Nyctophilia

Ace of Hearts

EMPTY HALLS HELD NOTHING BUT A SINGLE SILHOUETTE as you made your way to the entrance of the rooftop. One does not often find oneself awake in these ungodly hours past midnight, but your feet continued to carry you to a destination you knew far too well. With a brain barely half awake, your body ended up taking the lead, pushing you towards your safe haven.

Upon your arrival, it seems as though your secret spot wasn't a secret anymore. A man with a white hooded jacket sat on the edge of the rooftop, staring mindlessly at the distant view of empty Tokyo. The dark edges of the tall buildings cut into the star filled night sky like jagged rocks. Your mind was a little slow, but you registered him as the newcomer that arrived at the Beach just earlier today. You sat down on the edge next to him, noticing he seemed bothered by your presence. You could tell with just one look that this man was undeniably intelligent. Registering your presence at the rooftop as soon as you stepped out into the chilly night air. It didn't really bother you though.

He raised an eyebrow at you in a questioning manner, but you simply chose to ignore his unsaid question. Instead, you chose to breathe in the cold night air that you've always loved. Ever since arriving at the Beach two weeks ago, the night has always been a time for you to relax and get away from all those people partying like it's their last. Well, considering the fact that it probably would be, you understood, to and extent.

You took in all the sights of the night, with its abundance of stars sewn across the night sky. Every time you look at the stars, you feel at peace. You found comfort and relaxation in the night, preferring it over the daytime. The sun simply hurt your eyes and made you go blind.

You turned to inspect the man sitting next to you. You had to admit, he was irresistibly captivating. You would be lying if you said he was unattractive. His dyed platinum blonde, looked almost a shining silver in the moon's spotlight, framed his face perfectly. A couple strands of his hair was tucked behind his ear, but the rest at the back flowed down freely, reaching a little past his neck. His nose looks as if it was perfectly carved by god himself. His eyes were a honey shade of brown, and they seemed to speak those unsaid words he could never allow himself to say. He seemed to glow, as if he were favored by the heavens. But if he were an angel sent from the heavens, then why is he here, in this hell? The look in his eyes suggested that there might be more of the devil in him than his angelic appearance would suggest.

He turned to you, catching your gaze in his own. A smirk rested on his lips as he gave you another quirk of his eyebrow as if to ask, 'like what you see?' If you were being honest, you did. He was almost bewitching. Lucky for you, you didn't fall for spells. You gave no reply to his yet again silent questions, and instead focused back to the view from the rooftop. You could feel his gaze on you, you knew he was staring at you like you did with him. His perceptive gaze scanned you, trying to read you. Yet you did not give him anything that you give you away.

You knew how to handle people like him, as studying phycology for four years has turned you into who you are now. You could be a literal therapist at this point. Always getting top scores in your class. You also studied traumatology, which helped you get through injuries from the games. You always had to act professional in front of your patients, so pulling up a facade was no big deal for you. You did do a lot of theatre throughout middle school and high school.

He gave up once he saw no signs of you wavering, and went back to taking in the view again. The two of you sat in a comfortable silence, understanding that none of you wanted to engage in a conversation right now. The silence was like a warm blanket that chased away the cold. After a while, you decide to call it a night and got back up. He glanced at you from the corner of his eye and offered you a small wave paired with a smirk. You returned the gesture with a small smile finding its way onto your face.

He was extremely pleased with your reply, because someone finally waved back at him. Feeling content, he continued to stare out into the distance while you walked away from your spot. But unbeknownst to you, he had a small smile on his face.

Somehow making it back to your room without even remembering how, you made a beeline for your bed and plopped down onto it, immediately drifting off into your well needed rest.

*•*•*•*•*

Waking up to a loud banging at your door, you groaned. Who could possibly be wanting you awake this early in the morning. Whoever it was, you hoped they would be prepared to get murdered by your hands. Those were your thoughts until you heard the familiar voice of someone who arrived here only yesterday with the man you met on the roof. Kuina continued to knock urgently at your door saying, "Come on! Wakey wakey my dearest sleepyhead!" Her voice was cheery and light, a complete opposite of what you were feeling this morning.

You groaned and tried to get up as Kuina decided to just barge into your room. Keyword, tried. You simply collapsed back onto your bed again, your eyelids feeling heavy and glued shut. You internally pouted, feeling grumpy at the disturbance from your precious sleep. "Why do you have to wake me up so early?" Your voice was muffled and jumbled, but Kuina still got the gist of it. "Holy fuck your morning voice is hot. But never mind that! Let's get some drinks!" She remarked, but quickly moved onto her reason for barging in. "This early in the morning?" At this point, you had gotten up to a criss-cross sitting position, and your hair was an absolute mess.

"Maybe later on, but I wanna do something fun with you!" Kuina whined. You had only met this girl yesterday and showed her around, but she was already attached to you and she felt like a friend you've known since forever. "Now go clean up, you look like a mess!" She laughed.

"Ha ha ha, very funny," sarcasm dripped from every syllable in your words. "Okay, lower the sass a bit missy. Now go! Hurry!" Kuina chuckled at your state, finding you quite cute when your grumpy. You gave some grumbles but still did as she said, fixing yourself up and changing out of your pajamas into beach clothing, as per the Beach's rule. You hated wearing revealing clothing, so your top was a cropped swimwear that covered your chest and back, but not your arms. You wore men's swim trunks because they were comfortable. The swim trunks reached just above your knee, the perfect length.

As soon as you were finished, Kuina grabbed your hand and dragged you towards your unknown destination. She stopped at two empty sun beds and sat down, with you doing the same a little after. "So...what now?" You gave her a tilt of your head. She only giggled at your action, finding it cute. You swear, she always finds whatever you do to be cute. You didn't get it but you were fine with it because it was Kuina. "Let's guess random people's strong suits! You're good at this, you're a Hearts player, right? I know you'll do good!" Kuina's enthusiasm scared you, but it was quite refreshing. Especially in a place like this.

You sighed, but agreed none the less. Knowing people's strong suit makes it easier to read and understand how people think. Kuina pointed to a random guy sipping on a martini at the edge of the pool, eyeing women's butts. Disgusting. "Clubs. He doesn't look that smart, and his physique isn't that well built. He simply likes to get drunk and ogle disgustingly at women." You rolled your eyes. Men.

Kuina pointed to a girl who was probably a high school student when she entered the borderlands. "Defiantly diamonds." "Why?" Kuina asked, tilting her head to the side. Cute. "She's observing people here, and has a reserved posture. Probably got top grades in math." Kuina was wowed by your deductions like you were detective Conan 2.0, which you weren't. Unfortunately, you were a psychiatrist, not a detective.

The two of you continued this game till afternoon, when you start to get hungry. "Let's get some lunch, shall we?" Kuina stood up and offered her and hand with a flirty wink. You laughed and stood up, taking her hand with a small 'thank you' and let her lead the way to the cafeteria.

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1536 words