F L A M E

10 - 𝔹𝕪𝕖, 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣

Peter is lying on the pavement. His eyes fixed on the dark firmament above him. He has not been toppled by a car or something; he is just lying there.

After finally talking to Theoden and eventually breaking things up with him, Peter doesn't want to go home. He feels exhausted with a thousand different emotions overflowing him, yet he feels numb. So, instead of taking his usual bus in the direction of his apartment, returning to see Anouk and telling her that he had finally done it, Peter walked the darkly lit suburban streets. Plus, his best friend would probably ask questions and his head already felt like exploding. He didn't feel like talking.

Peter had wandered along the streets, lost in thought, until he was too exhausted to take another step, the emptiness inside his chest swallowing him whole. So, he sat down on the pavement. Not caring if someone saw him or if he would get dirty. He didn't care about much at that moment.

And now, Peter is lying there, his back flat on the ground as he watches the stars brightly twinkling. His mind is oddly blank. Yet, the stars remind him of someone. It's not Theoden. And that's perhaps the weirdest part. He is thinking of Saifa.

Peter believes that, maybe, if he has found it in him to break up with the Half-Fae, it is only after talking with Saifa. Because he had never seemed exasperated by Peter's reluctance. Because he always has that soft, kind smile stretching his lips. And because he seemed to genuinely care about Peter, even though the latter doesn't understand why. It's not like Anouk or Aiman don't care about Peter; he knows that. But Saifa is strangely a different matter in his mind. It's so confusing, but as of now, it's also comforting to think he has the other to count on.

Peter blinks at the sky.

Then, without thinking much about it, he blindly takes out his phone, briefly looking at the screen before scrolling through his contacts but not finding what he is looking for. He stops his movements for an instant before remembering the piece of paper Saifa had given him all these weeks ago, asking him to call or text. Peter had put it inside his pocket at the time, but he remembers that once he had reached home and changed, he had then put it inside his wallet. So, he searches in his other pocket for his purse, letting a small victory sound escape his lips when he successfully retrieves it. He quickly finds the paper, staring at the messy handwriting and the series of numbers. He smiles to himself, not really realising it, and enters the phone number, saving the contact. Finally, he presses on the new entry, listening to the beeps of a waiting-to-be-answered phone call. Peter only has to wait a few seconds before the soft, baritone voice answers.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Saifa."

There's a moment of silence when Peter can hear the loud background, music and chatter mixing noisily. He hears some movement and guesses that Saifa is trying to find a quieter place.

"Peter? Is that you?" He sounds surprised yet excited, and his tone makes Peter smile.

"Yeah."

"You're finally calling!" He exclaims, chuckling slightly. "What's up?"

Not missing a beat, and without thinking much, Peter says, "I just broke up with Theoden."

Saifa stays quiet on the other side of the line, so much so that he thinks he has hung up for a moment. But then, he hears a throat clearing, some more movements, and a door closing.

"How did it go?" Saifa inquires softly, "Are you alright?"

There's something with Saifa's voice that immediately soothes Peter and brings back some light and softness to the world. When the stars had seemed dull a moment ago, they are now shining brightly in endless shades of silver and gold.