"Her words never come out anymore"

[December 10th, 2021]

Her mother had permitted her for a little hangout time. How could she not look perfect if that was the case?

She dropped the bath-bomb in her bathtub before relaxing herself. She smelled like hospitals, the strange antiseptic smell that covered the entire premises. She hated that. She rubbed her body clean for that distinct smell to disappear.

She blow-dryed her hair perfectly before combing them into perfect curls. Today was a perfect day. She wore her favorite watermelon colored turtle-neck with jeans, topping it with her black overcoat that reached just below her knees.

Her brown wavy hair stuck out the coat till her tail-bone. She sniffed herself a bit. Great. No hospital smell.

She grabbed her handbag and put her phone inside it before leaving her room. She informed her mother and was escorted outside where Giselle was already waiting for her. She had left early in the morning after the unexpected mental breakdown at night.

"Heya!" Giselle exclaimed with a forced smile that Aurora caught instantly.

"Hey…" Though she didn't express it, she could see through her friend's despair.

Giselle shook her head before confidently grabbing her hand and escorting her out to the streets.

"We're walking."

They walked along-side each other, headed towards a lake-side where they had decided to meet up with the others. It wasn't too far from their house so they decided to walk their way.

"A-About last night-" The both of them said together to each other, pausing midway.

"Jinx!" They both continued as they chuckled.

Right. No matter how emotional it went last night, they were still alright.

"By the way, I'm curious about something." Giselle muttered in a suspicious tone.

"What?" Aurora asked, innocently.

"Did you and Sean kiss yet?"

Aurora gasped lightly, her eyes wide open and her cheeks poppy red. She was flustered.

"I knew it." Giselle chuckled. "Since you guys are slow, I have an idea."

"I-Idea?... I mean!... I mean it doesn't m-matter." Aurora hesitantly, yet curiously said.

"Today. At the lake-side. We'll play a game, and shove you into a corner so you can-"

Aurora loudly cleared her throat to stop her from talking.

They reached the lake-side, in the middle of a resort owned by the Andersons. Of course, the lake-side was emptied just for their hang-out session, exclusively.

"They're here! Finally!" Lucy whined loudly upon spotting Aurora and Giselle walking towards them.

"Took them long enough." Ethan murmured.

Giselle excitedly came upfront to announce her evil plans while Aurora tried to stop her.

"Let's do it!" Giselle exclaimed as she took heavy breaths, being pulled by Aurora. "Let's play hide and seek."

"Giselle!" Aurora whispered loudly.

"Hide and Seek?" Sean asked as he stood up from the grassy ground beside the lake. "That's something…"

"Childish? I don't care! Let's just do it."

Giselle seemed a bit… Overly enthused. But everyone agreed.

"Okay so… I have this thing to make it less boring." Giselle proposed with an evil grin on her face. "1 person will seek, the other will hide… in groups of 2."

"Why that?"

"If one person in a group gets caught, the whole group will lose." She explained further. "I know what you're about to say.. We need more people. We don't. Ethan and Lucy are one group. Aurora and Sean are the other group. I'll search after a count of 50, so go hide."

It was suspicious and strange but they decided to go along. If Giselle was enthused, they had no reason to not be. They hardly saw her interested in anything. But little did they know, it was just to achieve a kiss.

Aurora and Sean took off when she started counting and started searching for places to hide in. It was a resort, but they had decided not to go too far from the lake. So they were searching for a hiding spot near the lake. It wasn't much luck though. All the trees and bushes surrounding them didn't make it easier to hide.

Since the lake was reserved by Sean, there weren't many people either so hiding was harder. Trees and bushes were out of question.

Nature's slender goods weren't going to hide two people at the same time.

Aurora and Sean found a boat at the furthest corner of the lake. It wasn't too big as it was meant for public boating, but it had a deck raised slightly above the boat ground, where they could hide without getting caught. Only problem was that it was two small for two people to fit in, maybe if they could stack, as it was deep but narrow. Maybe it was the sailor's napping spot. They could visualize him, sticking his legs out the circular deck and napping for the day.

It was a public boat!

So, maybe the deck was built for people's luggage, or handbags. Or maybe it was for the boater's assistant to stand in. Either way, it was the only hiding spot they could find.

Lucy and Ethan went the opposite way. Lucky them, there were so many spots there instead of just trees and bushes. They found a little room; Probably a performance set-up, as they saw a bunch of curtains and magician-like goods. There was a big curtain covering two dummies. So, they adapted to the idea of covering themselves up with another curtain to trick Giselle. It was more of a gamble than a secure hiding spot. But these two extroverts loved the thrill of games.

"50!" Giselle finished her counting with a grin. She cheated a little, by squinting open her eyes narrowly to see which side the couple was headed to. She went to the opposite side to give the couple a bit of space, as she laughed hysterically; Her plan was close to success. She was wondering where they were hiding and what they were doing. But she didn't let her curiosity fail her plan.

"I don't think this is a good idea…" Aurora whispered slowly as she looked at Sean trying to adjust his height into the deck.

He squatted down as much as he could to hide his last hair strand from being visible from the outside. His eyes were directly in contact with hers and their faces were just a few inches apart.

Oh, she totally saw that coming. And she also knew Giselle wasn't going to come find them anytime soon.

"M-Maybe we should find another hiding spot." Aurora lightly whispered, keeping up her act as she flustered.

"There wasn't any outside." Sean replied in a whisper, but there was an unusual husk to it.

Hello?! When was he this hot?!

Aurora tried to look the other way, but the space was too narrow to even move a little. She had this feeling their noses would touch if she moved from her spot and it drove her crazy.

She totally liked him. Totally. But she still wasn't sure if she was ready for any of this… Especially when the thought of her death struck her. She considered the surgery that one time just because of that thought. But she didn't know what to feel anymore. From being flustered, she was suddenly depressed about it.

"What're you thinking so deeply about?" Sean didn't take a second to catch her, in his 'still hot whisper' of course.

"Uh.." Aurora couldn't help but look at his lips as soon as her attention was caught.

Curse you, Giselle!

She tried to look away, and what she feared for occurred. Their noses touched. Her face turned poppy red as she panicked from inside, closing her eyes tightly.

'Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it!' She indicated her will to Sean through her thoughts, thinking he would kiss her now that their noses touched.

He was a friend a while ago!! A friend!!

That's when she heard his slight chuckle. She confusedly, slightly opened her eyes looking at him staring at her with wondrous eyes. 'What is she doing? Lol." She could hear it from his stare.

She suddenly felt embarrassed for closing her eyes and no longer felt flustered. She felt wronged. How dare he think that way? LOL? For real?

She pouted as she sulked, and furrowed her brows to show dominance. Yet his expression was the same. She tried to think about something else when she suddenly felt the soft grace of his lips on hers for a second before he pulled back playfully.

Hmm. What?

It felt good for that one second, and his expression made him even more likable. Then what was wrong?

Why did she feel sad all of a sudden? She didn't panic either. She just paused at her spot, deeply thinking of this unusual feeling. She looked at Sean staring back at her. He was happy, but at what cost? Having to see her die in a few weeks?

Seeing the seriousness in her expression, his lips narrowed back to neutral and he paused. He was switching.

"S-Sean?" Despite the terrible mixes of emotions, she called him out.

"You didn't bother heeding my advice one bit, Young Lady."

"Palanquin Lady… Hey… It's been a while."

"I know how you feel. That's why I warned-"

She stopped mid-way, hearing footsteps close in on them.

"I heard them somewhere around here…" Giselle could be heard talking to herself. "Aha!" Her wittiness made her climb the deck.

But the tension was strange… What happened between the two of them?

"Greetings, Young Lady. I see I ruined the game." Palanquin Lady said before jumping out the deck, offering Aurora a hand.

Aurora didn't accept it and climbed out on her own, hardly.

"Ah, Palanquin Lady… I was wondering why you guys were so serious." Giselle chucked before looking at Aurora's troubled face. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

She was red, blooming like that poppy in her indoor garden. But why the long face?

"Let's go back.. I already found Ethan and Lucy. They don't even know how to hide." She said nonetheless, deciding she would ask Aurora later.

Aurora didn't say a single word after what happened. Even when they ate together, she didn't talk. Palanquin Lady held Sean from appearing as well, thinking something wrong might happen.

She insisted she goes home alone. So, she separately had her father pick her up as they prohibited her from buses as well.

Her parents had expected a better outcome out of the little hangout session, but upon seeing her troubled expression, they weren't sure how to react. For the time being, they let her be.

That's what she wanted too. She wanted to be alone.

She couldn't stop thinking about it. She hated herself for enjoying his little peck. She hated herself for dating him in the first place. She hated the fact that she was going to die and he was going to be alone again.

She didn't remember his past nor did she remember how they met. But she could feel that her presence would only add to his loneliness later on. And she hated that.

She hated being alone at this crucial time but she also felt like she didn't deserve to have anyone beside her. Not right now at least.

[December 10th, 2020]

She couldn't recall any event from this day.