love comes in many forms

chronostasis (monarisa - r15ish?)

"Say, Risa..."

It's red. The sunset paints the whole sky a vivid, almost blood-like scarlet, but Risa barely gives it a second thought, just notes absentmindedly how the sun is starting to set much earlier now that it's the end of summer. It's been a particularly humid day, and she can feel her shirt clinging uncomfortably to her skin to the point where it almost feels suffocating. Nevertheless, as she looks up at the girl standing before her, none of that feels relevant anymore.

It's red. Manaka's hair is the color of blood, a hue that Risa knows would be blending into the sky behind them if it wasn't for the halo of sunlight framing the girl's head. Risa is sitting on the ground and Manaka is towering above her, as if to shield her eyes from the final rays of the sun before the day turns into night. Instead, the backlight makes it seem like the darkness has fallen over Manaka just a bit earlier than it has for everyone else.

Risa knows she's seen this scene before, knows the words that follow by heart.

"Do you think we'll be together forever?"

She can't quite make out Manaka's expression though the heavy shadow on her face. But it's a matter of minutes, now—once the sun sets and the streetlights come to life, Manaka will be illuminated before her once again. It's an overly familiar setting, a well-practiced script, and even though she's seen it all before, she doesn't remember how the scene ends

It's unnerving, against all common sense. She knows Manaka better than she knows herself at this point, but without seeing her expression, all she feels is distance.

And that scares her more than anything.

Perhaps it's because of that thought that she can never come up with an answer. It's a question that she knows for certain that she's heard time and time again, even if she can't recall exactly when or why. She anticipates it, but regardless, it always seems to catch her off-guard.

After all, just what is forever? Until death, beyond that? The whole thought process feels increasingly déjà vu, and yet it never leads her anywhere. Perhaps even more importantly, when is forever supposed to begin? She looks at the darkness in front of her and all she feels is afraid. Afraid of this moment stretching into eternity. Afraid that the darkness will be frozen in time.

Most of all, she's afraid she'll never see Manaka's face again.

And if that's what her forever looks like, she'd rather end it before it can even begin. But then, maybe... Maybe if she just says 'yes', she can make the light shine on Manaka even just a second sooner. A forever basking in the warmth of Manaka's smile is one she'd readily accept.

So why can't she answer? The words are stuck in her throat. For a moment, it feels as if the world itself is stuck.

She reaches out, in a desperate attempt to get it moving once again, but—

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The spot next to her is empty, but nobody asks to sit there.

Which honestly suits Risa just fine, because the only person she's ever allowed to sit beside her is Manaka, and the other people she doesn't mind sharing her personal space know not to ask.

Manaka's been absent for a while, though, and Risa is honestly starting to question what motivated her to start going to university in the first place. It's not that the people changed, and neither did her environment, even if the subjects changed a little every semester. Wasn't she supposed to have hopes and ambitions? No matter how hard she tries, she can only think of the whispered jokes and Manaka's dorky grin that made it all worth it, and without the girl by her side to make the boring lectures a bit more bearable, there hardly seems to be a point in attending anymore.