Chapter 14: Castor in love – part 1

Castor never really thought about love. He knew that it existed, of course. He witnessed it every morning of his childhood, when his Dad complimented his Mom and every afternoon when Mom returned from work and went straight to Dad to hug him. Love was in that look in Dad’s eyes, in his mother’s voice when she asked her husband about his day, in the gentle touch of their hands.

“You look dashing today. Just like you did yesterday.”

Love was very real. At least for his parents.

But in Castor’s point of view, love was simply meant for someone else, not for him. His purpose in life was to explore the possibilities of his endless mind and to push the boundaries of human knowledge even further. And to win the tournament in R.E.F.U.G.E., of course. He couldn’t really imagine what he would discuss with a girl. Girls only care about shoes and lipsticks, right?

But then everything changed when he met Annabeth. Firstly, he noticed her pretty wavy hair and busty figure, because like it or not, testosteron is mighty and powerful when you’re a simple teenage boy.

I can’t really blame him for being interested, right?

And although he probably was willing to force himself to discuss anything with her (even lipsticks) – he didn’t have to. It turned out girls are people with many hobbies and interests, too. (Amazing what one can learn in the outside world, right?)

Annabeth liked video games, too. She was not a hardcore gamer like Castor, but she adored Sims Forever. She always played it when she came over and she loved to share all the stories she played and all the characters she created.

“Sims is like living in a paralel universe. Or in thousands of paralel universes.”

She also loved talking. About anything. Even about superheroes.

“If I was a superhero, I would be She-Hulk.”

She came over almost every day, just to hang out and they talked and laughed for hours. It didn’t take long and they became best friends.
But Castor soon realized Annabeth is more than a friend to him. He realized she complements him. Castor was a thoughful boy, he didn’t mind to be alone with his mind, meditating about the mysteries of logic. Annabeth was outgoing. Talkative. Bold. She always knew when was the time to give him space, but she never let him got too lost in his thoughts.

And he also really likes the way she laughs.

As they grew closer to each other, Castor started to really care for her. She became so important. Much more important  than his chess sessions or programming. He suddenly felt like his heart was winning over his mind.

‘Is she even real?’

One day, Annabeth developed an unknown third trait and it meant she was no longer a teen. But Castor was ready. And a cake was ready, too. He still had 5 days of puberty left, but he decided to trade them for a chance of being closer to Annabeth.

Future, here I come!

Later that day, he invited Annabeth to visit. She showed up in a flirty mood (that’s a good sign, right?) and went straight to the garden, where Castor was.

A: “Looks like we’re all grown up now!”

C: “Crazy, right? Feels like we met only yesterday.”

After some nostalgic reminiscing, Castor was ready to talk about the serious stuff. He wasn’t sure how Annabeth felt about him. But he was 100% certain about his own feelings and he couldn’t hide it any longer. So he took a deep breath and he told her everything: “Annabeth, I have something to tell you. I think you are super fun and smart. And confident and caring and fearless. And – oh, so beautiful I can’t  take my eyes off of you. And the truth is I have liked you for so long now I don’t even remember when it’s started….”

“How do you feel about that, Annabeth?”

Annabeth looked away and hesitated. Then she said: “Oh, Castor, I’ve had a childhood crush on you when we were kids and I have liked you ever since. And now I like you more and more every day.”

“In fact, I love you.”

“I’ve always secrectly thought we are perfect for each other. I can’t believe you felt the same that whole time,” she continued with an astonished smile.
Castor was pretty astonished, too. Just look at that face xD

“I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

“I know! It’s crazy.”

“Is it okay to kiss you now?”

“Of course, silly…”

Castor was over the moon: “So now it’s officially official, right?”

Officially the best day of our lives.