EVERYTHING EVERY THING + TACHIZAKI +

Naomi??? Mum? Anyone?

When I get upstairs I hear a humming noise, a soft melody, and giggling.

Naomi.

What is she doing in there?

The shock is so foreign to me. Of course, she's in there. She's always in my room, I never lock the door. I always let her in. Why am I so scared suddenly, there's nothing incriminating in there, so why do I want her gone so bad?

She turns when I enter . . . my tablet is in her hand, the messaging app open. I freeze.

"Ooh, Junichi's been a bad boy!" she sings, skipping around me.

"What? No, I haven't! I-"

"Juncihi had a boy over~" She paces, reminding me of those big cats from the nature channel. A shiver runs down my spine.

"He was Outside- wait, were you watching?"

"Oh, Juni, you should know by now that I'm always watching." She whispers the words, sliding he hand up and down my back.

"I didn't break any of the rules!"

"We're supposed to even split out screen time, and you've been texting for 30 minutes, and with a total stranger."

"He's not a-"

"I am so telling mummy everything~!"

When did I become afraid of her? Have I always been? Or is this sick feeling in my stomach something else?

"What!? No, you can't. You know she'd freak!"

"Exactly. I'm only trying to look out for my dearest brother's safety."

"No, please!"

"But Juniii." she drags my name out for an uncomfortably long time, "I have to,"

"You don't. I won't . . ." I stop because not texting him again is a promise I can't make. "Stop!"

She smiles, scrolling. I feel my breath start to speed up. What's happening to me? Why is everything blurry? I didn't know this room could spin. I can only try not to fall over as she puts the ringing phone up to her ear. Am I . . . sick? How?

I can't worry about that now.

"Stop it!" She doesn't. I can't let her. I don't want to worry my mother because of a perfectly innocent friendship (I think). "Go away."

"No." Her piercing blue gaze is firm.

My panic increases 10 fold. "I said Go away. Just stop! Go away. Go away . . ." when she makes no move and the ringing stops, signaling an answer, something changes, like a switch has just been flipped. "GO AWAY!!!"

She does. But she doesn't walk out she . . . disappears. Like evaporation, or a fading hologram from Star Trek, or a vanishing patronus from Harry Potter. Gone, just gone. I blink, vision tunneling. I can see the phone on the floor, the screen cracked. Marred forever after being kept carefully for so long. The tears come quickly, taking out what remains of my vision.

I think Mum is yelling for me from the other end of the line, but all I can hear is the thump when I hit the floor.

—

I wake up to Mum's worried face over me.

"Juni! Juni wake up, wake up baby please."

I sit up, sore, from the fall I think. "M-mum? What time is it?"

"Oh, never mind that, what happened? I came as quickly as I could."

I still don't know, all I see is Naomi fading away, a shower of green sparks that almost resembled . . . snow.