Veiled | JHS | ✓

Friends...Um, no.

Sia weaved through the crowd, groggily rubbing her eyes as she stepped out of the university building. She was tired and completely sapped of her last bit of energy but that wasn't enough to kill the little exciting part of her mind yet. Well, who wouldn't be if they were in her place?

Sia wandered through her campus with a slight spring in her steps briefly wondering where her good friend Jinnie was. She'd been caught up in all the Vile One ordeal that she really hadn't paid attention to him. She was sure she was going to suffer its consequences sooner or later since Jinnie was petty like that.

She was hopping through the campus gardens, searching for the familiar jet-black head who loved to hang around there when her footsteps abruptly faltered and came to a halt. Sia's eyes widened as she drank in the sight that awaited her. Immediately, she regretted ever coming near the place. For there was Hoseok standing a good distance away with a girl. She would have ignored it had the girl not been holding Hoseok's face in her hands, gazing deep into his eyes, searching for something. Hoseok's back was to Sia, rendering it hard to make out his expression but his compliance, the mere fact that he wasn't pulling away told her enough. Sia backtracked looking away, her footsteps gathering speed as she turned and ran.

A slow thrumming migraine pulsed into her brain as the image kept playing in her mind and she squeezed her eyes shut, running faster and faster.

Why?

It was all a joke, wasn't it?

But then why does it hurt?

When Sia blurted out the first time she would make him hers, she had only partially meant it as she figured he was the closest thing she could find to her ideal type. Then reality soon sunk in. It was impractical. Two unlike souls who started off as all kinds of wrong couldn't possibly forge anything more than civility. But then she found out that her little comment had irked the person it was aimed at a little more than necessary and the game was on.

It was a fun game to play. Pretending to chase after someone who she thought was a little out of her league if she was being completely honest. Even when he was messed up inside or if his soul wasn't whole. He was still too wholesome. Unfit for her who was too weird for her own good. Just like the ghostly echoes of her high school memories told her.

His reactions were her favorite and she lived just for that. His trust was another thing that gradually became a need as she got to know him better. His friendship was a pleasant surprise that brought a faint smile to her lips every time she thought about it. Because it was the first time he'd truly admitted he was willing to let her in. That was progress.

She was fine with everything. It was easier to believe that she was just that wacko friend who loved to flirt for no reason. It was easier to delude herself when she didn't see it with her eyes. Even when she'd heard the rumors that he had found someone who would make him happy, it was easier to convince herself that she was happy for him. Since she was his friend.

Looking back she wondered how much of it was a joke. When had her pranks turned serious? Since when did she actually start to believe she was anything more than what she was?

Sia shook her head. No. She was happy for him. It was just her stupid messed-up feelings complicating everything. Hoseok deserved to be happy and she can't be the one to make him happy. The girl Sia saw just before must have been the one, all this time.

Her pace was too fast for her to stop when she found her best friend blocking her path with a highly displeased look about him and she crashed right into him.

"OUPH! Damn it, girl! What is wrong with you, running around the campus like preschoolers chasing after candy!"

Sia bent over her knees and inhaled lungfuls of air. Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she stretched her lips to form a smile. "Hey Jinnie! Long time no see."