𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵

☾ 𝕿𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖊 ☽

𝙁𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙭

Out of all the movies on Netflix, Francine chooses to watch a Romantic Comedy.

I'm not judging her preference, but it is quite strange that she decided to watch two Romance Comedies in a row tonight.

The first one was short, so she selected another one within the recommendations to proceed with the romance marathon.

I sit back and relax, indulging in the moment I have with Francine.

It isn't so often that we get to hang out like this. Despite my parents frequently traveling during the weekends, we don't receive much time alone. I try to enjoy every single second of it, even though on certain occasions, I would rather forget what I witness from Francine. I still love her... like the best friend I am.

"Felix?" Francine abruptly asks, turning her head to face me from my lap, interrupting me from my thoughts.

"Yeah?" I reply, leisurely lowering my head from the screen, not quite removing my gaze from the upcoming kissing scene until the two characters are interrupted.

Damn.

"How was your first kiss?" I swallow as I begin recalling the moment of my first kiss. What promptly comes to mind is how magical it was. How badly I desire for it to happen again.

"Well, it was during middle school with Adriana Jenkins," I say, a smile forming on my face.

"Adriana?"

"Yep."

"Right...you liked her." Her voice trails off, gloom coating her words like honey.

"Yeah. We scheduled our kiss to be exactly at ten on the dot at her house."

"Scheduled? Seriously? She scheduled that kind of stuff?"

"Yep. It was dark as hell in her house, though. I couldn't see her when I arrived." I say, "who knows? I could've made out with her dad instead, for all I know."

Vibrations circle my thigh as Francine erupts in giggles. Despite the humor, I enticed, I still hear density In her voice. Like she's refraining from exposing too much of herself to me at the moment. It's odd. She's never like this.

"Soo..how did it happen?" she asks, tilting her head to face me as I speak.

"Well, when I got there, I stood in her foyer because I had no idea where to go next. It was so dark I couldn't see any furniture." I say, "eventually, something bumped into me, and I assumed it was her since she did specify I'd have to wait in her living room for the kiss to happen. So, when I was certain she had arrived, I immediately kissed her. I recall how she wore a jacket in her own home; it was odd, but I dismissed it because the kiss was awesome.

"It escalated, and we landed on the couch somehow. I also noticed she was wearing a necklace—which was also weird because she never wore jewelry, at least not any that I was aware of. Anyway, we heard footsteps descending the stairs, and she practically flew off me. She bolted to the door and slipped on the carpet. Her father heard noises and immediately switched on the lights, but before I could see her, she was gone. Out the door in a flash."

"She left?" Francine asks.

"Yeah. Why?" I say.

"No, nothing. It's just odd how she would escape her own home." She says, her voice lowering to a dangerous whisper. Her behavior is becoming strange, and I don't know if I like it.

"Yeah. Totally." When I say that, her eyes widen significantly, and then abruptly close. They remain closed as she continues to rest on my lap. She becomes still. Her breaths stagger, and she winces suddenly as if something shocks her. It almost makes me wince.

"France," I announce with uncertainty, "are you okay?" Her lips draw apart like she's about to say something, but nothing spills out of those plush rosy lips of hers. They just clamp closed and disappear out of my vision as she sits up on the couch.

"France?"

She's completely still, almost as still as a statue. I can barely tell she's breathing, and that frightens me. Why is she behaving this way all of a sudden? Did I say something wrong?

"Fran..."

"Stop," she says in almost a squeal, "just stop." Her last word comes out in a whisper, almost silent as she lowers her head and buries it between her knees.

My heart clenches in sorrow. Seeing her like this could literally shatter my heart if it were made out of glass. I don't understand what has made her so upset; she rarely even expresses the feeling.

In the span of a millisecond, she springs up from the couch and dashes out of my sight. She leaves so fast that my reaction is delayed. I only just realize she's left the basement when I hear the door slam. It's so loud it makes me stand from the couch and inspect my surroundings before glancing at the empty spot on the couch.

What just happened?

☾ GASP!!! ☽