7TH NOVEMBER.
ORION ACADEMY:
APHRODITE AND YUMI'S ROOM.

A LOUD BUZZING echoed somewhere near Yumi's ears. She grabbed a pillow and buried herself underneath it. She heard several 'sorry' and 'it won't happen again' coming from the other side of the room. She pressed her eyes shut--ignoring her dry throat and exploding head.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Her mind began to cloud with events of last night. From going to the bar to watching the bartender flirt with Aphrodite--she only had flashes of the night but there was still one memory that was excruciatingly persistent and very raw. Yumi kissed her. She had kissed the only person she managed to be friends with who had no toxic behaviour.

You ruined it. You ruin everything around you. Yumi blamed herself. She swallowed the groan down her rough throat.

When she felt Aphrodite's lips, something got into her. All the feelings flooded back in and she couldn't stop herself. But her heart stopped when Aphrodite pushed herself away. Yet, she wanted to kiss her again. Yumi stormed towards the bar stand and chugged down an entire bottle of whatever alcohol she could find. She was losing her mind and didn't pay attention to what she was doing. Everything was loud. Everything was happening too fast. She traced Aphrodite footsteps upstairs.

Aphrodite pulled herself away from Yumi after their second kiss. But Yumi had pulled her again. The taste of Aphrodite's skin was still warm against her lip. That's all she remembered. She doesn't know what happened after that--how they got back into the academy or how she ended up on her bed under her soft blankets.

All she knew was that Aphrodite was either going to be hers or Yumi was going to lose her forever.

Drum. Drum. Drum.

Yumi wasn't ready to face Aphrodite or the day yet, so she pretended to be asleep. Her roommate was shuffling through her closet and whispering things to herself when the door of their room opened.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi." Him. It's him. "Just wanted to check up on you...both," Lex mumbled. "Did you take the medicines I put on the desk for you?"

"Yeah, yes. I did." Yumi felt Aphrodite smile. "And I...I am sorry. I don't remember much about last night."

"It's okay," he said quietly.

They've had their moments when Aphrodite wasn't with Yumi. They've shared conversations that Yumi doesn't know of. Although only one of them remembers, they've met before Aphrodite even knew Yumi existed. There's something between them that Yumi couldn't touch.

Poor Yumi.

"You don't look like you had more than three drinks last night," Lex remarked. "That's... surprising."

"What can I say?" She chuckled. "I always look good." No one spoke for a minute or two. "But my head is spinning like crazy. I don't remember anything."

"Nothing?"

"Not nothing per se. I remember getting drunk, dancing with you, Karan and that handsome fella, West with that weird look on his face as he stared into nothingness. Oh, and--"

Yumi's heart skipped a beat.

"Joshua with a girl. Gotta ask who she is and what he was doing there."

She doesn't remember.

"That's it?"

She doesn't remember.

"Yeah. Why? Am I supposed to?"

She doesn't remember.

"Ah, no."

Yumi wanted to see how close they were standing, whether they were going to kiss or if they were holding hands. But she didn't. Even thinking about Lex and Aphrodite making out made her stomach sick. She doesn't remember about the kiss. She doesn't feel anything for Yumi. Her eyes teared up but she remained still and tried to interpret the silence between them. Does Aphrodite want to kiss him? If she ever remembered, would Aphrodite regret kissing Yumi back? A numerous question flashed in front of her as she tried to quieten the voice down. She had pledged not to drink again. And now she regretted every sip of alcohol she took last night.

"I...I'll see you later," Lex said.

"Hey, um. Lex..." Aphrodite called out. "That night when I asked you to not..."

"Leave it. It's history. We don't have to talk about it at all. Nothing happened, as far as I'm concerned. We're friends, right?"

What had happened between them? Yumi thought.

"And Aphrodite," he paused. Yumi doesn't remember him calling him out before and somehow it sounded different. "Remind me to not take responsibility for being sober one next time. Because dragging two drunk girls through the hallways isn't how I picture my nights to be." He chuckled lightly.

"Aw, you helped us." She teased him. The tension that previously weighed them seems to have vanished away.

"Not going to do that again. You are extremely giggly while Yumi is loud when drunk. It was so difficult to get here without being caught."

"Aw, you helped us," she teased again.

"Only because West needed my help in helping you."

"Aw, you helped us."

Yumi pictured him rolling his eyes. "You're impossible," Lex said but she was sure he didn't mean it. "Some guy from our academy actually found the two of you when West and I couldn't find you."

"Huh, lemme guess. Honey blond hair, lean built and very smiley face?" Aphrodite guessed.

"Uh-huh. You know him?"

"Yeah. We sit together when you are at practice."

"Okay."

Silence.

And then his footsteps faded away. Aphrodite sighed and rushed into the bathroom and took a shower. Once she was ready and out of their room, Yumi sat up and groaned.

She doesn't remember

header image by S L

for non-Indian readers: Karan is pronounced as Kuh-run and not...idk other's would pronounce it

anyway, what's your comfort movie?

mine is The Princess Switch because it's just SO ADORABLE and Now You See Me because HAVE YOU SEEN IT?! I also watch Barbie movies sometimes lol when I am feelin ✨nostalgic✨

until next time!

{ don't forget to vote and comment! }