Lights, Camera & Action

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Tap. Tap. Tap.

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Lingling drummed her fingernails across the end table in her hotel room, trying to kick start her thought process. 

She had been seated on top of her comforter for about an hour, biting her lip and tapping her fingers, procrastinating her confrontation with Orm . Even though she promised herself she would knock on Orm's door and plunge into the unknown, Lingling wanted to at least have a plan before she stormed the hotel room.

"Hey Orm, we need to talk," Lingling whispered to herself, and then shook her head, deciding that the nationally known break up talk wouldn't work in this situation.

Sighing, Lingling bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood, and forced herself to get off of the bed. Lingling's feet felt like they were tied to bricks as she made her way toward the door, undoing the hinge and turning the lock swiftly, and then she was off.

Rain splattered against the exterior of the window, calming Lingling's nerves, and her superficial side was saying that this was a sign. The droplets of rain represented Lingling's courage to finally stand up to her former lover, metaphorically wiping Orm and Lingling's relationship clean.

Lingling ticked down the room numbers until she found the one Orm was staying in. Sucking in a harsh breath, Lingling crooked her elbow and balled her fingers down into a fist.

Lingling licked her lips and closed her eyes, rapping her fist against the door, and when the knocks were done, her stomach sank.

Rustling was heard inside of the room, and a television playing the Friends theme was shut off. Foot steps neared toward the door, matching Lingling's pulsating heart, and the lock turned, causing another wave of adrenaline to coast over Lingling's senses.

The open door revealed a comfortable Orm, missing her usual light makeup and semi revealing clothes. The t shirt that draped itself across her shoulders had belonged to Lingling , and she suddenly realized that she hadn't lost her old school shirt, Orm had stolen it. 

The hem of the shirt skirted against the bottoms of Orm's shorts, and her knee high socks left a sliver of her legs unclothed. Lingling watched as Orm's expression fell, and instead of anger, her lips curved into a frown, her usually bright eyes dull and lifeless.

Lingling bit her lip, and then muttered out, "Hey, can I, um, come in?"

Orm stared back at Lauren, flicking her eyes toward the carpeted hotel hallway before stepping back, "Sure," Orm mumbled, and Lingling frowned, because this was the most hopeful interaction they've had in weeks.

The inside of Orm's hotel room was a bit cold, the temperature highly contrasting to the hallway outside. The sheets were ruffled up, the television was flicked off, and Orm's cell phone dinged with a new text message, illuminating the glass of juice that sat on her nightstand.

Lingling stood awkwardly underneath the lamp, fiddling with her thumbs and wondering what she could possibly say.

The lock of the door clicked from the foyer of the hotel room, and Orm neared toward Lingling , looking a bit uneasy.

"So, what brings you here?" Orm asked politely, clearly still upset about the confrontation the couple had at the first movie premiere.

Lingling played with the hem of her shirt, "I owe you an apology," Lingling started, gulping heavily, "For publicly going off on you, that was really unnecessary, and I feel bad that I did that," Lingling confessed.

"I deserved it," Orm rebutted, shrugging, "I do admit that I did overreact," Orm  acknowledged, "I miss you, Lingling . Like I really miss holding you, and right now I can see that wild, loving look in your eyes, and I want that back so much it hurts. I fucked up, and I'm sorry that I completely cut you off without even letting you explain," Orm vented, breaking for the first time in months.

Blinking back at her, Lingling cleared her throat, attempting to cleanse herself of the sadness that washed over her, "Could we do that? Can we just pretend like none of this ever happened? I don't want to walk on egg shells around you anymore," Lingling sighed, like she was abandoning all hope, "If it helps, I never stopped loving you."

"We can't live a fairytale, Lingling ," Orm started, crossing her arms across her chest.

 "I mean, relationships have issues, and I guess we're going to have to work through this. I admitted I was wrong, and I hope you forgive me for being a psycho girlfriend, but I don't know if I'm ready to jump straight back into...us again," Orm said, squeezing her own forearm, "So for now, let's just be friends again and see what path we take from there," Orm suggested awkwardly.

Lingling's heart shattered when the word 'friend' rolled out of Orm's lips like smoke from a cigarette, intoxicating and slowly ruining Lingling on the inside. 

If Lingling hadn't already broken down in tears nearly every day previous to now, she would be crying right now, but Lingling swallowed her pride, and put on her game face. 

Remaining friends with Orm would have to be her reality from now on, even though Lingling couldn't help but imagine pressing their lips together once again, letting their love blossom into something beautiful and untouchable.

The distance between Lingling and Orm was so close, but so far away, and Lingling couldn't help her disappointment.

But Lingling wasn't going to ruin the chance she was given, so she forced a smile, and replied, "Okay, great, friends again."

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Thank you for reading this short update everyone xd