The atmosphere was warm, the lighting artificial, and the place filled with murmured nostalgia.
Amidst all the chaos, Freen, as always, was easily the center of it all.
She didn't have to try. She never had to. People naturally found their attention drawn to her. Men and women alike, she handles them easily. Despite her being open about her sexuality, this has never stopped people from approaching her.
She's got accustomed to the attention that it no longer bothered her. On the contrary, she's found a way to navigate it all naturally.
Amid the festive ambiance, Becky stood beside Freen. The same place she's always been. Because where there is Freen, there is Becky. And vice verca.
Just then, a server passed by their small group, lifting out the tray on his hand as he offered them a snack. "Basil pesto crostini"
Becky, reached out for one without looking.
Freen, alert as she always was, held Becky's hand almost instantly.
"Don't" was all she said. Her voice was laced with protective instinct people around them had always wished to be a recipient of.
"Why?" Becky asked. Her voice was a bit louder by the silence of their companions.'
"There are pine nuts in the pesto" she replied.
"I'm allergic to peanuts" Becky frowns in response.
"You're allergic to pine nuts too" Freen answered. Certain.
She sounded so sure that it made Becky hesitate a little.
"Since when?" Becky asked. Her question accompanied by a faint laugh.
"Since you were seventeen" Freen replied. Calm and composed. Like stating a fact rather than a hypothesis.
"You had a reaction during your brother's birthday" she continued. "You thought it was just peanuts, but your throat felt tight. You locked yourself in your room because you didn't want to cause panic or a disturbance" she added.
People felt a shift in the air. No one dared to speak.
Becky became still. She could barely remember that day, let alone the memory of telling Freen about it.
That memory felt so distant. So vague.
"How did you know about that?" Becky found herself asking before she could even stop herself.
"You told me" Freen replied simply.
"When?"
"First year, high school" Freen answered casually "You said you hated how people treated you differently so you stopped bringing it up"
Becky felt her heart waver. She doesn't remember talking about it after all.
"That was over ten years ago" Becky said in disbelief.
"I know" Freen replied in a-matter-of-fact kind of way.
"You remeber that?" Becky asked, voice quiter that she intended.
Freen looked at her, straight in the eyes.
"I do" she said "I remember" Freen replied gently. Her voice softer than before.
Hearing her friend's reply, something inside Becky shifted. Her heart stopped beating for a moment, then it started again.
Louder.
Faster.
More erratic than she thought possible.
It was beating so hard that Becky started to fear that the people around them would hear it.
Then, questions started forming in her thoughts.
"Why is my heart beating so much?"
"Why does my face feel so hot?"
"Why is it that her remembering is making me react this way?"
"It's just Freen, her very best friend she's had for the longest time, so why am I feeling this way?"
"It's normal for friends to remember such thing, right?"
Hoping to control herself, Becky turned towards the table closest to them, a little too abruptly, pretending to check the deserts. She put a hand over her chest, but her heart refuses to slow.
Next to her, Freen had returned to conversing to others. She laughs at something someone said, already calm and composed again.
Becky took a chance to look her way. She glanced at her only to look away just as fast, feeling her stomach flip at the sight.
"This is ridiculous" Becky scolds herself internally. "She just remembered something small. It's no big deal"
"Are you okay?" Freen asked all of a sudden, pulling Becky away from her own thoughts.
"Yeah" Becky replied, nodding a little too fast than normal.
"You're red" Freen commented casually but Becky felt heat rise up to her face more.
"It's warm" she replied
"There's air-conditioning" Freen informs.
With that, Becky felt her pulse jump once more.
"Why am I reacting this way?"
"I'm not embarrassed"
"Not exactly nervous"
"It's like I'm --- "
"If you start feeling wierd, tell me" Freen interupted her thoughts with her voice, softer than before.
A quiet reminder of her presence. Always steady. Always there.
"I will" Becky replied.
But she won't. She won't tell her simply because she, herself, doesn't even know what she should say in this situation.
"Why is my heart racing simply because you remembered a small detail about me that even I myself could barely recall?"
The thought lingered in her mind. Quietly searching for an answer.
________________________________
Hi! It's been a while...
I haven't been writing since the last story I published but this one just kept on replaying in my mind. I couldn't throw away the idea even if I wanted to so I wrote it down instead...
This is just one short (really short) story...
Hope you enjoyed reading...
