Help! I'm asexual and trapped in a dating sim!

Chapter Nine

I stared at myself in the mirror, not quite certain how I felt about the uniform. On the one hand, it fit well and was comfortable. The trousers were of some thick, heavy material that hugged my legs just enough to be comfortable but not so much as to be tight, while the shirt was loose and thin enough to tuck into my belt. The tie was apparently multi-universal, and the mustard yellow wasn't too obnoxiously bright. The blazer was warm and soft, though it was made from quite a stiff fabric.
On the other hand, I wasn't quite sure if the colour combination was a good one. Navy blue and mustard was a bold choice already, but mixed with purple hair and grey eyes? It made a statement, that was for sure.
Also, I still didn't have shoes. Or, I realised, as I peered closer, a hairbrush.
"Hey, Caleb," I called, and the man hurried over.
"Sup, Lee?"
"You wouldn't have a hairbrush by any chance, would you?"
"Ah, no, sorry. I don't need to brush my hair."
Now successfully distracted, I turned to him. "You don't?"
"Nope. Watch this."
A scowl of concentration came over his face and the smoke rising from his hair increased in intensity until, suddenly, his whole head burst into flames. I yelped and staggered back from the intense heat, but it vanished quickly. The room was silent, every pair of eyes in the place fixed on Caleb. He grinned, then a look of consternation from the crowd made him glance up.
"Oops," he said, raising a hand. The flames burning merrily along the wooden rafters were sucked into his palm, and he tutted. "These human places are all so flammable."
"You're so flammable," I said excitedly. "How did you do that?"
"Ifrit, remember," he said with a smirk. "But that's beside the point. There are no tangles in fire, see? So when it turns back to hair..." He pointed to his head. "Smooth as silk."
I ran my fingers through his hair, marvelling at how soft it was.
"Wow," I breathed. "That's awesome."
"Um," Felix pointed out. "Is that safe? The rafters look a bit... charred."
I glanced up. The rafters looked more than a bit charred, actually. In fact, they looked quite fragile. I could hear the wood groaning a little under the strain.
"Yeah, that doesn't look good," I said, hurriedly moving out from under the wooden beam. "Any ideas?"
"I have plant magic," Felix piped up. "I could probably regrow most of it."
"It's fine, Felix," Caleb snapped. "The rafters won't break."
With perfect timing, a loud crack came from the ceiling and the room fell silent for a moment, before erupting into panic.
"Oh, for goodness sake," I heard someone shout over the crowd, and then an auburn blur darted up the wall and across the ceiling, materialising into Ryan. His feet were bare and transformed into clawed paws that dug into the wood to hold him up, and he somehow sank his clawed fingers into the wood and dragged the beam back together.
"Well?" he barked down to us. "Come on, weird boy. You said you have nature magic, didn't you?"
"Right," Felix said, unfazed. He raised his arms, muttering under his breath, and the wooden beams slowly began to sprout leaves. The two halves began to grow towards each other, branches sprouting and tangling together until they were so intertwined that they couldn't break apart. The panic began to die down, and Ryan dislodged his feet and dangled for a moment before dropping to the floor.
And then everyone went back to normal. I stood there for a moment, blinking.
"What just happened?"
Caleb turned back to me from where he was adjusting his tie. "Hm?"
Ryan strolled up to the mirror, shrugging the jacket over his shoulders and grimacing as the seams stretched.
"Ryan!" I exclaimed. "That was so cool!"
I grabbed his hands, pulling him in closer. "How did you do that?! I didn't know wolverines could climb like that!"
He blushed a little at my praise. "Well, we're not arboreal, but we can climb trees in the same way as bears."
"Well, it was arboreawesome!"
I suddenly realised I'd leaned in in my enthusiasm, and my face was a little too close to his own. It seemed that Ryan noticed this at the same time, and he stepped back, snatching his hands from me.
"Yeah, well, you've obviously just not seen much then. That was nothing."
"I've not seen much," I agreed. "But I've seen enough to know that wasn't as easy as you made it look. We might not have died from that-"
Though I certainly would have.
"-but people could have gotten injured. Thank you."
"Yeah, whatever," he muttered, turning his back and looping a tie around his neck. I was crestfallen for a moment that he wouldn't accept my praise, but noticed in the mirror that he was smiling slightly, and a blush rode high on his cheeks. Aw, he was just embarrassed.
I glanced back to the mirror and winced. Still no hairbrush, and after that little incident my hair seemed to have become one giant knot. Great. My hair never stayed in one style without a copious amount of product, so I never usually bothered. But I did at least have the decency to run a brush through it every morning, because if I didn't then it was a nightmare to deal with.
I grimaced at the mirror, then ran my fingers through it hopefully. To my surprise, the knot easily came loose. I finger combed it a little more, then stood back in shock. From the bird's nest it had been, my hair had somehow transformed into perfect, glossy waves. I ran a finger down my head to part it, and it settled into a perfect style. Well, great. Unexpected, but I wasn't complaining. New life for me apparently also means new life for my hair.
I turned to my new friends. "Are we ready to go?"
Caleb skipped up beside me. "Yep, Ryan's just tying his tie."
"Great!" I glanced around. "But I don't see Felix?"
"Eh," Caleb said dismissively, draping an arm over my shoulders and tugging me in close. "He's probably done."
"Well, we should wait, doncha think?"
Ryan stomped up, a dark glower on his face. His tie was tied, yes, but in what looked to be simple overhand knot.
"What are we waiting for?" he snapped. "Ragnarok? Let's get going."
"We're waiting for Felix," I admonished. "And while we do that, come here."
He didn't move, so I dragged him closer. "Come on, I don't bite."
"I do," he grumbled.
I dragged him down a little until I could comfortably reach his tie, and easily undid the knot.
An arm around my waist scooped me back.
"Come on, Lee," Caleb said, his voice a little bitter for some reason. "Ryan's fine."
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ryan grumped. You didn't need to do that."
"Nuh-uh." I shook my head. "I'm tying your tie."
They submitted to my determination, and Caleb slumped against me as I knotted Ryan's tie properly.
"There," I said happily, and Ryan hurriedly took a step back. "All done."
Caleb whined, resting his head on my shoulder and his full weight on my back.
"Can we go now?"
"Felix," I said sternly.
"I'm here!" piped up a small voice. I turned to him.
"Hi, Felix!"
"Ugh," groaned Ryan. "Do we really have to bring weird boy with us?"
I covered Felix's ears. "Don't listen to them."
I turned to see Caleb glowering at him. "Or look at them either, apparently."
Felix smiled weakly.
"Oh, stop it with the jokes, you two," I scolded. "You'll make him think you're serious."
"What if we are?" Caleb scowled. "He's far too touchy-feely with you."
I laughed. "Says you! Come on, let's go!"
I grabbed Felix by the hand and dragged him after me as I went for the door of the changing rooms, then stopped abruptly, crashing into Caleb who had been following closely behind.
"Wait! I forgot my stuff!"
I darted back to the bench and began to pile my things into my arms. Caleb sauntered up beside me.
"I can store it in the fire realm, if you want. I can stop it from getting burnt."
My mouth dropped open, and I dropped my things to the floor in shock.
"Dark storage! I have dark storage!"
I smacked myself in the forehead. "Idiot!"
A black portal opened beside me and I tossed my stuff in. 'Poisonous fungi and their uses' almost foiled me, as it was nearly too thick to fit, but I forced it in there.
"All sorted!" I beamed. "Let's go!"

<A/N: sorry it's so short, but I couldn't find a better place to cut it off without just resorting to boring filler!>