white camellia flowers represent innocence and admiration. they
can also carry the message:
you're adorable . . .
*. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡ ✿ *
FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2018
Once the pizza arrived, each member of the house piled on into the kitchen to grab a couple slices. After making their plates, the group dissipated, each going off to do their own thing.
(Y/N) wandered into the dining room, and took a seat at the table.
As Elijah walked back into the kitchen to grab something to drink, he paused for a moment, seeing his new housemate. He stepped into the dining room slowly. "I think Lori and Silas are putting on a movie in the living room," he informed her casually. "Did you wanna join them and eat in there?"
(Y/N) looked up and smiled, before waving him off. "Oh, thanks, but no," she said. "I just── I have this little quirk where I can't eat on furniture. Like it has to be a dining table, or at least a kitchen counter or something."
Elijah was never one to ask too many questions, so he nodded. "Alright, fair enough," he said, and continued onto go grab a drink.
She assumed that was the end of it, and resumed eating. But, much to her surprise, Elijah returned a couple moments later, Dr. Pepper can in one hand, and plate in the other. He took a seat across from her, and began eating without comment.
She smiled softly to herself.
As they continued eating in silence, Aziza and Naoki both passed by, and stopped in a similar fashion to Elijah.
"Wow, I think this is the first time we've actually used this table to eat," Naoki commented.
"Well, it's not a bad idea," Aziza shrugged, and took a seat beside Elijah. Naoki followed suit, and slid into the chair to the left of (Y/N).
Moments later, Lori popped her head in. "D'aww, look at you guys! Eating together like a family," she cooed. "I want in!" She stepped in and sat down on the other side of (Y/N).
The new housemate looked around. This was nice. She hoped it would be a good opportunity to get to know her new roommates. Still, it wasn't quite right. She stood from her chair, drawing the attention of the others at the table. "I'm gonna go grab Silas, see if he wants to join us." Everyone being included was something that was always very important to (Y/N), and she intended on keeping that up with the people she now lived with.
Moments later, she returned with Silas. She sat back down in her chair, while Silas took a seat to the right of Elijah.
"So what brings us all to the table?" Lori asked, looking around. She definitely wasn't complaining about the arrangement; she actually quite liked the idea. But it was an entirely new one to her and to the group in general.
"Oh, well, I just don't really like eating on furniture, so I sat here," (Y/N) explained. "Elijah was nice enough to join me, and then all of you guys did too!"
"Were your parents super proper or something?" Naoki asked curiously, in between bites.
"No, definitely not proper," (Y/N) laughed. "No, we were just pretty poor, and y'know, everything is valuable when you have so little." She shrugged. "I mean, we got by and everything, we just couldn't really afford extras. Eating on the couch leads to extra stains, and we didn't have the money to get it properly cleaned, so if we wanted a clean couch we just couldn't make a mess."
Silas nodded. "That makes sense."
Aziza hummed.
"That's really interesting," Lori said. "I grew up, like, semi-poor, and we were the total opposite. We always ate on the couch, and it definitely got stained. It just, like... stayed stained, y'know?"
(Y/N) nodded in understanding. "Oh, for sure, that's valid," she said. "I don't know, my mom just had this thing where she didn't want anyone to know we were poor." She shook her head in amusement. "I always had to tell her, like, Mom... we get all our clothes from Goodwill, and I've worn the same ratty old shoes for three years in a row. They already know." (Y/N) laughed lightly, and her roommates joined her. "No, but she always wanted to make sure we had our dignity, y'know. No stained couches or anything. She never wanted us to feel like we were less than, and for her, part of that was... playing pretend, I guess." She smiled ruefully.
"See, that I understand," Elijah commented, wiping the corner of his mouth with a napkin. "My parents were loaded──" this definitely wasn't an attempt to brag. In fact, he sounded pretty disdainful of his family's wealth. "──but playing pretend was all they did. It was all about appearances, y'know?" He shrugged. "It was like they cared more about us looking happy than us actually being happy."
"...I think that's the most I've ever heard you speak in one sitting," Naoki said, and the room lit up with faint laughter.
"Whatever," Elijah rolled his eyes, but there was still a slight grin on his face.
"Wow, dinner in the dining room turned into therapy," Aziza chuckled. "Didn't see that one coming."
"What about you, Aziza? How did your childhood fuck you up?" Lori asked.
She shook her head. "Yeah, vulnerability makes me wanna vomit, so in the interest of finishing this pizza, I'm gonna pass."
"Ah, maybe one day," Silas said, smiling softly.
"Good luck with that," Naoki shook his head in amusement. "Zi's easily the most private person I've ever met. She'll die before she does therapy. Even the kind with pizza."
"You make me sound so cold!" Aziza chided. "I'm not that closed off."
"Oh, yeah?" Lori chimed in. "Name one story from your childhood."
"What, like a happy one or a sad one?"
"How about one of each?"
Aziza shook her head. "See, now you're just getting greedy," she teased. "Askin' too much of me."
"You can share at your own pace," (Y/N) said, as she made eye contact with Aziza. "There's no rush."
"Thank you," Aziza drew out, emphasizing each syllable. "See, this is why she's my new favorite!" She gestured to the new housemate, as she glanced around at the others.
"I'm not your favorite anymore?" Lori pouted jokingly.
"Anymore...?" Aziza furrowed her brows, before grinning wide to show the lightheartedness of her teasing.
Lori placed a hand on her chest in mock offense. "Ow!" She exclaimed. "Rude!"
(Y/N) laughed. "Don't hold it against her. It's not her fault I'm so loveable."
"Yeah, you're my new favorite, too," Naoki winked.
"Bro, if you don't stop hitting on her, you're gonna scare her away!" Elijah rolled his eyes.
"Is that true, (Y/N)?" Naoki turned back to look at her with a smirk. "Are my super clever, super sexy moves scaring you away?"
"...No comment."
"See!" Naoki beamed. "She likes it!"
"Not what I said."
"But it's what you meant."
She put her hand up to the side of her mouth in a stage whisper. "He's a little delusional, isn't he?"
Her roommates snickered, while Naoki's jaw dropped. Seeing the look on his face only increased the laughter coming from around the table, especially (Y/N), whose giggles seemed to make the whole room feel lighter, somehow.
"Woah, when did it get so dark outside?" Silas commented, looking out the dining room windows. "I swear it was just 4."
Aziza checked the time. "Almost 10, now."
"Time flies when you're having fun, I guess," Lori shrugged.
But (Y/N) was clearly distracted. She stared out the windows with a look that could only be described as awe. "Guys, look!" She said, her gaze not moving from the window. "Fireflies..."
She slowly stood, and walked to the backdoor to step into the garden. There, dozens of fireflies flickered their light off and on, as they flew around the dark garden just outside the dining room. The others slowly followed her out. Though they didn't share the same overwhelming sense of wonder at the lightning bugs, they couldn't deny how beautiful the scene was.
...And how much more beautiful (Y/N)'s beaming smile looked as she glanced around.
Stepping further into the garden, (Y/N) extended her hands, and reached out to catch one of the fireflies. She missed, but that didn't lessen the giggle of delight that escaped her lips.
Lori was the first to join her. She swung her arms around, clapping them together at seemingly random times in an attempt to catch hold of one of the small glowing bugs. Her technique definitely fell short, and she seemed even less successful than her new (H/C) haired roommate. Still, Lori and (Y/N) laughed together, trying again and again and again.
Soon enough, all six of them were attempting to catch them. Aziza was surprisingly ungraceful, and almost fell to the ground more than once during her failed attempts. Elijah only tried when one came close to him, which did seem to be a better technique, but he still failed in his mission to catch a firefly. Naoki ran around wildly, seemingly trying to catch all of them at the same time. But ultimately, Silas was the first to catch one.
"I── I got one!" The tall male exclaimed happily. He turned immediately to (Y/N), hoping to see her smile again, and he was not disappointed. The look of pure delight on her pretty was face was just... breathtaking.
She stepped closer, and Silas opened his hands just barely enough to peek through to see the light, and not enough for the little insect to escape.
The others followed suit, and gathered around to peer down at the lightning bug.
"It's smaller than I thought," Lori mumbled.
"Really? It's so fat," Elijah replied.
"Dude, why are you body shaming the bug?" Naoki teased. "Don't hurt its feelings!"
"Why do you think being fat is automatically a bad thing?" Silas deadpanned, and the group was so caught off guard by Silas of all people making the comment that they burst into laughter. They just weren't used to that sort of teasing from him, as timid as he was. Sure, he was comfortable around his roommates by now, especially after knowing most of them for so long. But even still, it was rare to see him be so quick-witted and... well, not exactly outgoing. But much more outspoken than usual.
They didn't know it was because of (Y/N).
Something about the girl just made him feel so... at ease. It was an unusual feeling for Silas. He'd spent his whole life being careful. He couldn't afford to not think before he acted. Every decision had to be weighed with caution. But with her, it all seemed to go away, and he could just be himself. For the first time in his whole life he could finally be himself.
And it was a feeling he was already enjoying more and more.
(Y/N) was the first to show signs of tiredness. As time passed and the moon continued climbing in the starry night sky, her yawns grew more and more frequent.
Lori nudged Naoki. "She's so cute when she's sleepy..." she whispered.
Naoki couldn't help but agree.
"Alright, I think it's time to head back inside, yeah?" Elijah said.
"Five more minutes..." (Y/N) replied, though she could barely keep her eyes open by this point.
Each of the other five silently aww'd.
Still, someone had to be responsible. And as per usual, it turned out to be Aziza. "Sorry, (Y/N)," she said, putting her arm around the girl. "You need to be well-rested because you have a big day of unpacking tomorrow." She began guiding (Y/N) back inside, while the others followed behind. "Let's get you into bed, yeah?"
"Okay..." (Y/N) mumbled sleepily.
Once she was tucked into bed, the other five soon followed suit. One by one, each of them laid down under the blankets. All five stared at the ceiling with a faint smile on their faces, and a strange but intoxicating warmth in their chest.
And it was all because of her...
*. : ｡✿ * ﾟ * .: ｡ ✿ * ﾟ * . : ｡ ✿ *
AUTHOR'S NOTE
hope you're all enjoying this so far!
i'm definitely having fun writing it :)
just wanted to pop in to give a vague design of the house. the proportions aren't perfect but this is really just meant to show you where everything is in relation to each other.
first floor:
aaaaaaand second floor:
again, not perfect, but i hope it helps!
thanks for reading :) i love you all very much!! be warm & well fed <3