"Hey, no need to get so angry about it... it was just a joke, you idiot," she sweatdropped.
"Haizz, oh- my coach is here. I'll call you later; you better answer."
She bid him farewell before ending the call, putting her phone aside. Yara went to the couch and turned the TV on, deciding to watch a movie to kill time.
Yara watched almost three movies before she fell asleep on the couch with the TV still on. Jolting awake due to dreaming about what Owen said before the call ended, she glanced around to find her phone buzzing. Reaching towards the phone, she was startled by what she saw:
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99+ missed calls from Owen.
23+ new messages from Owen.
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Yara turned paler, clutching her hair. She answered the incoming call, ready to hear him scream at her for not answering.
"Yara?" Yara was surprised when she heard Owen's calm voice.
"Y-yeah? Look, I'm sorry for not answering the call, I fell asleep before I knew. I-"
"Hey-hey, it's alright. I thought something happened." Yara let out a breath, scratching her head.
"Phew, anyways, what's up? Your voice sounds happy? Did you win the lottery?"
"Oh... ahaha... Well, Shelly and I started talking again..."
"Woah! I'm glad! Keep it up!" She smiled at the news.
They both talked about what Owen and Shelly discussed and shared their thoughts. After one hour and twenty minutes of talking, they finally bid farewell to each other as Yara placed her phone down. Standing up, she realized the wound stopped aching anymore. Slowly reaching down to open the bandage, she found it fully closed, with only a few scratches remaining. Overall, her leg was back to normal. Yara started jumping, feeling the absence of pain.
She happily jogged towards the kitchen before making her breakfast, humming a tune. She ate in silence, and once finished, she started washing the dishes one by one. Going upstairs, she took a bath and changed into her uniform, heading downstairs with her bag on her back. Happily carrying her bike outside, she kissed Astrid before setting off.
Sitting in the saddle, her spirit screamed happiness. Nothing could compare to Yara's happiness, especially when seated on her bike. She hummed on the way to school, enjoying every moment of the ride.
Even though she was running late, Yara didn't care as long as her leg was healed. She opened the door to her classroom and simply sat down, the teacher at the front not bothering to lecture the pale girl as the class continued without interruption.
Arriving home, Yara decided to go on a late-night ride alone to refresh her body. Tossing her bag onto the couch, she went upstairs to change into her cycling gear. Her outfit had a black base with a small embroidered logo in front and a larger one at the back, both colored in golden thread. The cycling pants featured a gold stripe on each side, perfectly matching her jersey.
Waving at Astrid, her faithful companion, Yara grabbed her bike and headed outside. Once on the street, she set off, deciding to roam around to familiarize herself with the road. With the night already settled in, the surroundings were eerily silent. Putting on her earpods, she blasted a song, a smile spreading across her face as she happily pedaled, vibing to the music.
Suddenly, a loud "Pow!" pierced the quiet night air, prompting Yara to whip her head around to locate the source of the sound. There, in the distance, she spotted a single firework lighting up the sky. Confused but intrigued, she stopped pedaling and looked around, trying to decipher the meaning behind the unexpected display.
"Was there a celebration?" she muttered to herself, curiosity piqued.
As she pondered.
'Green...'
"....."
"Oh," realization dawned on her. She remembered the race that had taken place earlier. Determined to investigate further, she decided to follow the direction from which the fireworks originated. Carefully navigating the streets, she stopped one block before reaching her destination, spotting people wearing ghost crew jackets ahead.
It seemed that the race had already started, as Yara only saw the crew except their leader. Jay was nowhere to be found. She observed the scene from a distance, noticing the tension in the air as the racers prepared for the competition ahead.
A single drop of water landed on Yara's nose, drawing her attention upward. She glanced at the darkening sky and saw rain clouds gathering, threatening to release a downpour. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, she quickly sought refuge in a nearby corner with a roof, just enough to shield her from getting wet. There, she waited patiently for the race to conclude.
After what felt like an eternity, a figure approached the crew riding a bike. Yara's eyes widened in recognition as she saw Jay among them, with Hwangyeon close behind. As Jay began to walk away, Yara decided to follow him discreetly, maintaining a safe distance between them. They navigated through several turns until Jay finally came to a stop. Yara halted as well, mirroring his actions.
"Are you just gonna follow me without saying anything?" Jay's sudden question caught Yara off guard, confirming that it was indeed directed at her.
"No..." Her response was hesitant as she slowly walked beside him, their eyes meeting briefly before he turned away and continued walking.
They reached Vinny's place and waited at the corner, both soaking wet from the rain along with their bikes. They listened to the steady pour of rain, feeling its cool embrace against their skin. As Vinny came into view, Yara glanced at the approaching redhead.
"...."
"What are you two doing here?" Vinny's tone held a hint of irritation as he passed them, entering his own house. Yara suddenly remembered a similar encounter when Minu had first run away from home.
"What are you two doing?" Vinny's voice called out from the gate.
"Are you both just going to keep standing there like soaked cats?" Yara managed to let out a scoff.
"Ah..." was the only response from Jay. Together, they grabbed their bikes and followed Vinny inside.
Vinny raised an eyebrow as he glanced at Yara's jersey. Jay couldn't help but also check out her attire.
"Ah, yes. It's from my old crew."
"What?"
"I used to belong to another crew before joining Hummingbird Crew." Yara's statement hung in the air, causing both boys to fall silent. They didn't press her further about it. Vinny tossed Yara and Jay a towel before turning on the stove to heat up some water. Yara turned around and unzipped her drenched jersey, slowly taking it off and hanging it in a corner to dry. She wiped the rain off her skin with the towel before turning back around, only to find the two boys looking at her with reddening faces.
"...."
"......"
"...."
"What?" Yara was confused by their silence as the two boys snapped out of their trance and immediately looked away. Perplexed, she looked down at her attire. She was wearing a sports bra, so there shouldn't have been any problem with it...right?
Some time later, the atmosphere returned back to normal as they both dried themselves off.
"Are you both having ramen?" Vinny's voice broke the silence, causing both Yara and Jay to glance up at him.
"Yeah..." They both answered in unison.
Now, Yara was currently wearing one of Vinny's clothes, and the same went for Jay. The cozy attire provided some relief from the chill of the rain-soaked evening.
Bzzt.
Yara looked at the buzzing ancient phone in the corner as Jay went to grab it. She watched silently as he answered the call.
"Forget it, I'll tell you later. I'm at Vinny's place right now." Minu's voice could be heard screaming from the other line, causing Yara to sweatdrop as she glanced at Vinny. The call ended, and Jay looked at Vinny's back.
"Minu says he's coming over too," Jay relayed, earning an irritated grunt from Vinny.
"Goddamnit, what is this, some kind of shelter for abandoned animals?!" Vinny snapped the uncooked noodle in two, prompting Yara to snicker.
"Oi! Stop laughing!" he exclaimed, but Yara burst out laughing nonetheless.
.
.
.
𝕿𝖔 𝕭𝖊 𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖚𝖊𝖉.