N E Y Z A
I woke up with a gasp, clutching the sheets with wet, clammy hands. As usual, I couldn't remember what my nightmare was, only that it was definitely a nightmare. One word resonated in my mind. Monster.
Jaza looked up from her Quran, brows raised. The digital clock beside her read "04:55 a.m.".
'Another one?' she asked. I nodded affirmatively.
'Read me some of that, please,' I requested, gesturing to the Book.
To say Jaza's voice was mellifluous was an understatement. As she recited, the velvety verses, unintelligible to my ears, trickled sweetly into my head, wrapping me in a quilt of comfort. It made me feel serene; sheltered. Before long, I was drifting back to slumber.
Peace.
And then my phone buzzed.
Normally, I would have melted the phone and then proceeded to gut the person who had the audacity to text me at the literal crack of dawn, but unfortunately, this happened to me almost all the time and I had given up trying to knock some sense into him.
I picked up my phone, sighing.
Rooster
Rooster: wyd
You: trying to mf get some sleep
You: as usual
You: tf you want jaehyun
Rooster: woah woah
Rooster: calm down
Rooster: i just want some milk
You: HWAT AM I SPOSED TO DO ABOUT
THAT
Rooster: idk lmao
Rooster: can you text lucas and ask
him to get me some
You: 1) u have his number
You: 2) ur his roommate-
Rooster: yessss but hes sleeping :(
You: eye-
You: ur idiocy makes me want to 😭😭😭
Rooster: be quiet dont cry <3
You: Goodnight, Jung Jaehyun.
Rooster is typing...
I tossed my phone to the side and threw the blanket over my head.
'Coffee?' Jaza asked.
'God bless you and may your mustache grow like brushwood.'
'What in Napoleon's eyeball-'
'It's an idiom we learnt in English. Also,' I poked my head out of the blanket and grinned, 'Remember that you're my second bestestestest friend and I love you.'
Jaza pouted playfully. 'Only second? Who's first?'
I shrugged. 'I don't know.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Y A N G Y A N G
Ignoring her everyday will eventually make her go away, right?
Haha.
Ha.
'HI MISTER KUN! HI YANGYANG!'
I groaned. 'Does she never get tired of this?' I asked Kun.
He elbowed me. 'Be polite,' he whispered. 'You were her best friend.'
'Don't remind me,' I said.
After my meeting with Mark, I had decided that it would be best not to associate myself with Neyza. It had gone wrong once, and it would go wrong again.
The girl hadn't changed one bit, though. She was just as stubborn as ever. I didn't know what made her suddenly spot the café, but she kept coming back, every single day for almost a week.
By now, she had deduced that the café wasn't for everyone, and that Kun and I weren't normal people. She had come to terms with it pretty well, and kept peppering Kun with endless questions about Spirits. He said he didn't mind, and rather enjoyed her company. They had grown quite close in the past week.
I shot her my best death glare as she skipped to the counter, her long blue hair bouncing up and down behind her. But then again, that hadn't worked with her in the past.
'Yangyang, is it time to tell me what spirit you are?' She asked.
'It's time to tell you to leave and not interfere with Spirits,' I shot back.
'Are you Grumpy?'
'Go away.'
'Are you Meanie?'
'Miss-'
'Aww, don't be like that,' Kun chuckled from behind the counter. 'Neyza isn't hurting you. Here's your blueberry shortcake, love.'
'You're Love, though,' she said, to which they both giggled. I scoffed.
The bells on the door chimed, and in stepped a Brobdingnagian man with wavy brown hair.
'Yangyang, did you-- oh. It's a mortal.'
He held out his hand to Neyza, which she took. 'I'm Johnny. Who are you and why are you alive?'
'I'm Neyza Kestrel,' she said as I fought off the urge to correct her. Chrysalis sounded better. 'And I'm alive because- I mean. I don't know. Why am I alive?' she frowned.
Johnny laughed heartily. 'I like this one.'
'What are you the spirit of?'
'Oh, I'm Envy.'
'Envy? I'm not jealous.'
Johnny smirked. 'Someone else is, though,' he said, side-eyeing me.
I cleared my throat. 'I have to go now. I, uhm, have to meet, uhm, Fear.'
I began walking off.
'Wait, Yangyang!'
'What now?' I sighed.
Neyza fiddled with her fingers. 'My friends and I are going out for a movie this saturday. I was hoping you could come along. You'll like them, I promise.'
I wanted to say no. I wanted to say it so badly. I swear.
'I'll think about it,' I mumbled. I saw her expression brighten before I stepped out of the café, only to walk straight into Winwin. He greeted me with a nod of his head.
'Did you get what you were hoping for last time?' he asked, a playful glint in his eyes.
'Shut up,' I retorted.
But I did, in fact, get what I was hoping for.