Mission Completed

A few weeks passed, and Kane’s daily life consisted of practicing his guitar, working, and spending time with Stacey. Kane was in his bedroom sitting on the bed practicing his guitar while Stacey, who had no school this day, lay on the bed behind him on her stomach, reading a book. She had been listening to Kane practice on and off for the past few weeks, and she had to admit, Kane was a fast learner. He was slowly progressing to the point that he could even play parts of songs. 

Kane was fully engrossed in learning the guitar that he did not even notice the girl behind him snuggling up closer to him and staring at his back. Kane was one who adapted quickly to things and had long gotten used to Stacey’s presence around him. 

Kane strummed the strings of his guitar one last time to finish his session when a notification suddenly popped up in front of him.

[Mission Cleared]
[The mission: Learn How To Play The Guitar]
[Has been cleared!]
[Reward]:  3 Status Points, 2 skill Points

[New Skill Added: {Guitar (Lvl 1)}]

Kane’s lips curled up. He was very happy. He had finally got the guitar skill. Which meant he could easily progress in it now as long as he had the points. He leaned back only to feel something soft on his head. He turned to his left to see Stacey looking back at him with a playful smile. “Is my butt comfortable?”

“Mm…” Kane was already used to this girl’s teasing, so he would play along. He turned and laid his cheek on her butt and even patted it a few times as if it was a pillow, causing Stacey to blush.

“Brother!” Stacey’s face turned red. She never thought she would be the one being teased!

“Haha!” Kane chuckled and sat up. Stacey glared at him, but her lips curled up into a small smile. She then got up herself and hugged Kane’s waist as she asked: “Done for today?”

“For now, with the guitar. I plan to go over the song I was writing before. I am hoping by the end of next month to have enough money for a computer powerful enough to do video editing on, a camera, and a mic. I want to start recording as soon as possible.” Kane knew he could not do much about the acoustics in his room, but he could at least get his voice out there.

“You will be singing today?” Stacey grew excited. She let go of his waist and threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly. “Can I listen?”

Kane sighed. He wondered if Stacey knew she was acting more like a girlfriend than a sister. Not that he minded. He felt that Stacey’s personality fit him well. They meshed together almost perfectly, neither bothering the other. While he did treat Stacey as his little sister, he was not blind to her feelings at all. Her skinship had become more and more bolder by the day, and now she was even resting her chin on his head while hugging him. 

He also did not reject her advances either. He did not mind them since he had actually come to like Stacey as well. But he did not want to treat her like other girls. He had always just been upfront and asked a girl out without much thought. Stacey was different. He wanted their feelings to be nurtured. As they grew closer and closer, he felt things would slowly work out.

Luckily for Kane, Stacey was of the same mind. She was enjoying this moment where they were in a kind of limbo. Neither was pushing for anything more than the current status quo. To her, it felt good and relaxing. They could get used to each other’s habits without worrying about all the other stuff.

Kane patted Stacey’s arm and smiled. “Yep! To be honest, I was going to ask if you could listen. But I want you to be honest with me. I want you to tell me if something sounds good or does not. Like if my singing is off-key or if a line or phrase does not fit. I need honest answers.”

“Okay! I promise not to hold back!” Stacey let go of Kane and hopped off the bed, and stood in front of him with her hands on her waist. She was wearing jeans and a black hoodie that went down past her knees. With the overly large sleeves, she looked quite cute. She was like a small animal that needed to be picked up and cared for.

Kane chuckled and said: “Then I will be counting on you, my honest little fairy.” 

    “Hehe!” Stacey smiled. She walked over to bed and sat down once more, leaning her head on Kane’s shoulder. “I hope you succeed in your dreams. I will support you with everything I have.”

“Thanks.” Kane reached up and patted Stacey’s head. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation. 

“But before I get into music writing, let’s go out and get a snack. I need some sugar for my brain. There is a pastry shop not too far. Since you are here today, we can go there, and I will treat you to something good.” Kane smiled as she stood up, turned around, and offered his hand to Stacey. Stacey smiled and took his hand as if it was the natural thing to do.

The two walked out of the house hand in hand. When Kane’s grandmother saw this, she smiled. She did not want her grandson to be alone. And she really liked Stacey. She was very kind and always helped out when she was here.

Of course, while there were people who were happy that the two were progressing, there was one who still thought Kane was trying to take advantage of her friend. Jackie had been hanging out in front of the building since early this morning. She was wondering what Kane was doing to her best friend.

When she saw Kane leaving the building, she quickly hid behind a bush. She leaned against it, looking at Kane, but she quickly realized something was wrong. Behind Kane, with her hand in his, was Stacey, who had a bright smile on her face. She almost fell into the bush when she saw that. She quickly left the bush and ran over to them. “Stacey!