...
You open your eyes to the feeling of someone nudging you on the shoulder.
"Hey, wake up, sleepy! It's morning!"
The musty morning air invades your lungs and tickles your skin.
You look around, realizing that you are exactly where you fell asleep. Except for the fact that you rolled off of the mattress in your sleep and your body was laying on the hard concrete.
"It's already 9! We're checking out in 30 minutes!" You hear from your right as Lily pulls her phone out of her pocket.
"Shit... how are we gonna bring this mattress back down?" You croak out, your voice still warming up.
She looks back at the thick foamy fabric on the roof as if realizing its existence for the first time.
"Screw the mattress! People are looking for us."
After a few seconds of deliberation, you leave the mattress on the roof, a reminder of the previous night's activities.
You climb down the hatch and take the elevator to your floor, preparing answers to all the inevitable questions.
"There he is! Oh, Lily's with him too! Boom! Gimme my money, Michael!"
You hear Imane's bright laughter as you and Lily walk down the hall, seeing many of your friends conversing outside their rooms.
"What's going on 'ere?!?" Michael asks, feigning anger, as he wraps Lily in a brief hug.
Your eyes meet Michael's, and you can see a curious look in his expression.
"We went for some fresh air a little while ago," you say, making your sentence short to minimize the chance of you being caught in a lie.
"Wearing pajamas and a robe?" Janet, briefly popping her head out of her room, asks.
"Yeah... neither of us expected to see anyone else out in the morning. But... then we saw each other, and decided to walk together."
"Well, anyway, I think you owe me a fat 20 since they showed up together, don't you Michael?" Imane asks, putting her hand out in his direction.
"Fine, fine, I'll give it to ya later," he remarks as he pushes her hand away.
"MICHAEEELL! I could've been in danger! But instead of looking for me you made a BET?!?" Lily speaks up for the first time, slapping Michael's shoulder as she sighs in exasperation.
"Well I-, goddammit, I wouldn't have done it if I thought I would lose!"
You turn away from Michael and Lily's ensuing conversation and enter your room.
Scarra, noticing your presence, instantly asks the question you knew you would hear.
"Hey, where's your fucking mattress?"
"I spilled coffee on it, so I gave it to room service." You reply, hoping your answer didn't sound as rehearsed as it was.
"Ah, ok..." Scarra responds before turning around and tending to his suitcase. You look closely, but you can't read his expression.
You quietly pack your suitcase, wondering how your clothing all fit in there. You do a once-over of the room before stepping out and closing the door behind you for the last time.
The next few hours are a blur. You check out of the hotel and get into a car, and before you know it, your home is in front of you once more. Your thoughts still swirl with pleasant images of the early morning, but you resolve to not dwell on it.
You finally collapse onto your bed, taking in the familiar fabric. But you're not tired at all, especially after the amount of sleep you've had over the past day.
Wow. What a crazy trip. From clubbing... to Aria... to Rae... to Lily... With the ridiculous life I'm in right now, I'd say I'm definitely living out someone's fantasy. Maybe even my own...
You head down the stairs, the voices of your housemates discussing the trip growing louder as you approach them.
"Oh, I can't wait to upload this vlog! It's gonna be sooo cooool!" Imane's cheery voice exclaims.
"Yeah, mine too. It's definitely gonna be better than yours, Lily," Toast remarks with complete confidence.
"Toast, you're not even gonna upload your- "
"YES I WILL, I'll probably upload it before you do!"
Damn. I didn't even think about vlogging. Whoops.
Just as you join your friends in their lively discussion, your attention shifts as you feel a familiar buzz in your pocket.
Oh, it's from Jodi. Huh, I barely even remember exchanging numbers with her.
Hey, I know we just got back from the trip but my chat has been asking me to stream with you for such a looong time
Wanna come over? Starting stream in 10
No pressure :)
Wow, your chat has good taste
Expect me there ASAP
You go back upstairs to throw on some better-looking clothes.
Wow, we just got back and she's already streaming? That's commitment.
You drive a few miles to Jodi's place, where she lived with Jamie and Sydney.
Hopefully, they're all home. It'll be nice to meet them for the first time.
You walk up the front steps to the porch, taken aback by the size of the house.
You ring the doorbell and immediately hear footsteps scurrying in your direction. After a second, the door opens.
"Hey, J- Oh, hi, Sydney," you remark, quickly correcting yourself.
"She's upstairs," she curtly replies before running up the stairs two at a time, her long hair flowing out behind her, leaving you to step inside and close the door on your own.
You take off your shoes and cross over to see Jamie sitting in the kitchen, wearing a white tank dress and licking a scoop of ice cream.
"They're in a game right now," she says between licks, not bothering to introduce herself. You nod.
"Nice to meet you..." You say, wondering if this truly even counted as a meeting.
"Mmhmm," she halfheartedly responds, her attention still focused on the ice cream.
You head upstairs, peeking your head into a few rooms.
You hear Jodi's voice at the end of the hallway, and you make your way there.
"HA! I told you I had him!" Her voice sounds muffled in the hallway.
You gently knock, waiting for her response.
You knock again, more forcefully.
You open the door a crack, to see Jodi, headphones on, staring intently into her monitor.
The first thing you notice are the waves of pink strands flowing like a river current from her head, falling over her shoulders and framing her head perfectly. Her fair, clear skin shone proudly under the intense ring light, and her low-cut, fitting white shirt and black leggings stood out in stark contrast to the colorful room around her. Everything combined, it almost looked like she was glowing.
Her forehead is slightly wrinkled in concentration, and her eyes dart to and fro, examining every pixel of the screen. Just looking at her made you tense up, and you watched her closely.
"AHHH! Oh! Come in!" She screams as her eyes snap up to your presence.
You swing the door open and make your way inside, glancing around her room for the first time and noticing a skinny gray cat bathing in a spot of sunlight on the floor.
You start to remark, "Aw, nice to see Genji for- "
"YES!!!" You cover your ears and crunch your face as she screams once more. She immediately clamps her hand over her mouth.
"I'm so sorry..." she whispers as she takes off her headphones, barely audible over the ringing in your ears.
"I'm guessing you won that Valorant match," you remark, grinning.
"Oh, was it that obvious?" She says, smiling sarcastically.
She flashes her brilliantly pearly teeth before turning back to her monitor, her infectious smile burrowing its way into your memory.
"Hey chat, so if you couldn't already tell," she says, sliding her chair over and beckoning you to come, "here's the one and only you've been asking for."
You pop into the frame, take a seat behind her on her bed, and greet her chat.
"Here, I brought a chair for you," she says, pointing to the corner of her room.
"So... why did you decide to ask me over now of all times?" You ask as you awkwardly pick up the chair.
"Well, I thought I- OH! I never even told you what we're doing!" She facepalms, giggling.
"Yup..." You reply, laughing along at her carelessness while you sit and roll yourself beside her.
...
You lean back and push out your arms and legs, stretching your poor muscles.
Looking toward the wall clock, you see the minute hand finishing its third lap around the track since you first arrived.
"Jodi, I swear to god, it wasn't me!"
Your attention snaps back to the sound.
"John, it has to be you! I know it's been a while since we last played this game, but I ain't no dumb bitch! VOTE HIM OUT!"
"Yeah! Tell him, Jodi!"
You chuckle as John's exasperated complaints are drowned out by the cheers of the group.
But your expression quickly shifts as you see bold red letters pop out of the screen.
"...what? IT WASN'T YOU, JOHN?" Jodi yells in frustration.
"NO! I told you! Maybe if you weren't so distracted you would have known!"
Jodi's face darkens a few shades, and it's not because of the lighting.
She gulps and you feel her take a deep breath, not responding.
"Bathroom break?" Someone suggests, cutting into the obvious tension between the two.
She silently shifts in her chair, and the color slowly returns to her face.
"I can't believe this fucking guy," she says, suddenly looking much more fed-up and emotionally exhausted. "He needs to cut this shit..."
You start to whisper, "Uh, Jodi? Are you sure you want to say all this-"
"I muted myself. And turned my cam off."
"Oh... so what was that about again?" You ask, searching for an explanation.
"It's cause I'm hanging out with you..." she says, leaning back into her chair and tilting her chin towards the ceiling.
"Oh!" You remark, taken aback at the realization that it had anything to do with you. "That comment was pretty uncalled for, but this can be a pretty emotional game. I wouldn't take it too hard," you offer, hoping to ease the situation.
"I would agree with you..." She says, raising her eyebrows, "except that this has nothing to do with the game."
"Wait, really?"
"He doesn't like it when I hang out with other guys. Like, at all. I mean, he's not a bad guy, but holy shit, he's possessive..."
"Have you tried talking to him about it?"
"Of course! And he doesn't want to hear it," she exclaims, throwing her hands up and letting them drop back into her lap.
She stands up and falls onto her bed, arms out.
Genji gracefully leaps onto the bed, sniffing and examining his owner.
"Next round, everyone?" You hear a voice come from the headphones around your neck.
"Give Jodi a minute, she's still in the bathroom," you say.
"Cool, alright."
Jodi sits up on her bed and gestures an appreciative nod toward you as she reaches for her unassuming cat and wraps her arms around him, cradling him like a baby. You can't help but smile at the sight.
Soon enough, she sits back down and you start playing again, and eventually, everything seems to return to normal.
But is it just me, or is her demeanor still a little off?
...
"Thanks for playing with me today!" Jodi cheerfully remarks as she closes her tab and prepares to end her stream.
"Of course! Honestly, I'd love to come over again sometime soon," you honestly remark.
"Well, I was just gonna ask that - chat, do you want to see him around again?"
You smile at the massive influx of YES messages.
"Alright, I guess I'm coming back," you say, still grinning.
...
Over the next few weeks, you spent quite a few afternoons at Jodi's place. After a little while, she gave you a spare key so you wouldn't have to rely on Sydney or Jamie to let you in. As you spent more time on stream with her, you also spent more time with her before and after stream, chatting idly and getting to know each other. You grew to look forward to getting to sit in her room and shoot the breeze as you grew more comfortable around each other.
...
Oh, Jodi's streaming our favorite game in a little while. You know what, maybe I'll pop by and surprise her. I'm not doing much anyway.
You drive over to her place, smiling as you picture her face as you enter unannounced.
After you park your car and walk towards the door, you pull out your phone and open Twitch.
Oh, she's not streaming yet? Maybe they haven't started- Oh, wait, the rest of the group is already streaming. Hmm, maybe she's delayed.
You quietly slide the key in, twisting slowly until the lock disengages. You open the door carefully, making sure it creaks as little as possible.
Your socks make a soft impact with the carpeted stairs, keeping your entrance secret.
You walk down the hallway, careful to avoid creaky spots you've grown familiar with.
Your hand freezes in the air, inches from the door handle.
"John, please, just leave me alone on this ... Yes, I know ... Yes, I promise, I've promised you a thousand fucking times ... sorry, please don't yell..."
Your confusion quickly transforms to a grimace as you hear the ensuing conversation, not even wanting to imagine the words being said on the other side of the phone. Your hands ball into fists as rage ignites inside of you.
How can he act this way? Doesn't he see what he's doing to her?
Your thoughts continue to tumble around in a mix of concern and anger as you contemplate what to do.
Your breath hitches in your throat as the door swings open and both of you jump back in surprise.
"WHA..." Jodi's yell immediately trails off as she realizes what you heard, evident by your expression.
After swallowing the brunt of your emotion, you speak, wasting no time on surprises or formalities.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Your voice retains an air of frustration.
She gently pulls you into her room by the arm and closes the door.
She beckons to the bed, where you both usually sit to talk. But this time, she doesn't flop onto her bed in her usual cute way. Instead, she remains standing, opting to pace back and forth through the room as she begins her monologue.
"I'm not even gonna ask what the FUCK you were doing outside my room - you know what, I will ask, but later. I just don't know what to do about my boyfriend. I feel like I'm so tied up and like I have to please him all the time and like I'm never good enough and like he never appreciates me and- "
She freezes as she feels your hand rest upon her shoulder.
"Breathe, Jodi," you say as you exhale slowly.
She follows your lead as you inhale, hold, and exhale. She does it one more time, closing her eyes and regaining her composure, her shoulders relaxing under your gentle grip.
"Thanks."
"I think I get the gist of the issue - now slow down and think about what you can do."
"Alright, think. I can do that. Think, Jodi, think," she encourages herself, clearly struggling to get the emotion of the circumstance out of the way.
"Ok, let's see... Well, I can do nothing..."
"Maybe not that one."
"Yeah, you're right. Hmm... I can break up with him..."
"If it comes to that."
"I could try talking to him again..."
"It didn't sound like he was very open to listening."
"Hmm..."
You continue giving your advice on her options as she nods and works through the possibilities until she's exhausted every single one.
You can tell her mind is a tangled web of ideas and emotion as she lays down on the bed and stares up at the ceiling.
"Man, if only I had a boyfriend like you, everything would be so fucking easy..." She mutters.
Unexpectedly, you feel your heart flutter as you hear her words.
"How so?"
"I mean, you're just so patient and kind and cooperative - like I've been ranting for so long and you're still helping me deal with this and you've never once told me to shut the fuck up like I'm so used to hearing by now and I feel so comfortable sharing my inner- "
"Shut the fuck up, Jodi."
Her face turns shocked before she sees the growing grin you're unable to conceal.
"Ohh, you think you're reealll funny, huh?" She smiles widely, almost looking relieved, as she sits up and leans over to you.
You don't say a word as she quickly gives you a peck on the cheek, her lips leaving a warm residue on your skin.
She sits back, discreetly watching you for a reaction.
A little lightheaded, you respond to her previous statement.
"I'm glad I can help, Jodi. It really makes me happy to know that you feel comfortable enough around me to share these things. I'll always support you in whatever decision you make."
"Aw, shut up!" She exclaims, slapping your shoulder and blushing. "Don't make me kiss you again!"
"Oh, I wouldn't mind that at all!" You add, laughing.
"..."
She stares at the floor.
A deafening silence quickly fills the air between you, making the foot of distance between your bodies feel like a mile.
After a few more seconds of unwavering silence, you try to gauge her reaction. But her hair has fallen over her face and her expression is covered by bunches of pink strands.
You eventually try to reach out to offer a change in conversation.
"Hey... maybe we can- MMPH!"
She lunges at you with an unforeseen speed, and you see a brief flash of her deep brown eyes before she closes them as she leans in. You let the feeling of her lips overtake you, filling you with a rush of exhilaration.
She pulls away, leaving her face hanging an inch from yours. You look down at her luscious lips, and she notices. You look back up for confirmation, and you know what you see in her eyes.
It was wrong the first time, and it could only get worse from here. But when her lips voraciously crash onto yours once more and her soft hands gently start to inflame your skin, you can't delude yourself into thinking you don't want this.
You don't hesitate, not paying any mind to what would inevitably have to come after.
You kiss back, fully locking lips as her minty breath fills your lungs. Her hand rests on your shoulder, and she curls it around your back to pull you in.
You break the kiss and yelp as she pulls you down on top of her, flailing your arms to catch yourself from crushing her.
"hehehe..." she softly giggles at your fear, and you look down at the pretty, blissful face beneath you.
You push her further into the mattress, leaving an impression of your intertwined bodies in the memory foam. She pushes back with equal force, deepening the kiss as she steals your air. Her hands play with your hair, absentmindedly twirling strands around her fingers as she embraces you. Your hands run along her arms and shoulders, stopping to clutch her jaw as you tilt her chin towards you.
Somewhere, in a deep corner of your sensory perception, something alerts you.
You pull away, leaving Jodi gasping for air as she reflexively tries to pull you in once more.
You place a finger on her lips to stop her, and her eyebrows furrow in confusion.
Your eyes widen as you hear footsteps moving in your direction.
You leap off and help her up, smoothening her hair and fixing her shirt that had ridden up to her ribs.
There's probably lipstick on me too. I'm not making that mistake again.
You wipe down your face with your hands, making sure to not miss a spot.
There comes two knocks at the door.
"Come in!" Jodi's voice is still flustered and shaky.
"Hey Jodi, I got back from the- Oh!"
She looks back and forth between the two of you, and you hold your breath in anticipation.
"Well, sorry to interrupt! I didn't know your favorite visitor was over!" Sydney remarks with a mischievous smile.
"Wha- don't expose me, Syd!!" Jodi whisper-shouts, turning red.
"Wow, really? Hey, I can't blame her. Who wouldn't have me as their favorite?" You laugh along with Sydney, deepening Jodi's embarrassment as she bites her bottom lip.
"Oh yeah, and you're sooo humble too," she responds, annoyed and shaking her head.
"We'll talk later. I'll leave you to your favorite company..."
"Syd, I swear to fucking god, if you don't lock your door tonight- "
"Gotta go, bye!"
The door abruptly closes behind her, and you turn to Jodi. You burst out giggling, and you turn red from laughter as she lays back down on the bed. You lay down next to her, hands at your side.
She leans over toward you, and her hand finds its way to your chest. You quickly stop laughing as you see her expression return to a stoic seriousness.
The gravity of the situation quickly returns, and you find yourself starting to feel nervous.
"Hey, don't worry," she remarks, reading your mind, as she gently rubs the fabric of your shirt in a soothing gesture as she lays her head down in the crevice of your shoulder.
Genji curiously walks up to you, and you hold out your hand for him to sniff. Recognizing you, he curls up beside you, and you stroke him, starting from his ears and ending at the base of his tail.
"What are we gonna do?" You ask, not specifying, but knowing that she understood.
"You say 'we' as if we're a couple," she says, looking up at you.
"Sorry, I meant-"
"No, don't apologize. I mean... I'm not opposed to it. I mean, I don't want to rush, but, like, I feel like... Well, I don't know, maybe I just want... actually maybe- "
"Jodi..."
"Hmm?"
"You're doing it again."
"Shit. Sorry..." She giggles as she rubs her temple with her free hand.
She continues, slower: "I like you. I want to see if we can work. Simple as that." She nods, satisfied with her statement.
"...I like you too... But, what are we gonna do?"
"About..."
"About John... and the public..."
"I'll figure something out. The public definitely won't know about this for a while. And John... It's gonna be a shitshow, but I think I can handle him."
"Are you sure?"
"Now that I have you to help me through, ab-so-lut-ely!" She boops you on the nose perfectly in sync with each syllable, giggling as she sees your reaction.
You smile and pull her chin towards you. She responds, and you share a gentler, softer kiss. With none of the brute passion of the first one, you can revel in the gorgeous taste of her lips, as well as the beautiful curves of her facial structure as you run your thumb down her cheek. You pull away, and she sighs contentedly.
You both sit in peaceful silence, her hands warming your flesh as her head gently rests on you.
"I could get used to this..." She remarks.
"Oh, I don't think I ever will..." you slyly reply.
"Aw, come on... You always know what to say, dontcha?"
You grin in response, wrapping your arm around her.
"Thanks for everything. I really don't know what I would do without you."
"Of course - I'm always here to help. Besides, you don't need to thank me. Having you in my arms is more than payment enough."
She blushes, trying to make another sarcastic comment but too flustered to speak, so she resorts to slapping your shoulder and shaking her head in embarrassment, earning a chuckle from you.
But as she leans in to kiss you once more, she pauses to ask a question.
"By the way, why the hell were you outside my room?"
"oh... I wanted to surprise you since I knew you would be playing our favorite game today."
"I was... I WAS! OHHH FUCK FUCK FUCK!"
"Huh?"
She leaps off of you, throws on her headphones, pulls back her chair, and opens up her monitors.
Upon opening Discord, she exclaims, "I'm so so so sorry I'm late!"
Oh. I may have forgotten she had to stream today.
Once she finally got into the game and apologized many more times over, she turns back to you.
"Since you're already here... and this is our favorite game..."
You pull up a chair beside her, not needing her to finish.
She starts her stream and apologizes once more to the annoying fans flooding her with LATE comments.
You start playing soon enough, and you both quickly get sucked into the game, almost forgetting about the events that conspired mere minutes ago.
At one point, when she's controlling the mouse and you're controlling the arrow keys, her free hand tugs on your free arm. Once your hand is pulled beneath the view of the camera, she interlaces her fingers with yours, and you both continue playing, thumbs caressing each other, acting as natural as you can be. You can barely contain a smile.
You dare to glance over at her, and you can see she's struggling to hold it in too.
She briefly darts her eyes over to you, and you make eye contact for a few seconds.
Ignoring the eyes of the hundreds, if not thousands, of people watching, you subtly squeeze her hand and crack a grin, and she responds in kind before turning back to the game.
Your eyes linger on her a few moments longer, and her glowing beauty dawns on you once more.
You quickly avert your eyes back to the monitor, not wanting to get caught staring by any attentive viewers.
But unbeknownst to them, her hand was still fit snugly into yours, and with it, a sense of unshakeable peace comes over you.