20 Eighteen

The room is chilly, and dark, with only the slight hum of the air conditioner can be heard. A single figure is lying on the bed staring at the ceiling for quite some time now, seemingly deep into her thoughts.

'I actually agreed to her without thinking.' She sighed upon recollection of what happened hours earlier.

'What does it really mean to be in a relationship? What do they do? How do they act?' She sighs again, this time even deeper while hugging a pillow tightly.

"Why did I do that?"

Siren closes her eyes and sees someone else that she immediately opened it.

"No... After how I treated her, I don't think saying I like her out of the blue will be the best."

Coincidentally, images of Peach sitting across her at the Ferris wheel flash into her mind. Somehow, she can't forget how she looks like back then, being radiated by the sun and looking almost like an angel, and how her heart reacted to it.

"Does she even like me?"

'I feel disappointed... And sad. I wonder why?'

'If she was the one to confess, what would I say?' She immediately shakes off that thought.

"As if. Peach? Liking me? After how I always treat her?" She whispers, leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

She sits up, annoyed, and ruffles her head almost violently.

"I need to stop thinking about her. I have a girlfriend now, this feels like cheating on her."

She lay down again, this time calmer than earlier.

'Whatever this is that I'm feeling, it needs to stop. This is for the best, for me... and for her.'

And finally, she falls asleep.

-

A loud sound followed by an immense pain on her thigh wakes up Siren the next day. She opens her eyes and sees her sister, Sorelle, glaring at her.

"You finally wake up! I thought I had to throw you away for you to wake up!"

"What is wrong with you? It's so early in the morning..."

"Early?!" She flinched when she shouted. "It's almost noon, you idiot! You didn't even help me with the chores!"

"You're so noisy! Can you shut up? Just tell me what I have to do!"

"Go buy these things at the supermarket! And do it faster, or else we won't have anything to eat." Her sister then storms out of her room. She stares at the paper in front of her before grunting and lying down again.

-

Supermarket

"This place never runs out of people." She mumbles as she pushes her cart looking around. "The owner must be really rich. So nice." She stops at an aisle and stares at the canned goods in front of her.

"Why are there so many brands of this thing? How should I know if I'm getting the right one?" She takes the paper out of the pocket of her jacket and scans it. "There's no brand name!" She looks at the canned goods again. "Ah, whatever. I'll just get the cheapest one." After grabbing some things, she halts again, this time on the wet food section in front of the fish.

"I wonder which one here is tuna?" She scans the fish. "Oh, there's a name tag." Siren takes her last stop at junk foods, tempted by the immense amount of high-calorie food in front of her.

'I should get one. After all, she forced me to do this. I'll just hide this from her or I'll get scolded to death.' She slowly enters the aisle, scanning the food and looking for her target when she heard a giggle coming from the next aisle. A giggle that seemed to be familiar to her.

She ignored it and continued looking for a snack but got distracted by that laugh.

'She's not the only one who laughs like that.'

"Peach, baby, how about this one?"

Hearing those low and baritone voices and a familiar name, she stops again.

She holds the grip of her pushcart tighter upon hearing a chuckle. And this time, she's sure it's that person.

"You don't even eat that! Let's just get this one. This tastes much better."

"Hmmm. Sure. You'll be the one cooking, anyway."

She pushes the cart almost running away, not wanting to hear the conversation anymore. She almost curses at how the aisles are close to each other that you got to hear any slightest noise from the other side. But she knows that that's not the problem.

With a heavy heart, she proceeds to the counter to pay while wishing to not encounter her.

'Right. Me... And Her? Why did I even think of such a ridiculous thing? Of course, it will never happen.'

She glances at the aisle again, silently hoping for that person to come out.

'Why? What difference would it make? It's annoying how I'm thinking this way. It's not like I'm affected. She can be with anyone she likes. It shouldn't matter to me!'

But Siren knows that's not the case.

-

Monday

Siren stops walking upon seeing a cute figure waiting under the tall post. The way her hand and feet fidgets makes her chuckle in silence.

'What is this cuteness so early in the morning?'

Shaking her head, she slowly approaches the unknowing victim.

"How long have you been waiting here?"

Yujin jumps in surprise as she turns around to face her. Siren laughs, finding the action really adorable.

"Siren!"

"How long have you been waiting here?" She grabs her right hand and slowly drags her to walk. She could see her ears getting red.

'It won't be that hard to like her.'

"I just got here..." Yujin answers quietly.

She sigh exaggeratedly "I told you, my hearing's kind of bad. I won't be able to hear you properly if you keep on whispering like that." She stops. "Or do you want me to talk to you like this so I could hear you better?" She leans closer, their faces so close that they could feel each other's breath. Yujin gets even redder.

"I... I'll try to speak more loudly..." Siren chuckles and pats her head before continuing to walk.

"You better be. Or else, you know what I'll do, Okay?" She nods her head like a child. Siren smiles. "Anyway, Is it okay if we keep this a secret for a while?"

"H-ha?"

"I mean, this might be a shock to them so let's just hide it for a while, but not for too long, of course. Is that alright with you?"

"Yeah. It's fine."

"Besides, isn't it good having a little secret between us?" She grins and glances at Yujin. Yujin smiled and nods at her in return.

"I really hope we could be classmates next year." Yujin suddenly whispers.

"Hmm? I hope so too."

They finally reach the school. Siren stops at Yujin's classroom for a while before leaving and heading to their classroom. Along the way, she meets Peach who greets her good morning enthusiastically. She nods at her in return, shocking Peach.

"Are you sick, Siren?" She asked, following her behind.

"What nonsense are you saying first thing in the morning?" She turns around to face her, frowning. Peach stares at her face before flashing a smile.

"I must be wrong then. You're just your usual self."

Siren clicks her tongue and turns around to go to her seat, greeting Lea and Hana who arrived first.

As she glances at Peach who is busy talking with her friends, a foreign feeling creeps around her heart.

('Yeah, this is much better.')