I rubbed the back of my neck, suddenly feeling warm. "Just... I’ve never seen you in regular clothes before. It’s different."
She raised an eyebrow. "Different how?"
"Good different," I said quickly. "I an, you always wear the school uniform, so I never really..." I gestured vaguely at her outfit. "You look nice. The clothes suit you."
She glanced down at herself, then back at with this little smile. "What, this old thing? It’s just a t-shirt and shorts."
"Yeah, but it’s..." I stopped myself before I said sothing stupid. The truth was, seeing her like this made realize things I’d been trying not to think about. The school uniform was like armor or sothing, made everyone look the sa. But now, in her own clothes, she just looked... real. And pretty. Really pretty.
"It’s what?" she asked, genuinely curious now.
I looked at the ceiling. "It’s just different seeing you as, like, a regular person instead of just ’Nina from school,’ you know? You look comfortable. Happy."
She was quiet for a second, and when I looked back at her, her expression had softened.
"That’s... actually really sweet," she said. "Most guys would’ve just said sothing dumb about my legs or whatever."
"I an..." I felt my face heat up. "I’m not blind. But that’s not the point."
She laughed. You’re such a dork."
"Thanks. Very helpful."
"I’m serious though." She leaned against the counter, crossing her arms. "You’re handling this whole ’girl in your apartnt’ thing better than I expected. Most guys our age would be, like, vibrating with nervous energy right now."
"Who says I’m not?" I admitted. "I’m just good at pretending to be calm."
"Oh yeah? What’s the giveaway?"
I held up my hands. They were shaking slightly. "These. Also, I keep forgetting to breathe normally."
She grinned. "That’s oddly reassuring."
"Glad my suffering brings you joy."
"It’s not suffering I’m happy about." She moved closer, and I had to resist the urge to take a step back. "It’s that you’re being honest about it. That’s... cool."
"Cool?"
"Yeah. Like, you’re not trying to act all smooth or whatever. You’re just being you."
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. Part of wanted to make a joke, deflect sohow. But she was looking at with this expression I’d never seen before.
"I don’t really know how to be anyone else," I said finally.
"Good. Don’t change that."
We silent for a bit before she spoke.
"So," she said eventually, "you gonna tell what you were really thinking when I walked in? Because I saw that look."
My stomach dropped. "What look?"
"The deer-in-headlights look. Like you’d never seen a girl before."
"I have seen girls before."
"In person? Without a school uniform?"
I thought about it. "Actually... no. Not really."
Her eyes widened. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. I an, on TV and stuff, obviously. But in real life? You’re kind of the first girl I’ve hung out with who wasn’t wearing a uniform."
"That’s..." She paused, like she was processing this information. "That’s actually really sweet. And sad."
"Thanks for the pity."
"It’s not pity!" She punched my arm lightly. "It’s just... I don’t know. It makes this more special, I guess."
"Special how?"
"Like, I’m your first normal-clothes girl experience. That’s kind of a big deal."
I laughed despite myself. "You’re weird."
"Yeah, but you like it."
"I do," I said, and the honesty of it surprised . "I really do."
"Good. Because you’re stuck with now."
"Pillar contract?"
"Pillar contract."
Ti went by fast.
"I should probably head out. It’s getting late."
Sothing twisted in my chest. I didn’t want her to leave. The apartnt was going to feel empty without her here, and I couldn’t even walk her to the door properly without looking like I was about to collapse.
"Yeah, okay." The words ca out flat. I tried to push myself up from the couch, but my body just wasn’t having it.
"Don’t even think about it," she said, pointing at . "Stay put."
I sank back down, frustrated. This whole situation was ridiculous. I felt useless just sitting here while she cleaned up after and now I couldn’t even see her out like a normal person.
She must have noticed my expression because she stopped what she was doing and just looked at for a second.
"Hey," she said, her voice softer. "What’s that face about?"
"Nothing, just..." I gestured vaguely at myself. "This whole thing is stupid. I can’t even walk you to the door."
"Kofi." She ca over and sat on the edge of the couch next to . "You literally almost passed out carrying groceries. Cut yourself so slack."
"I know, but still." I looked down at my hands. "You ca all the way over here, made food, cleaned up my ss. And I’m just sitting here like a lump."
She was quiet for a mont. Then, without warning, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around in a hug.
It caught completely off guard. This ti she slled like vanilla and sothing else I couldn’t na. Her arms were warm around my shoulders, and for a second I just froze, not sure what to do with my hands, sa as before.
"You’re not a lump," she said, her voice muffled against my shoulder. "You’re hurt. There’s a difference."
I finally managed to hug her back, careful not to squeeze too tight. "Thanks, Nina."
"Plus," she said, pulling back with a small smile, "you’re learning to cook. That’s pretty cool, even if you almost died doing grocery shopping."
I couldn’t help but laugh. "Yeah, well, next ti I’ll buy like three things instead of trying to stock up for the apocalypse."
"Good plan." She stood up, slinging her jacket over her shoulder. "I’ll call you later, okay? Make sure you haven’t burned anything down."
"I’ll try to keep the destruction to a minimum."
"Appreciate it." She headed toward the door, then paused and looked back at . "And Kofi? Don’t worry about the whole ’being useless’ thing. You’re not. You’re just... figuring stuff out. We all are."
I watched her unlock the door and step into the hallway.
"Text when you get ho," I called out.
"Will do."
She grinned and gave a little wave before closing the door behind her.
The apartnt felt imdiately different. Quieter. Emptier. I could still sll the eggs she’d made, and there was a faint trace of her vanilla scent lingering in the air.
I leaned back against the couch cushions and closed my eyes. My ribs still ached, and I was definitely going to be sore tomorrow, but sohow I felt better.
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