Noor & Zafira

12 // zafira hates loxton

Zafira was so very tired of this silly place with its silly squabbles and silly classes. She had skipped all of her courses for a week after Noor lashed out at her, and now she had a mountain of homework and classwork to sift through and complete. Not that she could make heads or tails of most of it - especially the packet about Hindu mythology. Zafira was very frustrated and very tired. She had slept poorly for days. Her misery was only matched (and exceeded) by Vincent, who seemed to mope more with every passing hour. She couldn't get him to reveal the true cause, and he made lame excuses for it every chance he got.

Currently, Vincent was sipping from a cup of honey-infused tea as he sat on Noor's bed in their dorm room. "We're a depressing duo," he said moodily, staring out the window by Noor's bed at the pattering rain.

"Are we?" Zafira asked, turning a page of her book.

Vincent nodded grimly. "We are. We sit around crying and sighing all day long."

"That rhymed," Zafira said.

Vincent sighed. "Are you even listening to what I'm saying?"

Zafira lifted her eyes from her half-turned page. "Sort of?"

Vincent flopped back onto Noor's bed. "Fair enough."

Zafira set down her book. "How's Quentin as a roommate?"

Vincent didn't move, but Zafira saw his mood shift. "Just great," he said sourly. "Don't get me wrong, Quentin is lovely. But I'm about as big a fan of Quenoor as you are, and they're always in our room."

Zafira snorted. "I would've thought that you'd have loved Quenoor. I mean, they're the center of Loxton gossip."

"I'm exasperated with Loxton's student community for that very reason," Vincent said, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "They never made such a fuss when we were together."

"True," Zafira said. "But then again, we weren't very serious."

"Are Quentin and Noor serious?" Vincent wondered aloud.

The topic made something in Zafira's chest tighten. "I don't know."

"I hope not," Vincent groaned. "I promised to room with Quen next year, and I wouldn't be able to stomach another nine months of this."

"Quen?" Zafira echoed. "You two have nicknames for each other?" Vincent nodded once. "You know," Zafira said, playing absent-mindedly with a loose string on her comforter, "Noor calls me Zaffy."

Vincent stared at her, as though wondering if she was being serious. Then he burst into laughter. "Oh my god!"

Zafira grinned. "I know. It's awful."

"Zaffy?" Vincent repeated. "I'm so going to call you that."

Zafira, who was laughing now too, held up a hand. "Please don't. Anyhow I--" she paused. Her eyes had caught on something over Vincent's shoulder. Through the window, Zafira could see Quenoor kissing in the rain. Vincent turned, following her gaze, and made a strangled noise. That's when the pieces connected in her mind, and Zafira understood. "Oh Vincent... You've gone and fallen in love with Noor?"

---

um. chile. anyways. so,

IT HAS BEEN A WILD TWO WEEKS. WILD, I TELL YOU, WILD. probably two of the busiest weeks of my life, no exaggeration. school is awful and long and boring. but also /friends/ !! and also /cute girls/ !!

in other news, aroace_gemini tried to rickroll me 🙄

tHoughts on noor and zafira and quentin and vincent and the horrific love ?square? that's emerging?

i'm so very tempted to post the next two chapters right now because,,,,,,, THE LEAD IN. but i will leave u. with this. and u can wait in suspense *cackles maniacally like taylor swift* for (unlucky) chapter 13 and chap 14.