Ass You Wish : Building Our Own Families — Ch. 05
Azuryn downed their last shot of the night as they used the liquid confidence to wash away the tide of anxiety; however, with the full moon’s pull, the tides were rapidly rising. They knew they’d feel it hard in the morning, or possibly even later that night. But it at least had helped them to get back on their feet so that they could even get home in the first place. Well, second place; there was only one thing that mattered more than getting back to their place safely: actually being home.
They wouldn’t allow themself to second guess what had just happened. If anything, they should be proud of themself for how composed they were. Because in retrospect, anyone nearing a nebby of inquiry would be perplexed into how they were keeping themself together.
‘How the hell am I keeping it together!?’
Which, included Azuryn at the top. They didn’t fully understand what was going on, but they were at least forming a game plan; or at least attempting to form one. ‘Breathe. Breathe! BREATHE!!!’ was the broken record in their head. It felt less like the tables were turning, and more so the turntables were spinning them in dizzying circles; luckily, everything inside them had started clicking and kicking into gear. They didn’t know how long things would stay aligned in their mind, so they had to act fast.
After a few more seconds of catching their breath and getting themself stabilized, they’d returned to their natural state of an elegant composure: strikingly suave yet decorously demure all the same.
They grabbed one of their cards out of the coat pocket and scribbled their information; in for a penny, in for a pound. Most of their thoughts were static, but the ones that weren’t were coming in crystal clear.
They briefly looked around, spotting her with what looked to be two or three other girls they didn’t recognize. ‘Can’t tell if that’s a good thing or bad; only one way to find out!’ They said as they began walking her way. The universe had thrown too many culminating coincidences their way, and this was an opportunity they couldn’t afford to pass up.
They were also surprised with how little anxiety sweating they’d done. ‘Definitely not complaining, but I’m sure I’ll be dealing with a torrent monsooner or later,’ they thought, chuckling to themself.
Coming up to her clique, they cleared their throat and steadied their nerves.
“Hey, Lia?” They hoped the anxiety wasn’t still present in their voice.
“Yeah?” She said, within a split second turning a solid 180 degrees to face them. “Hey! I was actually wondering if you’d wanted to pick that conversation back up. Guess you saved me from having to decide.” She said, finishing the end of the sentence with a titter, anxiously trying to not have it come across as giggling at them.
“I do! But I think I might’ve had too much to drink tonight. I was actually on my way out to grab a bus back to my place when I spotted you.” They said with a smirk brazenly on display. Ophelia didn’t mean to, but she instinctively bit her lower lip. That smirk would always make her lips tremble, and it seemed like it still did; and if she was right in what she thought she’d just felt, then it still had that effect on all of her lips.
“But!” the said pulling out the card with their info. “I would love to continue catching up,” they said, leaning into her with what they hoped was just the right amount of bravado. “Maybe over coffee? I know I’m calling it a night,” they said, as they slipped the card into her open clutch, “but you should call me about when works for you. Or text!” They said, snapping their fingers into a pair of finger guns as they leaned back out of her personal space; desperately hoping they hadn’t overstepped too much. “Okay?”
“Okay.” Ophelia said, still not fully aware of what’d just happened, and briefly shaking herself back. “I mean, yeah! It’s a busy week for me, but I’ll definitely let you know!” She said with a slight blush and smile as they began slowly walking backwards away from her towards the exit.
“Awesome! Just... don’t be a stranger.”
“Yeah. I’ll te—” Ophelia half said as they turned to walk forward, unsure how to feel about everything; and not even aware of the blush and smile on her face.
Azuryn had turned quicker than they wanted, but they could feel their anxieties getting to them, and refused to risk it ruining this chance. They took a deep breath of fresh air as they walked outside and waited for their bus.
If only they’d both known; whether it be the pair’s synchronicity, general anxiety, timing in traffic, or any other overlaps neither yet noticed, the two had somehow already become intertwined with each other despite the years of not talking. Or maybe: they’d never been severed; even after the fallout.
Severed or not back then, they both knew that it didn’t mean they’d somehow magically become friends again overnight. Unsurprisingly, they were unknowingly on the same wavelength with each other. Neither had a solid idea of how to move forward. It was painfully obvious, although not to either of them, that they had both missed each other immensely; and both just wanted to know what it’d take to finally turn the page and start the next chapter in their friendship.
Or more.