Blue

twenty four

Winter's mood continued to plummet. Two days later, Karina managed to drag her out of bed and made her tag along to class. They sat at their usual table with Irene and Seulgi, and Karina immediately got to work on finishing her painting. It was the Friday before spring break, and she had no time to waste.

She was so focused on her easel that she didn't pay much attention to Winter, who was painting her own canvas. Karina finally finished her painting, and just in time. The teacher dismissed the class just as she set her brush down and took a step backwards.

"Whatd'ya think, Jeong?" Karina turned around, smiling softly. Her smile quickly faded when she saw Winter asleep with her head on the table, and a completely black canvas next to her.

"Jeong... Winter," Karina moved over and gently shook the girl awake. Winter mumbled something inaudible and looked up at Karina with a confused expression on her face.

"What is this?" Karina laughed nervously, pointing to the canvas. Winter squinted, blinking a few times, and shrugged before laying her head back down on the table.

Karina glanced over at Irene worriedly. The other brunette raised an eyebrow, just as confused as Karina was. Growing concerned, the older girl quickly cleaned up their table before tugging Winter to her feet.

"C'mon, sleepyhead, we're gonna go get pizza," Karina bit her lip hopefully. Luckily, Winter smiled and nodded her head.

"I liiiikeeee pizza," she yawned mid-sentence, tugging on her beanie. Karina looked over at Irene and Seulgi.

"Wanna celebrate spring break with us?" Karina asked, inviting them to join along. They accepted, and soon all four classmates were packed into a booth at Marco's.

"Pizza," Winter whispered, tapping Karina's shoulder and looking around. "Where is it?"

"It's coming, silly," Karina laughed and ruffled Winter's hair. The smaller girl scoffed playfully and reached up to fix her beanie.

Surprisingly, when the pizza did arrive at the table, Winter didn't even finish one slice. Typically, the girl would barrel through at least two slices. Karina grew concerned, but when she asked Winter if something was wrong, the smaller girl simply shook her head.

Winter was quiet on the way home. The only sound that could be heard was the smaller girl's steady tapping of her fingers against the window.

"We're home," Karina said quietly. Winter just nodded and followed Karina upstairs to the apartment. Karina watched as her girlfriend headed towards the staircase as soon as they got inside.

"Wait, Jeong," Karina jogged forwards and grabbed Winter's hand. "Something's wrong. I can tell."

"I am fine," Winter insisted, shaking her head. Karina didn't believe it one bit.

"Winter, you h-,"

"I am fine!" Winter snapped, yanking her arm out of Karina's grip and storming upstairs. The unexpected outburst took Karina by surprise, and it took her brain a few seconds to register what had just happened.

Karina knew better than to question Winter. It would only bother the girl more. Unsure of what to do, Karina ascended the stairs slowly. She heard rustling in the bathroom and realized Winter was with Clifford. Hopefully that would calm her down a bit.

Karina was about to enter her bedroom when she heard a groan of frustration. Raising an eyebrow, she quietly moved towards the door and listened.

Winter was playing the piano, Karina realized. The smaller girl would get the first few notes of twinkle twinkle little star, but then miss a key and slam her hands down on the keyboard in anger. This would result in a loud screeching noise from the piano, and another frustrated groan from Winter.