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Enna was laid awake on her bed.
Something about tonight just didn’t feel right and every tiny sound seemed to get to her. She heard movement from her window—— her curtain had only swayed slightly, but somehow it sent a chill down her spine. Somehow she’s borderline convinced that there’s probably a monster lurking somewhere to creep her out, and it didn’t help that she’s not quite over a recent horror game she streamed.
Usually on nights like these she would seek solace from her genmates/roommates, but today had been a commemorative day and the whole nijisanji en branch decided to go out for a party. Enna had came back early —— well by 11 pm —— as for one, it’s safer, and two, she was a lightweight anyway and couldn’t participate in the drinking party that her colleagues loved.
Despite Millie’s mild protests about her being home alone Enna assured her she would be fine. It was getting late and her social battery was just about drained anyway.
Ohhhhh how she regretted it.
Even though she was safe and clean and ready for bed, Enna’s brain decided to be extra paranoid today. Ughhh, she would much prefer to be with the girls at this rate. Sure it would be exhausting, but as least she wouldn’t die alone right? Or die unnoticed. Oh god how are they going to find her body??
Enna’s hands clenched the blanket tighter. These thoughts are just getting worse. She ought to call someone.
Thoughts raced through her head as she got out of bed and opened discord on her computer. Would anyone be online now that they’re at a party? As expected, the last message sent was a meme from someone an hour before the party had begun. Sighing as her leg shook restlessly, Enna scrolled through the list of members, before her eyes stopped with mild surprise and relief —— a bright green circle for Mr Kyo Kaneko.
Opening up a chat between her and Kyo, Enna began drafting her message. Pressing enter:
Enna: Hi Kyo are you free rn?
Enna’s hands hovered over the keyboard, should she actually ask Kyo to talk to her? He of all people probably needs to get more rest, given all his illnesses. How cruel would she be to keep a sick person awake?
As she began contemplating deleting her message, Kyo had sent a reply,
Kyo: Hi wassup?
Enna: Can we chat for a bit
Kyo: yea sure wanna VC?
Enna paused again. She initially intended to just text Kyo and hope that simmers down the rising anxieties, but perhaps hearing a actual voice will be more effective.
Enna: sure
Almost instantly a call had started and Enna clicked on it. It opened to a phone’s perspective of Kyo lying on his bed, on his side facing the screen.
‘Oh left my video on oops, anyway whats up Enna?’ The familiar voice chirps.
Enna looked at the tiny pixelated image on her screen, her heartbeat steadying a little. ‘Uh yeah um nothing much, just scared lmao’
‘Scared? Of what?’ Kyo looked at her profile pic logo intently with an interested smile.
‘I’m worried that a serial killer or something is gonna break into my house and kill me while I’m alone haha- I just need someone to talk to yunno?’
‘Mmmm… I get that. ‘ Kyo said, shifting slightly.
‘Anyway why are you online? Isn’t there an obligatory corporate party going on?’ Enna queried. Kyo’s laughter broke through the silent air of her room.
‘Hahahaha, ok pause. I did attend. For an while only tho, cuz I had to take my meds and I can’t drink or I’ll die, so,’ Kyo’s pupils darted to the side comically, making Enna chuckle a bit. Suddenly, a scream was torn from her throat as a small thump against her window was heard. Kyo visibly jumped.
‘Oh my gosh you good there? What happened-’
Enna quickly realised the source of the noise. ‘No yeah it was just a stupid tree branch hitting the window.’ Her voice wobbled a bit as she tried to calm her racing heart. She can’t lie, the sound did stun her back to her initial anxious state.
Perhaps noticing the tremble in her tone, Kyo had picked up his phone and looked seriously, and with a genuine tone,
‘Do you want me to come over?’
Enna upon first hearing this was eager to deny. Sure she didn’t mind having the blue haired boy in the Ethyria apartment, but it did strike a pang of guilt to bother Kyo this way. He was already all cozy and ready to sleep on his bed, just for her to disturb him and now potentially make him go outside. Yet the prospect of actually having some physical company was too good to resist.
‘I-I mean sure that’s fine but if you don’t want to don’t ok-‘
‘Nah it’s all good man, the Iluna apartment is just a few blocks away anyway, I’ll be there in five.’
There was a sound of jingles amidst lots of shuffling before Kyo piped a ‘see ya!’ And ended the call. Enna sat at her desk in silence for a while before getting up abruptly to ready herself and the door for Kyo’s arrival, while trying to ignore the emerging paranoia.
As she sat on the living room couch she bit her nails and bounced her leg impatiently, frequently glancing at the time on her phone. It’s was around 12.07 by now and Kyo had left at 12.03. The sudden knock on the door made her jump with a yelp before a signature laugh bubbled from the other side.
In a mixture of annoyance and relief she opened the door to reveal a slightly disheveled Kyo Kaneko. His cyan hair was slightly ruffled up and his signature hoodie was thrown over his crumpled attire of a shirt and sweatpants, and despite his clearly fatigued eyes he had a cheeky grin on his face.
Enna let him in with a ‘damn dude you look horrible hahah-‘ and got a laugh in return. As she locked the door and invited Kyo onto the couch, they went on to sit in silence.
‘Uh- do you want like some tea? Or what-‘
‘Oh um, no I’m good I had tea earlier.’
‘Oh ok then’
That seemed to be a awkward interaction but it got the ball rolling. Soon after Kyo and Enna were curled up on respective ends of the couch bantering lightly while bundled warmly in some blankets and pillows. As it emerged 1 am the dark night sky had begun pouring cats and dogs, and the consistent thrumming of rain against the walls had a somewhat therapeutic effect. Of course the energy between them was not up to par with how they’d talk on stream, but Enna found Kyo’s company effective and had forgotten about her prior fears.
Around the 1.30 am mark Kyo admitted to feeling rather tired. ‘My sleeping meds are kicking in now I think,’ he mumbled, slightly slurring on his words. Enna was getting quite drowsy too, and let out a tired laugh before she was suddenly aware of the risk of her being left alone again. Her posture tensed up and her brows furrowed slightly. Kyo must’ve noticed her change in body language, pushing himself up from his comfy blanket nest and looking at Enna.
‘Hey Enna you good?’
‘Uhhh… no I think I’m getting scared again, but I can’t just keep you awake right?’
Kyo hummed in thought. It wouldn’t be advisable to go against the effects his meds have, it would fuck up his whole schedule probably, but he can’t just fall asleep and leave Enna to deal with her paranoia. With drowsy eyes he clambered over to Enna’s side, body dragging his blankets and everything, and faced a mildly confused Enna.
‘How bout I hug you to sleep?’
‘Huh??’
‘Well I can’t go against my drug’s effects but I can hug you to keep you grounded if you want? Of course if you’re fine with it. Or you can hug me instead too,’
Enna looked at him with an unreadable expression, like she was balancing the pros and cons
‘Or uh we don’t even have to do that you can just hold my hand?’ Kyo continued. ‘I read somewhere that physical touch can keep someone grounded and focused on reality, we can try it out if you want,’
Enna’s contorted face stayed for a while before meeting Kyo’s gaze curiously. With her lips parted into an awkward smile, she uttered a response.
‘And have you hold me down as the demon comes to kill m-‘
Suddenly a deafening crack of thunder echoed throughout the room, causing Kyo to jump and Enna to instinctively grab him close. Glancing at each other, there’s a mutual agreement as they bewilderedly laughed off the shock from the thunder.
The resulting position at 2 am is Kyo sleeping softly, snugly in the corner of the couch, while Enna is gently hugging his arm. There’s a thick blanket encompassing the two. As they settled into the current position and stayed there, Kyo had muttered a ‘good night’ and stayed silent since.
After that Enna had just listened to the sound of his breathing and observed the rise and fall of his chest. How his arm felt warm against her skin and his loose fingers were held by her own. It was surprisingly calming and Enna was impressed by Kyo’s random suggestion. She grazed over his motionless features, how his eyes were lidded shut and his mouth slightly agape. His hair fell across his face to lay on the cushion propping his head, and he looked like the epitome of zen in that moment.
By mindlessly tracing his features with her eyes, Enna slowly found herself drifting to sleep, her paranoia long gone and far away.
It was about 4 am when the door to the Ethyria apartment creaked open. Three girls clamoured in surprisingly quietly before gasping at surprise at the sight before them. Amidst suppressed giggles were a few pictures taken and then they decided to leave the sleeping two alone till the next afternoon. Millie turned off the living room light before giving Enna a light peck on the forehead.
‘Sleep well babu.’