214: Intermission - Her intentions.

“I don’t hate you,” Noelle said softly. “I don’t hate anyone. What right do I even have to hate anyone? I… Yes, I like Oliver. I like him a lot, but I never did anything about it. No one is betraying me or anything. Oliver was already seeing the girls before we started talking for real, right?”

Alice shook her head. “You’re too good. Hate is never rational.”

Noelle chuckled weakly. “I suppose. Then it means you mean more to me than a boy.” Her chest felt a little lighter, and she was able to smile genuinely. “I don’t hate you, Alice. If you think you can accept that arrangement, then I sincerely hope it works.”

“You have no idea how much that means to me.”Alice, too, was finally able to smile with some relief. “But what about Oliver? Do you hate him now?”

Noelle’s smile went away, but she easily shook her head. “I don’t hate him, but… The image I had of him… changed. I… I don’t know anymore.”

“You know, I was afraid of that, too,” Alice said, sipping her tea. Noelle noticed her hands shook. Still, her friend smiled. “I was afraid that, when I told him some things about me, he’d be put off. But you know what? He actually said he liked me even more for it.” She chuckled. “I think that’s one of the reasons he clicked for me. Only one, mind. There are plenty of others.”

…

Noelle’s mind froze for a second that felt eternal.

Oliver… accepted Alice? He liked her more for it? Didn’t he also accept Noelle’s own secret? No, he didn’t just accept it. He was happy for her, encouraged her and praised her for it. He could’ve been put off by it, or even just answered with an indifferent ‘Oh yeah? So?’, but instead he was genuinely happy that Noelle had found something she enjoyed doing and helped her grow. Yet here she was thinking less of him for dating more than one girl. And without even hearing him out?

But it was completely different, right? Noelle was just a video game streamer. Embarrassing or not, she was just an entertainer. Meanwhile, Oliver was… in a consensual relationship with three girls who were supportive of it. It wasn’t any different.

“I’m not trying to say this to change your mind,” Alice continued, “but, just for the record, I’d be okay with you dating Oliver, too.”

Sharing a boyfriend with other girls… Noelle had never even dated anyone before. She couldn’t see it. Not that she was violently opposed to the idea, but more like she couldn’t imagine it happening. She couldn’t see how it would work. She didn’t even know how a normal relationship functioned, let alone something like this.

The bell didn’t give her any more time to think.

“I’m sorry to bring this up just before class,” Alice said.

“N-No, I insisted. It’s fine.” Noelle smiled. “Thank you for being upfront with me.”

However, as she expected, Noelle was unable to concentrate during the first period. Her mind drifted and her face heated. She couldn’t even take notes correctly. What a mess.

She decided that there was only one way to solve the issue, so when the bell rang to indicate the start of the first recess, Noelle exited her classroom and went to find Oliver.

She didn’t expect him to meet her in the hallway, though. Not with him walking directly towards her and starting things.

“Noelle,” he spoke firmly. “I need to talk to you. Can we meet after school?”

Noelle was taken aback. In front of him, she suddenly felt bashful, weak, and hot. “E-Eh? I…”

He shook his head as if to shake the brain inside. “Sorry to come at you like this, but… It’s important.” He looked her straight in the eyes. “It’s not right that Isabelle was the one to tell you. I keep regretting it. If you don’t want to see me today, then we can talk another day, but I need to talk to you. You deserve that much.”

Nervously, Noelle looked around. There weren’t that many, but a few people were looking their way. Rumors would no doubt spread, people would make up wild stories to make sense of what was happening here.

That Oliver of all people didn’t care about it and spoke to her in the open said how important this was to him.

Noelle smiled. “I talked to Alice already. She explained some things.”

Oliver tensed up, but he nodded. “Then it’s all the more important.”

“After school, then.”

Oliver smiled with relief. “Thank you.”

They parted ways with shy, awkward waves, and Noelle felt her chest much lighter and her head much clearer already. She chuckled to herself.

For some reason, since Isabelle told her about all this yesterday, it almost felt like she was talking about some Oliver she was supposed to know, but was a stranger. It was about the same when Alice spoke of him just earlier. But seeing him, actually hearing him say he needed to talk to her, made her realize that… Oliver was still Oliver. He hadn’t suddenly changed because she knew his secret.

They would talk later. She would tell him she liked him, she would hear him out, and if he… if he asked her to go out with him, she would politely refuse. She would explain that she didn’t feel like she could be a part of what he had, but that she hoped they could remain friends.

Yes. Yes. That was what she’d do. That was the plan.

…

But plans can suddenly change.