Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

Rudy was on his way to school, while wondering what Jessica was talking about when they were having breakfast.

'How are things going with your girlfriend?' Jessica had asked.

Rudy was baffled after hearing that since he was not supposed to have a girlfriend when he was in high school. He was left curious as to who his girlfriend was.

'It must be someone whom I am close with, right? And the only girl I was close with in high school is… Alice. Even though we are not as close as we were when we were kids, but that's growing up for you."

While walking, Rudy spotted Alice at a distance, so he sped up and casually greeted her, pretending as if they ran into each other.

'Is Alice my girlfriend?' Rudy wondered. 'Obviously, I can't ask her that. I even checked my phone. I checked the photos, texts, but I couldn't find anything that would help me know who my girlfriend is.'

"Did you complete your homework?" Alice asked Rudy.

"Yeah. What about you?"

"Obviously," Alice chuckled. "As expected from a topper," Rudy remarked.

"Say, are you free this weekend?" "Uhmm, you mean tomorrow or saturday?" Rudy asked to confirm.

"Any Day of the weekend."

Rudy gave a thought for a second and said, "I guess I don't really have any plans."

Alice smiled at Rudy and hesitantly asked, "Should we go to the waterpark in the neighboring city, then?" 'Is she… asking me on a date…? Does that mean Alice is truly my girlfriend? How did that happen? I mean, since I know the future, I am aware that Alice was in love with me even when we were in high school, but nothing ever happened between us. And then I moved out for university and began dating Elise. Alice… committed suicide and… oh, man… I feel so gut wrenching right now after recalling everything.

Something must have happened differently in this world that Alice and I started dating. Thinking about it… isn't it a good thing? Alice will be happy and she will never go through depression and suffer what she went through in the future. And if she is satisfied and happy with her life, she wouldn't commit suicide.

Just by going out with her… I can save her. I love Elise and she is the only girl I would… no…' Rudy lowered his gaze and bit his lips in anger. 'I don't deserve her. I cheated on her. But I just can't… let her go. I don't want her to belong to someone else. She is mine and mine alone…'

"Rudy?" Alice shook Rudy to get back his attention. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Sorry."

Alice squinted her eyes and asked, "Are you apologizing to me for rejecting my invitation? I understand why you don't want to hang out with other girls, especially in places like pools and parks, but before I asked you, I talked with your girlfriend and asked for her permission."

"...!" Shock was visible in Rudy's face.

"She said I can take you out if you are up for it. And we won't be alone. I plan to invite Eric and Janet, too," Alice informed. "Oh, and your girlfriend said she would drop by too if she managed to make some time."

'Wait, what?! Alice is not my girlfriend? What the fuck?! Then who is it? Alice doesn't seem to mind that I have a girlfriend and she doesn't seem… sad. I am dying to know who my girlfriend is. Is it someone I know? Well, it seems I will meet her tomorrow,' Rudy had never been so curious and impatient before.

"I didn't turn down your invitation. When are we going?" Rudy asked.

"I asked my father to get tickets, so we will see if we can get one for tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The waterpark is very popular and always packed, so it is hard to get tickets," Alice sighed.

"They don't have online tickets?" Rudy asked, as though that was an obvious solution.

"They do, but they keep 30% of the slots for offline tickets. So rather than buying online, there are higher chances of booking one offline."

They reached the school on time and went to their class, sitting on the seats and waiting for the class to start.

Rudy noticed Eric hadn't arrived yet, so he turned to Alice and asked, "Why is Eric not here, yet?"

"How am I supposed to know? He is your best friend, and he tells you everything."

'Wow, that was a blunt reply. The Alice I knew would never reply like that. I can't say I don't like it since Alice now seems more honest and confident, which is, of course, a good thing.'

"Didn't you say Eric and Janet would be coming too? So I assumed you must have talked with Eric."

"Oh, I haven't asked them yet. I was planning to ask them today."

"I see. But they might not be able to come since it's a sudden invitation. Unless, they are free, of course," Rudy smiled nervously.

"Perhaps."

'It's better if they don't come. I will have a golden chance of being alone with Rudy in the water park.' Rudy heard Alice's voice in the head and he immediately realized what was going on.

'I didn't get to confirm this earlier, but I think I have the power of telepathy. I randomly hear thoughts of people. More importantly, did I hear that right? Alice… wants to spend time with me… alone? I can't imagine her being assertive like this.

However, how can I be sure that I am truly hearing their thoughts? It could be my imagination or something. Unless I find a way to confirm that I am hearing their true thoughts, I can't trust this telepathy power.'

Rudy glanced at Alice and uttered, "The class hasn't started yet. Should we ask Janet?"

'I am also curious since when Janet got close with us in this worldline. Janet and I never became friends until university. And she actually confessed her feelings to me… which was wild. A classy and hot girl like Janet loving someone like me… someone she used to bully in high school, was unbelievable for me. But damn, I was kind of popular among girls in the university.'

"I will ask her during lunch break. Otherwise, someone in the class might hear us and then ask us if they could also join us. It would be rude to turn them down and they don't need to ask us if they want to come since they will be buying their own tickets, but still—"

"Yes, I get it. It gets awkward and uncomfortable," Rudy added with a smile. "Don't worry about it. I know you better than you think."

Soon, the homeroom teacher entered the class and took the attendance. The school hours finally started. One by one lectures ended and it was soon time for the lunch break.

Rudy and Alice had barely conversed even when they were sitting right next to each other.

Eric hadn't come to school, which was rare, at least for Rudy, but since he knew that Eleanor had gone overseas and no one was there to handle her stuff, Eric might be busy handling the same.