We're Still Human

Chapter 22: Ordinary World

Only a week till the second term, and possibly one of the life defining terms for me. My mother and I haven't been in communication at all, with her attempts at reaching out to me futile. For some reason, I want to take my time on navigating my own life without her in my ear, trying to discover who I am without trying to cater to her. It's been challenging but healing for me. At least for now. That's what has been keeping me happy and sane, and while this is all great, that's not my main focus tonight.

Tonight, my girlfriend has a surprise for me.

I follow Kendall as she leads me blindly. I usually don't give Kennie this much freedom over where she can take me blindfolded, but here we are. The last time I ever let Kendall lead me, I ended up fake dating her for about half a year. I trust her now, though. She hasn't given me a reason not to anyway.

Not less than my own mother has, at least.

I yelp as my foot hits a step, and she hushes me, trying to get me to walk the steps. Once we're done with that, she kisses my lips, giving me a quick hug. I'm then left alone, with her clapping in the distance.

"Open thy eyes, Yas."

I remove the blindfold, shaking my head at Kendall's antics; she took us to the Plaza's highest building once again; the place we had our first real conversation.

And now she's standing before me with a speaker.

"You stole that, I'm sure," I joke with her, walking towards her. "What is this?"

"Well, maybe a little surprise before school, don't you think?" She grins, switching the speaker on. 'Ordinary World' by Duran Duran starts to play, with Kendall switching on the LED function to the speaker. She sets it on the ground, and gives me her hand for me to take.

"Isn't it too late to be slow dancing to this song?"

"Is it ever too late to live a little?" Kennie fires back, and I shake my head, taking her by the hand.

She wraps her arms around my neck, and I place my hands on her waist. As the song plays, we sway side to side gently, our eyes locking gently. I smile at her for the kind gesture and kiss her forehead, pulling her a bit closer to me.

"So what's the point of all this?" I ask, and she shrugs.

"Just letting you live a little, you do deserve it after the few weeks you've had," she explains. "I just wanted it to help you relax."

As I stare at my girlfriend while dipping her, the song slowly pans out for me, feeling myself increasingly get lost in her longing gaze. "I'm very relaxed, Kennie."

The song dies down, and I lift her back up, kissing her softly. She smiles against my lips, and I take the initiative to move her to the wall gently, our lips still locked. We separate, trying to catch our breath as the next song that plays is 'Crush Culture' by Conan Gray. Kendall chuckles as I flick her wrist gently.

"Was this really a necessary song?"

"Hey, some of us haven't updated our Playlist from the last time we used Spotify. As far as I'm concerned, this song is from your curated Playlist."

"The same playlist that has Ordinary World?" I ask her.

"The same playlist that has Dominic Fike on rotation." She rolls her eyes as I close the remaining space between us. "Clingy much?"

"Oh hush, you love it," I tease, kissing her cheek. "Thank you for this, I mean it."

Kennie grins. "Nothing I wouldn't do for you, Yasmina. Nothing."

And as Kendall's speaker continues to play the most random songs on rotation, I couldn't help but spend the entire night admiring my extraordinary girlfriend.

***

After escaping the death grip my girlfriend has on me while we sleep, I make my way to Kait's room. Kait leaves for uni tomorrow, and I promised to talk to her just before she leaves. I'll miss her more than any other sibling figure I've met, and I need her to know that before she leaves. Kendall is a deep sleeper at times, and usually, when she has her face facing the ceiling with her lips slightly parted, she's guaranteed not to wake up a single minute.

Kait opens the door and lets me in. Once it's shut, I nod at her, taking a seat on her bed. This is the first time I've seen her room, and in contrast to Kendall's mix of pastel colors and detailed room, Kaitlyn has more of a neutral and minimalistic palette; the earthy tones of her room contrasting Kendall's more nuanced and edgy tones.

I sit on the bed, waiting for Kait to finish clearing up her table. She stops for a second once she picks up a picture, and I stand, approaching her. The picture that grabbed her attention was the one of her and Kendall when they were younger, eating cotton candy as their dad lifted what I'm assuming is Kendall. A tear escapes Kait's eye, and I place an arm around her, making sure she knows she's not alone. I'm not used to being the one to comfort others in situations like these, but with how important and loving Kait has been in my relationship with Kendall, I will always be able to try and be there for her.

"You're a good sister, you know," I reassure her. "You've done so much for Kendall, and I want you to know that she's happy you're her sister."

Kait sniffles a little. "Sometimes I feel like shit knowing that I have to go to school and leave her here with those cunts at school."

"She's going to be just fine, she had someone great to show her how it's done," I tell her. "She'll be okay."

"And how about you? Will you be alright?" Kait asks me.

I take a minute to think about it, before finally settling with a nod. "I'll be okay." Taking a deep breath, I rub her back slightly.  "Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being there for me," I admit. "You were there when I needed someone, so thank you."

Kait looks at me, smiling. "Yasmina, you're like my little sister too, I'll do anything to protect you," she explains. "But as far as I know you're doing an amazing job at protecting yourself. Sometimes you just need to remember that you don't have to take care of yourself alone."

"That's all I've ever known, Kait," I whisper. "All I've ever known is to make sure that I'm doing what makes my mom happy, and protect her reputation."

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"I know, and because of you and Kendall, it feels like I'm finally seeing it," I explain.

"Don't give us the credit, give yourself some too."

"Not as much as you guys, I mean, you two really are the greatest things to happen to me." I tell her. "Without you and Kendall by my side, I wouldn't have been able to do much of this."

Kait nods, laughing to herself a little. "Do me a favor, Yasmina."

"Yes?"

"Make sure Ken knows this herself," Kait says. "Make sure she knows how you feel about her, always."

From the way she said that, I could tell that she's trying to unwind and have some time to herself. Respecting her space, I nod, giving her a big hug.

"Always." I promise. "Always."

She hugs me back, her last words dwelling with me for a while.

"And remember, you're still human at the end of the day."