Saints (SAINTS #1) | ✓

18

THE FIRST THING SHE saw when she woke up was that her room was crowded. Daichi was curled up on it like a cat, fast asleep by her side with cake stains on his mouth, Sloth lying face down on a floating cloud beside the bed. Ari was chatting avidly with Lucy on her couch, a soft blush tinting her cheeks as Lucy smiled. Priyanka was sitting cross-legged on the floor, a book in her hand and stacks of others beside her like a fort.

It was then that Ira stormed, but before she could say anything he threw his hands up in the air, a scowl on his face and indignation lacing his voice.

"You all left me there!" he exclamated," it took me two hours before I realized none of you were coming back."

"To be fair," Priyanka said without looking up from her book," that seems like your problem."

"Don't get mad, Ira," Ari chuckled as she leaned back on the couch," your attention span is so short it's no wonder you didn't even realize we were gone."

"I don't think you realize the kind of torture I had to sit through," he said," two hours never felt so long."

"Try doing that every day," Jasmina yawned.

Everyone ceased talking then as they stared at her, the surprise so obvious that Jasmina blinked in confusion.

"You're awake," Lucy smiled as she looked at her.

"Why was I sleeping to begin with?" she frowned.

Her memory had become foggy somewhere around the time she met Sloth. She remembered talking to him and then the next thing she knew she was dreaming about something she had long forgotten. A frown creased her face as she tried to remember what memory had resurfaced in her sleep, but it escaped before she could.

"Don't you remember?" Lucy said as she glanced at her.

Jasmina slowly let her gaze wander over everyone, settling it on Sloth as the most likely suspect as she rose out of bed. And then, before anyone could say anything, she pushed him off his cloud.

Sloth thumped down on the ground face-down, a loud groan escaping him that sounded highly like he was dying.

"What the hell," he said as he turned his face to her," why'd you wake me up?"

"Why'd you let me sleep?" she said.

He blinked, his face still apathic as his eyes wandered to a place next to her.

"Because," he began slowly, drawling the word out," you see - I had a reason for that."

"And that reason is?" she said.

"The reason," he said, still talking so slow that she wanted to snarl at him to speed it up," that is -" His eyes lit up then as he nodded, no emotion visible on the rest of his face when he spoke. " - I am in love with you."

"False, next," she said without skipping a beat.

"I could be," he said," love drives people to do crazy things, you know."

She lowered herself beside him, eyes unreadable as she smiled and tilted his chin up with her hand.

"I've lived in a world where lying is like breathing for my whole life," she said," so step up your game, I'm not believing this love story."

He parted his lips then and she could see she was this close to cracking him, if only because he was probably too lazy to continue in his bad lies, when Daichi interrupted them.

"You looked tired," he said, before waving a hand at Sloth," Gio found you all drowsy and helped you to sleep. He's just shy, that's why he's lying."