"I think I like you."

No, that sounded wrong. Like he wasn't sure of his own feelings.

"I like you."

Not quite.

"I really like you."

Er. No.

"I have feelings for you."

...he didn't even know where to start with that one.

Ren stood in front of his mirror, attempting to figure out what on earth he was doing. He had already tried practicing the ways in which he was going to confess a million times, yet nothing seemed right. In fact, they all seemed rather...well, pathetic. And Ren was not about to go up to said person with a pathetic confession.

"WHY IS THIS SO JACKING HARD?!"

He resisted the urge to grip his hair and yank it hard. Over the summer, he had let it grow out, so the golden brown locks waved over his shoulder and down to his waist in a thick sheet, a single braid woven in over his right shoulder. His freckles seemed to have both darkened and multiplied as well; a result of what, he didn't exactly know, but Ren was quite certain he had more of them than he had before.

Or maybe the stress of confessing to the person he realized he had probably liked all along was making him go crazy.

Ren was not quite certain how he could have been so absurdly dense. It had been right there in front of him the entire time. RIGHT THERE. And what had he seen?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Gabrian was right, he was a rock in comparison to density. He could still here the serpent's voice in his head, warm and familiar, yet filled with a clear exasperation that had basically said "Ren, you're an idiot."

He tried again.

"I think I might have developed some sort of attraction to you - "

No. Definitely no.

Ren jabbed at his own face in the mirror, poking the reflection with a scowl on his face. Why was it that he could face a room full of Tybalts, and he could not manage to figure out how to tell someone he liked them? How had he confessed to Alessa again?

...oh wait, he hadn't exactly. He'd just sort of asked her out spontaneously, and she'd accepted. After that, everything had just sort of fallen into place without either of them really saying much on the subject of I like you until several months together.

Which meant that right now, Ren was a total noob when it came to confessing.

Take seven hundred and forty-two.

"You're hot. Let's date."

He threw a shoe at the mirror. Luckily it didn't break it; the shoe merely bounced off and fell uselessly to the floor, and Ren sat on the rim of his bathtub, tugging at his hair absently.

What was it that Gabrian had said? Oh yeah - You'll know soon enough what I mean.

WELL, HE CERTAINLY KNEW NOW, JACKDAMMIT. The stupid nix had probably known all along how Ren had really felt, and had actually let him act like a complete dorkbrain the entire time. And, knowing Gabrian, had probably been quite amused while doing so.

Thanks, Gabrian. Thanks a whole heap.

With a sigh, Ren pushed himself up to his feet, rounding to face the mirror again. His own face, dark and freckled, looked back out at him with an expression of disgruntlement. He needed a plan. A good one, that would get him to where he needed to go.

Mind, why are you completely and totally blank?

It was all Gabrian's fault. The annoying Sir Serpent had made him think stupid things, not to mention he had probably been laughing at Ren the entire time, all the while waiting for him to realize what everyone else and their mom had probably realized ages ago.

Ren felt quite undeniably stupid.

"THIS IS POINTLESS."

He stalked out of the bathroom. Baroque - his newest acquisition - looked up at him and gave a small hoot of bemusement, tilting his head curiously as Ren stormed about the room, throwing clothes everywhere. On the dresser top, Rhys made a noise of irritation, and Ren rounded on him.

"You probably knew how I felt too!" he said, in a ridiculously accusatory tone.

Rhys' look clearly said are you stupid? Ren sighed.

"Fine, fine, I get it. I need to just. Calm down. Yeah."

Besides, getting himself all hyped up was plainly not doing him any good. Ren's chest already felt abnormally tight, and he was pacing nervously back and forth in front of the dresser, probably wearing down a path in the carpet with the force of his walking.

"I just need a plan," he muttered to himself, frowning. Rhys, obviously bored with the situation already, merely curled back up into a ball in his basket and went back to sleep. "A plan, a plan, a plan..."

Yes. A plan. Something concrete, that would make certain his feelings would get across while simultaneously not looking pathetic for not realizing them soon. Gabrian was already going to laugh at him; he did not want to give the nix any more reason to tease him mercilessly for being such a dope.

Ren sat down at his desk, fidgety and jittery as he stared down at the blank papers. Then, with a determined expression on his face, he grabbed a pen, pulled the papers towards him, and began to formulate his plan.