53.
chapter fifty-three
late night video
calls from the
shower?!

"I'll call you sharp twelve, okay?" I nodded, humming when Mom threw her arms around my shoulder. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'd much rather be here than the damned racetrack."

"I get it, Mom." I backed away, plastering a smile and pushing the stray locks of my hair back. "I really do."

"Take care." She leaned forward, placing a quick kiss on my hairline before reaching for the doorknob. "And stay locked in. If anything comes up, call. Okay?"

She babied me a lot. "Yes, Mom, I will." But I loved it.

The older lady smiled once more before tugging into her long winter coat and opening the door.

The fresh late January air blew in, whistling through the umbrella stand and hitting my bare feet.

As soon as she stepped out, I locked the door and hurried up the stairs, two at a time, to see her off from the balcony. Mom expected that much, for she waved goodbye before getting into the taxi. The blob of black disappeared into the setting sun, leaving me leaning on the banister and sighing.

I was alone. This time, for three days.

Not that I had never been alone for three days. The maximum I went was a week.

But it was different this time.

I was alone.

For my birthday.

Drawing in a sharp breath, I took off towards the showers, making sure to lock the balcony. My fingers had grown cold from the brief exposure to the wintry breezes. What could be better than a nice, long soak?

— xoxo —

When I hit my wardrobe, my phone started beeping. With memes and anime recs?

You: Ash, we have exams and you're sending me anime recs?

My heart skipped a beat when his name appeared on my phone, the breathtaking smile of his lighting my screen. Why was he calling even when I'm trying to keep distance?

When I didn't pick up, the phone silenced itself for a bare fifteen seconds before it began ringing again. With a sigh, I gripped my towel closer and picked it up. "Hullo?"

"Wassup?!" came his energetic voice.

"What's up? You're the one who called?"

"Yeah, but what were you doing? Like, I am—" There was a lot of background noise for me to make out what he said.

"I beg your pardon?" I walked to the wardrobe, swinging it open and rummaging through the various clothes for my nightwear. "I can't hear you!"

"Now?!" he screamed. The noise had gradually come down before his voice became clear. "Am I audible now?"

Audible enough to spread a smile across my lips. It had been so long since we could talk, a week or so since I heard his voice, more than a fortnight since I saw him, skin, bones and all. It was only natural for me to feel happy hearing him—!

I plucked at my wet hair, frustrated. Ugh, Serena! You aren't supposed to be smiling!

"Yeah," I gritted. "I can."

"So, wassup?"

I hesitated. It wasn't like it would get awkward revealing the truth, but... "I—" I wanted to step away, put space between us before time did.

"I'm in the shower right now. Y'know, to escape Gary and Paul. The two are playing something. Crossfire, or whatever. Plus they can't tease me about this when they can't even hear me."

I blinked. Boy had admitted he was in the shower to talk to me. What the—

"Yeah, well, me too. But I wasn't avoiding anyone," I blurted out, ephemeral happiness gracing my chest despite my mental protests. "Did you... mean to call?"

"Oh," he trailed off, and I caught a whiff of hesitance. Why? "No, I... didn't... technically, I pressed the call button by mistake, and since I called once, I just decided to... y'know."

My heart sank, feeling the lie. There was no way he was kidding unless he wasn't... Twisting the hem of my towel, I slumped onto my bed. "Shall I keep the call, then?"

"What?" He was alarmed. "Wait, no! I mean... sure, go ahead..."

I bit the inside of my cheek from chuckling at the mental image of his crestfallen face. His voice said enough of his pretty lies to protect his ego.

"Right. Good night, Ash—"

"Serenaaaa!"

"What?"

"Okay, fine." There was another round of trepidation before he strung a very (almost) incoherent sentence together. "I freaking didn't call you by mistake! I wanted to hear your voice, and I miss you so damn much!"

I froze.

He missed me...? Did that mean he...

"Er, Serena?" His voice was reluctant now, as if he realized he crossed a line. "Are you there?"

I twisted the hem of my towel, swallowing. Here I was trying to put space, and with a single sentence, he was pulling me back into him.

"Uh, yeah. I'm... here."

"Awesome," he breathed. I could almost picture him running a hand through his hair. Could he do the same about me picking a stray fabric of the bedsheets? "Hey, Serena."

"Mhm?"

"Can I video call you?"

I hesitated, looking at my reflection in the mirror. Damp hair loosely clung to my neck while the towel was barely keeping up to my chest. I wasn't presentable definitely, but that wasn't what was bothering me now.

It was the fact that I wanted to say yes. To see him, hear him and just... spend time with him.

"Only if you want to," he added, almost like he didn't exactly mean it, but did it for the sake of politeness. And because he was a dork.

"But you just said you were in the shower!" I pointed out, trying to buy myself some time. Picking up a neat camisole and a pair of pajama shorts, I balanced my phone between my shoulder and ear.

"Yeah, but the water's turned off and it's not like you can see anything," he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Uh, okay?" I dragged. The heat rising to my neck was relentless. I couldn't beat it down. I managed to pull down the cami when his name lit up the screen.

I slid the answer button, running a towel through my hair before falling onto my bed. The screen was a blur as he adjusted his phone. Then came the irresistible grin brighter than the tiles behind him.

"Hey." It was barely above a whisper, something that didn't reflect the blinding smirk. It was getting increasingly hard not to smile.

"Hey."

The silence stretched as he looked at me. I couldn't resist teasing him. "You there?"

Ash blinked, seemingly snapping out of whatever daze he was in. The boy ran a hand through his damp hair, a single drop of water rolling down his forehead and jawline before disappearing below his collarbone.

"Dry your hair before you catch a cold," he smirked softly, now turning the tables. I painfully averted my eyes, choosing to divert myself by running the towel through my hair.

"Well, it wasn't I who insisted on FaceTiming, not when I was in a towel or you in the shower."

"Touché." He leaned against the tiles. "And you look... nice."

My chest warmed with something unnamed. I pushed it down quickly, tongue twisting with a retort. "What do you mean, Ash? I'm in my pajamas."

"Yeah, still," he trailed off, scratching the back of his neck, color hinting at his cheeks.

"Well," I replied, shifting uncomfortably. He was playing hard. "I can't say the same about you."

My lips tugged up for the umpteenth time that evening when he burst out laughing. I briefly wondered if he was laughing too hard for something that wasn't even a practical joke.

When he was finished, he peered through narrowed eyelids. "I escaped Gary and Paul for you. W-Y-D-M you don't think I look handsome?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, you're not." My thoughts screamed otherwise. With how his hair stuck up in all different angles and the pure grin of ecstasy splayed across his features, he looked... hot.

"Ouch," Ash gasped, dramatically clutching his bare chest as if I had delivered the ultimate betrayal. "That hurt."

I lazily flicked the hair dryer on. "Did it now?"

"Yeah," he groaned, tilting his back towards the tiles. The movement sent another drop from his wet bangs down his throat. I forced myself to look away before it wandered off to somewhere it shouldn't. "Like an arrow to the heart."

"Oh, please." I bit back a chuckle at his antics. "Like your ego isn't through the roof already."

"I'm wounded," Ash emphasized, sighing loudly. The comical frown on him seemed too attractive. "Guess I'll just have to live with the fact that I'm not handsome in your eyes."

The hot air from the blow dryer sent water splashing against my face. I toned down the volume in a jiffy, hastily adding, "Glad you know my tastes."

"You wound me twice, Koibito. Twice."

"Deal with it." I smiled, leaning close enough towards the camera to have him red all over. Little did I know that he'd have me back with a single observant line.

"At least I got you to smile."