This Clueless Hero

We continued to play duck duck goose for a while.

It was pretty fun.

At some point, Erin chose me when she was the goose. Although I tried my hardest to run, she beat me like she said she would.

Before we knew it, the moon was out.

Alyx sighed.

"Ah, we have to go to sleep now!"

Erin pouted.

"Just a little longer!"

Alyx held her forehead with one hand.

"No, it's far too late! How did I not even notice?"

Ned laughed.

"It's probably best to sleep a little earlier..."

It seemed like Ned had recalled his last experience of staying up late.

Alyx shrugged her shoulders.

"Besides, there's always tomorrow to look forward to."

Ned nodded.

"Haha, you're right."

Erin hummed with dissatisfaction.

"Ok..."

As for me... my mind was caught in a daze.

Tomorrow...

Wasn't that when it would start snowing?

Wait, no. It was today.

...But there wasn't any snow in the sky.

My knuckle rubbed against my temple.

What was happening?

What was I missing?

Suddenly, I recalled one of my past lives. 

...It was the one where I tried to kill myself.

At that time, it started snowing a day late. I didn't put too much thought into it, but that fact was simply... too strange. From my past experiences, everything would be the same, down to the smallest detail.

At least for now, the only thing that would cause any changes would be my own actions. Yet, how could my actions possibly be influential enough to change the weather?

...What if there was a way to delay the winter until the year ended?

"Jay?"

Ned called out to me.

My eyes blinked before my head turned towards him.

"Ah, yes?"

Ned laughed.

"Are you going to go to bed?"

My hand scratched the back of my head.

"Right, right. Thanks for reminding me."

It was only now that I realized Ned was halfway down the hall while Alyx and Erin had already left.

I hurriedly ran forth, catching up with Ned. And with that, the two of us started walking to our rooms.

While my lungs were still panting for air, I made out a question.

"Say... do you know anything... about changing the weather?"

Ned blinked a few times. Then he laughed awkwardly.

"That's... a strange thing to wonder about."

My hand scratched the back of my head.

"I guess... still, do you know anything about it?"

Ned shifted his eyes away before scratching his cheek.

"...No, not really."

A sigh escaped me.

"Ah, really? That's a pity."

Ned looked at the ground, while his arms were pressed against his sides.

"Yeah..."

...Ned seemed to be acting a little strange. His tone had shifted drastically while he kept touching himself awkwardly.

For some reason, this felt especially weird to me. As for why, I couldn't tell you.

In the end, the two of us reached our rooms.

My hand waved in the air.

"Goodnight, Ned."

Ned turned to me but did not make eye contact. He hurriedly nodded.

"Ah, night."

Ned proceeded to slip behind the door, leaving me to my own devices.

My hand scratched the back of my head. For a few seconds, I was just standing there, blinking awkwardly. Then... my hand pushed open the door and went inside.

It was only when my foot set into the room did I realize what made Ned's behavior so strange. My mind delved into my memories, one of the times I was talking with Erin.

She had her index finger pointed to the ceiling and a serious look on her face.

'There are various cues you can pick up that are usually telltale signs.'

Erin cleared her throat playfully.

"There are the easiest signs of the novice liar. These people have trouble maintaining eye contact, they may play with their hair or scratch themselves. Not to mention peculiar body posture, such as being hunched over."

When my mind connected that memory to the actions Ned did, they matched like pieces of a puzzle.

...Ned was lying?

To lie about the change of weather seemed rather random. Why would someone even need to lie about something like that in the first place?

Hmm...

Ah, my mind is too muddled for this. Sleep comes first, before anything.

With that thought in mind, my body plopped onto the bed.

...

The next thing I knew, it was morning.

After quickly freshening up, my hand was placed on the door handle of my room.

But I didn't push it open.

My hand let go.

I walked over to the curtains and pushed them aside. A sunny village was revealed before me.

Without a single snowflake in the air.

My thumb and forefinger rubbed against my chin.

"The weather is still the same..."

If this was indirectly caused by my actions, there must've been something similar I did in this life and that life when I... attempted suicide.

But as my mind crossed these events over each other, there wasn't anything that particularly stood out. Especially not anything that could drastically shift the weather.

I decided to make my way out of the room as my mind continued filtering through information.

My hand pushed open the door and coincidentally enough, Ned was also leaving his room.

Ned flashed a smile.

"Oh, hey Jay!"

I nodded, still half lost in thought.

"Hey, Ned."

That was when it struck me.

The similarities in those two lives...

What set them apart from the rest of my lives was the fact I talked to Ned.

Although this seemed to be like a massive stretch, my mind recalled the fact Ned began lying when I asked him about changing the weather.

Things just... seemed to connect.

But how could Ned possibly be the reason for the shift in weather? Did he inherit some kind of magical power that let him control the skies?

Things still didn't make perfect sense.

"Jay?"

Ned was waving a hand in front of my face.

My eyes blinked a few times.

"Oh, sorry."

Ned laughed.

"You space out a lot. What are you, a philosopher?"

A smile emerged on my face.

"Haha, maybe. Are you only now realizing my eloquence?"

Ned rolled his eyes.

"Why yes, sire. Your impeccable intellect just bleeds through your skin."

A laugh escaped me.

"So are you getting ready to make some food?"

Ned nodded

"Yeah, right after Alyx and Erin get up too."

I decided to not question Ned about my recent theories. I figured the topic would be too sensitive since it was essentially me suspecting him for causing this shift in weather.

That he caused all of this misery.

Although Ned was suspicious in my eyes, I didn't believe that he would do something like this. After all, he was such a caring person.

If it really was him, that would cause a huge wave of discontinuity in my mind. But I refused to believe that.

Ned walked over to Alyx's door and proceeded to knock on it.

After a few seconds, the door was opened.

Alyx appeared from behind. It looked like she already freshened up. She brushed aside her hair and waved.

"Hey. Start of a new day, it seems."

Ned smirked.

"Well, of course! Is Erin there with you?"

Alyx shook her head.

"Ah, she's in her own room right now. I imagine she has already woken up."

Alyx stepped out of her room to go knock on Erin's door. She let out a few light raps against the wooden door.

We waited for a few moments.

...There was no response.

Alyx furrowed her brows and knocked a little louder.

...There was still no response.

Ned raised an eyebrow.

"Is she still sleeping?"

Alyx sighed.

"This girl didn't stay up all night, did she?"

Ned sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

"That... would be bad. It doesn't feel good to lose so much sleep."

My hand scratched the back of my head.

"Well... what if we yelled? That would wake her up, right? It worked for Ned last time."

Alyx's face twitched.

"That..."

Ned's eyebrow twitched. He seemed to be recalling his last miserable experience of Erin shouting until he woke up.

"Well... it's only fair, right?"

A cheeky smile appeared on Ned's face.

Alyx opened her mouth but closed it soon after. She gave me an awkward look, which I returned.

The two of us plugged our ears.

Then... Ned began shouting.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

Ned basically did it as loud as Erin shouted last time.

Tripping and stumbling sounds came from the room before the door swiftly opened.

Erin appeared. Her hair was frizzy, and bags were under her eyes.

"Ah... hello!"

Ned waved.

"Hey!"

He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.

"Say... you didn't stay up all night, did you?"

Erin smiled sheepishly.

"Ehehe... maybe a little."

Alyx furrowed her brows.

"...But I told you to go to sleep early!"

Erin tilted her head to the side.

"I was too excited about tomorrow!"

Alyx smiled bitterly.

"Well, tomorrow has become today.. Let's go."