turning page - nm

XX. on your skin

august 24, 2021
storrs, connecticut

when jayden stumbled into the dorm, late at night she was already in bed, half-asleep.

nika looked adorable wrapped in her fluffy blanket, messy hair covering her pillow. "jayden?"

"hey, sorry. did i wake you up?" she asked softly, closing the door behind herself.

nika mumbled something inaudible out, pulling her blanket closer.

she let out a soft laugh, hand on her hips as she leant against the wall. "what did you say?"

"i tried to call you."

her slight smile turned into a small frown, "oh... i'm sorry." she walked into the wardrobe, pulling an old shirt and a pair of sleep shorts out. "i gotta get ready for bed, i'll be right back."

"m'kay."

she made her way into the bathroom, washing her face, brushing her teeth and changing. when jayden got back to the bedroom, nika was sat up in the bed, knees pulled to her chest.

nika patted the bed next to her, the girl sitting down. "i'm worried about you."

confusion flooded jaydens face, "why?"

nika wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. she spoke quietly, lips brushing against the side of her head. "you seem too good, like everything is perfect."

"what is that supposed to mean?"

she tried to stand up but nika held her in place, turning jaydens head towards herself. "you can tell me anything, alright?"

"yeah. you remind me, like... everyday."

"i just wanted to know whats going on in there." she spoke, tapping on the side of her head.

jayden sighed, "theres literally nothing, thats the problem."

her forehead creased in hesitation, opening her mouth just to close it again. "so you're not mad anymore?"

"i'm not anything anymore. i'm like... numb?"

nika's confused look turned into a sympathetic frown, pulling jayden closer to herself. "that just means you still haven't processed it yet, and that's okay. it's a lot to deal with."

"yeah... your probably right."

jayden sat up, turning herself entirely towards the brunette. nika pulled her forward, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. she grabbed the girls chin, pressing their lips together:

nikas breath hitched at the contact and jayden quickly pulled away, "sorry, i know its bad timing. jus wanted to do that so bad."

"no, don't apologize." she brushed hair from her face, pressing one more sweet kiss to her lips.

"i guess i'm not entirely numb, because you still managed to make me nervous." jayden sunk into the girls side, looking up at her.

"thats good. i'm glad i could help."

the next morning

the door to the small dorm slammed open, paige stumbling inside. "nika!" she shut the door behind her, running over to the bed.

a puzzled look grew on her face as she saw jayden curled into the girls side. she instantly got over it, shaking the girl to wake her up, "nika! wake up!"

the brunette groaned, burrowing her face into jaydens neck to escape the morning light. she spoke quietly, slight rasp in her morning voice. "paige?"

this woke jayden up, who sat up quickly. she rolled off the bed, thudding onto the floor. when she opened her eyes, she saw nika peering over the edge and paiges worried face standing above her.

"good morning?" the blonde spoke, weariness in her voice.

nikas hand trailed down to help her up, which she gratefully accepted, "hi, paige. it is not a good morning, that fuckin hurt."

she stood up on her feet, paige helping her the rest of the way up.

the second jayden was up, her arms were crossed. "why'd you have to come wake us up?"

"sleeping beauty over here..." she giggled, patting nikas head.
"...asked me to come wake her up incase she slept through her alarm.

"oh, yeah. i did ask that."

jayden looked at the girl in annoyance, flopping back onto the bed. "why," she groaned. "we could've just slept."

nikas arm wrapped around jayden, "me n paige have practice, which means you do too."

paige let out a small laugh and scooped her up from the bed, placing her down on her feet. "go get ready."

"but-"

the blonde crossed her arms, "go."

"fine. but i'm borrowing one of your shirts today." paige rolled her eyes, tossing her the key to her dorm.

the second the door shut behind her, she turned to nika. "so... whats going on with you two?"

"she just has trouble sleeping."

her eyebrows raised, a smirk tugging at her lips. "so she slept in bed with you?"

"yes."

paige sat down on the bed, a contemplative look on her face. "you still like her?"

nika buried her face into her pillow, trying to hide her red face. she poked in teasingly in the side, the brunette looking up at her. "obviously."

"thats adorable."

authors note
guys im so tired