Where Your Darkness Meets Mine || Nera x Kieran

Chapter 1

"What is wrong with that guy?"

Nera collapsed onto her bed, burying her face into her pillow. She had just gotten back from a long, exhausting mission, and all she wanted was to shut her brain off for ten seconds. But a certain boy kept occupying space in her head.

"Can I kill him? Who cares about that villain fucker anyways," a muffled voice said from her phone.

Nera reached for it, propping it up on her pillow. Her three best friends' faces popped up on the screen.

"Chloé, he's not a villain," Dahmini said calmly, pushing her dark red hair behind her ear. "I'd say he's more of an antihero. Or a vigilante."

"Who cares what he is!? He's definitely not on our side." A sneer came from Chloé's camera bubble.

Ellie shifted awkwardly. "Uhm...I don't think he's necessarily evil. He's never gone out of his way to attack us."

"Who's to say he won't in the future? You do-"

Chloé's rant was cut off by Nera loudly clearing her throat.

"Okay, okaaay, that's enough of that."

As if nothing had happened, the ginger girl sighed dreamily, resting her chin on her palm and staring up at the ceiling as if imagining something.

"Y'know... he's kinda hot."

The call went silent for a good ten seconds.

Then a soft giggle slipped out as Ellie covered her mouth, trying to muffle her laughter.

Dahmini soon joined in, shaking her head. "Of course you would say that."

Chloé, holding the phone so close to her face you could practically see up her nostrils, huffed in annoyance. "Weren't you just talking about how you hate him earlier today? What's with the switch up? Don't tell me you like him."

Nera hummed in thought. "Just because I think he's hot doesn't mean I don't still think that. Plus, him being hot doesn't mean I'll fall in love with him."

She glanced back at the phone screen and saw her friends staring at her with skeptical expressions.

"What're you looking at me like that for!?" she asked, disbelief written all over her face.

"Well... you don't really have the best track record with partners," Ellie said carefully. "You told us the same exact thing about that last guy... and look how that ended."

She looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact, even though they were talking through screens. Dahmini and Chloé nodded in agreement with Ellie's statement.

Nera scoffed. "Well yes, I don't always make the best choices. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna start liking the wacko guy with the evil powers! Plus, he always acts like a dick."

Sure, she didn't have the best sense when it came to picking who to date, but she wasn't a complete lost cause. Or so she claimed.

"Riiight... whatever you say," Chloé muttered, setting her phone down and grabbing a bag of chips. "Anyways, I'm tired. I'm gonna watch UTube. Bye."

Her face disappeared from the screen as she pressed the leave call button.

Nothing new. Chloé always left calls abruptly like that.

"Alright then, I'm gonna hop off too," Nera said, groaning as she stretched. "That fight killed me. I just know I'm gonna wake up so sore."

"Rest well!" Dahmini smiled. "I think I'll stay on call for a bit longer if you want to as well, Ellie?"

"Y-yeah, I'll stay!" Ellie answered quickly, a content smile spreading across her face. "Bye bye Nera, sleep well."

Nera let out a soft laugh, knowing full well about the blonde girl's feelings for the red-haired one.

"Okay, have fun," she grinned. "Love y'all, goodnight."

The girls returned the words as Nera blew a kiss and pressed the red button, leaving the call.

She plugged her phone into the charger and left it on her wooden nightstand, silencing it so it wouldn't get blown up by group chat messages or OCSN notifications.

Standing up, she stretched again, hearing the pop of her bones. Then she headed to the bathroom connected to her room. Her night routine was essential, she could never fall asleep without completing every single step.

While finishing the last part of her routine, a thought entered her mind.

She paused mid-skincare, staring at herself in the mirror as her mind wandered back to the conversation with her friends.

"Do I...? I mean, he does always kind of flirt with me... But I don't even know what he looks like under that mask. He doesn't even know what I look like either!"

Her rambling was interrupted by a knock and a male voice from the other side of her door.

"Luz, are you going to sleep now or later? Ma wants to know."

Her older brother Emilio leaned against the door, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, I'm going to sleep now. Tell her I'm tired from, uh... band practice." Nera bit her nail, hoping her brother hadn't heard her earlier rant.

Emilio hummed. "Gotchu."

Then he paused.

"Also... I don't know what type of story you're creating in your head, but I think the delusions are getting to you. Maybe lay off the rom-coms?"

"UGH! Sal de mi cuarto, Emilio!" Nera whined, her face heating up as his comment confirmed he had definitely heard her.

A chuckle sounded from the hallway before his footsteps faded and her bedroom door clicked shut.

Nera rolled her eyes but let out a small laugh anyway.

After finishing up in the bathroom, she switched off the light and headed back to bed, launching herself onto the mattress.

She snuggled into the soft green floral sheets, her eyes slowly drooping shut.

Any silly thoughts about that boy faded away with the rest of the day, buried deep inside her mind.

Not to be dug up again until months later..