//countryhuman stories\\

DenEst (vball au) 8

A few days passed and there was no contact from Esti. At all.

She hadn't shown up to practice in over the 6 lessons, which was highly unusual. When anybody asked, the coach either just shrugged or ignored the question, perhaps just as clueless as the rest. They seemed fairly unbothered, though.

Nobody really knew where she was, and whenever anybody asked her roommate-- Belg-- she would just meekly shrug and shake her head, not wanting to talk about her, most likely.

It was like she had just disappeared, like she never existed in the first place, like she was just a figment of imagination-- a crack of memory that people swept under the rug. Hell, everyone was talking about her like she had died-- but she hadn't, she was perfectly fine and alive.

Well, maybe not perfectly fine, but she was alive.

Yes, perfectly alive in the corner of the library, a hood over her head as she accented a line in a thick textbook with a bright blue marker.

She fumbled with the silver ring around her thumb, turning it around as if she was twisting a bottle cap, rubbing her swollen eyes.

Why did crying have to do that? Swell your eyes, block your nose, make you feel fucking exhausted?

She let out a gentle sigh through her nostrils as she continued to work in her book, most likely studying for the next few exams she had.

-----------------------------------------

"Hey, have you talked to Esti recently? Or... seen her?"

Pip blinked at Den, nodding gently.

"Yeah, I saw Esti today." He frowned a little. "I think. She was at the library during...fourth period?" He adjusted the slipping books in his arms, looking around the hallway as people passed them. "Why?"

Den huffed, crossing his arms. "She's been ignoring and avoiding me for some reason, and I don't know why! Last time I talked to her, she said she wanted to start over and act like we'd never met. Can you talk to her for me?"

Pip slowly turned his nod into a shake of his head. "No way, dude. I'm not getting mixed up in your problems."

"Pip, come ooooon!!" Den draped himself over Pip and hung onto him, almost dragging him down to the ground as Pip struggled to keep his balance and not drop his books. "You gotta help me, we're friends!"

"I'm not getting involved--!"

Den used his trump card. "I'll tell Hk you like her if you don't help."

Sighing, Pip slumped his shoulders, giving in. "Fine." He had been curious about what was up with Esti anyways.

When Pip had sat in front of Esti in the library the very next day, she didn't move to look up at him, continuing to quietly highlight a couple of sentences in her textbook as she rested her hooded face in her healing palm, just reading.

"So... um... some of us— on the team— have been wondering , uh, what's wrong?" Pip tapped his fingers together, already bouncing his leg nervously. He didn't really like prying.

Esti felt... somewhat bad for Pip that he had to go and try to pry her for information. "You mean Den, right?"

"...And some others," he mumbled, not wanting to lie but knowing that she probably wouldn't tell him anything if she knew he was a messenger for Den.