Ezra Phantoms: The Cursed Sword

8

The newly formed couple came back, and Hailee was holding a Styrofoam box that I assumed contained food inside. She gave me the box, and I opened it to see some peculiar food. It was rice with some sort of mysterious, dark, purple stew drizzled over it, and some fried squid alongside the rice. I gave her a look that told her everything I needed to say regarding how I felt about how the food looked without uttering a single word. 

"Trust me," she said. "It's really good. I promise."

"You sure?"

"Yesss. You can ask Alex too. He'll vouch for me."

"Why? Did you guys eat this together during a date or something?" I said, angrily. I did my best to hide my jealousy, despite how arduous it was. 

"Actually, yes," Alex replied. "How'd you guess?"

"I had a feeling," I retorted, with a slightly rude tone. I could tell that they picked up on it, and I instantly regretted letting my feelings get the best of me. Especially in front of my best friends that just got me some food.

"Is something wrong, Ezra-"

"No no everything's fine," I said, quickly. "Don't worry about me. You and Hailee should be spending quality time with each other."

"We want to hang out with you, though."

"I think I'm going to stay in bed a little longer, and try to get some more sleep. You guys go hang out without me." They both nodded after staring at me for a while, and started heading out of the room together.

"We'll be in the living room if you need anything, okay?" Hailee said. 

"Got it. Thank you guys for the food, and everything in general," I replied. I watched them as they walked away, and saw them bump into Phoebe when they opened the door. 

"Oh! Sorry I didn't you see there!" Alex said. 

"It's okay. I just got back, and thought I'd see how Ezra's doing." 

"We'll get out of your way," Hailee said. Her and Alex shifted their bodies so Phoebe could get through, and then headed downstairs. Phoebe came over to my bed, and sat at the side next to me. I noticed a blue, and white laser gun I never saw her with before, was holstered on the waist of her pants. 

"So, you feeling any better?" she asked, with a comforting tone in her voice that I felt like could heal my injuries on its own.

"Yerh I arm," I said, with my mouth full of squid. To my surprise, the food, apart from it's weird appearance, actually tasted pretty good. "I thong I'm goona tru toh gert sum moar reest tho-"

"I can't tell what you're saying while you're wolfing down squid," she said, laughing at my attempt to talk while eating. I swallowed the delicious food, and tried speaking again.

"I said, I think I'm going to try to get some more rest though."

"Oh," she said. "I'll leave then so you can sleep." The moment I saw her get up from the bed, I knew I had to let out what I was feeling. I couldn't just hold it in forever. 

"Wait!" I said, tugging on the back of her shirt. "I lied. I'm not actually tired. I just...thought I wanted to be alone. But, I don't think I actually want to." She noticed how despondent I looked, and sat on the bed again. 

"Okay, what's wrong?" It took me a minute to get the courage to let everything out, but I somehow did. I told Phoebe about how I've had a crush on Hailee for so long, and how it was painful to see her with someone else. Even if that someone was one of my best friends. 

"What am I supposed to do now?" I asked her. "I want to support them, I really do. But...It's too painful."

"This might sound insensitive but, just give up."

"What do you mean? Like give up on her?"

"Yes," she said. "Just like you said, it's your job as their friends to support their relationship and to be there for them."

"I can't just give up on her-"

"Yes you can. You don't have a choice anyway. It's either you give up on her, or you continue to feel heartache every time you see those two being chummy together." Deep down, I knew she was right. I also knew that I'd rather do anything than admit she was right. 

"Look at it this way," she started. "If you give up on your unrequited love for Hailee, you'll be free, and will be able to find someone else."

"Well, you're someone else," I said, coyly.

"Nope. Never gonna happen."

"Why not? Don't you like me?"

"Yes, but not like that. Someone that isn't me is out there for you. Don't worry." 

"Yeah, I guess," I sighed. 

"You'll be fine," she said as she put a hand on my shoulder to comfort me. "Since you're not actually tired, want me to give you a tour of the city to cheer you up? I know you haven't seen it yet."

"I'd love to get a tour from you, but I still can't walk."

"I've got that covered," she said. "Be right back." She ran out of the room, and came back within seconds holding wooden crutches. 

"I bought these from some random guy outside who was selling a bunch of stuff they didn't need anymore. I meant to give them to you earlier, but I forgot."

"Wow. Glad he didn't need these anymore."

"Right? Well, these are yours now."

"Thanks Phoebe," I said, taking the crutches from her hands. 

"Ready for your tour now?"

"Yup! Let's go!"

With Phoebe's help, I limped down the stairs ready to see how the city looked in it's entirety. I only needed help until we got to the bottom. From there, I could just use my new crutches for the rest of the way. Just when I thought I was feeling slightly better about everything from the talk I had with Phoebe, I saw something happening on the couch that made my chest feel like I was getting stabbed by a million tiny knives. Hailee and Alex were making out passionately without a care in the world. Phoebe noticed that I was staring, and mouthed "are you okay" to me. I nodded, doing my best to stay strong. 

"You guys are taking 'loveseat' way too seriously," Phoebe said to the lovebirds. The two jumped as soon as they realized they weren't alone. 

"We thought you were going to be upstairs for some time," Alex said. 

"Clearly. Well, I'm going to give Ezra a tour of the city."

"I thought you said you were going to sleep," Hailee said to me.

"I-I changed my mind," I replied, scratching the back of my head nervously. Phoebe and I finally started heading for the door after that awkward conversation ended. 

"Don't do any dirty things on my couch!" Phoebe yelled before closing the door.

The moment we stepped outside, I had an instantaneous reaction, and was in awe. The city was a vast place filled with huge futuristic skyscrapers, holographic billboards, bustling streets, and people commuting everywhere you looked. It was like New York City if it was 2070.

"Ezra, welcome to New Roseland City."

Before I could get the chance to experience my tour of this beautiful advanced city, Phoebe and I saw a giant black spacecraft floating in the distance. 

"What is that?" I asked. I looked over to Phoebe, and for the first time, I saw what her face looked like when she was scared. She started spewing swears, and then told me to head back inside.

"Why? What's going on-"

Immediately, I was interrupted by large, purple blasts of energy coming from the spacecraft. "Oh, that's why."