The Only Exception (Jasya)

11

Jasmine wasn't in her bed when she opened her eyes. Instead, the area around her seemed fuzzy and out of focus. She rubbed her eyes in an effort to clear it, but it still remained. "...Daya?" She called out. She could've sworn she had fallen asleep next to her.

"She's sleeping next to you still. You're alright."

Jasmine went stiff when hearing a voice she had never heard before. She turned around to look for whoever had spoken, starting to become nervous. "Who's there?" She asked nervously. "Is this a nightmare? Because if it is then I'd much rather wake up right about now-"

"Please don't wake up. Not yet." The voice said again. Jasmine almost choked when a fuzzy figure took shape in front of her. But when she finally came fully into view, she felt as if her heart had stopped. She knew that face. It had been engraved in her head since she had first seen the pictures.

"...Bosco...?" Jasmine whispered, slowly backing away. "Y-You're Bosco..."

She studied Jasmine up and down, approaching her after she had backed up. "I'm Bosco." She confirmed, finally meeting the other girl's eyes. "And you're Jasmine?"

Jasmine became extremely nervous, not knowing what was going on. She wasn't sure if she liked this dream. "M-Mhm..."

Bosco was quiet, continuing to study her. Her gaze was intense, and it made Jasmine feel like she was possibly being judged. She didn't like that very much. "I-I'm sorry..." She started to apologize. "I'm so sorry I caught feelings for your girlfriend, I-I didn't mean to, I swear. I just wanted to help her and I couldn't help but find something so sweet about her and now all I want to do is make her happy again and-"

"You talk a lot." Bosco interrupted, smiling a little in amusement. "But that's okay, I think Daya needs someone like that."

Jasmine was confused. She watched as Bosco started to walk away in the strange fog around them. "Y-You aren't mad at me...?"

"I'm not mad at you." Bosco said, motioning for her to follow. "Come walk with me."

Jasmine hesitated for a moment but nodded and started to walk beside her. She had no idea what medicine she could've taken that made her dreams this weird.

It was silent between them. Jasmine had to bite her lip to keep herself from starting to talk again. She glanced up at Bosco, finding her deep in thought. She looked just like she did in the pictures Daya had, but now she had a glow to her. One Jamsine had never seen on other people.

The silence was finally broken. "She's sweet." Bosco said quietly, smiling and looking as if she was remembering things. "She looks so tough and intimidating sometimes, but she's a big softy. She's caring and kind and writes the cutest poems..." She trailed off, and Jasmine could see her eyes had become glossy. "It hurts to see what's happened to her..."

Jasmine wrapped her arms around herself, continuing to walk beside her. "Why are you talking to me? I think she needs to hear from you a lot more than I do..."

Bosco shook her head. "I'm scared that if I talk to her, it'll just make her spiral even more." She sighed. "Because I won't be there when she wakes up."

Jasmine looked down. "O-Oh..."

Bosco let her own tears fall. "She needs to be kept safe..." She whispered.  "She needs someone to care and give her the love she so desperately needs. I'm scared of what will happen if she doesn't have that..."

Jasmine bit her lip. She didn't want anything to happen to Daya. "I-I care..." She stuttered, nervously looking up at Bosco. "I care a lot..."

Bosco stopped walking, turning to face Jasmine. "That's why I'm talking to you." She said, reaching for the smaller girl's hands. "Because you care."