CHAPTER 3
DREAMING

TABITHA DIDN'T MAKE A HABIT of kissing her exes. Last night was the one exception. Something about the tension in the air, the need to stay as far away as possible from Kento made her cling to Aki. Or it could've also been the copious amount of shots they took later in the night, as the party was dying down. They started at the bar. Then, they sat down next to each other at the table, and Aki dragged her chair as close to his, letting his long leg brush against hers. And maybe she was going insane, but Tabitha was slowly starting to remember why he was her longest relationship after Kento. Finally, they ended the night at his room, and he was pressing her against the wall near his hotel room, mouth devouring hers. And she couldn't give less of a fuck if anyone saw.

Desire quelled in her gut, and it was insatiable. Even after they entered his room and sobered up on the balcony, cracking jokes and feeling the cool breeze off the shore, Tabitha felt that desire. So she allowed Aki to drink her in, allowed him to kiss her breathless after so many months apart. But they didn't go any further, no matter how badly she craved that familiar feeling of his fingers inside her. In typical Aki fashion, he became outrageously tired the second he hovered over her on the bed. His lips broke away from hers, and the sleepy look in his eyes told her all that she needed to know. She sighed, pushing him off, and he immediately fell back onto the mattress. She couldn't help but cling to him though, remembering how his quiet snores seemed to easily lull her to sleep. Her head rested against his bicep and she relaxed against him, his soft breathing echoing in her ears.

The way she woke up was anything but soft.

She lifted her head from the hard hotel pillow, nose scrunching at the loud noises reverberating from the room next to hers. The more she woke up, focusing on the voices, she realized it was just a couple having fairly loud sex this early in the morning. She groaned, and then narrowed her eyes. Yesterday morning, before Saori had woken her up to get ready for the wedding, she heard the same couple having sex. In the morning. Right beside her headboard.

Tabitha blinked, taking in her surroundings.

Wait a minute. She fell asleep in Aki's room, so why was she back in her own hotel room? Did Aki carry her back? She lifted the comforter. Pajamas. Not the dress she'd worn to the wedding. Had he changed her? Or did she change herself and she couldn't remember? He had to have just carried her back here. That was the only explanation, even though she was pretty sure Aki fell asleep beside her.

Strange. It felt like the morning was repeating itself.

Tabitha curled the hard pillow around her ears as the sounds only seemed to get louder next door. She sighed and tried to focus on something else. Maybe she should pick up all the trash in her room, since she did leave it a complete mess before leaving yesterday. She lifted her head and scanned the room, but everything was right in its place, except her suitcase strewn near the window. She had trashed this place yesterday though, having a few drinks with Saori and Izumi before the wedding ceremony. But all the liquor she brought was sitting neatly on the desk, along with her makeup bag – completely untouched.

She blinked and adjusted her eyes, making sure she was seeing things right. Having only just woken up a minute ago, maybe she was just half-asleep. But a few minutes passed. And then more. And more. Things were still the same. Untouched. Tidy. And she was in her bed, not Aki's.

She muttered under her breath, "What the –"

Before she could finish her sentence, her door started jiggling, and then a hard fist rapped against it. Furrowing her brow, Tabitha quickly got up from her bed and opened the door. Her eyes took in a frantic Saori, fiddling with her back zipper while giving her sister's friend an incredulous expression. "What are you still doing here?" Saori exclaimed. "We're already a minute behind schedule. Hina will kill us if we're late."

"Hina is a frequent procrastinator," Tabitha frowned, leaning against her door. "Also what are we late for? Festivities are over."

"Over? Tab, they haven't even begun!" She finally got her zipper up. "And you're still in your pajamas? The wedding is hours away, but we need to start getting ready now."

Tabitha chuckled. "Did you have too much to drink last night, Saori? The wedding was yesterday."

"I do not have time to argue with you," Saori muttered, storming into Tabitha's room and grabbing her dress hanging on the bathroom door. With her dress and makeup bag in one hand, she began shuffling Tabitha out of her hotel room. "C'mon, we gotta get to the bridal suite."

Despite her wishes, Tabitha did nothing but argue with Hina's sister the entire walk to the bridal suite. Were they all just pulling a prank on her? The wedding was yesterday. She remembered it all. Saori was just being rude now, shoving her into a makeup chair so the artist could get to work. Tabitha stared at the sister, mouth agape, and tried to say more before the makeup artist went to work.

They had to be pranking her. They just had to be.

But the sisters started to have the same conversations as yesterday. Hina was talking out loud, still perplexed about what hairstyle she should do. Tabitha remembered which one she picked out yesterday – the updo, which was the exact one she was picking out again. Izumi was complaining about the boy she was casually seeing right now, and when Hina's eldest sister, Takara, started to give her advice, Tabitha could repeat the exact words. These were the exact conversations they were having yesterday.

Was she going batshit? There was no way the morning was repeating itself. Perhaps she was dreaming still, and when she pinched herself, she would wake up next to Aki. Tabitha looked down as the makeup artist started to apply blush, and she pinched her arm. Sharp pain.

Not a dream. She pinched herself again, thinking there had to be a mistake. Again and again until a red mark appeared on her skin. Something was very wrong, but what could she do from this makeup chair? Was she just supposed to sit here and listen to everything all over again?

Unfortunately, that seemed like the case.

Tabitha prayed for something different, hoping to see something that surprised her. But it wasn't just the morning that was the same. Everything that happened yesterday was repeating itself. As Ren stuttered through his vows, Tabitha started to sweat, and it wasn't just from the setting sun on the beach. She had to be going crazy. There was no explanation for this. She looked around the ceremony, hoping to see another confused face, but everything was the same. The same dresses. The same suits. The same vows. The same happy faces.

"I was amazed by you the first day we met, and surprisingly, you still amaze me every day," Hina said, and Tabitha was able to recite every word under her breath. Her friend had come up with those vows on the spot yesterday, but she was improvising all over again. Before Tabitha could question if Hina hadn't practiced, Hina turned to the crowd and shouted, "I came up with those vows right now, by the way! All comes from the heart." Guests clapped, and she turned back to Ren with a big smile. She squeezed his hand in hers. "And that's what I'm going to give you every day: my heart. No matter what, you have me forever. I love you, Ren."

One guest began to whistle, but Tabitha's brain felt like it was going to explode if she heard another word that she already heard yesterday. She stood from her seat, not caring if a few of Hina's family members were watching her, and walked out of the event tent. She quickly trekked to the nearby hotel, her hands forming in and out of fists as she tried to control her breathing. This was all wrong. So wrong. What the actual fuck was happening? Maybe if she went to sleep, she'd wake up from whatever horrible dream she was having.

She pinched herself again.

It still hurt.

"Shit!" Tabitha exclaimed, louder than intended, and rubbed at her arm.

"Tab?"

Her head whipped in his direction almost instantly, but his presence was still a shock to her system. Kento stood a few feet from her, lingering by the doors of the hotel lobby. He walked forward carefully and studied her reaction. Her brows eventually furrowed. "Did you follow me in here?" She asked.

"You looked upset." He sounded so casual, but he was taking his time with approaching her; testing the waters. He hadn't even said hi to her, and seeing as it was just yesterday repeating itself, she was surprised at his easy demeanor.

Tabitha pinched the bridge of her nose and held out a hand. "Kento, please don't take this the wrong way," she replied calmly, even though her tone was laced with annoyance, "but you are the last person I want to talk to right now."

He stuck his hands in the front pockets of his slacks. "Harsh."

Spinning on her heel, she quipped, "I'm serious. You should go back to the ceremony. We can have a proper conversation when I'm less freaked out." She wrung her hands out, clearly shaken up, and then played with a hanging thread on the outside of her dress. Suddenly, the stretchy fabric felt too hot, too constricting, and she couldn't stop herself from pacing.

But when she met his eyes again, he was content and hopeful, as if he was waiting for her to confess. Kento had always been patient like that, especially with her. Tabitha began to sweat, and she wasn't sure if she was getting hot from aggravation or simply being under the weight of his gaze. She tore her eyes always, heels clicking against the floor as she paced, and muttered under her breath, "Stop looking at me like that."

"Then just tell me what's wrong." There it was again: his calm, patient voice.

She replied, disgruntled, "You're just going to tell me I'm crazy. And I'm way too fragile right now to hear you, of all people, call me crazy."

Kento stepped closer, and before she could collide into him, he grabbed her arm with the gentlest of hands. Despite the callouses on his fingers, his grip was soft, and he ran his hand over the red mark on her arm where she'd been pinching herself constantly. "What's this from?" He asked, brown eyes meeting sapphire.

"I was pinching myself," she said evenly, "to see if I was dreaming."

Her arm slipped out of his grasp, and she swallowed hard. His stare was just too much; it constantly made her feel exposed, like he saw right through her. No matter what, she always felt naked under his gaze. "Just tell me," he murmured, almost pleading.

"I ..." She shook her head and hesitated. Was it worth it? What if she told him and then she just woke up from this horrible dream? Or, what if this was all real, and he laughed in her face, called her insane? Even though that was completely out of character for him, she couldn't help the nerves welling up inside her. Her hands were shaking. This was exactly how she felt 2 years ago when the lies started with him –

She couldn't be thinking about that again.

"I think I experienced this day already," she finally confessed. "I went to this wedding yesterday. But when I woke up, it was like the day restarted. Everything is repeating itself."

His blank expression frightened her. Before he could open his mouth and retort, Tabitha added frantically, "I know how crazy it sounds, and I feel even crazier. But it's the truth. I don't know what to do and if you keep looking at me like that, I'm –"

"Tabitha, breathe."

He was still calm. But something about his expression alarmed her. She took in a deep inhale, then exhaled. A few more times and she felt her heart rate slow. Kento pursed his lips, glancing over his shoulder to see some guests filing out of the ceremony and congregating in the hotel lobby. Now was as good time as ever to make a quick exit.

Turning back to her, he whispered, "Meet me in my hotel room in ten minutes. Room 101." He brushed past her and she stared at him from over her shoulder, bewildered. He didn't say another word, offered no explanation, and headed for the elevator in the hotel.

A/N: apologies for this chapter coming out later than usual!! I've been going to back-to-back conventions lately, so it was hard to dedicate time to write. I have yet ANOTHER con in like june, I think, and I'm working on a dune costume atm, so that might have to take precedence over writing. we'll see! if chapters come out a week later than usual, that's why! but I'm still hard at work on this and I'm LOVINGGGGG it 🥰