Washu POV
"I said I'm fine!" she pulled away, stumbling upon her feet and nearly falling off of the staircase. This girl...
"Really?" I hissed not liking it any more than she did, but at the same time battling with an odd emotion evoked with every touch or thought her existence brought into my life. "You are so stubborn this is ridiculous..." I accused in a quiet mutter.
Her hooded eyes sent me a sharp glare from the side, as she let out a scoff and proudly walked in front of me until we reached her floor. By the way, this girl wasn't even living in the dorms! She had her own apartment in one of the buildings not too far from the campus grounds.
"How come you got this place?" I questioned intrigued while scanning her small yet cozy living room.
With a devilish smirk, she shrugged and took off my coat, leaving herself in a bra, which was enough to make my blood boil at the sight of her naked skin. Skillfully averting my eyes away from the girl, I pretended to be interested in some random box.
"Paid more, why? Jealous?" there was a hint of amusement I didn't appreciate. Sure, the place was nice and away from the noise of the students, but I couldn't care less.
"Not really no," I answered indifferently still avoiding the contact.
"Bummer," she uttered and went ahead into another room, leaving me standing at the entrance unsure of whether I should leave or not. "I'm going to take a shower. You can come in you know?" she informed while peeking from behind her bedroom door.
My heart began to race a million times per second. "W-w-wha..what?" I stammered feeling sudden confusion.
"What?" she arched her black brow before chuckling softly. "You are weird. I will let you shower after, just come on in and wait on the sofa or something, it bothers me that you are standing there."
OH! Yes of course! Internally scolding myself for letting my thoughts run wild, I listened and did as said, but while she showered, I wondered why was I still here. Checking the phone Elina hasn't messaged which meant she wasn't back home either. Guess it was fine.
"So, want to take it or not?"
Unsure of when she got out and stood in front of me, but I must have been spacing out big time, because my guard wasn't up and eyes were unable to pull away from the view of a petite girl standing right in front with damp hair and an oversized shirt.
"Hello?" she waved her hand and frowned. "Did he do something to you...?" her voice fell and she allowed her hand to gently graze over the side of my jaw, looking for bruises.
Gulping I was speechless, my heart couldn't stop ringing loudly in my ears, whatever was going on has completly overtook my mind. Using all my strength to get a hold of myself I grabbed her hand maybe a bit too roughly and pushed it away.
"I'm fine," I grumbled upset, not at her, but myself.
My action must have genuinely upset the girl because she scoffed and walked away towards the kitchen.
"You can go if you want, you seem uncomfortable around me," she sounded angry, but then continued with a different tone; much more honest for a change. "I get it I was a bitch, but you have to understand I wouldn't have hurt your friend. I just needed information that's all, and while it might have not been the best way to do so I don't fucking know how to talk to people or be nice. Okay?" she ranted while preparing a bowl of cereals. "So- what I mean is I truly don't want you to hate me, although it might be already too late for that..." she gave me the saddest most heartbreaking smile.
Get a hold of yourself damnit!
"I'm not!" I introjected a bit too desperately, changing her expression into a much brighter one. "Listen I understand, to some extent. Would I ever do it? No. But then I'm not you and I don't know anything about you either so... What I'm trying to say"-I felt dizzy-"I don't hate you."
"Okay," she chippered and handed me a bowl. "Let's eat?"
Nodding, I accepted the food. After that, we've spent another hour watching some silly tv shows, which I never knew could be this entertaining!
I could feel her stealing glances my way before asking, "You never watched tv before?" she chuckled at my excitement.
Having a hard time looking away from the show I shook my head and continued without a word. Up in the Pentagon all sort of entertainment was prohibited, and since I never left, well... I didn't know much about the world and its wonders.
"Oh..." was all she said, baffled and surprised by my answer, but there was no shame in saying the truth.
It was odd, the discomfort I felt earlier has changed into the most comfortable I've ever been. Watching tv, eating some colorful cereals, and having her by my side enjoying each of my reactions has made my heart swell from the overwhelming amount of happiness.
Noticing her uncontrollable yawns it came to my attention that she must have been tired after such an unfortunate evening, and well; it was late.
"I guess I should get going," I finally said when her eyes haven't opened for a few seconds.
"What?" she rubbed them and yawned again, before looking at the clock. "Oh..."
Not sure why, but something in me just knew that she didn't want to be alone tonight, it was almost as if her feelings showed themselves to me after being locked for such a long time.
When she walked me to the entrance her eyes avoided mine. "You know... You can always come over and watch tv if you like, I don't mind," she whispered without her usual confidence and snarkiness, which was endearing in a way.
"Really?" I gushed and scooped her hands into my own. "I mean-" I scratched the back of my neck. "I would like that, yeah..." I felt like an idiot, but to my surprise this made her laugh and shake her head.
"You are a puppy after all, I knew it!" she brought it back up, but this time I didn't mind it. "Aww," she pouted and took her hands away only to offer me a handshake. "I'm June."
That's right, we haven't even introduced ourselves. "Shu," I told her the name that was given on my ID. "June... Is that your real name?" I wondered to which she answered.
"Is yours?"
Smirking I couldn't help myself, I liked the way she acted. Now that she was honest instead of pretending to play games.
"Will you really be fine...?" I changed the subject needing to ensure her comfort. "He won't bother you again, but you should stop playing around like that, it will get you in trouble."
Her white teeth began to chew against her bottom lip, "I just wanted to enjoy myself you know? Feel like I'm in charge for once instead of having my life in control of someone else... But as always nothing went as planned. So thank you, I owe you."
I never thought she would acknowledge her wrongs so quickly, but also never expected for her to entangle her hands behind my neck and hug into my chest, unable to reach higher.
Standing stiffly my entire body was in overdrive ready to melt, burn or simply disappear, but whatever was happening it wasn't any of that, because I was still here, hugging the girl who smelled like tangerines and gave the warmth of a fire.
"I much prefer when you're honest, so please answer me and don't lie..." I murmured before moving away to look into her icy irises.
She sucked in some air before sighing in defeat. "I guess I would prefer... if you could maybe stay over. It's just- I still feel very shaky after all that and am a bit scared to be alone tonight." I could tell it wasn't easy for her to admit.
Smiling widely, I patted her head and put away the coat. "See princess, it wasn't that hard now, was it?" I joked unaware of the way she was going to react.
"Don't," she snapped. "Don't you ever call me that again, got it?"
Nodding taken aback by the sudden outburst it was almost as if we took a few steps forward only to move right back down.
"I'm sorry I won't!" I apologized before she closed her bedroom door and never came back out. "Great..."
Pulling the blanket and giving the pillow a few hits in order to make it more comfortable I allowed myself to fall asleep on her couch, having a hard time thinking about anything else than her.
Waking up to an empty apartment she left me a quick note explaining she had classes in the morning and to leave the key under the doormat. It didn't bother me, last night seemed like a nightmare and an amazing dream at the same time, which I wasn't ready to process just yet.
Taking a walk towards the dorm, the cold wind was enough to wake me up and realize that all of it has actually happened.
Feeling my face grow hotter I groaned and entered my favorite bakery, getting myself a morning donut. When I walked back to the dorm, I was taken aback by Elina sitting on the floor with her legs against the chest and head dropped down.
"Elina?" I worried and quickly rushed to my friend, she looked at me groggily. "What happened?!" I didn't see any injuries.
The most unexpected happened as she threw herself at me knocking us down onto the floor, desperately squeezing my shirt and burying her face in my chest.
Allowing her to seek the comfort she needed we remained in this position until she was ready to talk. With a heavy sigh, I caressed her cheek.
"It hurts..." she muttered unable to cry even though I could tell she wished to do so. "I think I can feel," she explained not understanding herself.
Patting her back I added, "Of course you can, you always could... Just never felt enough to react. What changed? What happened?"
"I don't know," she began. "There's something happening to me and I don't know what it is..."
Looking into her dark blue eyes I couldn't believe how many emotions she was currently displaying. Finally she wasn't acting like a soldier, instead sought her inner self.
"Is it good though?" I trailed carefully, afraid of losing this window of hope.
She hummed doing her best to think, it was adorable how innocent she could be at times, such a deadly machine created in a body of a normal girl who more than anything craved love.
"It's a lot, but I don't think it's bad," she told me truthfully, her brows knitted closer together as she kept on exploring these new feelings. "I just know it's because of her..."
Oh?
"Who are you talking about? The princess?" Has she found her?
Shaking her head, she looked away before answering in the quietest, most insecure way, "The woman on the wheelchair."
My lips parted, "I don't understand."
"Neither do I."
Taking a breather, I tried to process whatever she was trying to tell me. "Are you saying that the woman makes you feel?"
A shy nod for an answer.
Wow... That was incredible, has it been possible that Elina had a crush? She clearly didn't see it, but if I pointed it out it might have caused her to deny it completely.
"Okay, that's good! That's great news, why were you so sad then?"
Chewing on the inner side of her cheek she finally responded while motioning at her heart. "It's so overwhelming all of it."
"That's good, you should never bottle this up. I know it's new and hard, but it's a good thing Elina! It's about time." I grinned and gave her last reassuring pat on the shoulder, knowing well she wasn't a fan of a physical touch that wasn't initiated by her.
Clearing her throat, she went to the bathroom and when returned, she was much more composed, almost back to her usual self, but I knew this required time and it shouldn't be pushed.
"Well, where were you?" she asked with a tiny smirk.
Pouting my mind went back to June and the damp dark locks that bounced along with her, doing my absolute best to contain the smile as the image of her relaxed expression has warmed my heart for an unknown reason.
"Long story?"
Just like that, we've spent the morning sitting on the floor with our backs against the bed frame. I told Elina all about my night, excluding the conversation with the mustache man that was something I needed to figure out on my own.
Nevertheless, it was comforting to be able to chat with her so casually and freely, she teased me a bit, but also was beyond impressed with how I handled my power.
I wished for more moments like that in the future, casual life conversations about not such casual things. We might have been aliens, but this planet didn't feel foreign, instead, it welcomed us into its own pattern.