The Gold, the missing things we look for insistently. We need them to adorn our soul, to light up the hazy days. A beautiful spin through the garden of youth, and the roses have dried blood on their thorns.
The Forest, the trek deeper into the mind...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
When the first light of dawn grazed over his figure, he stirred. Squinting against the strings of light, he felt a slight pounding in his head. Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited for his dizziness to steady before opening up his eyes again.
Being the first of the two to wake, he stared at the girl across from him. She laid her hands in front of her face as she slept. He put his next to hers in a groggy curiosity, wondering what the difference of their hands would be.
She had painted her nails coral and white, and they were tiny. Delicate seashells adorning her small fingers. He turned his own palm towards himself, noticing first the lines, then the callouses.
---
Vivi woke up to a foreign bed, after she registered her surroundings, she realized the space next to her that was previously occupied was now empty.
She quickly hopped out of bed, as it felt like a sin to lie in it now that she was painfully aware of who it belonged to. She had spent the night in Carl's room. Stepping before the mirror as she entered the bathroom, she realized that she hadn't wiped off the light makeup she put on, now some of her mascara was smudged.
Oh god—that's embarrassing. Did he see that?
After she explored the house briefly, she realized he wasn't even home. She quickly checked the time. It's eleven already!? I should go back.
The front door opened, and Carl returned with a paper bag in his hands. Her eyes locked with his.
"...Breakfast." He raised the bag awkwardly.
"Right." She mumbled quickly, going to fix her hair, hoping to cover the messy state of her makeup. He made his way over to the dining table, setting the bag down. It smelled great, and the thought of having breakfast with him was inviting, but she looked absolutely horrendous right now.
"English muffin with eggs and cheese." He was taking the contents out.
"Mhm." She nodded, the smell enticing her.
"You should eat breakfast before you go anywhere." He suggested, still focused on the food.
"Well—I haven't... I haven't brushed my teeth." She blurted, then quickly went to cover her mouth.
Ugh. That's the most unattractive thing I could've said!
Carl looked up, eyes wide in realization. Then he made his way to the bathroom, rustling through the cupboards, and pulled out a fresh toothbrush.
After brushing her teeth, she sat in front of him, breath minty. Though she was terribly embarrassed, she was also hungry. She waited until he started eating before peeling away the packaging and biting into the warm muffin.
Wow.
She met his eyes again, and the lights in his eyes were dancing with amusement. She covered her face with her free hand and continued eating.
There was a small chuckle, it was low, and it was shy.
And it squeezed my heart.
"It's good." She whispered quickly, trying to break the feeling in her chest.
"I'll show you where I got it when I walk you back."
He's walking me back? Her heart squeezed again. Oh no—but I look like this!
"You don-don't have to!" She stuttered out hastily.
"Why not?" He asked, disgruntled.
She searched desperately for an answer but arrived at nothing.
"I was drunk yesterday, right?"
She shifted her feet. "Yeah."
"Payback." He mumbled, avoiding her gaze. He looked angry, but she knew far too well that he was just embarrassed.
She smiled, gently and gradually.
"Yeah, you should be paying back." She began, voice raising in an octave. "After what you did last night."
He whipped his head to look at her so swiftly she wondered how his neck didn't just snap. His eyes widened in horror.
"Pfft—" She broke out into a hearty laugh.
"Vivien." He grumbled.
She continued to laugh, unable to control herself. "That was—that was adorable."
"You're just like Clan." He sighed, slightly annoyed. "Maybe I should give him your phone number."
"If you do that, I'll just be able to get more intel on you from him."
Carl's frown deepened. He glared at her.
Unperturbed by his moodiness, she grinned brightly.
He sighed, admitting defeat.
---
When Declan came over later to check up on Carl, the first thing he did was sniff the air. Which would look inherently weird to many.
But Clan had a good reason.
"Did you have a girl over?"
Carl continued what he was doing, unbothered by this alarming question. Declan looked expectantly at him for a good few minutes before Carl simply shrugged.
Declan pointed an angry finger at him. "Oh no no no. You are not going to just shrug me off!"
Carl shrugged again.
"Who was it?"
Another shrug.
"Was it Min?"
No response.
Declan grinned. "Was it... Vivi?" He dragged out the name, smirking knowingly.
There was a long pause. "It was!" Declan yelled in victory. "What did you two do, hm? Did some adult things?"
Carl finally let out a sigh. There was no way he was going to get rid of him easily.
