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Strelitzia had done something bad. There she was, laying spread eagle on her bed, staring up in a ceiling and drenched in her own sweat. She closed her eyes in hope that she could pretend that everything was the same. All it did was heighten her awareness on how bad everything around her was. She needed to get in the shower- the weight of the situation was going to make her sick.

Whining, Strelitzia peeled her exhausted body out of her bed and started to get her things together for the shower. Her knees almost gave out from under her as she walked around her room. The steam of the shower didn't help much either. She was almost embarrassed to admit that she stared at the shower head for a very long amount of time; it wasn't retractable. When Strelitzia got back into her room, she opened up her window in the vain hope it would air out the room a bit more.

Her inherent shame still lingered, however.

It had only been four days since Anora and Ephemer decided to officially start dating. Not much had changed, really. Ephemer only tried to sneak into Anora's room on Saturday, but didn't dare press his luck on a school night. Strelitzia tried to stay out of their business. It was a pure blessing on how thick the walls in the dormitories were, and that was a fact. Not that she truly believed anything that drastic happened on the other side of the wall. No, no; if there was going to be a noise complaint, it was going to be on her side.

Still disgusted with herself, Strelitzia put on a light summer dress with a pair of pastel orange leggings. As she ruffled her hair with her towel, there was a gentle knock on her door.

"Coming." Strelitzia called as she wrung the towel off her head. She gently folded the towel in her arms before opening the door.

Her heart stopped at seeing Anora standing on the other side. The younger of the two had her hands behind her back and seemed a bit nervous herself.

"Anora!" Strelitzia quickly exclaimed. "Is… is something wrong?"

Anora slowly shook her head. "I wanted to talk." she admitted in a small voice. Strelitzia's face paled -suddenly hyper aware of what her room looked like- before it quickly flushed a deep red.

"S-sure." the older agreed. "Come… come on in."

After Anora came in, Strelitzia quickly shut the door behind them and absently placed her towel on the doorknob.

"W-would you like some tea?" Strelitzia fumbled as she started to flit around her room in anxiety. "I… I think I have some packets around here somewhere..."

Even if Anora did answer, Strelitzia worked to get a small pot tea of ready. Anora, herself, idly looked around Strelitzia's room without much judgment. She was, on the other hand, starting to understand the numerous comments on why her room seemed so small. Strelitzia's room was bigger than Anora's, having enough room in one corner to have a decent sized table and chairs set up for teatime. Strelitzia's bed was pressed against the wall that she shared with Anora, and there was still room in the middle to dance around in when the moment struck.

"Have a seat." Strelitzia squeaked, motioning for Anora to sit at the table. Carefully, Anora did as she was told and studied Strelitzia as the older girl hurriedly ran around her room to get her teacups, saucers, and whatever else have you. Now that she was sitting at the table, Anora noticed something that resembled a flat candle warmer in the center. Strelitzia was using it to heat up the tea kettle.

Strelitzia refused to look at Anora as she set the teacups and saucers down on the table. Her hands were shaking as she poured Anora some tea.

"Do you want any cream? Sugar?" the older girl nervously asked.

Anora looked at her with a blank stare before looking down at the teacup. When she looked back at Strelitzia, she shook her head and offered a small, "No thank you."

Strelitzia nodded her head a bit too quickly as she then got out a three small packets of sugar and tiny capsule of creamer -like the kind you'd find at a diner- before taking her seat. Silence filled between the two of them as Strelitzia adjusted her tea and Anora took small sips of hers.

Then Anora said something that nearly gave Strelitzia a heart attack; "How long have you wanted to kiss me?"

Suffice to say, the first answer the younger girl received was a teacup nervously rattling against its saucer.

"W-why are you…?" Strelitzia sputtered but found she couldn't finish.

Anora only offered a small raise and lower of her shoulder. Strelitzia had to set her teacup down- her mind racing with all the reasons why Anora would even want to know such a thing. Let alone ask as if it wasn't a big deal.

"I..." Strelitzia started, but faltered for a moment. She squeezed her eyes shut as she started to admit, "I don't know."

"Did you love anyone before me?"

"Yes." she found herself admitting almost immediately.

"Was it Elrena?"

Strelitzia didn't mean to, but her face scrunched into immediate disgust. "Oh, no! Of course not!" she said- the disgust also present in her voice. "Elrena's a bit frosty, and kind when she wants to be, but she's certainly not my type. No, this girl, her name… her name was Jo. Or, rather, Joanna. She was absolutely beautiful; porcelain skin, golden blonde hair that fell a little above her shoulders. She was like an angel..."

Strelitzia absently looked down at her teacup. Her reflection looked back at her through the amber liquid. She looked away, shamefully, and tried to continue her story.

"When we were in our Fourth Year, she tried to commit suicide."

Anora, who had not been expecting this, stiffened. Her face detailed a faint horror that dared not ask what happened, despite wanting to know more. Strelitzia recognized this and refused to look at Anora for awhile.

"She didn't return to Daybreak after that." she quietly went on. "I loved her, but I never tried to find out what happened to her. I don't even know if she's still alive..."

"It's not your fault."

Strelitzia looked up at Anora and blinked. Anora looked back at her with an unreadable expression.

"I… I know." the older of the two admitted. "But sometimes I wonder. Sometimes I think I could have done more. All these 'what if's that eventually faded over time. But then you arrived..."

Strelitzia looked up at Anora and let out a small sigh. She didn't see it until now, but she realized that Anora reminded her of Joanna. Not that she could place what, exactly.

"I've been watching you." Strelitzia suddenly blurted out. "I'm the one who sends you notes at that concrete slab behind the cafeteria. I made Chirithy for you. I watched and waited for you to come back that night you spent with Ephemer. I-I know I shouldn't! I didn't mean to! I just… I don't know… I… I'm so sorry… I didn't mean..."

But Anora shook her head, taking a careful, deliberate sip of her tea. "I wondered."

"B-but how?!"

"During the play, when you gave me that note about Skuld. I recognized the handwriting."

"O-oh… Oh yeah..." came the sheepish realization. "I didn't think about that."

"You saved her." Anora told Strelitzia in an ambiguous voice. "I gave the note to Ephemer and he told me to go to her room. She collapsed not long after I got there. If I didn't go then, I wonder how long she would have been there before someone realized what had happened."

Strelitzia looked at Anora with wide eyes- a large lump starting to form in her throat as she realized her role in the events.

"I… I saved her?" she said, intending for it to be a statement. "I saved..."

"A lot of things wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for you, Strelitzia." Anora then calmly told the older. "I know I don't talk much, but I wanted to talk about this. It's important. I want you to know it's important. So, thank you, Strelitzia- I don't know where any of us would be if it wasn't for you."

For the longest time, Strelitzia didn't know what to say. She looked down, then in a mumble Anora barely heard, the older girl said, "You give yourself too little credit." A long, burdened sigh escaped Strelitzia's lips as she looked back up. With tears forming in her eyes, the older girl whimpered, "I love you Anora. Please, if you ever need anything, you… you know where to find me. Don't ever… Don't ever hurt yourself just because… because…!"

Strelitzia was silently cut off when Anora placed her hands on top of hers. The older girl reacted by holding the younger's even tighter.

"I want us to be friends." Strelitzia admitted. "No more hiding. No more watching you from afar. I really do want to know you. I want you to trust me. I love you, even if you don't love me. And if you can't forgive me for standing by and doing nothing before, then I understand. I don't… I don't want to repeat what happened to Jo. Never again..."

And, to Strelitzia's profound relief, Anora put on a wide smile and replied with a pleasant, "I'd like that."