Across the Hall (girlxgirl)

thirty-two

a/n: sorry for the delay but here is the new chapter 🤭 it was done in a rush so i'm sorry if there's a few mistakes

• Ember •

Running into Sage affected Naya in a way I wasn't expecting. She went from being my playful and confident Naya to a quiet and withdrawn stranger.

She barely even spoke on the way home, lost in thought as rain pelted the windshield. The boys had been buzzing with excitement at the restaurant but as we drove home they slowly succumbed to their tiredness.

In the quietness I found myself desperately wanting to say something to Naya, I just didn't know what to say, or where to begin. Comforting people was not one of my strengths, even though Naya was so good at it.

Naya expertly parked Aunty Amara's in the garage before turning to the back to see Omar and Ziyaad fast asleep.

"Of course, they crashed," She said with a small smile. "With the way they were bouncing off the walls earlier, I'm surprised they even made it through dinner." She said awkwardly, like she was trying to make small talk before she got out of the car and I followed, pulling Naya's jacket around me against the chill in the air.

"Need some help carrying them to bed?" I offered as I watched her open up the back door.

"No, it's okay." She said shortly as she lifted Ziyaad from his car seat. 

"Please?" I asked as I reached my arms out for Ziyaad.

"Are you sure you can make it up the stairs in those shoes?" Naya asked as her green eyes glanced at my heels.

"I can make it." I nodded before Naya hesitantly handed over an unsuspectingly heavy Ziyaad.

With me slowly leading the way we climbed the dark stairs in silence, trying not to wake up Omar or Ziyaad. The house was silent, apart from our muffled footsteps as we entered their room, turning on their little amber night light before we got them into their beds.

Together Naya and I got them changed into their pjs before sneaking out the room. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when we made it outside before either of them woke up.

However, it didn't occur to me that a whole new problem awaited me until I was standing in the hall, alone with Naya. With the boys asleep, I would be alone with a girl who seemed to want nothing to do with me.

"Um, Naya, do you to maybe watch a movie with me or something? " I asked, trying my luck but she just cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I'm actually pretty tired, so I'm probably just going to call it a night." She nodded. She didn't even wait for a reply before she turned and headed to her room, closing the door behind her, and leaving me standing alone.

My heart broke a little when I heard her door click. I didn't know how things with Naya got so wrong but I didn't like it. It was like I was back with my mum, pining to be noticed and only being ignored- I couldn't take it.

Pushing my hurt to the side I dragged my sorry self back to my room. I sighed, walking over to put Blonde on my record player, allowing Frank Ocean to softly fill the silence before I collapsed back on my bed with a groan.