Two lives.

13. Late night games

I was jolted awake from my nap by a knock on the door. At first, I tried to ignore it, sinking deeper into my pillow with a sigh, but the knocking grew more insistent. Reluctantly, I rolled out of bed, muttering to myself, and opened the door to find a familiar face smiling back at me.

"Hi," Ophelia greeted, her smile widening, like she was suppressing a laugh.

"Hi?" I replied, a little confused, blinking away the last traces of sleep and rubbing my eyes. I could feel the dazed expression on my face, which only made her grin even more.

"Are you coming to the basketball game?" she asked, her voice light with excitement. "It starts in like 30 minutes."

A basketball game. Right. I barely remembered hearing about it, but the way she was looking at me made it hard to say no.

"Oh yeah, I...uh, kind of forgot about that," I admitted, scratching my head as I glanced around my room, trying to locate something decent to wear.

Ophelia giggled, crossing her arms with a knowing look. "Yeah, I figured you'd probably forget." She paused, her tone turning playfully serious, though it was clear she was trying not to laugh. "Tonight's game theme is red. So, you better dress accordingly."

"Alright, alright, got it—red," I said, chuckling. "But honestly, I don't think I even own anything red."

I gestured for her to come in while I started rummaging through my clothes. She followed, settling into the chair by my desk and glancing out the window. "Whoa, you've got a nice view!" she said, her gaze lingering on the trees outside as they caught the evening light.

I gave a half-smile, still half-focused on the clothes scattered across my bed. "Yeah, it's not bad. Guess I got lucky."

Ophelia leaned back, tapping her fingers on her knee thoughtfully. "Well...maybe we could borrow something red from someone? Like, a hoodie or something?" Her eyes drifted back to me, a little sparkle in them as she brainstormed.

"I mean, I don't know about all that..." I muttered, straightening up awkwardly.

Ophelia flashed a grin, already getting up from her seat. "C'mon, we can just ask Ekko."

"Oh, no, no—it's fine," I said quickly, waving my hands in front of me, almost defensively. The thought of asking him, someone I barely knew, to lend me clothes felt odd. And I didn't exactly want to be the one to bring it up.

Ophelia laughed, rolling her eyes. "Trust me, it'll be okay. Ekko's chill; he won't make it weird," she said, already heading out of my room and leading us past the lounge and down the hallway connected to the small kitchen.

Before I could protest any more, she stopped in front of a random door and knocked confidently. I stood back, feeling the nerves creep in.

"Don't worry," she whispered, giving me a reassuring smile as she waited for him to answer. "This'll be easy."

The seconds stretched on, and I found myself smoothing my hair, wondering if I should say something casual or just let her do the talking. Finally, we heard footsteps on the other side.

The door creaked open, revealing nothing but darkness behind it, until a figure stepped forward, catching the dim hallway light. Ekko stood there, squinting slightly as he took in the two of us. "Wassup?" he said, his voice low and a bit groggy, like we'd interrupted him mid-nap or something.

"Hey, Ekko!" Ophelia chirped, way too cheerfully for the vibe at his door. "So... we have a tiny favor to ask," she continued, giving me a side glance.

He raised an eyebrow, looking from her to me, clearly waiting for one of us to explain. I felt my face flush as I stumbled over my words. "Uh, yeah, so, there's a theme for tonight's game... and it's red... and, well..." I trailed off, realizing how ridiculous it sounded now that I was saying it out loud.