That night, Susen got little to no sleep. She kept tossing and turning with her thoughts running wild. She kept asking herself unanswerable questions. Was he okay? Does he feel guilty for something he didn't do? How could she talk to him tomorrow? The last question made her gasp. They always ate their meals together. They always met up and had fun. What could she do? Honestly, food didn't sound appealing to her in the slightest. But did she really want to avoid him? She doesn't want to lose their friendship, but she didn't want to bear with even the potentially awkward contact with him. Would she wait? Would she make the first move to make amends?
By the time morning came, she felt exhausted. Her eyes were heavy and darkened. She stayed in her bed most of the morning, curled up in her sheets. She switched between working on her various stories and just sitting, doing nothing. She felt numb and confused. Her writer's block was thicker than normal. She spent lots of time with her face in her pillow, groaning loudly. She felt pitiful, yet no one would give her pity.
She finally mustered up enough courage to get some food. She slipped on some real clothes and walked out of her room. She felt nervous, just to get food. What if she ran into him? What would she say? What would he say? Would they even talk? She walked to the cafeteria and went to the store to buy something she could take back to her room.
As she waited for the clerk to grab her things, she looked over and saw him. They made eye contact for about .5 seconds before he looked away and continued walking with his food. Her heart skipped a beat and she looked away as well. Her chest ached. She quickly grabbed her food and drinks and walked out. Her eyes lingered to Souda, whom seemed to be avoiding her gaze. She frowned slightly and continued to walk. She wanted to sit with him. She wanted to apologize. She wanted to be close to him again. She wanted to talk to him.
She sadly shuffled to her room, crawling into her bed. She hated being away from him. She wanted to be near him. She wanted to make him laugh. To see his smile. She wanted to be dorky with him and their small little jokes. She just wanted to have her friend back.
Souda stared aimlessly at his plate, poking his food with his fork. His chest felt heavy and hollow. He was honestly surprised to see her, he didn't know why. Should he try and talk to her? The thought that ate away at him was that he wasn't even sure what made her act the way she did. Did he truly do something terrible without knowing it? He dropped his fork and pulled his hat over his eyes. He was giving himself a headache due to the thousands of negative thoughts and questions. He had lost his appetite and threw away his food.
He rushed back to the security of his room and sat in the middle of his floor. The mechanic had decided to tinker with miscellaneous items with his music turned up. He normally did this when he needed to numb his mind.
The silent writer had run out of things to occupy herself with. She simply resorted to staring at her ceiling. She ran through what she had done. Attempted to write, gotten food, rolling in self pity, showered, gotten ice for her knee, rebandaged her knee, tidied her room. Nothing helped. All she had done was wasted a few hours. She checked the clock on her phone. 3 p.m. She turned off her light and tried to nap. It seemed fairly simple considering her lack of sleep.
Souda was engrossed in his projects. Looking at how they work, fixing what could be improved, or simply messing with its technology. His thoughts came to a stop when he felt something trace his chin. He wiped it with the back of his hand and observed. A small smear of blood was easily visible on the top of his pale hand. He got up and looked in the mirror to examine it further. He looked and saw his chapped lips with a small split in the bottom one. He then remembered that when he thought too much, he would bite his lip. His sharpened teeth must have done the job then.
His mind was then vulnerable and negative thoughts infected it like a disease. He gritted his teeth and gripped his head, as if it was in dire pain. He peeked out from his wince and checked the nearest clock. 8 p.m. He wondered how it had gotten so late. It then registered in his mind that dinner was no longer being served. He swore under his breath. He was still apathetic about it, feeling no desire for food.
He clinched his fist tightly and stood up from his crouching state. He mustered up enough courage and grabbed his phone. He sat calmly on his bed and typed out the words he couldn't say aloud.
'Hey Susen...I'm not quite sure what happened last night, but I'm sorry, so so sorry. I don't care what happened, I just hope you can forgive me. You are a dear friend to me and I don't want to lose you. You mean more to me than you may think. I don't care about Sonia anymore, I just care about you, and I want you to be okay. I want to be your friend again. All in all, I am so sorry...', he typed.
He scanned the message and sent it. He only wished he knew how to say more.
Tobi had been awake for hours, and continued to stare at the ceiling, still very tired and unsatisfied with her light nap. The tone of her phone sounded with a small buzz of vibration. She quickly picked it up and saw it was a message from Souda. She froze. She was scared. She was afraid of what the message could say. Would it be what she wants to hear? Or something that will break her heart? She set her phone back on her desk and looked at it. She was too scared to find out at the moment. She wanted to know, but her paranoia stopped her dead in her tracks.
Time moved forward, quicker than it seemed. It was already 9:30 p.m. Tobi was frozen, watching her phone. Souda waited anxiously for her response. Both of them were frozen, scared of what might await them.
Soon enough, the nighttime announcement went off, snapping the both of them out of their trances. Susen gave into her inevitable actions and looked at the message. For some reason she was surprised by his words. Her expression of astonishment, turned to a warm smile. Just before she could respond to the message, her doorbell rang.
She rushed up to her door and quickly unlocked it. She caught a glimpse of Souda in his pjs.
"Susen! I'm-!", he began.
He was cut off by Tobi running into his chest and hugging him tightly. He stared at her for a moment before hugging her back, just as tight.
"I'm so sorry… I shouldn't have snapped at you like I did…", she said, her words muffled by his shirt.
He shushed her and rested his forehead on the top of her head. He gently pet her hair, soothing her and calming her.
"I should be the one apologizing, Susen. I don't know how, but I hurt you. I don't care how, but I'm sorry.", he said quietly. "I was so afraid I'd lost you…", he whispered.
"You couldn't lose me if you tried.", she said with a small giggle.
They stayed in the comfortable embrace for quite a while. It felt like perfect pieces of a puzzle, fitting together. They both enjoyed the presence of the other they missed.
"Hey, Susen, can I ask you something?"
"You just did.", she said, looking up at him. He let out a small laugh and continued on.
"Ok two things.", he started, letting her go.
"Only two? Choose wisely.", she cooed. He smiled at her small lines of humor.
"First, umm, you know how you said if I ever had nightmares I could come to you? Well, last night I kept having nightmares about you hating me and me losing you.. So, could I sleep with you tonight…?", he asked nervously. "A-And not in that way! Just-!", he stuttered with a blush.
"Hehe, of course! And number two?", she said with a giggle.
"Could I..um...call you Tobi?"
She smiled at the question and gave him another hug.
"Of course, Kazuichi.", she said happily.
She felt him let out a sigh of relief and hug her back. The both of them felt very tired. All the stress that kept them awake was gone.
"Um, Tobi? How're we both gonna sleep in here?", he asked, looking at the single bed.
She looked in the same direction and pondered, resting her finger on her chin. She thought about it a little more before snapping her fingers.
"I have an idea, but you have to trust me.", she said.
Souda nodded and followed her over to her bed. He couldn't help but blush a little bit. He got embarrassed about her saying his first name. He didn't know why, but he surely loved the sound of her saying it.
"Okay..do you mind closeness?", she asked.
"What do you mean?", he asked.
"Like...cuddly close?", she clarified, blushing slightly.
"Yeah! I mean, like, if you're okay with it.", he said with a nervous smile.
"Okay cool, cause I think that's the only way we'll fit on my small bed."
"What's the plan?", he asked, wondering how it will work.
"Okay, umm, so you lay down, like you normally would."
Souda did as he was told, enjoying the softness of her bed against his back. Susen bit her lip, nervous to see if this would work. She awkwardly maneuvered herself into her planned position. Her legs and hips slid in between his legs and she curled her upper body, on her side, into his stomach and chest.
"Am I hurting you?", she asked.
"Nope, just, uhh, don't plan on moving your waist anytime soon…", he said.
She nearly asked why, but soon realized that her waist was right about where his thighs met his hips. For obvious reasons, she decided to stay still.
"Th-that makes sense.", she stuttered, feeling more than a little flustered.
"One more thing.", he said.
"Hm?", she said, looking up at him.
"Do you mind if I kinda hold you? Like this?", he asked, resting his hand on the side of her ribs.
"Not at all, it's cozy.", she said with a yawn.
"I suppose we'll sleep now then?" She nodded.
"Can you reach the light?"
Kazuichi stretched his arm and flicked off the light. Tobi pulled the covers up to her shoulders, which was just enough to cover him too. His warm hand rested back on her side and he let out a comfortable sigh. She cuddled into his warm chest and was able to hear his calm heartbeat.
"Good night, Tobi.", he whispered happily.
"Good night, Kazuichi.", she said with the same pleasant tone.
The two both felt relief. They had each other again. They both were happy again. All was well and peaceful. They both got a very good night sleep.