once we existed☾

mixed feelings☾ | 2

^^^How I imagine Andromeda to look

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I help Andy up. She doesn't even care to ask me why on Earth I was on the balcony at two am in the morning. Her body is pale and lifeless, except for the occasional cough. I prop her up on the couch whilst Alya makes her some lemon and ginger tea - her favourite. 

"What happened?" I whisper. She looks up at me as if just realising I'm there,

"You shouldn't be near me, Nova. Can't you see, I'm sick?" 

She croaks and starts coughing again, this time a trickle of blood escapes her mouth. I rush to get her a bucket and she coughs up blood.

"Nova, you should really get some sleep," says Alya quietly, "I'll take care of Andromeda," 

I start to protest but she shushes me. I look out the window. Leo's gone. And his AirPod is still in my ear.

I wake up to a bright light blinding my vision - sunlight, I realise, as my eyes adjust. How long had I been asleep? 

"Good morning, Nova," Alya's voice echoes through the room, though it doesn't have the same bubbly tone that I'm used to, "There's breakfast at the table."

I sit down next to Alya and Andy. Andy reminds me of a skeleton, frail and ghost-like. She seems to be distant, almost in another world. I nibble on my toast, covered with a thin layer of jam, so thin that you cannot even taste it.

"How's Andromeda?" Leo asks one night. I sigh, laying next to him until we're almost touching. 

"As always." I look towards the night sky, my eyes tracing the crevices and shadows of the moon. He gets out his sketchpad and starts to draw with the tip of his finger.

I smile and turn over so that I can see his work, gasping. Familiar blonde ringlets cascade down the woman's face.

"I'm sorry, it's not that good, it's not done yet." he gulps. I grin and lock eye contact. 

"It's amazing, Leo,"

"Seriously? You're not just saying that because you're my friend?" My heart flutters at the word. Friend. "Seriously." His cheeks flush red.

I'm scrolling through the Hologram with the tip of my finger, rapidly searching for the Math homework I'm meant to do that was due a week ago. My mind has just been blank since what happened to Andromeda.

I hear a tap on the window and tear my eyes from the screen. "Leo," I hiss, "You're not meant to be here," He grins and pushes open the window. "Due one week ago," he shakes his head and clicks his tongue.

"Do you want some help with that?" I know there's no way he's going to leave, so I say yes. "What is Pi?" he reads out the first question and I groan.

"No, it's easy, Cassidy," he uses my last name, "Do you want me to answer this one for you?" "Yes, please," I exhale a breath I didn't know I was holding in as he enters the answer.

"See, easy?" I look at the digits hovering across the screen. 3.1415-I've already forgotten. "How is that easy?" I frown and Leo chuckles, shrugging.

I look at him in this light. His eyes meet mine and they take my breath away. We stare at each other for about a minute until I cough. "Umm.. next question?" I laugh nervously. I try to steady my heart rate.

I try to get over the little moment I had with Leo earlier. It was probably nothing. Alya enters the room with a smile on her face. "I believe this was meant for you." She sits on my bed and hands me a piece of paper.