MMORPG: Birth of the World's Luckiest Player-Chapter 137: The Spreading Shadow of Doubt

"Marcus, what are you thinking about?" It was a woman’s intuition; Anya could tell that even while holding her, his mind was wandering somewhere else, to someone else.

She was dying to know what was going on in his head, but the question just echoed silently in her own heart. ’Marcus, you absolute jerk,’ she thought, wondering just how many other girls were crowding his thoughts. But what could she do? She was trying so hard to make him fall for her all over again, yet she couldn’t just reach into his mind and wipe the others away.

Anya’s heart was anything but still, and Marcus wasn’t faring any better.

’Anya, why? Why are you being so close like this?’

To her, these gestures might have felt simple, innocent even. But for a man who had once loved her with a kind of desperate, crazy intensity, she had no idea what she was stirring up. Holding himself back was getting harder; this closeness was dragging every ghost of that first love right back to the surface.

Whether a first love is sweet or bitter, it’s something nobody; guy or girl, ever really gets over.

’Marcus, why do you have to make me feel like this?’ Anya thought, the old weight of the past pressing down, bringing a fresh wave of hurt.

’Did you ever really love me at all? You wrote me that letter, and then you turned around and fell for Serena. Was she really so much better than me? Was everything you wrote just one big lie?’ She burned, aching to know the real truth of what happened back then.

Here were two young people, both paralyzed by the fear of saying what they truly felt, both terrified of getting an answer that would break them. They chose the safety of silence and the lingering ache of a vague friendship over the brutal risk of the truth, letting the misunderstanding between them grow and spread like stubborn weeds.

But if the day ever came when that tangled knot was finally undone, how in the world would they even face each other?

After resting a while, they left the park. Seeing it was still early and neither was ready to call it a day, they found their way to a local movie theater. In a moment of unspoken agreement, they ended up slipping into a small, private booth for two.

The film was boring, failing to grab either of their attention. The day’s long walk had worn them out, and with the dramatic movie score booming around them, Anya eventually drifted off. She fell asleep right there, nestled against Marcus.

’She’s actually asleep,’ Marcus thought, looking down at her. ’She trusts me this much? Does she really just think of me as a friend now? Does being with me make her feel that safe?’ He couldn’t figure out any other reason why she would let herself be so vulnerable, so trusting, as to fall asleep in his arms like this.

’Anya, what is really going on in your head? How much do I actually mean to you?’

Looking at her smooth skin, feeling the warmth of her against him, Marcus felt his control starting to slip. The soft, even sound of her breathing in the dark theater was testing his willpower. The old, frantic love he’d felt for her began to surge back, and the desire he’d fought so hard to bury earlier that day flared up again, hotter. More dangerously, a fierce, possessive urge clenched tight around his heart.

Ever since his training in the Human Rock technique had broken through to the second stage; the Champion level, Marcus had found it harder to handle things with his old, careful logic. His thoughts were sharper now, more aggressive, far more dominant than when he was just a regular guy. The usual social rules and moral brakes that used to hold him back felt flimsy, like strings he could snap without a thought.

Finally, he couldn’t stop himself. He gently brushed a loose strand of hair from her forehead, staring at her beautiful, peaceful face. He leaned down, his lips drifting closer to hers, wanting to taste them, to breathe her in. His arm tightened around her waist, his hand resting against the soft curve of her stomach. To make it all worse, he could feel a primal, physical awakening inside him that was impossible to ignore.

Looking at Anya, whether it was the last embers of that old love or just the sheer, powerful pull of her being right here, he knew one thing for certain: he wanted her. He wanted her to be his.

’Anya,’ he whispered, but only in the silence of his own mind.

He was just about to close that final gap, to press his lips to hers, when her own lips moved slightly.

"Marcus..."

The sound of his own name made his heart stutter. He froze, a jolt of alarm shooting through him. ’Is she awake? Did she see me?’

He knew that if she opened her eyes and looked at him right then, he wouldn’t back off. He’d kiss her anyway. He’d let her know, right then and there, that he intended to claim her.

But to his surprise, Anya didn’t wake up. She just shifted in his arms, pressing herself closer, nuzzling against his warmth as she settled back into deeper sleep.

"Marcus..." she murmured again, her voice thick with sleep. "Marcus, you jerk..."

"Always making me sad..."

A soft sigh escaped her, and a single, clear tear slipped from beneath her closed eyelid, tracing a slow path down her cheek.

She wasn’t awake; she was dreaming. She was calling his name in her sleep, and whatever she was dreaming about was making her cry.

Seeing that tear track down her face felt like a knife twisting in Marcus’s chest. It set off a storm inside him; shock, a dawning realization, and a sudden, sharp stab of guilt.

’Does she... does she actually love me?’ If she didn’t, why would his name be on her lips in her dreams? A wave of panic hit him. ’How could this be? If she loved me, why did she never answer my letter?’

It hit him then that he didn’t understand her heart at all. But as he watched the tear glisten on her skin, all that possessiveness melted away, replaced by a deep, aching tenderness. He leaned down again, but this time, he gently kissed the tear away, his tongue just barely touching her skin to taste the salt.

His mind was total chaos. Looking at the girl he’d kept locked in his heart for years, the aggression and the fire died down. Now he just wanted to watch her, to feel her resting peacefully in his arms. That alone gave him a strange, quiet happiness. Still, he couldn’t resist leaning down one last time, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to her lips; tasting her for the first time, stealing a kiss while she slept.

As he did, the troubled look on Anya’s face began to smooth away, replaced by a gentle, contented smile, as if her dream had finally turned a corner toward something sweet. Seeing that smile made his own heart ache with a fondness that nearly overwhelmed him.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He’d set it to silent before the movie started. He pulled it out to see a call from Chloe.

"Marcus, where are you? Are you with Anya?"

Chloe’s face on the screen was tight with worry. Anya had ditched her again to go find Marcus and had shut off her own phone, leaving Chloe completely in the dark. As the person who was supposed to be keeping an eye on Anya, she was frantic.

"Yeah, we’re at the movies. She fell asleep," Marcus said, angling the camera to show Chloe the sleeping girl in his arms, hoping to calm her down.

"Marcus, just look after her. And get back soon, okay?" Chloe whispered, her voice softening the moment she saw Anya was safe.

"I will."

He ended the call. Chloe seemed okay for now, but he knew perfectly well he was in for a serious talking-to once they got back. Chloe was the only girl who could ever really give him a headache.