forum "You DO like me!" "I don't think 'like' is the right word." "You tolerate me." "Maybe." one on one

Started January 29, 2021 by @cryptic-glitch

tune

"But you shouldn't make yourself suffer, especially not needlessly." Lin closed his eyes and sighed again.

"I realize that. I don't know what to do about it though." She glanced at him.

"Well… I guess you have to be willing to forgive yourself. Be like, 'Hey, maybe I could have handled this situation better, but the best thing to do is to work through it and move on.'"

"My brain doesn't seem to grasp that concept very well," she said wryly and fiddled with the straw in her mountain dew.

Lin sighed softly. "Well, I dunno… just know that I don't blame you and I'm not mad, so you don't have to be mad at yourself either."

"I do have to be mad. I made you feel uncomfortable and I hate that I did that. A lot."

"But I'm not upset with you. It's okay. I forgive you." Lin insisted softly.

"Yes. Yes. I know. I still feel bad. I still feel like I hurt you."

Lin sighed quietly, trying to figure out what he could say that would help. "W-Well I… I dunno… what can I do to help?"

"Not a whole lot. I just have to learn myself. I'm sorry that you can't help. I know you want to. I just- I don't see how you can."

"Okay… if you think of anything, let me know, okay? I don't want you to keep beating yourself up over this."

"I know. I know. I'm sorry you can't help." She looked at him. "I'll let you know."

Lin nodded a bit and looked out the window, keeping quiet for a while. He'd done pretty much all he could, so being quiet was the best thing he could think of to do.

"Well, don't stop talking! Say something interesting," she said impatiently.

"H-Huh? What do you want me to talk about??" Lin asked, confused. "I thought being quiet would help you think…"

"I don't want to think. If I think of something, it'll be like a-a. . .like a eureka."

"Okay… u-um… what's something… interesting about your childhood that I don't already know?" He asked.

"Um. My dad is an asshole." She shrugged. "I don't know. It wasn't very eventful."

"Mm… same." Lin laughed weakly. "What's your… uh… favorite color?"

"Grey. Nice and neutral. Goes with everything."

Lin nodded a bit. "Yeah… I dunno about myself. I never really considered it before but everyone seems to have one."

"I don't know it's my favorite, exactly. But I like to wear it the best."

"I guess that makes sense." Lin considered for a few seconds. "I suppose if I had to pick, I'm pretty partial to silver."

"Silver is too. . .noticeable for my tastes." She took a sip of her soda.

"Yeah… blue is nice as well. And black. What is your opinion on red?"

"I like red. I think it's nice, but I like the dark red kind the best. More sophisticated and less like a 14 year old fortnite player."

"Mm." Lin was quiet for a moment. "What other favorite things do people usually have? Um… favorite animal?"

"Cat," she said without hesitation. "I thought about getting a cat. But I'm also broke, so there's that."

"Interesting… I dunno what my favorite animal is." He shrugged a bit. "Cats are good, though. What animal do you think I'd like?"

"Um, maybe a ferret?" She shrugged.