NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23: Awkward Position
Arthur glanced at the total coins he had on his interface, his grin widening so much it almost hurt his cheeks.
[Coins:] Gold: 2 | Silver: 21 | Bronze: 3
"This is what I mean by grinding!" he exclaimed, clenching his fists triumphantly. "I just made $22,103 in less than a day!" The excitement bubbled up inside him, and he almost leapt into the air, his entire body tingling with exhilaration.
He turned to Neko, who sat lazily on the edge of the stall, watching him with half-lidded eyes. "I'll be back later," Arthur said. "I need to log out."
Neko blinked once, unimpressed, and went back to ignoring him.
Arthur didn't care. He quickly logged out, not bothering to deal with her.
**
In the toilet…
Arthur froze as Charlotte, still half-asleep, was on the toilet seat with her head down.
Her head slowly moved up as her big eyes blinked at him, barely comprehending his presence.
For a brief moment, she seemed to stare right through him, her expression soft but confused.
Arthur's heart pounded as the awkward scenario unfolded.
'No way… there is no way this is actually happening right now.'
Charlotte's hand moved slightly as if she was about to use sign language to say something, but she stopped, clearly too tired to do so. Instead, her brows furrowed faintly, as though questioning his presence with her eyes alone.
Arthur felt his face heat up, his thoughts spiraling. "I—uh—," he stammered, his voice low.
"I'm sorry." He muttered and immediately turned his head away and logged back into the game, vanishing from the toilet leaving Charlotte speechless as she shook her head.
Arthur reappeared in the game world.
He leaned against a tree in the player village. His face was still burning red as he buried it in his hands.
"What the hell was that?" he groaned, his voice muffled. "Out of all the possible moments, why now? What kind of cosmic joke is this?"
He paced around in a small circle as his thoughts raced.
'Did she even realize what happened? he wondered. She was so out of it… maybe she'll think it was just a weird dream.'The thought gave him a sliver of hope, though it didn't erase the sheer awkwardness of the meeting.
Arthur sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. After pacing for ten minutes, he finally mustered up the courage to return back to the toilet.
'5 minutes should be enough for her to finish, she was inside before i appeared after all.'
'Okay, calm down. Just check if the coast is clear first. Simple.'
Teleporting back to the hospital, Arthur cracked open his eyes to check the bathroom.
It was empty.
He exhaled in relief. "Alright, she's gone," he muttered. 'Time to get out of here before something else happens.'
Arthur groaned, rubbing his temples. "Okay, okay, calm down. Just leave and pretend like nothing happened, she was dreaming, yup. She definitely was dreaming,"
Taking a deep breath, he opened the bathroom door just a crack and peeked out. Charlotte was back in her hospital bed, her back turned to him as she faced the window. She appeared to be resting quietly, her small frame still.
"Perfect," Arthur whispered. He crept out of the bathroom, moving as silently as possible. His steps were as slow as a snail, each one feeling like it took an eternity.
He kept his eyes on Charlotte, holding his breath as he neared the door.
'Damn it, I wasn't this sneaky in the boss room.'
Finally, he slipped out and gently closed the room door behind him. Once in the hallway, he let out a huge sigh of relief, leaning against the wall. "Okay, phase one complete," he muttered to himself, his heart still racing.
After collecting himself, Arthur took a deep breath and straightened his posture.
He knocked on the door to Charlotte's room acting as if he just arrived there now.
He waited a few seconds before stepping in, putting on his best casual smile.
"Hey, Charlotte," he said, his voice light and cheerful. "I just got here. How are you feeling?"
Charlotte turned in her bed and look at him with a soft expression.
Arthur stood there awkwardly for a moment before finally relaxing.
'She didn't say anything about it… maybe she really thought it was a dream.'
He sighed inwardly.
His thoughts were interrupted as her hands started moving.
Looking at the signs she was giving, Arthur's face paled lightly.
Charlotte : "Don't act like you didn't just peep on me, pervert."
Arthur froze in place, as all the possible responses he was going to give failed to render in his mind when he needed them the most.
"Uh. I don't know what you are talking about Charlotte, you were probably dreaming." He said acting nonchalantly, as his heartbeats accelerated.
Still, as he sat down in the chair by her bedside, a single thought burned in his mind.
"I will never, ever log out in a bathroom again."
Charlotte's hand once again moved, playing with Arthur's heart strings after every sign.
Charlotte: " i heard the door close, i know you tried to act as if you just arrived. Stop hiding it… it makes you more guilty."
"How is that possible, it must've been a nurse. I just arrived Charlotte, you must be sleepy. I think you should sleep a bit more, i will leave you to it," He chuckled nervously, getting up from his chair.
'Deny, deny and once again deny. No matter how shameless it sounds, its not as shameless as the accusation.' Arthur thought.
Charlotte's hand grabbed his as he got up.
"Sit down," She said using sign language.
"Bu-" Arthur tried respond, but he was quickly shut down.
"I was sleepy, i think I was daydreaming."
Although she said that to him, she didn't believe it one bit.
She said that because she realised that she teased him to his limit, any more and Arthur might explode from embarrassment.