Stars' Song: Clef

Chapter 10 : How Selfish Can a Person Be?

10-1

"I'll listen to you. When the time comes, I'm all ears. You're always there, aren't you? Every time, you were there, so it's my turn now. I'm here."

His words were warm to the core. It was a sleepiness-inducing warmth. For a moment, I thought I was lucid dreaming, where the fabrics of reality were under my control. In his arms, I was unstoppable. I could do anything without worrying about anything. Every action I make would not have consequences. It was temporary, and so I wanted it to last an eternity.

"...and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

Those words really were warm. Was that the reason why your chest was so cozy? Were the words stuck in there? You aren't good with them, I know. Maybe it's better for you to keep them inside you, so your hugs would retain their warmth. Although, I'm happy you said those words to me.

It seems like it doesn't matter. Seriously, whatever you do makes me happy.

It was temporary, and so I could not wait for it to happen again in the future.

CRASH!

"Wah!" The daydream came to a sudden close. Startled, my whole body felt like it was in the air for a couple of milliseconds.

"There she is! Welcome back to Earth, Chloe," Cleveland said, holding the crash cymbal she just hit to prevent it from ringing any longer. "Sorry to make you jump. It was the first thing I thought of doing." She scratched the back of her head with a drumstick as she chuckled in between her sentence.

"Why were you smiling?" Lylia placed her hands on her hips. "Did something good happen?" Her somewhat shrill voice reached my ears after the blaring cymbal.

"Huh? Was I smilin'?"

"Yeah, like this," She cupped her chin with her palms and showed me a reserved smile. "You were sitting doing this."

Seeing her cutesy behavior caused me to chuckle. "It's nothin'!"

"It's definitely something!" Her hands went back to her hips. "You've been looking like that a lot today, mind you!" She scolded. My smile widened after seeing Lylia attempt a commanding attitude. The contrast of the enormous bass guitar and her petite frame added to this silly sight—a bass guitar appears twice as large once it's hanging from her shoulders.

"It's nothin', okay?" I straightened my skirt after standing on my feet.

"You've been smelling pretty funky, Chloe," Andy proceeded to play a funk riff to emphasize her statement.

"H-huh?" I brought my nose closer to my uniform. Not spotting any musty smells, I returned my gaze to her.

"Mhm. You reek of a flirt. Malandi. Maharot." She enunciated the last terms while leaning her chest towards me. "It's June again, huh?"

"Shut up! I said it's nothin'! Stop callin' me that!" I felt my cheeks heat up. I started to wipe the blush off using the back of my hand, unaware of the stupidity of this action.

"Oh, yeah! I should've guessed!" Lylia shifted her weight on one leg.

"Don't rag on Chloe, guys..." Toni's velvety and restrained cadence echoed. Her voice was the nicest to hear, mostly because she doesn't make fun of me this much! "She will confess someday..." Wait, Toni?!

"Toni, since when did ya join them?!"

"I'm sorry, Chloe. I just wanted to try teasing you." She scratched her cheek, which was protruded by a compassionate smile. She pressed the buttons of the MIDI keyboard on her lap as a way to cover her mischievousness.