Ken let out a sigh of relief and followed behind him a moment later. It seemed he had thought badly of Steve, despite what he had said earlier, but it turned out that he was helping in his own way.
The two continued on their run for another 30 minutes before finding a place to stretch.
"So? What did the note say?" Ken asked, unable to hold his curiosity any longer.
Steve grinned, "Just a poem I came up with…"
"Which was?"
Steve turned to him with his eyes misted over,
"My Dear Rose,
A bouquet of beauty, soft and true,
Yet pales beside the charm of you.
With roses soft, I dream of this—
Your tender lips, a stolen kiss.
-Brian"
Ken shuddered unconsciously. Being serenaded by Steve was something that his body had an instinctive negative reaction to. "Dude, don't ever do that again…"
"What? You asked what I wrote." Steve said, shrugging.
"Since when did you learn to write poems?"
"Ahem… Well since you asked, I have bee—"
"You found it on the internet, didn't you." Ken interrupted him, wanting to spare himself from the crap that his friend was about to spout.
Steve gave him a look, but then grinned, "Of course. You think I've got enough time up my sleeve to start studying poetry?"
"Figures…"
The two finished their stretches and made their way back to the hotel, chatting away.
"I wonder how he will go when we have to leave tomorrow?' Steve said.
"Who knows, hopefully they'll keep in touch."
As they arrived at the hotel, there was someone waiting out the front for them. Brian who they had seen in the cafe around half an hour ago was sitting on the ground, looking dazed.
He didn't seem to notice Ken and Steve who approached.
"Hey lover boy!" Steve said with a grin.
Brian turned to him, but his reaction wasn't what they expected. He looked sad, almost like a lost puppy.
"What happened man? Things were looking pretty good a while back." Ken asked with concern.
Brian got to his feet and sighed, "We decided that it was not a good idea to pursue a relationship together."
"Eh?" Steve blinked a few times in confusion, "But didn't she kiss you? I don't understand."
"I don't think we were compatible. When I mentioned marriage, she began to pull away. It was then that I knew that it wasn't meant to be." He said with an even deeper sigh.
"HUH!? You mentioned marriage? Wasn't this only your second date?" Both Ken and Steve were flabbergasted. Just what kind of 18 year old would bring up such a thing even before being in a relationship?
Brian frowned, "Why wouldn't I bring it up? Isn't the purpose of a relationship to get married? If the expectations aren't set out from the beginning, won't we just waste each others time?"
To this, Ken had no response. Brian was not really wrong, but he was about as subtle as a brick to the face. Of course he would scare off a girl by speaking of marriage in the first few days of meeting her.
"Brian, my dear friend… Women are magical creatures and are easily frightened. By bringing up marriage so early, you are just going to scare them off. You need to ease into such things in the future." Steve said, placing his arm around the guys shoulder.
However, Brian brushed him off, "Thank you for your concern, but this is non negotiable. I won't compromise my beliefs for any woman."
Both Ken and Steve were slightly taken aback, but Ken respected his stance. "You're right Brian. You will eventually find someone who will be of the same opinion as you. Maybe next time be a bit more subtle though… Ask them if they see themselves getting married in the future first."
"Alright… Thanks guys." Brian replied, "I take it you're done working out for the day?"
"Why? You wanna sweat out your tears?" Steve asked with a grin.
"OOOOF"
Brian sent a swift elbow to Steve's stomach, sending the air out of his lungs and forcing him to his knees. It was at this moment that Ken knew things had returned to normal.
He let out a laugh, "There should be a gym in the hotel, let's go do some weights since we've got time."
"Sounds good to me!" Brian chirped. The two walked into the hotel, leaving Steve on the ground, gasping for breath.
The team stayed in Blacksburg for the night and made their way to the airport the next morning in order to fly back to campus. Brian had returned to his usual self, and he and Steve continued to fight like siblings, much to Ken's dismay.
With the Regionals wrapping up across the country, the Bobcats soon found out their next opponent. The Florida Crocs had defeated the University of Oklahoma and would be hosting the Super Regionals at their home field at Condron Ballpark.
Once Ken heard the news that he would be facing Leo Cameron once more, his whole body burned with determination. They would have 3 games to go up against each other before the guy entered the big leagues.
This was not an opportunity that he would miss, not for anything. So in the 3 days before they were set to go to Florida, he was laser focused.
For the first time in what felt like years, Ken decided to open up the System Shop. Knowing Leo's stats, there was no way that he would hold back whatever advantage he could get.
#SYSTEM SHOP
>Lottery Tickets (Out of Stock)
>Elixirs
>Skills
He opened up the elixirs menu, but was instantly disappointed. The highest elixirs they had was the SSS-grade, and even then it cost 150,000 major points.
The only remaining option was to check out the skills menu, but he did not have any high expectations. Chances are he would only get better options after upgrading the system once more.
However, his eyes lit up as he saw a certain skill.