Is it Casual now?

Chapter 15 - Malia & Kylie's perspectives

MALIA'S POV:

I walk down the corridor of recording studios, my heart is racing already and breathing feels unsteady.

It's late but the music block is still very much awake. Lights are on in most studios, and I can hear creative melodies leaking through cracks in their soundproof doors. 

"Number 7... number 8..." I count in my head as I near the final room. My fate with Kylie impending more with each step.

I pause outside of it. Studio number 9. I briefly look at the note Kylie slipped in her hoodie for me. Yup, this was the place. Unlike the other studios, number 9 had no lights on, it was completely black. It looked like a deserted ghost town in there. I squinted my eyes, putting my face so near to the glass window that I accidentally bumped my nose.

"Ouch.." I whispered, rubbing my face.

My hand slowly inched towards the door handle. I carefully opened it, not making a peep as I did so. I stepped through the doorway, my eyes adjusting to the dark and being able to distinguish things amongst the shadows. That was when I noticed someone's silhouette sprawled out on the black couch, to the side of the room. 

"Kylie...?" I thought. My heart doing a little backflip.

I could hear her soft, gentle breathing. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I'd never seen Kylie like this, so peaceful, so quiet. Her hair fell slightly into her angelic face. God she looked adorable. If things weren't so weird between us, I would've snuggled up to her right then and there, the space next to her looked so inviting.

Still gazing at her, I couldn't help but wonder how long she'd waited for me. The thought made my heart ache and glow all at once. Maybe she really did care...

I shut the door behind me as gently as I could, mindful of the sleeping beauty. Just as I did, I saw her droopy eyes opening slowly.

KYLIE'S POV:

The recording studio had become my home, this past week. Living, sleeping and pretty much just existing in here hasn't been so bad though. The studio has almost every necessity: a couch to sleep on, mini fridge stocked with snacks and drinks, the only time I've had to abandon fort was to go to the bathroom and shower, after all, if I'm going to be seeing Malia for the first time in WEEKS then the least I can do is smell good.

The hard thing has been the waiting. Having hours and hours of free time every day may seem like a dream come true but, in reality, it's been the complete opposite. Feeling on edge, every second of every day, constantly carrying the burden of 'when Malia will turn up',... wondering 'if she'll even turn up', has been torture. My energy levels have reached an all time low.

Today would be my fourth day without Malia's visit. The loneliness was becoming unbearable. This evening, I'd tried so incredibly hard to stay up for her but as the hours passed without a sign of the curly haired girl, my resilience dwindled away. The nightly weariness was starting to set in, and I eventually surrendered to the light switch, plunging myself into darkness. My drained body flopped onto the couch just as it had done the night before, and I let my dreams carry me away. Dreams of Malia walking through the door. 

I was sleeping soundly when suddenly, the gentle clicking sound of the studio door being closed, stirred me awake. Prising my heavy eyelids open, I saw a blurry shadow, standing near the entrance. Was I finally being kicked out of here by the staff?

The figure walked slowly over to me. The first thing I noticed was her hair, curly and framing her dark silhouette beautifully. With each step closer, her facial features became increasingly apparent. Only a metre-or-so apart now, I looked dazedly up at the girl, blinking at her.