𝗪𝗥𝗢𝗡𝗚 𝗡𝗨𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥, 𝐜. 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐨

⁰²²

chris💞
if you insist, i'll be over in a bit :)

reens💞
i'll be waiting 🤞

♯ irl 🍒

chris arrived twenty or so minutes after their conversation and rena welcomed him eagerly. both of them would be lying if they said they were anything but scared when it came to hanging out as just the two of them, given what happened last time. despite their fear though, they knew they had to do it sooner or later before the time apart only made matters worse.

they hugged minimally before chris stepped into the house, both of them noting the difference in time in contrast to normal but deciding to act as though they never. they walked to the living room that looked cleaner than ever, the way chris had realised it always did through rena's youtube videos and through face time calls. cleaning was always something rena found therapeutic and when her head was scrambled and she couldn't seem to think straight, it eased the jumble of thoughts and made her feel much calmer than mere moments prior.

"oh my god you're doing a diamond painting, nick used to love those," chris commented as he spotted the equipment on the living room floor and the painting in the centre.

his eyes glanced over the picture; it was a cottage in various shades of brown and hints of cream and nude that was surrounded by hedges and roses of pink and white. upon further inspection, he took in the field like front porch that had daisies scattered on the ground. rena hadn't completed anymore than half of the painting but he could easily make out the different items and shapes included.

"i got bored and i remembered i had a bunch of unfinished ones from my phase last year," she explained, moving to sit in front of her current work in progress and watching as chris joined her, sitting right beside her with his eyes still raking over the content before the pair of them.

"i want to help finish it," he said after a moment, smiling at rena and watching as she mirrored his gesture instantly, looking so incredibly beautiful.

"sorry i don't let randoms help," she sighed jokingly, laughing as his smile dropped but only seemed to return a mere few seconds after as he was unable to keep up his false frustration.

"i will literally bless this painting," he deadpanned, void of any emotion which made rena laugh yet again.

it seemed that anything chris did made her laugh, whether it was something incredibly funny or something minimally funny or even something that wasn't intended to be funny. being around him just lifted her mood and she would find even the smallest conversation amusing because it was with chris whom she was conversing. he radiated pure energy that she couldn't quite put her finger on and being in his company made her elated at all times.

"have you ever even done this before?" she asked as she placed some diamonds down, the image coming to life even more through the bead-like circles.

chris shook his head a little as he spoke, "not really but i mean how hard can it be? it's just putting some diamonds on the right number."

rena nodded along with his words because to be frank, he was right. the task was by no means difficult, it was just a matter of matching the diamond to its rightful place and when chris watched nick or rena do it, it seemed simple enough. he waited for her to place the stick down before picking it up and attaching a few green diamonds to the tip. he placed them down on the number 4 and smiled to himself before turning to face rena and smiling at her.

"yo i made it better already," he teased and she shook her head fondly at the pure excitement chris held within his eyes and in his tone of voice.

"you'd think you finished the whole thing by how excited you are," rena voiced as she put a few more diamonds on the painting.

"i basically did, we've done like half of it," he shrugged and she pulled a face at him once the words left his mouth.

"absolutely not, i did half way before you even got here," she shut him down instantly and he scoffed dramatically.

"you're just using me to finish this, what a fake friend," he huffed, moving away from the centre of the room with a straight face though his eyes held an undeniable glint in them.

"okay true but you don't have to call me out," she raised her hands in mock surrender whilst he grabbed one of the cushions from the nearby couch and threw it at her.

she picked it up quickly, throwing it back at him and laughing as he cowered under the table near the corner, covering his face with giggles spilling out of him. as his eyes were still covered, rena picked up a few more pillows and hid them behind her back.

he came out from under the table with a sheepish smile that contorted into a look with narrowed eyes when he noticed rena was clearly attempting to hold in her laughter, "why are you trying not to laugh? you look like a creepy doll."

rena laughed at his description but rather than telling him why she was doing as such, she showed him instead. poor, unsuspecting chris was pelted with three pillows consecutively and the mere pace in which he was made avoiding the impact practically impossible.

he yelled loudly, exaggerating the pain he felt and clutching all the pillows rapidly before an idea formed in his head at the sight, "first of all fuck you but second of all, we should make a pillow fort."

rena beamed at his words, the idea thrilling her beyond belief seeing as she used to love building forts when she was younger and just adored staying in them for the day. she found a sense of comfort in the warm confinement away from everyone else and due to how cosy it always was. her mind immediately travelled to the many times she had built forts with her dad and she smiled at the memories, making chris smile despite not knowing what she was smiling about.

"i would love to make a fort, that used to be my favourite thing to do," she agreed and that was that.

they began making the fort, gathering blankets from rena's room and additional pillows too. some of the dining table stools had been used as pillars in each corner to hold the structure in shape and pillows had been tossed inside. the fort ended up much more spacious than they had imagined at the start and once they finished making it, they'd be lying if they said they weren't proud of their creation.

"we could so do this for a living like we would be millionaires," rena voiced as she glanced at the fort that indeed looked much better than expected.

"stop acting like you weren't just standing there and looking pretty whilst i did all the handy work," chris retorted and she whipped her head to face him with a scowl, hiding the blush that threatened to ensnare her face at the indirect compliment that she was sure he had not even meant in that way.

"stop talking about yourself chris, it's creepy," rena shuddered, faking terror before she made her way inside the small space.

she sat in the fort and chris followed behind her, sitting beside her and swinging his arm over her shoulder the way he always did. there they sat for a while, speaking about all that they could think of and laughing until they couldn't breathe. they even watched a few videos together, commenting every now and then about their thoughts and disagreeing or agreeing with one another. all either of them could think about was how thankful they were for the lack of awkward tension in light of recent events. their hang out felt normal and not one they had been nervous for beforehand. they absolutely adored how one another could rise above everything and ensure their friendship was preserved. they needed each other more than anything after all and it was clear they'd remain there for each other always.