(a/n:) our conversations aint long, but you know what is? this chapter ;)))
❖❖❖
CAN someone explain to me why I wasn't born in the world of fictional men?
All my problems would be solved.
As I probably look like a ten year old skipping down the avenue, my braids keep hitting the center of my back, while the other one keeps on bouncing on my chest.
The trench coat I have in a bundle raised some stares, like chill i'm not holding a bomb or anything.
That'd be incredibly stupid of me even if it was a bomb.
And a stupid place to hide one.
Before I know it, I've arrived at the bookstore, and the musky smell immediately overpowers me.
as it should.
It's by far my favorite Barnes and Noble, with the interior and exterior décor screaming aesthetic wood-y vibes. And plus, my favorite person apart from Allison is here.
As I push open the door, the bells from the inside clash against each other, creating a messy ensemble of ding!'s, which makes me smile.
On the far left of the store, I recognized the tuffy black hair with streaks of dark red sticking out behind the counter.
looks like she changed it again.
I make my way over to the counter, and the squeaky noises that are emitted from the bottom of my sneakers.
She looked up, obviously bored and chewing gum, before I grinned at her and her jaw dropped open.
I expected a very warm welcome from her, considering I haven't been here for months, which said something about my schedule in college.
Not very well organized.
She slowly stands up, and I raise my eyebrows.
"Hey, hi?" I question, waving my arms in front of her eyes, in case she was lagging a bit.
Walking around the corner of the counter, she still continues to stare at me.
It was getting creepy.
Then she throws her arms around me.
"Bitch where have you BEEN?"
I stand, swaying a little as she wraps her arms around my body.
Laughing lightly, I then groan as she punches my back, her voice muffled into the trench ball coat still in my arms.
"Sorry kid, you know I've been buried in a shit ton of work. You never choose law as a major - that's a crime in itself."
"I missed you."
Who allowed my eyes to sweat?
and no, I am not pregnant thank you.
"I missed you too, kiddo."
She pulls away, laughing lightly but I don't miss the little gesture of her hands dabbing at the corner of her eyes.
"And stop calling me kid, I'm a grown up!"
I smirk. "A very small, cute, short, idiotic one."
"I'm only two years younger than you!"
"Which is still younger."
"Ugh." She smiles at me, and I can't help but admire her constant happiness that seemed to be extremely contagious.
She was definitely the little sister I never had.
"I like the new hair," I gestured to her wild locks, and she seemed intensely determined to change it every time I saw her. Which is basically killing off her own hair.
"xie xie," She drawls out, reaching out to curl a strand of the reddened parts. (translation: thank you)
"Family was completely pissed, you know, like every other time."
"I thought they'd get used to it by now."
Amused, she shook her head.
"Nah, mom gave me the entire lecture about disrespecting the family, unable to make decisions, still a kid, ya know?"
Like me, she had her Asian family roots, but was brought up in a relatively American environment.
That didn't stop her mother from going completely tiger mom.
And I can't help but laugh at the way she imitates her mother's voice.
"Does mama Abigail still hate me for being drunk last time at the party?"
She winced at the memory.
"She could never hate you, but step up your game next time you meet her. She's also pissed that you practically 'forgot' about her for a couple of months, like me."
"I did send her texts-"
Abigail slaps me on the shoulder.
Which hurt.
Like shit.
"OW- woman that hurt,"
"Do you never learn, Lils? She hates texts and calls and whatever we do on our phone these days, she'd much rather we build a shrine from scratch with our bare hands and create a god statue for her."
I snort. (a/n: not cocaine, that'd be bad. don't be like becky.)
"Still, a text is better than nothing, right?"
"Knowing her, she's already blocked your number."
"I like how we're trash-talking about your mother behind her back. If she found out, she'd beat the living shit out of us."
She nods in agreement.
Then dramatically says: "Okay, but imagine if wai po caught us." (translation: grandma; mom's side)
We both shudder at the thought.
This time, we were talking about my grandma.
She is scary. As fuck.
I clap my hands together, dismissing the mood.
"Kiddo, I'm here for books, not your dramatic overthinking thoughts."
"Says the person who has an entire book with a thousand possible scenarios for every single goddamn possible alignment of atoms in the universe."
"Untrue. I would never spend my precious time on that shit." I counter. "Fine, maybe only 25% of my time, but it doesn't even take up half of my life, so I'm fine with that."
She shakes her head, and suddenly runs behind the counter.
"I had this amazing book come in a few days ago, and I've already finished the entire book and the sequel in one day, working a double shift."
I gape at her, mouth wide.
"How did your boss not catch you?"
She shrugs. "He did, multiple times. I ran an excuse saying I needed to know which shelf it belonged to, when I could clearly search it on google. Believe me, the entire book is just bi panic."
Of course.
She continues to ramble on and on, and I have to block my ears to hear the unnecessary details before I open the book.
"Abs, shut up before you spoil the entire plot. What's the book called?"
"These Violent Delights and Our Violent Ends. You should not read it if you're in the middle of your 'busy' semester because i'm not taking responsibility if it fucks up your grades."
I raise my eyebrow.
"My bank account is literally crying but if these books are guaranteed to make me cry of happiness then i'll buy it."
She jumps up and down. "I promise it'll definitely make you cry. For sure."
I sigh, as she grabs two books from the shelf above her.
"It's a paperback, I know you love it."
As I fumble with unrolling the trench coat to find the pockets, I stick my bottom lip out.
"Who doesn't like paperbacks? The original covers are so flimsy and it's way too easy to damage."
"I know. It's an automatic red flag."
I nod in agreement, finally finding my phone and unlocking it, staring at the upcoming frenzy of notifications that are lagging my phone to the point I had to restart it to get it to work again.
13 missed calls, 97 missed text messages from ALLISON <3
Abigail peeks over the counter at my phone, laughing at my horrified expression as I scroll through the inhumane amount of texts she had sent me.
"Sheesh this woman needs a job."
I nod aggressively, then say: "She's not the only one."
Abigail looks at me in horror.
"You're considering a job? You're already head-deep in your law stuff, not to mention your insufferable complaints about being the youngest one in your year when we all know that's a huge ass flex."
I roll my eyes, replying: "Money doesn't grow on trees hon, wai po is going to kill me if I ask for another cent."
Abigail hums in approval, and I look back at my phone.
Allison's messages consisted of:
ALLISON <3: BITCH WHERE ARE YOU?
ALLISON <3: LILS IF YOU DON'T ANSWER I'M CALLING THE POLICE
ALLISON <3: HELLO?????
ALLISON <3: okay mf i'm actually worried WHERE ARE YOU
That's nice.
She actually cares!
I sigh and reply, my fingers spamming the random buttons
bitch, ly i'm fine I told you i'd go to the bookstore,
kinda got distracted.
ALLISON <3: typing...
I wait for her new message, and change to the apple pay app.
Abigail points to the censor stuck to the bottom of the glass panel, and I put my phone there.
I see Abigail putting the books into a huge bag, and I widen my eyes.
I start to speak.
"I can carr-"
"For your clothes, idiot."
"Aw. Who knew you were nice?"
She rolled her eyes, pointing to the new notification on my phone and saying:
"Tell Ali I said hi."
I look at her.
"Are you serious? She's gonna kill me for not bringing her along here."
"And she's gonna kill you either way if you go back with a bookstore bag and find out that you were here."
Groaning, I looked back at my phone to see Allison's new message pop up.
ALLISON <3: WHERE ARE YOU I'M LONELY AT HOME WATCHING THE BACHELORS AND I TAKE YOUR INTERVIEW DIDN'T GO WELL? IT'S FINE HON THEY'RE THE ONES MISSING OUT ON YOUR SMARTASS-NESS.
Laughing, I start to reply.
i'm at ab's place rn, don't kill me, love you, i'll buy you one of those sugar donuts on the way back. and yes the interview was complete shit i'm never going back there again.
ALLISON <3: YOU'RE WHERE?>??? ?
Abigail peeks over the counter to look at my messages, laughing as she sees Allison's reply.
"I told you she was gonna kill me."
A new message pops up, and I gulp lightly before pressing on it.
ALLISON <3: you better give me those donuts or else ...
hah, you don't have anything against me.
ALLISON <3: ...i'll release that drunk video of you attempting to sing
i spoke too soon.
It couldn't be that bad.
It probably was since even if I wasn't drunk, my singing was bad enough to probably shatter glass.
I cringe at the thought of drunk-me singing.
Abigail, reading all of these messages, laughs and shakes her head.
"That woman and her donuts."
"Not to mention her weird fetish of recording me when I'm drunk." I add.
She grins. "You're a funny drunk. You do silly things."
I raise my eyebrow.
"Which I tend to forget and regret in the mornings."
She hums, just when another customer walks in, bell jingling.
The customer walks up to the counter, and Abigail straightens herself up. I realize I probably have taken up her time to work, and shoot her an apology glance, which she seems to get, but waves me off with a smile, and turning to the new customer, talking animatedly.
I grab the bag, thankful that I don't have to lug the trench coat ball anymore.
Pushing open the door, I take a step back when someone brushes past me, almost knocking me down.
I make my way down the street, trying to locate where the fuck i am.
As I mentioned before, I suck at geography.
The donut that Allison (and me, kinda) wanted, was right below our apartment and I realize that it's already almost four, but I feel like I'm forgetting something.
oh yeah.
my folder.
Whatever. I'll get it tomorrow. Unless he hadn't thrown it out already.
Which he probably had.
life is shit.
Since it was the early autumn, my 'busy' semester, as Abigail had called it, had ended, and I was getting ready for the next new one. Studying law was fun, until you realize it's not fun, which is most often within the first five minutes of studying.
I'm already near the apartment before I realize, and happily step into the coffee-infested area that was right in front of me.
I walk up to the counter, examining the different pastries behind the glass.
I buy an entire box, which only had six, three of them were sugar donuts and three raspberry.
I walk to the left of the shop, taking the stairs up, and regret it when I'm only midway and my thighs are burning.
this woman can box but she can't climb stairs.
amazing.
I continue my way up, pausing another couple times to catch my breath, and i'm sweating slightly as I reach the front door, not bothered to take out my keys, and bang on the door with my shoulder.
The door swings open, and I almost fall in, catching myself in time with Allison peering down at me.
Never mind, she was looking at the donuts, not me.
She grabs the box, and disappears into the kitchen.
I roll my eyes, kicking off the shoes before cringing and realizing that they were someone else's.
I carefully put them on the mat, closing the door and setting the bookstore bag down, running into the kitchen to see Allison halfway through her first donut.
I gape dramatically, grabbing a donut and stuffing it in my mouth, causing an outer ring of white powder to cover the top of my nose, ending up in the strands of hair that flew in front of my eyes.
We ended up stuffing ourselves with donuts, Allison speed-eating and inhaled four before I could even react.
And I paid for them.
unfair.
"I don't know if it's just me," Allison announces, wiping her face to get rid of the sugar. "But I feel like I've been watched by someone the entire day."
I flop onto the couch, exhausted.
"Watched? What do you mean? Who wants to see a lonely woman lounging on her couch, drinking wine and watching the bachelor?"
She makes a stink-eye, but switches to a serious face as she faces me.
"For real. I keep seeing the black car downstairs, and it wouldn't go for like three hours."
I shrug.
"That's normal, maybe the person has a relative here or something, they're just visiting?"
"But no one came out of the car."
I laugh, then frown when I realize she's being serious.
"Wait. Really? Maybe you just didn't see them come out of the car."
She shrugs, obviously not convinced. "Maybe," She mutters, half-heartedly.
Then she bolts upright.
this woman and her mood changes.
"Right, how was the interview? Did you get the job? Was the boss hot? Why didn't you come back directly?"
I was used to her quickfire questions.
"Crap, no, ew - no, and because I had to take my mind off something."
"Wait. What questions did I ask?"
I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of the wine that was on the table.
Then begin telling her the entire story.
***
"I'm sorry. What the fuck?"
She was currently up and pacing around the room, hands flying around making weird gestures.
"That fucker." She spins around. "He actually touched you?"
I shudder at the thought.
Her eyes widened.
"Oh- Sorry i-i'm sorry i brought it up,"
I wave her off.
"It's fine, really. I should've known when all I saw was testosterone and bitches in the building."
She shakes her head. "No, it's not fine. He sexually assulted you and you don't want to do anything?"
I rub my hand across my face.
This feels like a goddamn TV show.
"Who's gonna believe the 'small little girl' who was 'asking for it' versus the big bad billionaire with a fucking company? Plus, I slapped him-"
"YOU DID WHAT?"
I grin sheepishly. "Oops?"
"I hope you slapped him twice, once for me."
"Oh I did."
She looks at me, and shakes her head. "How are you so positive about all this stuff?"
I smile. "Trauma." Once I realize what I said, my smile slightly fades.
not even Allison knows the entire story.
and she's the most trusted person in my life.
She sees my mood change, but doesn't question it.
Thank god.
She flops back onto the couch, and turns on the tv, throwing on a blanket.
"Cmon, let's pretend we have a hint romances in our lives and drown ourselves in the sorrow of not having a Mr. Darcy."
I laugh, and we stay silent, eyes on the screen at the flashing motions, giggling girls and just as we get to the scene where Elizabeth runs off, Mr. Darcy comes into view, rain-soaked, opening his mouth, but no words come out.
I frown, but soon realize my eyes are closing, and I'm too tired to stop it.
The last thing that's on my mind is how Mr. Darcy's eyes are plain gray, whereas the ones I saw in the elevator were much more beautiful.
***
RUBBING my eyes, I try to lift my leg, wondering why my back was aching this much.
oh.
My legs were tangled with Allison, who was still snoring from the other side of the couch.
Squinting my eyes, I try to see through the hazy layer. The last thing I remembered was Mr. Darcy... then I fell asleep.
The sun was definitely not helping, and neither was my throbbing head.
i drank last night?
I guess the empty wine bottle on the table proved so, and I slowly detangle myself, mentally screaming when I realize i'm still in yesterday's clothes, and run straight in the shower.
I strip off the clothes, running back out with a towel around me to stuff the clothes in the washing machine, turning it on, before I look at the time.
Thank god it was only- eight?
Eight fucking a.m?
I haven't woken up this early since high-school.
I mean, it did make sense since we fell asleep at 6 last night.
I run back into the shower, hanging the towel on the door and gently pulling off the hair ties that still secured my braids.
ooh my hair is wavy.
I step under the scalding water, sighing happily as I feel the water cascade down my back, I use my fingers to try and detangle the knots, hissing when they don't free easily.
I lather my hair with shampoo, scrubbing my scalp and trying to rid myself of the gym smell from yesterday. Just as I'm about to turn the water off, I hear a loud thump from outside.
Laughing, I brace myself with Allison's soon-to-be yell.
"LILS WHERE ARE YOU AND WHY AM I ON THE FLOOR?"
there it is.
I turn off the water, wrapping the towel around me and wiping my feet on the rug outside the shower.
"YOU FELL YOURSELF, NOT MY FAULT." I stick out my head and yell, flinching when the cold air hits my face.
She grumbles, her bun flopping down but she gets up anyway, stumbling to the kitchen for coffee.
I walk to my room, grabbing a sports bra and matching black yoga pants, covering it with my favorite zip-up hoodie.
I hope I remembered to mention to Allison that we were meeting Eleonara today, for lunch. I unwrapped the trench ball coat, set the two new books aside, and stuffed it in the washing machine whilst taking out the previous clothing.
I plug in my phone next to the bedside table, and new messages immediately pop up.
Most are from Abigail asking if I got home safely, whilst some were from Eleonara and in the group chat with Allison, saying which restaurant she'd meet us at.
I stand with my hair wrapped in a towel, replying to all of the texts, and sitting down in front of the mirror.
I wipe my face with a cotton pad, mentally glad that there were no random pimples that grew overnight from eating all of those donuts.
Plugging in the hairdryer, I turn it on, a blast of hot air directed in my face before I move the towel away, dropping it on the bed and letting it dry under the wind.
I'm not bothered to tie it up, and so I let it dry so that it makes my hair a bit wavy, which doesn't look that bad.
It's almost nine, so I grabbed the first book I bought yesterday and went out to the counter, where Allison was sipping her coffee.
She looks at the book in my hand.
"Abigail recommended it; you can have it when I'm done." I joke.
She looks at me skeptically.
she doesn't read books.
literal huge-ass red flag.
I mean, at least I can rant to her about books after I've finished reading and not have to worry about spoiling anything since she won't read it anyway.
Allison makes no move towards the pans, and I roll my eyes, knowing that she wanted me to make breakfast.
Grabbing a couple of eggs, bacon and toast from the fridge, I feel artsy, cutting a square shape in the toast, and pouring the scrambled eggs in the empty square, and whilst I wait for it, I look back at Allison, who was currently admiring my skills.
as she should.
"Did you see the chat I made? With Eleonara? I met her yesterday, I'm pretty sure I told you."
She hums, and I turn back to the toast, flipping it over.
Allison checks her phone. "She asks what we think about brunch? At 11?"
I look back at the pan.
"You still want breakfast?" Technically I did too, but I wasn't going to admit that.
"We didn't have dinner yesterday." She smiles.
I fry the bacon, slapping Allison's hand as she tries to grab some off the plate. I make for the both of us, because I'm just that nice.
I stand at the counter, grabbing the food and taking a bite.
not bad, I could definitely top Gordon Ramsay any day
he's an ass.
With her mouth full, Allison points to the plate. "Zish, ish th-" She swallows. "How do you even make food like this? Did you try the food I made yesterday?"
I immediately stuff my mouth with the bread, not knowing how to answer.
i... lost it????
She's still waiting for my answer.
I gulp, coughing out an answer. "I ate it?"
I didn't even convince myself.
She stares at me, then waves it off. "We both know my cooking is trash, I most probably gagged when I smelled it myself."
I sigh with relief, and continue stuffing my face, mentally planning how I'm going to get to the gym like I promised Marcella.
"Do you want to come with me to the gym after brunch?" I question Allison, already knowing her answer. This woman was a couch potato inside and out.
"Gym? The one you told me about yesterday? Are there guys?"
I mentally sigh.
"Yes, and yes."
"I'll skip," She mused. "I'll ask your new friend if she wants to go shopping with me."
i should warn Eleonara.
"I mean, sure, if she wants to."
I finish, putting the plates in the sink and running into my room, yelling at Allison to wash them before she makes me do it.
Many have called me insane for opening the law books during the break in the semester, but I've always liked getting ahead of people. Makes me feel some kind of accomplishment, when in the end, I'm falling behind all of them. Since I was a 'gifted' student in high school, that made them bump me up a grade in university, causing many others to be a year or two older than me. The pressure was surely on, and there was always a silent competition between me and another group of girls who seemed to think that they were better than everyone else.
they thought.
I'm still in the main law class, meaning no one has picked their final path or subject.
I want to do family relations, but figured that it would probably cause more harm to myself.
Maybe crime isn't too bad, and I'm definitely not going down the old white men political lane sitting in conference rooms and talking about country shit.
I decide that right now probably isn't the best time to go through an existential crisis, so I flip the insanely huge textbook open, take out the notebook and start reading ahead.
Next semester's unit didn't seem or look too bad, it's just the inhumane amount of lectures there are by eighty-year old professors who look like they were forced here.
Debate sessions aren't that bad, at least I get to argue with some people to release the pent-up frustration and feel good when they can't come up with a comeback.
They should rename the session to 'roasting session'.
I put on the bare minimum of makeup, just for brunch in case Eleonara takes us to some place where they require you to not look like a homeless person to get in.
In this case, me.
I put on my glasses, which I now have to wear due to the tiny tiny text I'm reading everyday. Picking up the black pen, I start jotting down the key information I'm skimming through, searching up some words and phrases that I'm clueless at and spending more than ten minutes on instagram because I got distracted.
Eventually, I put my phone away, returning to the one page of words, and started using small sticky notes on the million-pages textbook.
I jotted down some things from the previous semester which I missed, or forgot, in my case.
Which was almost everything.
Once I feel like i'm already fed up, I look at the time.
It was only 9:30, so I promptly took out the books I bought yesterday, and started reading.
In glittering Shanghai, a monster awakens...
***
I'm so caught up in the book and way through halfway when there's a weirdly rhythmic sequence of knocks on my door.
When I say rhythmic, I mean repetitive and annoying.
I groan, rolling out from the bed and the comfortable position I was in.
"WHAT?" I yell, annoyed that they disturbed my story.
Tyler is a complete ass, by the way.
"BITCH, IT'S 10:45."
"WHO IS THIS AGAIN?" My brain was often very confused when forcefully dragged into the real world back from a book.
There was no reply.
Was I supposed to know- oh. Oops.
"Allison?"
"WHO ELSE COULD YOU BE LIVING WITH?" She yells back, and when I open the door, she's dressed and looking at me up and down.
I sigh, taking off my glasses and shaking my hair a little so I look more presentable, putting on the sneakers I wore yesterday, bringing a small gym bag with extra clothes.
She sighs. "How do you manage to look fashionable in a zip-up hoodie you haven't washed since your last break-up?"
I gasp in offense. "How could you?" and I mock the motion of putting my hand over my heart. "We both know if a man ever dared to even think about asking me out, he'd already be halfway across the globe."
She snorts. "Say that to your high school self."
"He was a mistake. Even his parents said that. Not directly, because that'd damage his astronomically high ego and hurt his tiny man-balls."
Allison winced. "Ouch. This is why you don't get laid."
I shrug, grabbing the sunglasses that are on the shoe rack and the keys, walking out with Allison behind me, turning around and locking the doors before I put the keys in the bag.
"Where did she say we meet again? You know I can't do geography for the sake of my life."
She checks the map on her phone. "It's really close to here, a ten-minute walk?"
"Sure. Let's hope we're not late." I say as we exit the elevator and I walk side-by-side next to her, occasionally peeking at her phone.
"With me, you'll never."
I refrain myself from pointing out the fact that she was clearly following google maps, and silently follow her, pulling up the zipper when I catch the primal glances of men on the street.
ew.
Allison hears the noise, and turns back, scrunching up her face in disgust when she catches all the stares. She catches my eye, and we both grin at the same time.
I skip up to her, tangling my arm around hers. She grasps my palm, as a friendly gesture, but to the men, it was probably not.
It wasn't the first time we've done this. Why? Because men can't keep it in their pants.
Most men turn their heads from us, as if the display of affection had burned holes in their eyes, murmuring how 'all the hot ones are always lesbian'.
If you're disturbed or disgusted at showcasing signs of affection in public and especially between girls and girls or boys and boys, keep your catcalls and tiny erections to yourself. (a/n: these taylor swift references i'm making- i don't know if i'm a genius or just annoying.)
Allison gins at me, and just at that moment, a man passes by, probably way older than fifty.
Since I was closer to the crosswalk and street, he stops and grabs my arm, causing Allison to lurch my way as well.
"You know, I don't mind a threes-."
I wish I wore my heels today.
Still, the heel of my sneaker connects with his stomach, and I turn my elbow so that the hand he used to grab my arm was released, I slam it into his face.
Deserved.
He falls down, nose bleeding and clutching at his stomach. Men were looking at me in fear, or anger, but none seemed to grow the balls to actually do something about it, whereas women who were passing by shot dirty glances at the man on the floor, obviously having seen what had happened. One queen who was wearing heels granted my wish of stepping on the pointed heel on his toe.
Ouch. Take that.
I grin at her in appreciation, hooking my arm through Allison's again, as she gapes at me.
"You told me you could box, but holy shit?"
"What?" I shrug. "Self-defense."
I don't wait for her reply, and start tugging her along.
"Cmon, we're gonna be late."
She takes out her phone again, and we realize we're standing opposite the restaurant.
Thank god it was just a regular italian cuisine, i didn't want to feel underdressed. We looked at each other; we both loved Italian food, it was the only one we could eat for the rest of our lives and never get sick of it.
We giddily run across the road, just meeting Eleonara at the front door.
"Hey!" She grins at me, and I wave, pushing a panting Allison in front of me.
"This is Allison, also known as the pain in my ass, and Ali, this is Eleonara, her kid is adorable."
I watch them exchange a friendly hug, mentally proud of myself for introducing two extremely social friends so it wouldn't be awkward.
They talk animatedly, as we walk into the restaurant, pausing as Eleonara greets the staff, as if she's been here multiple times.
As we're seated, I ask, "Are you a regular here?"
She pauses, then says, "You could say that." (a/n: if you got that reference i'm so proud of you)
The server comes over, bringing water and breadsticks.
As we munch on the pieces, we scan the menu, Allison giving up on the amount of Italian words, and so do I, since I was extremely rusty. Eleonara ends up ordering for all of us, and we don't have any objections.
Food is food.
Talking about all kinds of abnormal things you would definitely not hear normal twenty-year old women gossiping about, the subject ranged from favorite brand to favorite position, which I promptly covered my ears at.
My ears needed their innocence, because i've fucked up my eyes on a whole new level by books.
They both look at me, and start talking so much more loudly that even my hands won't even block out the noise.
How are they not embarrassed?
Thank god the food came, and Allison shut up, finally, staring at the hordes and plates of dishes and food in front of us.
Other people in the restaurant must think we've been starving for a year based on the amount of food on the table.
I definitely need to go to the gym after this.
We dig in, laughing and talking as if we were all friends for years and didn't just meet a couple of minutes ago. It felt natural, which was a big thing to me. It was like I didn't need to try to fit it.
I clear my mind of the upcoming thoughts, dragging myself back into the conversation, and three very entertaining hours filled with food and uncontrollable giggles (or hiccups), in Allison's case, we split the bill, since all the food we ordered could not have been cheap.
Walking out, I look at the time on my phone to see that it had already turned one.
We were walking down the streets, having no idea where we were going, laughing like insane people, when we're standing in front of the huge golden mall where I met Eleonara last time.
coincidence?
We both laugh at the memory of how we met, and I see Allison's mouth opening.
nope.
I beat her to it, knowing that the next sentence that would come out of her mouth would involve the words 'shopping' and 'together.'
Not that I don't want to, but I've had way too much experience of Allison shopping, and if I could get away with it now i'd fucking run.
"Um, so I promised a friend that I'd go to the gym since I borrowed her clothes last time so I gotta-"
I made a thumb gesture pointing back behind me, even if it wasn't the direction I was going to go in.
Allison glares at me, and I return a sheepish smile, hugging them goodbye. I make a pointer to whisper in Eleonara's ear.
"Run while you can."
She makes a silly face, then laughs as I point to Allison, who obviously got the hint, and I mentally thank myself for wearing sneakers, waving goodbye whilst running, with a fuming Allison trying to chase me into an unknown direction.
How I didn't bump into any people on my way, I didn't know. I thank the universe for making that happen.
I sling the gym bag over my shoulder, enjoying the momentary sunlight that had slunk through the clouds. I read the signs that are at every crosswalk, and slowly make my way to the place last time.
three rights and a left.
what if someone follows me?
I somehow have to remind my consciousness that I know how to box, and pretty well.
I walk past stores, trying not to get distracted by all the colorful things in the display.
i'm a child.
I finally seemed to recognize the lone street I came from last time, since it was in the same direction as Ab's place, just a few minutes closer.
I hoped I entered the correct alleyway, because if not, i'd look pretty stupid in a bird's eye view turning around in the huge ass maze like a lost rat.
three rights, one left. three rights, one left. three rights-
Now that I'm in the alleyway, my mind seems to be wiped blank.
what the fuck?
I was repeating it over and over in my head three seconds ago-
Three rights, one left.
I take a deep breath, trying to ignore the fact that there was more fog covering the scenes in front of me.
it was sunny a minute ago.
After I take one right, I put one hand on the wall so I don't get lost in the middle or something, feeling for the next turn. I finally reach the left, and I mentally wonder how I found this place last time.
The dimly lit red sign flickers, and I remind myself that it's much better inside.
I open the doors, mentally cringing when they look like they haven't been cleaned in over five years.
they haven't.
The two split sides of the gym and bar never cease and fail to amaze me, and I walk directly into the changing room, promptly dropping off my bags in the cubbyholes.
oh shit i just ate.
Surprisingly, I don't feel too bad, considering the amount of food I shamelessly inhaled. I check the time on my phone just in case-
oh.
it's already been an hour.
Oops. I should really work on my time management.
Braiding my hair again in the toilet mirrors, I flatten out the sides, sighing in annoyance as my small bangs decide to not join the rest, and stick out like two sore thumbs in front of my face.
I literally do not understand this trend. Like bitch I cannot see anything with two annoying prickly strands of hair waving in front of my eyes.
I take out the plastic bag with the clothes, which had dried, thank god, as well as the sneakers, making my way to the boxing area. Either it changed drastically, or I have extremely bad memory, because I didn't remember that the corridors were that long.
Maybe I took a wrong turn?
I did remember that the boxing ring led to the underground sketchy dark place where Marcella took me last time, and this was a major deja vu moment.
It never seemed to end.
I kept walking rapidly, wanting to see the end of the tunnel, periodically glancing behind me, as the feeling of unease increased.
I didn't focus on what was in front of me, trying not to get caught up looking at the realm of darkness behind me, I bump into a figure, and I try not to scream.
"Holy shi-" I gasp.
Once the figure turns around, I let out a sigh of relief, as we both ask each other at the same time:
"Marcella?"
"Lilia?"
(a/n: as if i'd let them meet like that. u thought <3)
She seems stunned for a moment, before masking it with a smile.
"What are you doing down here?" She asks, and I sheepishly shrug.
"Honestly, I don't know, I think I took a wrong turn somewhere. This corridor doesn't end, it's scary."
She laughs, putting one arm around my shoulder in a motherly gesture, leading us to the right, and I have to squint when my eyes are brought to the sleek white and gray interior of the gym.
She points to the changing room and traces the path with her finger, telling me where to go next time, and I have to carve it mentally in my head so I don't end up there again.
"Boxer girl?" She asks, as I steer clear of the treadmills.
"Anything but cardio girl." I grin.
"Boxing is cardio, but much harder."
"Good thing I like challenges."
She smiles approvingly. "Where did you learn to box?"
here it comes.
"Picked it up so I wouldn't have to do track and field in high school."
"Running away from problems is still running." Came her reply.
I can't think of a comeback.
"I can jog?"
She shakes her head, obviously amused. Then I remember the bag I'm holding in my hand.
"Oh yeah- right- here's the clothes I borrowed yesterday, i'm so sorry for that and I washed it and all-"
She interrupts my rambling, patting my shoulder and taking the bag from my hand, effectively shutting me up.
"Thank you dear, you didn't have to do that."
I waved it off. "No, I had to." I switch the topic. "Do most people come here to fight?"
She shakes her head. "Not usually, no."
I nod in understanding, and she walks me to the punching bags. "I'll be off, doing my stuff. You tell me if you want or need anything, okay?"
I smile in gratitude, thankful that I had someone here who I could half-trust.
Waving goodbye, I turn to the punching bag, inserting earbuds connected to my phone, wrapping my knuckles so Allison doesn't think I got ganged up in an alleyway somewhere when I get back.
I make sure to send a text, telling her I was at the gym and totally safe. She doesn't reply, so I assume she's having immense fun with Eleonara.
poor Eleonara.
I shrug off my hoodie, feeling slightly less comfortable as my black crop top moves higher every time I raise my arms, and so do the men's eyes.
sigh.
I ignored them, as usual, and put on the red gloves, standing in a stance before doing my usual assault on the punching bag.
Thoughts raced through my mind as my arms robotically moved without thinking, I could hear the chains on top of the bag creaking and clanking, drowned out with the music of Taylor Swift.
I seriously need to widen my musical artists, but for now I'm not getting tired of her music anytime soon.
The next song comes on, and I can't help but smile. This, was my hairbrush song. (a/n: we all know i couldn't help it.)
she looks so perfect standing there,
I continue to hum under my breath, feet jumping up and down as I feel like doing some kicks.
I take a step back, widening my stance as I bring my left foot backwards, I let my right leg fly up, making contact with the bag.
ouch.
that hurt.
It was supposed to hurt, but I didn't realize I had kicked the bag that hard.
I return to my stance, doing the same on my left leg, repeating the process until I can feel the traces of sweat run down the sides of my face.
and i know now, that i'm so down
I feel the irrational itch of my fists to punch an actual person, shocked when I feel a light tap on my shoulder.
It was Marcella again, but with a scary-looking yellow toothed hulk right behind her.
I take out one of my earbuds, five seconds of summer being momentarily paused.
"Hey?"
"Sorry Lilia, I hope i'm not bothering you, but Kayden, here," Gesturing to the person behind her, "...saw your fight yesterday, and wants to challenge you."
the fuck?
She leans in and whispers. "You'll beat him with your eyes closed, and you don't have to fight, but he seems pretty eager."
I shrug, starting to pick up my stuff from the floor, smiling at Marcella. "What can I say? Always here and happy to take down men's ego a notch."
I don't look at her reaction, trying to wipe the sweat off with the back of my hand, and the creepy yellow toothed guy winks at me.
Next time his eye moves is because it's twitching from the pain I'm causing him.
He walks away in the opposite direction, and Marcella walks me to the dingy hallways again, which I assume leads to the steps of the ring. She hands me a towel and an unopened cold bottle of water, and I gratefully take it, gulping down the water and dabbing my neck and face with the towel.
I'm already extremely warmed up, and I have to fight the urge to take off my crop top, as I wore a sports bra anyway. But men. And I definitely don't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me like that.
Marcella seemed to know what I was thinking and debating about, so she held out her hands.
"I'll keep your clothes with me, if you want to wear them again at any point, just tell me. I know it'll be uncomfortable with so many people, especially men, but ignore them. You could also use it to your advantage." She winks.
I laugh uncontrollably, knowing exactly what she meant.
I take off my crop top, feeling much better as I wipe the remaining sweat off my body, Putting yet more tape on my knuckles, not wanting them to bruise or bleed.
I take a deep breath, stretching the stiff muscles in the back of my neck, and Marcella joins me as we walk up the steps together.
i can do this.
I'm facing the yellow-tooth, which is my new nickname for Kayden, whilst he stares at my cleavage.
Which wasn't even that obvious, but he's a desperate man.
Marcella is in the ring, and I register the high ding of the bell, signifying the start of the match.
He, surprisingly, did not charge at me like the person yesterday, instead looking at me, pacing in circles as we study each other.
He licks his dry lips as I bounce up and down, this man can get distracted easily.
Then he stands still, arms to the side.
"You're such a puss-"
I slam my right fist straight into his stomach, effectively knocking him on his butt.
Choruses of oooohs fill the ring, and I'm trained on the sight of him getting up, reminding myself to get in a few more hits next time.
His nostrils are flaring, breathing heavily as he returns to his stance.
I bounce on my toes, and the moment he sends a forceful punch to where my face would have been, I duck, rapidly sending small uppercuts to his side rib, and I really wish I could've hit his soft parts at least once.
Too bad, I'm forced to dance away, as he folds over on his stomach, but catches me off guard as he charges towards me. His glove is millimeters away from my face when I step back, but the zipper catches my lip, tearing off the skin, sending a flow of blood down my chin.
that hurt like shit.
I don't let myself flinch, and don't make any motion to wipe away the blood either.
He seems pretty content with himself, returning to the original stance with gloves over his face. It was obvious that he wasn't really holding himself with the stance, so I quickly brought my right leg up, kicking him like I did with the punching bag. He moves slightly as I come in contact with his ribs, and I send a hook across his face.
And effectively and most probably breaking his nose.
The crack confirmed it.
Holy shit I broke his nose.
Or jaw.
It's fine, he deserved it.
Groaning on the floor, he couldn't seem to get back up, gloves covering his face in pain.
The crowd begins to chant, counting down the seconds until it would be counted as a knockout.
...8, 7, 6, 5, 4, THREE, TWO, ONE
The loud buzzer causes me to cringe slightly, but it's replaced with a huge smile as I realize I won. Turning to Marcella, her expression mirrors mine, walking towards me.
As Marcella faces me with a shining shit-eating grin on her face, she thrusts my arm up, and i'm looking at the crowd, chest heaving, beads of sweat trickling down my forehead, mixing with the blood that was coming from my lip. Surprisingly, I didn't even feel a sting.
As my eyes scan the crowd, I'm momentarily stopped when my eyes meet another pair.
A very special pair.
The man from Norman's place, the one I accidentally closed the elevator doors on.
This time, I could see more than his eyes. Fitted to a tight navy suit, he looked extremely out of place, he looked more like he should be in a business meeting. What would he be doing here? I took a moment to scan over him entirely, hoping I didn't seem like a complete creep. His green gray eyes stand out from his brown tousled hair, leading to the barley visible silver chain around his neck.
My lips part involuntarily. His eyes seem to grow darker, the green tints slowly fading out. His jaw was tight, as if holding himself back from doing something.
Time seems to freeze, as my eyes hold his steady stare. The white cuff links around the arm of his suit had been rolled up, the forearm visible, traces of tattoos shown. Rings were slid upon both his thumbs, the silver glinting whenever the light hits.
does he know me?
remember me?
why would he?
He probably didn't even see that it was me in the elevator anyway.
I'm suddenly brought back to real life, my eyes snapping away from him and blinking unsteadily.
Marcella either did not notice, or doesn't seem to comment upon my moment of shock.
I shoot a last wobbly smile, and retreat back to where I came from, down the steps and into the rooms where I had gone yesterday.
Sitting down on a bench, I'm still lost in thought, and only when Marcella gently brings the disinfected cotton to my lips, do I realize where I am.
"Here, let me clean this up for you." She gently dabs at my lip, which was swelling a bit but not bleeding anymore, which was a good thing.
I whisper thanks, not trusting my voice anymore.
what the fuck was that?
Suddenly, the door bursts open, and my stupid self silently wished it was the stranger from before.
It wasn't.
Instead, it was a very beat-up form of a human being, much of what I caused.
Oops?
Despite the several bruises and broken bones I've caused him, he still manages to flash his yellow teeth at me. Ew.
"Feisty. Just how I like it."
"You fucking passed out when I punched your face." I crossed my arms.
"Jeez, learn to take a joke."
My reply was instant. "And you might want to learn how to make one, maybe ask your parents; they're great at it."
His mouth fell open.
"You bitc-"
Marcella stands up and backhands him.
Deserved.
He lays sprawled on the floor, and Marcella brings me by the elbow, out of the room.
I could feel my breathing stop when we opened the door, and I'm met with the pair of silver eyes that had rocked my entire world in the first second.
Holy shit.
❖❖❖
(a/n:) and holy shit indeed!
THEY MET AAAAAAAAAAH <3
idk if this is the second time they met or first but either way this was the first time they,,, ykyk ;)
leave a comment if you want to see it in Vincenzo's pov ehehe
dedicated to my one and only not dying friend, gl finding out ur character i dedicated to u ;)
almost 8000 words holy shit im crying this is the longest chapter i've ever written.
remember to vote n comment!
love,
-rev <3