𝐏𝐇𝐎𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐗 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐂𝐄.

three.

❝ TALKING TO AN ANGEL. ❞ : 003
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＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚ 𝐏𝗛𝗢𝗘𝗡𝗜𝗫 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗖𝗘 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊

IT WAS NOT APPRECIATED. [Name] [Last Name]'s colleagues were too passionate, like mints thrown into a fizzy drink, two chaotic young adults who had nowhere to run and lived for no tomorrow. Because of them, it brought a kind of light she couldn't grab and pocket / reminding her that winter nights was all she knew and will only will. And because of them, she had to return home and accept her impending doom.

But it wasn't their fault.

She chose to hang out with them. Indulge in their after-work activities, create cherishable but fleeting memories, instead of immediately going home after her shift.

It was her fault—not theirs.

The guilt haunts her mind, like a fresh wound gushing out blood, reminding her of her mistake; that she will always be at fault.

"Hey," Sayrenn murmured, passing her a piece of paper and glanced at her from the corner of her eye, a faint smile curling on her lips. "I heard you came late today. Is that why you look awful?"

[Name] refrained from looking at the paper, instead burned a hold into the side of her seat-mate's face. "I look awful?"

She nearly misses the distraught dancing in her voice. That same voice that was as hollow as a ghost / always getting lost in the wind. Yet whenever she hears it—she can't help but feel honoured.

"To everybody, I guess. To me, you look the same except your tie is missing, your shirt is unbuttoned and the bags under your eyes are getting worse." Sayrenn admits, bitterly, hating her flesh for being made of truth and wielding a tongue full of honesty. "Anways, are you sure you're getting enough sleep?"

[Name] sighed, muttering, "is two hours of sleep considered enough?"

"What, no!" She whispered, harshly. "You're supposed to be sleeping for at least eight hours. Besides, how can your body even function on two hours of sleep?"

[Name] yawns, shrugging. "It doesn't."

"Yes, it does." Sayrenn grimaced, noticing how her curls kept falling in her face, resulting in [Name] using a rubber band as a hair tie. "Have you at least tried taking melatonin?"

[Name] nodded. Her lips pursed into a thin line before quietly saying, "doesn't work."

"What?" Her seat-mate remarked, confused.

"The melatonin...." she muttered, voice withering like moon dust and hardened like marble. "It doesn't work .... it never does."

Sayrenn sighed, averting her eyes back to the board and continued writing down the note. "We'll have to keep looking then," she repeated the same thing every time a method did not work for [Name]'s condition.

"Or we could just give up," [Name] plainly suggested, scoffing when Sayrenn sent her a pointed look.

She quirked an eyebrow when she asked, "Since when were you a quitter?"

[Name] rolled her eyes. A soft smile curled in disdain onto her lips. "I'm not. I just don't have hope in a lot of things anymore."

To everyone else: she looked happy. She looked like she was enjoying the conversation, the company and everything that made the moment happy.

But Sayrenn knew better.

All Sayrenn could see was a girl who drew until she was burnt out, her hands aching from the blisters on her wooden pencil as she examined her progress. A girl who would walk through the halls, insecure as usual. And lastly, a girl who appears to have used her sketches as a way of mourning her life.

"But that doesn't mean you can just give up—" The Filipina whispered harshly, but was cut off by the literature teacher.

"[Last Name] and Paredes." The literature teacher grumbled as she quickly approached them. Her eyes fierce-like and a bit determine-burnt—just like her voice. "Is your conversation more important than my lesson?"

[Name] and Sayrenn shared a look, nodding and cheekily say in unison, "yes."

"I won't accept this appalling behaviour from the either of you. Please, leave my classroom."

"If you insist," [Name] retorted.

She grabbed her bag and got out of her seat, followed by Sayrenn, who had put her books and pencil case into her bookbag. The two made their way to the door discreetly, ignoring the perplexed looks from their peers and the irate one from their teacher.

As soon as they closed the door, bags hanging off their shoulders, [Name] whistled, "didn't think she'd actually let us leave."

"Tell me about it," grinned Sayrenn, rolling her eyes.

And the second they made eye contact, the girls burst into fits of laughter, strolling through the halls without a care in the world. smiles, giggles, and fun was all they would want.

It was nice. A world drowning in serenity was foreign but once the experience came, resonating in it and continued to follow the same routine—the one they did everyday—it was no surprise to find them near a vending machine.

"Wanna get out of here?" Sayrenn suggested. She bent down in front of a vending machine, grabbing the strawberry milk carton out the slot.

"You won't get in trouble this time, right? Because my parents would rather not attend another dinner with yours to discuss your sudden erratic behaviour," [Name] commented unsurely and refused to make eye contact with her as she accepted the yogurt.

"Yeah, I can't promise you anything but—"

"Then never mind. Let's just go to the library instead," [Name] interrupts with a stern and gruff tone. Sayrenn pursed her lips in protest but says nothing.

The rest of their walk was peaceful—the corridors were empty and filled with silence because everyone else resided in their classrooms—and [Name] listening to the music pouring from her earbuds and Sayrenn drinking on her carton of milk. But along the way, she saw her—Hinata Tachibana—and she could've sworn death had finally claimed her; her breathing ceased and her heart rate increased. As blood rushed to her head: love began to bind in her thoughts.

But the thoughts quickly melted into hatred when Takemichi entered her line of vision. She hated him. His sunny demeanor. His stupid, blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. His sweet smile and the way he leaned into Hinata—basking in her warmth and appreciating her saccharine voice that only uttered honeyed words—she hated him.

And as her hatred began to cloud her, [Name] misses how quickly Hinata pushed the boy away once seeing her and Sayrenn. Missing the way a sweet smile curls onto her lips, waving, as she approached them.

"Can we help you?" Sayrenn inquired amusedly, breaking her seat mate's concentration and roping her back into reality.

And [Name] soon takes note of the beauty in front of her—admiring her—Hina nodded, cutely. "Yes, actually. I wanted to talk to [Name]—"

Takemichi covered her mouth in one quick swoop, intensely looking at them, while sweating profusely and apologizing on Hina's behalf. "I-I'm so sorry about her! She didn't mean to disrupt your day! Please, forgive us, [Last Name]!"

[Name] clicked her tongue. "She didn't disrupt my day, you did," She snapped at him, rolling her eyes. "And no, I will not forgive you."

"You do know what happens when [Name] won't forgive you, right?" Sayrenn added, slyly. Her smirk slowly etching across her face from ear to ear.

"N-no!"

"Then, I'll show you," [Name] murmured out, teeth grinding against each other, as she pushed him away from Hinata. The girl blinked at her—watching [Name] hover over her and smirk. "You should be with someone who doesn't stink, doll face."

Hinata opened her mouth to say something, but closed it since [Name] and Sayrenn were already walking away like nothing happened. She watched until they turned the corner and were no longer in sight, she glanced at Takemichi, who was on the floor, panting for air. "I told you not to embarrass yourself, Takemichi."

The blond sighed, gazing down. "I know..." He meekly admitted, and played with his fingers. "But I think we should just leave her alone, Hina."

"Why do you keep saying that," She frowned and ran her fingers through her hair. "It's not like I'm doing it for Mikey's pleasure. So why can't I be friends with her?"

"Because she doesn't want anymore friends. She has Sayrenn. Besides, Yamagishi says she sleeps through classes or draws the anytime and you hate people like that, Hina. You like people who actually try and care." He explained, getting up and patting her on the shoulder.

"Who cares what, Yamagishi thinks! He doesn't know her personally but I will. Even if it means dying in the process."

His eyes widened, inhaling a sharp breath. "D-Don't say that! Your words have power, remember."

"I know, and I still stand by what I said."

Sayrenn wiggling her eyebrows at [Name], who sat across from her, draggingly asking, "soooo...what was that about?"

"What was what about?" She muttered, causing the filipina to frown and furrow her eyebrows together.

[Name] didn't look away from her sketchpad or the library book she was currently using. She kept her gaze far away from Sayrenn and continued her work.

"You and Tachibana," She pressed. Her brown eyes warmed with determination to put the pieces together as she stared at her. "And don't say it was nothing. It was clearly something."

"It really wasn't. I was just being honest with her. She's too good for him and any boy, especially those losers from the other schools." [Name] scoffed, turning a page in an art book.

"You mean the ones who come here every time school's over to see her?"

"Yeah, them."

Sayrenn took note of the acid dripping from her tongue and how quick her eyes hardened. She could tell just how angry she was; wishing to burn the world and shield the flames away from her.

"You really love her, huh?" Sayrenn questioned, resting her cheek on the palm of her hand. Her voice unwavering in amusement as she stared at her. "And don't lie. I can see it in your eyes."

[Name] finally glanced up and eyed her unwaveringly,  sharp and cold, like a diamond, as a scowl morphed onto her face, easily. "You see nothing," she snapped, narrowing her eyes even more. "And could we please stop talking about this."

"Sure," Sayrenn deflated, forcing a smile and thinking back to what happened earlier in the day . "Anyways, remember that short boy from yesterday? I heard rumours about Takemichi trying to sleep with his sister."

In that moment, the lead of [Name]'s pencil broke against the white sheet of paper, due to how hard she had pressed down on it. "That idiot cheated on Hinata?!"

"I said tried, [Name]. The key word here is tried."  Sayrenn had reiterated exasperatedly, mentally rolling her eyes at her seat mate's odd behaviour.

"That doesn't change the fact that he almost did. What the hell is wrong with him. He gets the sweetest person to be his girlfriend and that's how he repays her."

"Eh," Sayrenn shrugged. "I heard she wacked him in the head with a baseball bat so they're probably even."

"They're not even if she doesn't kill him," [Name] corrected, tone sharp and cold.

She rolls her eyes, frowning, "Maybe she doesn't want blood on her hands."

"Then I'll do it." [Name] affirmed, quickly. She stared at the filipina with an uncanny glint in her eyes. "It shouldn't be that hard."

"Of course you would," Sayrenn quipped, "you'll do anything for that girl. And besides, it wouldn't be your first time."

"Could you be any louder?" She groaned, rolling her eyes.

"My bad."

[Name] hummed to her apology, and a short layer of silence fell onto them for a couple minutes. During that time, she continued on with her work and paid her seat mate no mind.

Sayrenn, however, liked the soft scribbles of a pencil against paper and the beautiful hums that passed [Name]'s lips. She can't help but sway softly to the music vibrating in the air, adding to the ambiance, as she takes her Pixel Chix out of her school skirt and starts playing.

Like a crisp autumn breeze, the dim setting comforts them as bookshelves filled with ancient and modern knowledge; were giants compared to them and secludes attention. The wintry atmosphere was created by the air condition froze the place into a winter wonderland and curling up with a console or a book while thunderstorms rose in the chest.

After a few moments of silence, she adds, "Also, I can't hang out with you today."

"Huh, how come?" Sayrenn pondered, looking up from her game, boredly.  "Isn't it your day off?"

Now, [Name] was starting to feel bad as she watched the light slowly fade from her seat mate's eyes. "Yeah but some stuff came up at home," She tried to justify, "so I can't make it."

"Oh, okay."

"I know whenever you say okay, you're not okay, Sayrenn." [Name] plainly stated, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "But I'm really sorry, Sayrenn."

"Don't apologize for something you can't control." She said, "I know how much you look forward to these so knowing that you won't be there, sucks but you can't control what goes on in life."

[Name] hummed, "I guess you're right."

"I'm always right," Sayrenn replied, smugly.

The curly head stared at her blankly, flickering her eyes up and down. A soft chuckle tumbled out her mouth with a slight grin curling on her lips. "That chemistry test for mid terms begs to differ."

"You said you wouldn't bring that up again!"

"Did I?"

"Yeah, you did. That's literally how we began to hang out too. You found out how poorly I do in the science field and I found out you were nearly sent to e class." Sayrenn recited with an evil smirk.

She didn't say anything at first. But the way her smile grew wider and the amusement dancing in her eyes, increased and Sayrenn knew she was done for. However, [Name] heaved out a laugh, "I'm telling you Arikawa had it out for us for that day."

"Tell me about it," Sayrenn scoffed.

"Fucking asshole," [Name] swore.

Sayrenn nodded, "Got that right."

"And what makes it even worse is his crush on my mom! Like out of all the people it just had to be him. I would rather it be Daniel Monroe than anyone else." [Name] merely said, scoffing.

Sayrenn shrieked at the thought, laughing loudly. "The audacity of that man to think a beauty would want to be with a beast."

The two were in fits of giggles, laughing loudly and tossing their heads back as if nothing mattered. A funny scene surrounded them in the form of daisies dropping about and a shining sun. Nothing could ruin their days.