Elise tells the person who sits in front of her to find another seat. It’s already taken for the day. Nat flops down on her seat, exhausted and Elise stares at the door waiting for Yuna to come in. She never does. Yuna doesn’t come to their second class either. Curious, Elise sends her a text asking if she’s okay but never gets a response. Her new friend is absent from the other two classes as well.

After school, her friends try to convince her to join them on a trip to Pike’s Place. If it was any other day, she would accept. It’s her favorite place to go in the city and it’s not even too far from her apartment. She declines, somber that she didn’t get to talk to Yuna today.

Wait, why am I even sad about that? I just got to know her yesterday.

The elevator doors in her apartment building close a second before she manages to reach them. Elise sighs and clicks the up button knowing it’ll take forever for one to come down. She prays for the day the nearly broken elevators get fixed. They’re only reliable when someone comes down.

Miraculously, she doesn’t have to wait too long. She stands upright from leaning her back on the opposite wall. The doors open and Elise takes a step forward before she stops. Yuna comes out and becomes as stunned when she notices Elise is standing in front of her.

Elise notices Yuna is dressed much differently than she does at school. The skirt isn’t any different, but it’s paired with a black and white jacket that's twice her size. Usually, she wears tight-fitting shirts or turtlenecks and always somehow manages to get away from trouble for showing too much skin. The jacket and oversized sweater under it almost make Yuna look like a different person.

“What are you doing here?!” they both say at the same time.

“Why weren’t you at school today?” Elise adds.

Yuna takes her hands out of the jacket’s pockets and remembers what she’s wearing. The instant panic pushes her to run away in a full sprint and turns the corner to reach the stars that’ll lead her back to her apartment’s floor.

Elise, still stunned, get in the elevator and clicks the button to her floor.

“She’s avoiding me,” she sends to Yuele but doesn’t get a response back.

In her room, she opens up her laptop to read the newest chapter of one of the manga series she’s been reading. Even though the pages are locked into a screen, all the speech bubbles move around. Elise can’t concentrate at all.

Why would I run into Yuna here? Does she live here?

A text is sent asking just that.

“DO YOU?!”

“Since last summer, yeah.”

“LMFAO!”

“Lol, why did you run away?”

There’s no response to that one.

Yuele responds, “It’s cuz you’re scary :O” At least that text lifts her mood a little. “Who is she btw? Send me a picture so I can judge.”

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“Her name is Yuna, and hold on.”

Elise remembers that Yuna has no online presence. There is no picture to send. She scrolls through her phone to see if Yuna was caught in the many thousands she has taken. Sure enough, Elise finds one where Yuna is sitting down at the cafeteria table. It’s a picture of just her and Elise tries to remember why she even took it.

“She’s hot. You should marry her LOL.”

Elise laughs at the joke and lays down on her bed.

Yuele is the only thing she starts to think about for the rest of the night. She wants to see him again. She wants to feel his lips again. She wants to know why it's so easier to be her true self around him. He’s safe.

“Elise, honey, can you run to the gas station real quick and buy some milk? We’re out,” her mother asks while she lies on the couch in the living room waiting for Yuele to respond to her.

“I’m getting myself some chips then,” Elise grabs the money her mom is handing her.

“Nothing spicy, please.”

Elise puts on her earbuds and starts Yuele’s playlist while she waits for the elevator. The difference between waiting for it to come up and come down is staggering. No one else joins her on the ride down.

Running to the gas station is never a bother for her only because there’s one directly across the apartment building. One of the many perks of living downtown. Walking across, Elise reminds herself that Yuele ran into her when she turned to walk up the street to her building. She should ask him what he was even doing there.

The clerk wishes Elise a good night and she returns the sentiment. Even though she’s been living here for less than a year, they already know each other by name. Elise steps outside and spots Yuna walking up to the apartment building.

“Yuna!” Elise runs over to her.

This time, Yuna isn’t wearing her jacket so she holds still.

“It’s crazy we live in the same building and never knew!”

Yuna sighs and sits down against the wall. “What are the chances, huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

Yuna looks up at Elise and bites her cheek. “You weren’t supposed to see me today.”

“Why?”

“I thought about it. I can’t forgive you. We’re not friends.”

Elise sits next to her. “Because of what I said? I’m sorry. It was insignificant enough for me not to remember, but I really hurt you, didn’t I?”

Yuna nods and swipes away the tears forming in her eyes.

“Can I ask why?”

Yuna shakes her head and laughs. “You’ll never understand.”

“Can I at least try?”

“What? Did your boyfriend tell you to find out why?”

Sometimes, no a lot of times lately, Yuna has been saying stuff to Elise that is making her question if she can read her mind. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Oh please,” Yuna wipes a tear that manages to escape. “I see how you look when you talk about him to Nat. All happy and shit.”

“Does that make you mad?”

Yuna nods.

Elise looks over to her friend and grabs hold of her hand. It feels familiar but that’s not important right now. Why would that bother her? Elise thinks. It crosses her mind for a moment that Yuna might be jealous of Yuele but quickly dismisses the idea. Yuna’s too stubborn to ever get jealous. That is who Yuna is. Elise never dreamed she would see Yuna like this, to see her so vulnerable. Yuna has always been hard-headed and abrasive, Elise never thought this side existed. “I’ll stop. Yuna I-. Tell me what’s going on.”

The small girl pulls her knees to her chest. “No.”

Elise doesn't understand what's going on. Everything was well just 24 hours ago. Something happened to Yuna that makes her bring all of this up.

“Please?”

Yuna lowers her head and sighs. Everything has been happening too fast for her to handle. Last night pushed her over the edge. She wants to forgive Elise but at the same time, still wants to hurt her. Yuna doesn’t know what to do anymore. She doesn't want to admit the feelings she's been having since last night. It’s been one constant state of panic.

They just begun being friendly towards each other and Elise is already trying her best to make Yuna feel better. It’s her best quality and the smaller girl of the two has been drawn to it. It draws her in even more now. Yuna hates it.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”