ˑ ִ ֗ ִ ۫ ˑ 🎥 🍿 𖥻 ִ ۫
𝐂𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝟶𝟶𝟸. °｡ 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁. ◌
𝒲𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒞𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 | 𝟷𝟼𝟸𝟶
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* ( ๑‧˚₊꒷ ) ♡ Ꮺ 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗬 𝗠𝗘 — 🎬 ੭
📺 ⤾·˚ ༘ ━━ 𝓣HERE IS A POUNDING IN HER SKULL. It starts from her temples and travels all the way down to her jaw. The plain is fleeting — one moment there and one moment not.
It could be exhaustion. Missions after missions after missions have taken over her life. There has been a recent influx of curses and that means that sorcerers are stretched thin. She's been sent out to die multiple times in the past month. Yes — maybe that's where the headache originates from. Or maybe it's because she's certain that death will meet her eventually. She doesn't look forward to it.
She stands in front of the mirror, takes a pill and hopes it will alleviate some of the pain. She briefly entertains the thought of consulting a doctor because the headaches have been a constant in her life for the past two weeks. But it's just stress — nothing else.
Numbly, she spritzes on some strawberry scented perfume. She doesn't use it often — it was expensive and so she wants to make good use of it.
Suguru once told her he loved that fragrance. He told her it smelled nice on her.
She sprays on some more ... for good luck.
𝓢ATORU'S DORM ROOM SMELLS OF EXPENSIVE COLOGNE AND BUBBLEGUM MIXED INTO ONE — a combo that has come to identify the six-eyed boy. "HARU!" She barely has one foot inside when he is suddenly pulling her into a rough embrace and she struggles to keep her hold on the bottles of soda in her hands. He hugs her against his chest and Haru feels her feet lift off the floor.
It doesn't take long for Shoko to separate them, even going as far as to smack Satoru on the head. "Get off her, you psycho."
Haru shakes off his tight grip, amusement at its peek when she sees Shoko and Satoru begin to engage in a verbal fight. Their insults and yells are reduced to background noise as she travels over to a table by Satoru's bed, having to jump over mountains of clothes and miscellaneous objects scattered all over the floor. Suguru is arranging a pizza in the middle of the table, accompanied with other bottles of alcohol on the side.
His hair is up in a messy bun and Haru gently tugs at his earlobe decorated with one of his black stud earrings. "Suguru," she greets almost into his ear. She sets the sodas down and pretends she doesn't see the small blush on his cheeks — but a tiny smile escapes her anyway.
"Oh," he says and he looks like he's just about to share a top secret with Haru. He grabs a wine bottle and shows it to her, "it's strawberry flavored."
Haru gasps and takes the bottle from his hands, watching the red blood-like liquid slosh around inside, gazing at it like it's some treasure, stars on her eyes. "This was made for us, Suguru!"
They open it together and pour some into each of their cups. With her eyes closed, she breathes it in — a floral and fruity scent greets her nose. Sugariness overtakes her palate and just a small sip leaves her craving more. A sweet but not too sweet candy and strawberry tang runs down her throat and she greedily finishes her portion. Her fingers are wrapped around her cup and she smiles. Her heart flutters and a pleasant sigh leaves her lips. Suguru hides his own smile, holding his cup in front of his lips. "So ... what do you think?"
Haru licks her lips. "It's the best."
"All right!" Satoru slams his hands on the table, knocking Haru and Suguru out of whatever ecstasy-induced coma they were just in. "Food first, then movies and snacks!"
𝓣HE MOVIE IS SUPPOSED TO BE SCARY. Key-word : supposed.
The ancient black and white film that Shoko has chosen plays in a grainy overlay, with static interrupting every other minute. An attractive female movie star lets out a stereotypical scream and she runs for life in an abandoned mall.
Haru hypothesizes that maybe if she were normal, then demonic zombie-like infected people would make for a scary movie. But she's not normal and Haru can't get herself to feel scared. Her eyes themselves are victims of an ongoing bad film. Curses trying to sink their jaws into her, a broken rib or arm after a fight, battlefields splattered with blood, a cart carrying a body bag being wheeled into the morgue, rotten corpses laying forgotten in an abandoned building.
But she lies to herself — she says that she isn't scared because she's surrounded by her closest friends. They're all squished on Satoru's bed, sitting atop rumpled bed sheets. They're tipsy ... maybe just a little bit drunk thanks to them experimenting with different types of beer and wine that Shoko brought along — sans Satoru who opted for a sugary energy drink instead.
She munches unamusedly on a bag of popcorn, watching with only minor disgust as a zombie sinks its vicious fangs into its next victim, who promptly starts its own descent into monstrous madness. Satoru and his loud, muddled commentary becomes quieted by Shoko, who is very adamant on watching the next killing scene without interruptions.
Suguru, next to Haru, is totally hypnotized by the film, methodically raising popcorn to his lips. As if sensing her gaze however, he turns to her. His eyes widen only fractionally. "Umm, you got a little something on your face," he gestures to a couple of crumbs by her mouth.
"Oh," she mumbles and sloppily wipes her face with her sleeve. Haru turns to him again, head anchored low and her hair dangling from the side. She looks at him innocently. "That better?"
"Uh, just a bit left right here ..." Liquid courage takes over and Suguru hesitantly reaches and swipes away a few crumbs left by her lips. He touches her lightly and delicately, like Haru is a piece of fine silverware, the pads of his fingers gliding on her face. His movements are uncoordinated but welcome. Sloppy but gentle.
He widens his eyes, realizing the sudden closeness, realizing it's the first time he's deliberately moved closer to Haru. Guilt etches on his face — like he's sinned — like touching Haru was wrong. He retracts his hand. "Sorry," he mumbles.
Haru is disappointed. Because she wanted the touch to continue.
She shrugs. "It's okay. I'm such a messy eater." She scoffs, "Embarrassing, right?"
Suguru shakes his head. He slurs, "What? It's not embarrassing." He sets his elbow on his thigh and rests his chin on his wrist, half-lidded eyes meeting Haru's. "Just ... cute," he finishes softly.
Haru snickers, momentarily aware of how cheerful she suddenly is. She wants to return her attention to the movie and by the looks of it, Suguru does too, but their gaze lingers on each other. A hesitant look at first. Unsure. But it turns, twists, evolves into something completely different. Ageless. Profound. Longing. Wanting. Certainly — Haru tells herself — it's the liquor. Her sober self isn't capable of perceiving this. Yet, the feeling is honest.
The snap of a camera startles both of them.
Both turn to look at Shoko, who is pointing her phone at them. With a deadpan stare, she snaps another picture, the flash camera momentarily blinding them. Satoru leans in, taking the phone from Shoko's hand. "Aww, you guys look sooo cute!"
Haru is up in an instant, promptly ignoring Suguru's red face. "Stop taking pictures of us! Delete that!"
She's clambering over to Satoru, on a mission to take the phone from his unrelenting grip. "Give it to me!"
"Nope! Why won't you two admit that you're in lo—" Haru slams her hands over his mouth, before Satoru said anything that would embarrass both her and
Suguru.
"Oí, you fucking idiots, you're gonna break my phone!" Shoko jumps into the fold, joining the wrestling match Haru and Satoru have found themselves in and Suguru sits there, unaware of who even to support.
Satoru dodges both girls with ease. "Suguru!" He yells between laughs, "help me out here!"
At some point, Haru and Shoko team up. Haru pulls Satoru's hair — a petty move, she knows — and Shoko jumps on top of him, both girls relentlessly attacking him for Shoko's phone. Suguru stays by the sidelines, but that doesn't last long because at some point Shoko suspects he's going to help Satoru and he's suddenly thrown around by a very angry Shoko.
The film continues in the background, consisting of zombie snarls and petrifying screams. Their movie night ends that way : with playful fighting and insults and with the almost demise of one Gojo Satoru and Geto Suguru. They laugh and fight, like typical kids, not sorcerers who've seen death flash before their eyes. Just kids, not kids who carry the whole world on their shoulders. Haru's chest hurts from laughing and at some point someone has knocked the wind out of her with a punch to the stomach but she doesn't care. Blissfulness. There won't be anymore moments like these as soon as they graduate. Alcohol controls them. Clumsy movements. Loud shrieks. Ecstatic laughs. Forbidden, limited moments.
Haru's consistent headache is briefly forgotten. Fun is the best medicine, she thinks. Her life once consisting of clinical touches, cruel words, and haunting looks is so much different now. Doctors, hospitals, and dread have been replaced with dorms, teachers, and monsters. And even though it looks like she's switched to one hell from another — from unloving crowds to terrifying curses — her friends make everything more tolerable. A small bargain. A small price to pay for something a bit better.
Haru isn't pessimistic. She's just aware of the world she lives in.
𝓪𝗎𝗍𝗁𝗈𝗋'𝗌 𝓷𝗈𝗍𝖾 ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ I actually wasn't planning on publishing this chapter till next month but I was so bored the other day that I literally wrote the entire chapter and edited it the next day lmao.
I've basically kinda planned this story out EXCEPT for the ending, which im so torn about. I have no idea how to end this fic but it's gonna be a pretty short story so we'll see what I come up with 😭
tysm for reading <3
© 𝒕𝒗𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒔 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒
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