Zafira did not like coffee. She wasn't quite sure if this was because she didn't like the flavor or whether she didn't like coffee because she didn't like Noor, and coffee was Noor's favorite drink. Moreover, she had once had an unhappy encounter with coffee as a child, and was not inclined to go back to drinking it. Whatever the reason, Zafira did not like coffee. But oh how Noor loved it. Noor brought home a tray of four cups every November morning from that cafe and slurped loudly from the plastic lids, getting her sticky fingers all over her coursework and notebooks. And oh how Zafira hated it. How she hated finding Noor's swirling fingerprints on their speech and debate binder and the smell of coffee lingering in the air long after Noor was gone. Coffee and jasmine - from Noor's strongly scented perfume.
Zafira herself drank from her ceramic mug of tea each morning after her trip to the cafe. She was wary enough of Noor to go down and get her own cup rather than asking Noor to bring tea up for her. Who knows what would end up in her drink? Spit, at the very least. Cocaine was also likely. Poison, if Noor was feeling particularly nefarious. Zafira had no doubt that Noor would be able to conjure up poison from somewhere.
Now, Zafira sat reading on her bed in their shared dorm room. Vincent was lounging on Noor's bed, looking bored. For the third time since Vincent had arrived five minutes before, he cleared his throat loudly. "What?" Zafira asked, annoyed. She flipped a page of her book and looked up expectantly.
"Wanna go out tonight?" Vincent asked. They had been going on dates on and off for the past three weeks or so. Nothing serious had come of it, and Zafira wasn't much concerned with having a relationship now anyways. Still, Vincent was good looking - with his straight black hair always fluttering down across his brown skin just over his dark eyes. Zafira would be a blind idiot to say no. Despite her need to focus on her studies, Zafira's inner boy-crazy teenager was definitely interested in Vincent, thank you very much.
"To where?" Zafira wondered aloud. She caught sight of her own reflection in Noor's big, gold-framed mirror that hung on the wall opposite their beds. The long, dark hair that fell almost to her elbows had to be her best feature. She had brown eyes that were framed with short, dark lashes, high cheekbones, an aquiline nose, and a pointed chin. She wasn't particularly attractive, by her own standards, and it baffled her every day that Vincent was interested. Then again, she was smart and sensible and competent, and Vincent was practical. If he wanted to bring a girlfriend home to meet his parents, Zafira was ideal.
"Chinese food?" Vincent suggested.
He had been pressuring her to try the new Chinese food restaurant for at least a week now. Zafira was beginning to wonder whether there was a reason more than simple curiosity for that. "Alright," Zafira said, setting down her book. She would get back to it later.
"How has Noor been?" Vincent asked as they left, Zafira now clad in a warm coat.
Zafira shrugged. "Same old, same old. We hate each other with a burning passion."
Vincent glanced at her sideways. "Do you?"
"Of course," Zafira replied. "We always have."
"You talk about her a lot, you know," Vincent said. The words barely registered. Zafira made a mild humming noise. Her attention was caught on a beanie-clad, rosy-cheeked Noor who was running across campus in the rain. Oh how Zafira hated that girl.
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coffee is amazing idk what zafira's on about 🙄
this uh romance is quite the slow burn and i apologize for that
it's very angsty :[]
anyways i love enemies to lovers sapphic books because they're immaculate and also enemies to lovers in general is just *chef's kiss*