Chapter Twenty–Seven
“So, do you think Thanos was right?”
“Huh?”
“In wiping out half of all life on earth, do you think his actions were justified?”
“Chris, you can’t keep asking me hypothetical questions like this,” I said. “We’re supposed to be having a fun evening”
“We are,” he chuckled, placing his hand on my knee gently before quickly pulling it away. “I just want to get an idea of how your mind works.”
We were sitting on a bench in Hyde Park, eating our burritos and enjoying the rare warmth that spring brought. After weeks of rainfall, the sun was finally out, and it felt nice to just sit there and allow the sunlight to heat us up.
“Well,” I said, “I don’t exactly agree with his methods. But in a way, he was right. What I would have liked to see from him would be a smarter choice, like choosing to rid the universe of evil entirely. If he had done that, then he would have ensured that overpopulation was fixed while also bringing about the peace that he thought he would achieve.”
For a moment, Chris leaned back and stared at me like I’d spoken in a different language. His mouth was hanging open, and he looked so shocked by what I’d just said. I actually started to feel self–conscious with the way he was staring at me, and I had to look away. Even though it had been three days since I met him, there were still slight moments of awkwardness where I was reminded that we were still strangers.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “Did I say something wrong?”
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“No, that was actually really smart,” he said. “I just never thought about it that way.”
“I guess I’m smarter than you,” I chuckled, which caused him to throw his head back in laughter. In the brief time I’d known him, I had come to realise that Chris laughed very easily. There was a sort of boyish, cheerful charm. about him which was so nice to be around. He was the kind of guy that you could just sit with and have a very long and comfortable conversation with.
The only problem was that I wasn’t attracted to him.
Somewhere along the line, I just started to see him as a friend, or a close companion that I could share my secrets with. It was just easier this way. And given how much time we’d spent together in the last few days, you would think it would change my mind about how I saw him. But unfortunately, he was well and truly in the friend zone. And there was nothing I could do about it.
I felt bad for not saying this to him, because I knew he liked me and he was actually hoping for our relationship to become something more serious. But no matter how hard I tried to convince myself, I just couldn’t do it.
“When are you leaving for Paris?” he asked.
“In a few days,” I replied. “I’m really looking forward to
