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Stella let out a sigh as she opened the doors to her suite and looked down at her best friend. She helped Lily Owens into their shared bedroom. Lily collapsed on the bed face down and let out a loud groan. Stella sat down directly next to her, rubbing her back. "You said that you wanted to stay away from Riven tonight."
"I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing to me?" The blonde laughed, Lily's words having been muffled by the bed. "I just don't want you to do anything that you're going to regret, Lil." Lily finally sat up.
The girl's locked eyes and Lily smiled. "Thank you, Stell. I don't know what I would do without you." She quickly wrapped her arms around her best friend, squeezing Stella tightly.
This caused Stella to smile. She had never really liked people touching her, but with Lily it was different. Stella had more love for Lily than anyone in the world. It was because she saw her as a younger version of herself, a happier version of herself. She wanted to do everything in her power to keep the girl from getting hurt. Sometimes Stella's views of what would hurt Lily were warped. Maybe that was why she sabotaged Lily and Riven's relationship.
"I'm going to rest my eyes for a bit." Lily spoke softly, pulling away from the hug. The moment Lily's head reached the pillow, she was asleep.
Stella stood up from the bed and exited their shared bedroom. As she made her way to the bathroom, she glanced into Bloom and Aisha's bedroom and noticed the redhead looking at a photo of her parents. "Is that your family?" Stella asked as she entered the room, causing Bloom to look up from the picture.
Bloom nodded. "I- uh- saw you come in with Lily." Bloom stated, the picture continuing to stay in her hands. "She looked kind of rough. Is she alright?"
The redhead's question struck a nerve inside Stella for some reason. Lily was her person, and Bloom was not going to take that from her. "She's going to be fine in the morning." Stella sent Bloom a comforting smile. Bloom sighed before her gaze returned to the picture of her family. "I get homesick, too, sometimes." Stella continued. "And my mum... Honestly if she didn't force me to go here, I wouldn't." She took the picture out of Bloom's hands. "I'd live at home. Go to school, just have a normal life." She let out a soft chuckle as she finished. "You know there's no shame in that? No shame in wanting to be home?"
*
After a twenty minute nap, Lily had risen from her bed and moved to the community room where Stella had a cup of coffee waiting for her. She was beginning to feel much better, but she was now beginning to realize why making out with Riven had been a bad idea. The two girls sat on the couch, scrolling through their tiktok feeds as Musa and Aisha walked into the suite. "She's blanking my texts." Aisha frowned, staring down at her phone.
