Chapter 86 - A Bed for Two
“W-what did you just say?” I blinked, trying to shake off the fog in my head.
“I’m quite bored playing gas. Do you want to watch a movie?” Myrrh asked, her tone oddly serious. Her sapphire eyes t mine, steady and unreadable.
I stared at her, my thoughts sluggish. Did I mishear that? There wasn’t the slightest hint on her face that she’d said anything strange, but the dull ache behind my eyes and the faint dizziness swirling in my head made question everything. Maybe my brain was just making things up.
It took a long, awkward mont before I managed to respond. “Y-yeah, sure.” I scoffed, rubbing the back of my neck. “I thought you just asked to have sex.”
“What!?” Myrrh’s voice shot up an octave. Her face burned crimson, her hands clutching the hem of her dress in mortification. “K-know your place, you buffoon! Not in a million years!” She practically shrieked, her whole body stiff with embarrassnt.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, the sound low and teasing. Monts like these were comfortable in their own way — Myrrh would never take my jokes seriously, and honestly, I just wanted to double-check that I really misheard her. Judging by her reaction, I definitely did. Maybe it was just the dizziness ssing with .
“Let borrow your laptop.” Myrrh huffed, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder as if that would sohow erase the awkwardness. “I bought this rom-com from Flix a while ago. It’s been sitting in my backlog since I’ve been too busy.” She reached over, booting up my laptop with the swift efficiency of soone who had done it a hundred tis before.
“You should’ve just pirated the movie,” I muttered, watching her fuss with my laptop.
Myrrh shot a sharp glare, pouting slightly. “I’m not a criminal street thug like you, you know.” Her tone was haughty, but the way she scrunched her nose made it almost cute.
She slid a micro card into the laptop, fingers moving with practiced ease. With a few clicks, the screen flickered and shifted into projector mode, casting a soft glow across the room as the movie splashed onto the wall. The dim light made her li-blonde hair shimr faintly, the black ribbons tied in her ponytail catching the glow.
I shifted, expecting her to sit in the chair like always, but instead, she started piling up pillows behind , fluffing them until I was practically nestled in a makeshift throne. I blinked in surprise at the unexpected kindness, but before I could comnt, Myrrh did sothing even more unexpected.
She sat down on my bed.
“Hey, scoot over,” she said, her voice quiet but firm, her face tinged pink.
“Huh?” I felt my whole body stiffen. Heat crept up my neck, and I turned to her, wide-eyed. “Are you seriously gonna share a bed with ?”
“You really make it sound like we’re intimate, huh?” Myrrh rolled her eyes, though the redness in her cheeks betrayed her nonchalance. “I just want to watch the movie comfortably. My back is killing from sitting in that chair for hours.”
“Eeeeeh…” I cringed, reluctantly shifting to the side to give her so space. The bed dipped slightly as she settled next to , her warmth radiating through the thin blanket. “Don’t bla if you catch my cold.”
“In that case,” Myrrh smirked, folding her arms behind her head and leaning back, “I’ll be counting on you to be my slave nurse when I get sick.”
“Whatever,” I muttered, trying to sound indifferent, but my heart was thudding loudly in my chest. I stared at the movie flickering on the wall, though I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to focus on it at all.
Myrrh laid beside , her body sinking slightly into the mattress, and for a mont, the reality of the situation hit . We looked like a married couple — sharing the sa bed, watching the sa movie on a big projected screen, the soft flicker of light dancing across the walls. The fresh scent of her shampoo drifted toward , sothing light and floral, calming the faint dizziness in my head.
As the opening credits rolled, the room bathed in the soft glow of the projector, Myrrh broke the silence with a question that ca out of nowhere.
“Your sickness. Is it related to the binary codes and the Cosmic Tree?”
I froze. The warmth of her presence faded into the background as my mind stumbled over her words. Slowly, I turned my head to look at her. She was still facing the screen, her expression unreadable, eyes reflecting the soft light of the movie.
“Bingo,” I finally muttered. “You got it. I had a dream about it last night, but… it was so vague I forgot most of it.”
“Hmmm.” Myrrh shifted slightly, the bed creaking softly under her weight. “Do you rember that karaoke night after we won the Licensure Examination Tournant?”
I blinked. “Oh, you an that ti you and Dianca had a booby-softness match?” I asked, smirking at the mory.
Myrrh’s head whipped toward , her cheeks flushing a deep crimson. “You’re misrembering things. That did not happen.”
“It did.”
“IT DID NOT!” she barked, glaring daggers at . Her face was so close now, I could feel her breath brush against my skin. "You want to knock your brain out?"
"Please don't. I'm still sick." I cried. That was more than enough for to shut up.
She huffed, crossing her arms as she settled back into the pillows. “Anyway, that’s beside the point. Do you rember what Neil spouted that night, when we were all crazy drunk?”
“I’m not so sure,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck, “but he was imitating sothing about destroying reality and…” I trailed off, the mory hazy, like trying to grab smoke.
“He said sothing about the Cosmic Tree,” Myrrh added, her tone low and serious.
I frowned, staring at the shifting shadows on the wall. Co to think of it, Neil once told a strange story from his childhood — sothing about being rescued after getting trapped in a mass of roots or vines. At the ti, I brushed it off as one of his stupid ramblings. But now, with everything that had happened… maybe there was more to it. A quiet part of had always suspected Neil might be a key to unlocking the mystery of the Cosmic Tree, but I kept pushing the thought aside.
“I’ll try to ask him about it next year. You know, once classes resu,” I muttered.
“Oh yeah, sure. Ask him on a date or sothing.” Myrrh’s serious deanor vanished, replaced by a smug grin. “Didn’t you say Neil is totally gay for you? Maybe take him out for a romantic candlelit dinner. I even know a nice restaurant. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, there’s a love hotel I can recomnd.” She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“Shut up. The movie’s starting,” I grumbled, sinking lower into the pillows as the screen flickered with the first scenes.
And just like that, the thoughts of the Cosmic Tree and Neil faded into the background, lost in the glow of the projector. The room filled with soft laughter and delighted squeals as we got sucked into the rom-com’s antics. Myrrh giggled beside , occasionally making snide comnts about the characters, while I just enjoyed the warmth of her presence and the easy rhythm of our banter.
When the credits rolled, we swapped the fluffy romance for sothing darker — a horror flick from my collection of illegally downloaded movies from the dark web. The shift in atmosphere was imdiate, the room growing colder as shadows danced on the walls. Myrrh clung to the blanket during the jump scares, though she’d never admit it. After that, we put on a docuntary about ancient civilizations and alien conspiracies, the eerie background music lulling into a strange, half-dazed state.
We binged through movie after movie until night settled in, the hours slipping away unnoticed. Sowhere between the ancient astronaut theories and a rambling monologue about pyramid energy, my eyelids grew heavier. The warmth of the blankets, the soft hum of the projector, and Myrrh’s quiet breathing beside made it impossible to stay awake.
Before I knew it, sleep took .
Morning ca softly. The first rays of sunlight crept through the window, brushing against my face and stirring from sleep. I turned over with a quiet groan, trying to escape the brightness — and nearly had a heart attack.
Lying beside was Myrrh, sleeping soundly, her chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm.
My breath caught. Up close, Myrrh was… beautiful. The soft morning light painted her pinkish-white skin with a gentle glow. Her long eyelashes fanned out delicately over her cheeks, and her lips, slightly parted, looked almost too perfect. Strands of her greenish-blonde hair spilled across the pillow, silky smooth, catching the sunlight in faint golden streaks. We were so close, our faces re inches apart. If I leaned forward, we’d be…
I gulped, heat rising in my cheeks. Myrrh would punch into next week if she caught staring at her like this. No — scratch that — she’d go full judo on if she realized she’d spent the night in the sa bed as . I carefully shifted, moving with the precision of a bomb defuser, as I slid out from under the blanket. Each creak of the mattress made my heart race.
Finally, I stood up, exhaling quietly. That’s when I noticed sothing odd — the dizziness, the pounding headache that had plagued yesterday… they were gone. I felt completely fine. Better than fine. My body felt light, like I’d just respawned at full health in a ga.
Weird.
Shaking off the thought, I grabbed my face towel and tiptoed out of the room, padding down the corridor toward the lavatory. The dormitory was eerily quiet. As I passed each door, I noticed that every room on this floor was marked red — a sign that its occupant was away. Looked like I was the only one left for the holidays. The silence pressed against my ears, making my footsteps feel unnaturally loud.
The cold water in the sink was a refreshing shock. I splashed my face a few tis, watching the droplets slide down my reflection in the mirror. My heart had finally stopped racing, though the image of Myrrh sleeping so close still lingered in my mind. I let out a long breath and dried off, deciding it was ti to head back.
As I opened the door to my room, the soft creak of the hinges broke the silence. I froze. On the bed, Myrrh stirred. Her eyelids fluttered before slowly opening, her blue eyes hazy with sleep as they locked onto mine.
Crap.
Her eyes snapped open, sapphire irises locking onto mine as the realization dawned. Her face flushed a deep crimson, the color creeping all the way to the tips of her ears.
“W-Wah—”
Before she could finish, an idea struck . I knew exactly how these situations played out in movies and shows — the girl would scream, the guy would panic, chaos would ensue. But this ti? I decided to flip the script.
“Eeeeeek!” I shrieked dramatically, clutching the blanket around like a damsel in distress. “A perverted stranger slept in my bed! H-Help! Sobody call the police!”
Myrrh’s jaw dropped. “What!? Who are you calling a perverted stranger!?”
I pointed an accusatory finger at her, trying to keep a straight face. “A perverted woman I know slept in my bed!”
Her expression twisted into disbelief. “So I’m a pervert either way, huh?” she groaned, rubbing her temples.
I gasped, clutching my chest as if my honor had been tarnished. “D-Did you… did you take my virginity!?” I whimpered, eyes wide with mock horror. “I-I feel so violated…”
“STOP WITH YOUR STUPID ANTICS!” Myrrh screeched, grabbing the nearest pillow and hurling it at my face. The soft impact nearly knocked off balance, feathers flying everywhere. I barely caught myself from toppling over, laughter bubbling out of .
Myrrh crossed her arms and turned away, cheeks still burning red. “Idiot…” she muttered under her breath.
I couldn’t help but grin. Totally worth it.
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