Morning finally came, hours after your dreamless sleep. You woke up, still sleepy. You sat up on your bed and closed your eyes again until a knock was heard on your bedroom door, slightly awakening your senses.

"Y/N, wake up. It's time for breakfast. After that, we're going to rebuild the facade." You heard the voice of Red Shoes from the other side. Without fully coming to your senses, you nod. You heard footsteps becoming quieter. You assume she left. You wanted to be lazy all day, maybe it's from the cold air of the morning, or you woke up from a comfortable sleep.

You groaned as you forced your body to stand up and get dressed. You made your way downstairs, only to find Merlin waiting for you. You looked at him with your resting face, "Morning." You greeted him and walked to the dining table. Merlin looked at you with confusion. He thought you completely forgot what had happened last night or just tried to ignore him.

You were ignoring him. You completely bottled up your feelings for Merlin for the sake of Red Shoes, even if you might regret it someday.

<><>

Merlin zip-lined through the rope used to pull up the facade, after steadying the top, and onto Red. She giggled at this, and you rolled your eyes and scoffed, "I know, right." Jack said this as he noticed you. You looked at him in your cold demeanor. He raised his eyebrow, sensing you being odd.

You were really bothered seeing Merlin and Red getting close, too close for your liking. "Pino, Noki, Kio, show us what you got." Merlin's voice pulled you out of your thoughts. "Here we go!" They controlled the robot's arms to pull the facade up, and the rest except Red helped pull from the sides. "A little to the left... oh too much, a bit more right," Red instructed.

Once the facade was firmly placed down, Hans and Arthur handed buckets of light blue and white paints and brushes, and all began to paint the facade. While painting, you saw Merlin gawking at Red as she painted the wall. She noticed Merlin and smiled, making the wizard flustered, and you now know exactly what you've been feeling from the moment the F7 and you first met Red Shoes.

Jealousy.

After painting the whole facade, you all took a step back to admire what you had finished. "Now that looks like a real home," Red said in awe, and you agreed. Everyone took a break and hung around outside. You took a seat by the tree and closed your eyes, letting its shade relax your nerves. "It's a perfect copy of my drawing" You opened your eyes as you heard Red from a distance.

'What's going on?'

You saw the triplets operating their invention, printing out the exact copy of Red's flyer. "Let me try. This will definitely make it easier to find your dad." Merlin switched with the one who operates, wanting to flex on Red. You scoffed and moved to the back of the tree. You don't want to see this. You definitely do not like Merlin getting close to Red. But...

'He is not mine. Why am I acting all possessive over this?'

This thought made you depressed all of a sudden. You thought about how Red will be with Merlin and how you should be happy for them when they get married. And now, you were thinking that your closest friend and your crush would actually get married, and you will live adventuring and battling monsters but never really be satisfied for the rest of your life.

You hear grunts behind you. You see Merlin trying to pull the broom out on the same tree you were relaxing on. You sighed, walking away from the tree. You saw Jack by the house's doorway and sat next to him. "What has gotten in your head again?" He abruptly asked. You were startled at his sudden question. "W-what do you mean?" You asked him, acting all dumb. "I know that face. It means something is bothering you." He stated as he gave you the don't fool me look.

You looked away, feeling you're too insecure about telling. He sighed at this behavior again, "Wanna go and join me in a homemade spa? A.k.a skincare session?" He offered, and you thought, "Yeah, I think that would be wonderful." You agreed and thanked him mentally, for he's thinking about this.

"I think we can attach this broom to your robot." You heard Merlin recommending his plan to the triplets.

<><>

When Merlin, Red, and the triplets took off with their upgraded robot. You and Jack sat in the living room with beauty masks around your faces. You began to relax and sit back, "Is this because of Merlin again?" He directly asked, and you sighed, opening your eyes.

'There's no getting out of this one.'

"How did you know?" You asked him slowly, discarding your face mask. He looked at you, "As if I don't see you getting close to him every day. And with that face earlier when he's with Red." He rolled his eyes after commenting. You laughed at his actions. It's like having that best friend who's always giving sassy remarks.

Your laugh dies little by little until you just stare at the ceiling, "Do you ever feel that you're in the way of something important? Like you are not supposed to be there in the first place." You feel your tears almost dropping from your eyes, but you keep your head up.

'I don't want him to see I'm weak.'

"You can let them flow down. Keeping those tears does not make you strong but letting them out is. It's a sign that you've been strong enough when suffering." You followed his advice and let your head down, pouring your heartbroken tears down. You felt someone get close and sit next to you. He took off your face mask and discarded it.

He put your head on his shoulder, and you cried even harder. You felt him in his human form, and you were grateful for his gesture. He rubbed your back up and down in comfort until you calmed down. You pushed your head away from his shoulder and did not look at him, "Thanks for that, and I'm sorry your shirt got ruined from my tears. And maybe the serum too." You chuckled at your apology.

"Yeah... I just got this dry cleaned too." He remarked, and you jokingly pouted, then he laughed seeing your reaction. "I'm just kidding. This is nothing, as long as I helped someone in a crisis." You punched his arm playfully, and you both laughed.

"But seriously, thanks." You smiled gratefully, "No problem." He smiled back. Now that everything felt light in your shoulders, you told him you would take a walk through the forest. Ever since your first day meeting the F7, you have been walking through the woods to relax from the mishaps. And you know exactly where you can relax your mind the most—the river you found, located far away from HQ.

You found it when walking through the woods the other day, the crystal clear of the water flowing in one direction and the plentiful vegetation on the other side. You sprint on your way to your designation, wanting to get there as soon as possible.

<><>

You are almost there, out of breath, but the adrenaline is still pumping in your veins, making you not think about it. Until you were a few trees away, your legs gave out. The adrenaline gives out as you stop. Now, you lean on a tree catching your breath.

'Well, that was regretful. Why would I run in the first place anyway.'

You walked closer to your destination, "Merlin, do you think we'd be happier if we were old selves again?" You hear that familiar voice in the distance. You peeked around the trees and saw Merlin with Red again.

'Is there one day where I can just be by myself?!'

You scoffed and turned away, letting them be. "I don't care about your height or what color you are. And that's the way you feel about me, right?" Her sentence perked up your ears, suddenly deciding to eavesdrop, wanting an answer to see if Merlin likes you back.

'Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.'

"Yes, of course. I mean, duh!" He replied, and you felt your heart crack. "I think we're both trapped under the same spell." She said, and their eyes interlocked. You wanted to get away from this, you do, but your legs aren't. It's like it has a mind of its own, wanting you to suffer. You saw them getting closer as they kissed. You turned your head away, not wanting to break your heart again.

'Stupid legs, move! Please!'

"When you open your eyes, there will be a handsome man in front of you."

'I guess he did it, huh.'

"Someone worthy of you. Someone you'd be proud to see with." He said excitedly. You bowed your head down, and you can control your legs now. You didn't realize that tears were falling to your cheeks. You cried silently until a loud growl came from the forest.

edited