A/N: I'm really sorry for the long absence but first of all, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!! Huge thanks to all of you for sticking around and making this turbulent year easier for me! I love all of you and wish the best in this new year! <3 I actually started an office job last week which is why I have been behind on updates, I really planned to post this on 31st to match up the story but everything was so busy then my job would get me tired every night hence here it is now :(
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The days after your birthday, Rosalyne contemplated various things. It's true she indeed had work to do from the university but her mind was distracted most of the time. She wanted to do more things with you, she didn't want to spend New Years Eve all by herself in her lonely apartment while watching the same old movies and thinking of him.... But she couldn't bring herself to invite you outright.
Many times, she picked up her phone and typed 'Would you like to meet up on 31st?' in your chat but deleted it before sending, she hoped you'd rather invite her but she knew she shouldn't hold out for expectations. Then a sudden call from your mother on 28th December took her by surprise. An invite for a gathering on New Years Eve at your apartment? Oh, how the stars work. Still, she was surprised that your mother was the one inviting her and she was rather eager about it as well. But if it meant that she could be with you on the special day then she was more than happy to accept.
~-~-~-~-~-~-~
Presently, you watched as Ms Rosalyne entered your house and followed your mother to sit in the living room. You were confused out of your mind, what was this situation?
"M-Mom, what's happening....?"
"Hm? Oh, I invited her for the event tonight. They did tell us we are free to invite more friends so I felt Ms Rosalyne is the perfect person, and she was also free so she agreed~"
You became flustered, "B-But you should tell me first, you know?!"
It was an embarrassing situation. You had not showered today and barely combed your bed hair and were wearing clothes from 2 days ago.... and Ms Rosalyne saw you in this dreaded state. You looked at her and she simply smiled like always but you couldn't stand in front of her this way. You immediately went to your room and locked the door before making preparations to bathe and wear better clothes. Your mother softly chuckled before turning to Ms Rosalyne and engaging in small talk with her.
"How could she do this and not tell me?! Dammit, I was looking so bad and she saw me that way.... Ugh, I want to curl up and die!!!"
You pouted as you stood under the warm shower and quickly washed yourself, "....Is my mom planning something? Don't tell me she's trying to—?!"
The only possibility you could think was your mother somehow trying to get you with Ms Rosalyne given that she said she's supporting you in this. You got ready as fast as you could since you didn't want your mother to do something embarrassing but it seems you were too late. You came out to the living room after 20 minutes and saw both of them sitting side by side and looking at something kept on the table, their backs turned to you.
"Ah, and this one is when she was 2.... Oh, she was so cute back then!~" your mother giggled and Ms Rosalyne also smiled along.
"M-Mom, what are you doing?"
"Oh, Y/n, perfect timing! Could you get us some water, please?~"
"O-Okay...." you slowly went to the kitchen and filled up 2 glasses of water then carried them out to serve both of them. You reached the tableside and finally saw what they were looking at, and you wish you didn't come at all.
"Photo albums?! The hell—!"
"Thank you, Y/n." Ms Rosalyne said while picking up a glass and smiling innocently at you. You then smiled back at her and looked at your mother who picked up the other glass and sneakily winked at you.
"Come, sit with us, Y/n. I decided to show some of your childhood pictures to Ms Rosalyne since she was interested~"
"....You were interested, ma'am?"
"Ah! I was merely curious, we were discussing about you and happened to talk about you as a child so...." Ms Rosalyne trailed off with a light blush on her face, you too became flustered then nodded before your mother exclaimed.
"Alright, let's continue!~"
You sat on the couch beside them and watched as they flipped through the pages, your mother gushing over practically every photo and explaining the story behind them to Ms Rosalyne who intently listened to everything.
"Aaaand here she is getting a bath~"
"M-mom! Don't show that—!" You lunged forward and attempted to hide the photo, feeling extremely embarrassed.
"Oh, come on, you were just a baby in that~" your mother giggled.
"B-but still—!" You looked at Ms Rosalyne who softly chuckled.
"It's okay, Y/n~"
You pouted then stood up, "I-I'm going to my room. Call me when you decide to go up."
"Sure sure~" Your mother spoke and waved at you with a pleased grin, you then walked away to your room and closed the door shut before lying on the bed with a sigh. Your mother and Ms Rosalyne continued looking through all the 3 albums then closed them and rested on the couch with tea in their hands.
"Hah~ She was so adorable as a child; she was born slightly overweight so I used to be concerned but she fortunately faced no other conditions and grew up normally. In fact, her chubby features just made her all the more adorable and everyone would dote on her so much!"
Your mother chimed happily, reveling in your childhood memories and making Ms Rosalyne chuckle along.
"I would have never guessed she was born overweight with how she looks currently. Did she become self-conscious about it or....?"
Your mother pondered for a moment before exhaling deeply, "She remained on the chubby side even during teen years and we didn't pressurize her much about it; as long as she was healthy, we were fine with anything. But..... she started rapidly losing weight some time in class 10 or 11. And no‐ she wasn't dieting or anything, it just happened naturally."
Ms Rosalyne looked concerned, "Was it perhaps..... mental health related?"
"Mhm, that's most probable. It's the same time her father became the way he did.... I had all her tests done and nothing had changed in her diet or lifestyle except for the constant stress and pressure at home. There came a time when she hated coming home from school since the same old dreaded things awaited her. I.... I can't deny I'm partially to blame as well since I tried to divert myself with work during that time."
Ms Rosalyne listened silently and tried to think of some comforting words but she wasn't sure what to say to your mother. Had it been you, she would have hugged you by now and encouraged you in many ways.
"Ah, my apologies for making all this gloomy. Today is a happy occasion, please don't bother with these talks." Your mother spoke immediately and Ms Rosalyne simply nodded with a smile.
"It's okay, Mrs L/n. People like us also need to let out some steam once in a while, I'm happy to lend an ear this way."
"Hehe~ You are too kind, Ms Rosalyne. Do people still call you the 'Ice Queen' at the institute?~"
Ms Rosalyne softly chuckled, "It's been a while since I heard that title, I'll be honest. But I'm sure it's still in everyone's mind even if they don't say it out loud~"
Both of them laughed together then Ms Rosalyne spoke.
"I did wonder something, Mrs L/n. If you don't mind me asking...."
"Of course, go ahead."
"In these albums, there was no photo of Y/n's father. Did you perhaps, remove all of them or....?"
"Ah, indeed I did. Last year after she was diagnosed with amnesia, I went over many things in the house and threw away everything containing even the slightest trace of him. It.... infuriated me, to even think of him."
Ms Rosalyne stared into empty space as if she was remembering something then spoke, "....I understand, Mrs L/n."
Your mother smiled then looked at the wall clock to note the time, "Hmm, we still have another half n hour before the event. Would you like to have something, Ms Rosalyne?"
"I'm good, Mrs L/n. Maybe we can ask Y/n if she wants something."
"Oh— why not! Would you mind asking her? I'll do some preparations for the event."
"Ah, I don't mind helping you. Is there some—"
"No no, it's okay. Everything is ready, I just need to arrange them. I do want you to check up on Y/n, if you don't mind."
Ms Rosalyne nodded with a smile. Both of them stood up and your mother went to her own room while Ms Rosalyne walked towards yours and gently knocked on the door, "Y/n, it's me. May I come in?"
You were lying on your bed and browsing through your phone when Ms Rosalyne's sudden voice jolted you up, you then immediately got up to open the door and greet her.
"Y-yes, ma'am! Please come...."
You cleared the way for her to walk inside and offered her to sit on the bedside, which she humbly accepted.
"Did my mother go back to her room...?"
"Hm? Yes, she did. She said she has to prepare some things for the event before leaving and asked me to check up on you in the meantime"
"O-oh, I'm sorry you had to bother. You could have just called me, I would have come outside...."
Ms Rosalyne chuckled, "It's not a bother. I did want to come since we haven't talked in a while so I thought we could catch up a little."
You blushed hearing her words then nodded with a small smile on your face and took a seat beside her.
"Um, did my mom say some embarrassing things? I apologize on her behalf if she made you uncomfortable...."
"Oh, don't mind that, Y/n. We got along well and I had a fun time, truly."
"I see.... I really had no idea you would be coming so I was not prepared at all."
Ms Rosalyne smiled and looked at you from head to toe, realizing you were wearing different clothes from before and your hair were slightly damp. "How cute...."
"So.... how were you these days? I assume you had a lot of work from the institute, ma'am."
Ms Rosalyne snapped out of her thoughts then cleared her throat to speak.
"Mhm, I did. There's all these planning and scheduling to do for the next semester.... Hah~ they don't leave us even during holidays. One day they even proposed to come to the institute for a meeting but the rest firmly declined since most were out of town. It was preposterous...."
Ms Rosalyne let out an exhausted sigh and you smiled to yourself while gazing at her.
"You tell me, Y/n, how were you these days? Oh, were you able to read those books? Were they up to your expectations?"
"Ah! I did, actually! I haven't read all since I forgot a lot of the story and had to get up to date on the internet but I'm really liking them so far. Thank you so much for gifting them, ma'am...."
Ms Rosalyne smiled satisfactorily then caressed your cheek, "It was just a small gesture I could do. I would have done more had I....."
She trailed off and thought about some things. Why did she not do more even when she knew of your birthday weeks ago? It was clearly not due to time constraint. Aside from being unsure of meeting you that day, perhaps she simply couldn't bring herself to do so much for a student. Or perhaps she was still fighting her own self and her thoughts on you. But in the end, she was glad for how things turned out.
She shook her head with a smile and changed the topic, "Anyways, how's your studies going?"
You sensed the topic change all too well but decided to go with the flow.
"Not bad, I think.... I have been following the plan we discussed and noting down all doubts that I come across. Oh, this reminds me. I wanted to discuss the schedule for next semester. Since we are required to come only thrice a week for project purposes, how will we do our lessons?"
"Hmm, I have thought a few things for that. We will continue the weekend tutoring as usual, and I have been trying to align my timetable in such a way that I can teach you on the days you come."
"Oh, but.... won't you still be our class teacher? You won't have our class in your timetable?"
"Mhm, that's not how it works, unfortunately. I am your class teacher but there are no subjects to teach this semester. There will be project guides assigned to all of you and you have to meet them in order to write up your thesis."
"Thesis.... I have to select a topic for that too."
"I know, which is why I assigned myself to be your project guide and I have a few topics ready with some material that will make things easy. You can focus on other studies and do the thesis later."
You looked at her wide-eyed and were bubbling in happiness inside. You really didn't expect her to already think so far and help you to this extent.
"....Thank you so much, ma'am. I'll do my best with both of them."
You smiled at her and she was taken aback for a moment but returned a smile and patted your head. A knock was immediately heard on your door now and your mother called our before walking in.
"I'm sorry to keep you both waiting. I just got a call from the organizers, they said we can come now."
Both of you agreed and made your way to the venue together with your mother after picking up the things she had prepared to be kept at the venue. Since it was a small gathering, the organizers had proposed all guests to bring a dish with them and share with everyone so as to reduce cost on the catering. Your mother prepared a huge batch of delicious and piping hot pasta which you couldn't wait to devour— but you had to since it would be served with the other dishes.
The venue- which was just the shared garden of your apartment building- was suitably decorated, nothing too extravagant but the fairy lights and balloons gave it a charming look and made things rather cozy. There were some heaters kept around the corners and a bonfire in the middle for people to huddle around. You and Ms Rosalyne sat near one of the heaters while your mother was busy chatting with other guests and helping in the last-minute preparations. More and more people kept coming and it became a lively place in no time.
"....Are you not going to talk with others, Y/n? I can see some people who seem to near your age."
"I.... I don't know anyone, actually. My mother has interacted with our neighbors and attended some community events but I have never. I think this is the first time I'm even seeing so many people lived in the building."
Ms Rosalyne chuckled, "Well, at least you have me for company, right?~"
You blushed then smiled, "And I'm very happy about it, ma'am~"
You laughed together. The place became quite vibrant after a while, food and drinks were being exchanged in one corner while some games were being played in another. Most of the older people were glued to the bonfire and silently watched things unfold. Your mother came to offer Ms Rosalyne some alcohol and invited her to talk with others if she wanted to, she firmly refused the alcohol but talked with others for a while.
She didn't stay away for long as she kept looking at you sitting all alone in the same corner and looking at your phone. She'd rather sit beside you in silence than mingle with the noise. You shared drinks and snacks while playing some games together with her, eventually dancing for a bit then sitting down to rest. Hours passed quickly and it was already close to 12 now, everyone was drunk and exhausted from dancing and talking and were waiting for the most awaited moment- the arrival of the new year.
"You know, Y/n...." Ms Rosalyne spoke from beside you all of a sudden.
"Y-yes ma'am?"
"....In your photos, you were really cute in your childhood~"
Your faced turned red out of embarrassment, "N-no, I...."
You looked away with your head bowed and Ms Rosalyne found you all the more adorable now. She had wanted to say this for so long today, she genuinely found you really cute in the photos.
"Aww, don't shy away. I'm just saying the truth~" She leaned in and cupped your face to tenderly gaze at you.
".....T-thank you, ma'am."
"Hehe~ I do wish I had seen you for real, I wouldn't be able to hold back from pinching your cheeks~"
She let go of your face and you pursed your lips before finally speaking.
"W-well, what about now....?"
"Now? Uh, you are still cute but I don't want to treat you as a child with that action...."
You blushed then whispered, loud enough for her to hear.
"....Then, something else, perhaps?"
"What do you mean, Y/n?"
You gazed at her intently as you tried to desperately speak what you wanted but you couldn't bring yourself to.
"I-I'm just joking. Thank you for the compliment, ma'am."
You forced a smile and she felt suspicious for a moment but smiled back. Few moments later, everyone stood up and gathered around with their companions as the countdown started. You and Ms Rosalyne also stood up and joined in, you spotted your mother on the other end and tried to wave to her but she was busy chatting away hence decided to leave her be.
You glanced at Ms Rosalyne beside you, realizing hers was the first face you'd see in the new year. You wanted to have this moment with her, to gaze upon her and hold her hand as the clock struck twelve. She too glanced at you and smiled before intertwined her hand with yours and shouting out the countdown together.
"5!"
"4!"
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
In a matter of seconds, fireworks burst forth and illuminated the night sky. Their shine and glimmer fell upon everyone's faces as they cheered happily and celebrated.
"Happy new year!"
The people clapped, shouted, cheered and hugged each other with utmost joy. Ms Rosalyne giggled along with everyone and greeted all those nearby. Your eyes were fixated on her as soon as the countdown ended, the shine of the fireworks made her appear even brighter than usual and it felt like you were gazing at her ethereal beauty with the way her eye sparkled and her hair glowed.
"I love you, Rosalyne...."
The words fell from your lips without realization. It was what you kept in your heart all this time and at this moment, your body moved on its own. Ms Rosalyne turned to face you with a confused expression and leaned closer.
"Did you say something, Y/n? I couldn't hear due to the fireworks and the noise around."
That's when you came back to your senses and realized what you just said. But now that she was focused on you and actively listening, you didn't have the courage to say it again.
"Happy new year, ma'am."
You buried it again. You couldn't do it.
Ms Rosalyne smiled brightly then opened her arms and captured you in a gentle but tight hug.
"Happy new year to you too. I wish you all the best things in life and that you achieve all your goals and aspirations. Also, I'm sure this year will be better for you and you will have all the happiness you deserve."
She caressed your head before leaning back slightly and kissing your cheek, laughing softly in return.
"....This is what I would have done now~"
She was referring to the previous conversation you had. You smiled and thanked her.
"I wish the same for you as well, ma'am. I hope to see you happy and be loved...."
Ms Rosalyne was surprised at your statement and suddenly thought of him. That's true, it had been another year that she spent without him and was now entering a new year without him once again. She remembered the past years she spent alone being cooped up in her house as the clock would strike 12 and the world would celebrate while she had nothing to celebrate. But this year changed significantly.
She was glad she met you and acquainted with you in such a manner. She would have never seen this coming 6 months ago when she entered your classroom and met you as just another student she would teach for a year then never see or talk with again. She really couldn't have guessed any of this even with how meticulous she was and planned many possibilities in advance....