"I can't… and never will… forget Alice." He exhaled. "I'm sorry."
A suffocating silence settled between them.
It was broken only by Seraphine's unexpectedly cheerful laugh. The sound carried a teasing lilt. But beneath that pleasant chuckle, only she knew how much bitterness simmered.
"I already knew that! Why do you think I never brought it up?" She crossed her arms, feigning indignation. "Today doesn't count, obviously!"
Ashen stared. "…You knew?"
She gave him a deadpan look. "Ashen. Do you have any idea how many times I've caught you spacing out, looking like you were experiencing some heartbreaking anime flashback?" She rolled her eyes. "And above all, Alice is my best friend, remember?"
"…Ah."
Giving a small huff, she continued. "From what I know about her, it's unlikely she'd ever give up on you… even after breaking up. And I can't just snatch my best friend's man now, can I?"
Her shoulders tensed slightly. "That's why I got so flustered back there. The moment I said it, I felt like… like I betrayed her."
Ashen fell into thought.
"…Actually, I don't think she would hate you for it."
Seraphine frowned. "What do you mean?"
He let out a bitter smile.
"…I don't think you realize just how much that friend of yours cherishes you, Sera."
'To a suspiciously unnatural degree….' He added silently.
She blinked at him, confused.
"Alice always talked about you. Anytime something even remotely related to you came up, she'd mention you." He exhaled, leaning back. "And every time she did… she had that rare smile. The one she only ever showed to the few people she truly let into her heart."
Seraphine swallowed.
"In short, you're precious to her," he murmured. "Even I—her boyfriend—sometimes got jealous of you."
His lips curled into a wry grin. "Hell, she never even introduced me to you; didn't tell me your name, nothing. Like a mother bear guarding her cubs… utterly outrageous."
"Anyway, what I wanted to convey is that as long as the main intention behind our actions was the striving to get stronger to not die later, I think she'd eventually understand…"
Seraphine's mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again.
"…Oh. Wow."
She genuinely didn't know how to react to that.
Seraphine tapped a finger to her chin, eyes drifting upward as she tried to recall anything remotely close to what Ashen was describing.
"When we were together, she always spoke in that same scholarly tone of hers," she said slowly. "She never showed much emotion, so I… never noticed."
Ashen chuckled. "Yeah. She likes to hide behind that intellectual vibe of hers."
"True…"
Then, suddenly—
Clap!
Seraphine jumped as he straightened up.
"Back to the subject."
Ashen leaned in, his voice turning serious.
"Sera. What I want you to understand is that you must keep doing what we did today."
She blinked. "Huh?"
"If you back out now, you'll be left behind. And I don't know if we're going to be separated after all this, so please…" His voice lowered, almost pleading. "You must keep going."
Seraphine sucked in a breath.
"Don't worry about Alice. I'll handle it. If anything, she's probably going to be mad at me more than you anyway."
Seraphine's lips twitched… then, out of nowhere, she burst into laughter.
"Pfft—ahaha!"
"…What."
"Sorry—pfft—it's just…" She wiped a stray tear from her eye. "You sounded so serious, and then you just casually threw yourself under the bus at the end!"
Ashen sighed in relief at her laughter, shaking his head.
"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh, you damn Bunny."
Seraphine grinned.
"Alright, alright. But just so you know, I never planned to stop in the first place."
Ashen exhaled.
"…Good."
Because if there was one thing he knew, it was that stopping meant dying.
And neither of them was too keen on that.
"Alright, you're allowed to go now. We've had too much excitement for one day. Let's continue tomorrow," Ashen said, his voice dripping with exhaustion now that everything seemed to be cleared up.
"You're right. I'll go now," Seraphine nodded in agreement.
After everything that had happened, she needed a moment for herself to reorganize the wild emotions still surging within her.
**
Click… Thud.
With the door shut behind her, Seraphine finally dropped the act.
Her hands moved without hesitation.
Top yanked over her head, bra unclipped with a practiced flick. Her breasts, far from modest, gave a soft bounce as they were freed.
She sighed like she'd just exhaled a week's worth of tension. Then down went the skirt, panties following with a wiggle of her hips.
"Haaaah…"
A low, satisfied breath slipped out as she kicked the last scrap of clothing across the room, utterly bare and shameless.
She dove onto the bed in all her naked glory, the mattress creaking as she landed face-first into the blanket.
Her arms flailed, legs kicked, and she squirmed like a restless child, her hips wriggling with each motion. One particularly aggressive thrash sent her soft butt rising in the air, purely by accident.
"Erm… uh…" shuffling feet… awkward cough… nervous chuckle…
.
.
After writhing around like a sleep-deprived goblin, she peeked out from under the blanket, her face glowing pink from heat that had nothing to do with the room temperature.
"Oh my god… oh my god! I can't believe I said all that… ugh…!"
She groaned, smashing her face into the pillow.
"What's he going to think of me now?"
.
.
.
"…And to think… I'll have to do something like that every day now…"
Her voice came out quiet and husky with disbelief.
She rolled onto her side, legs curled up, one arm hugging the blanket tight. The fabric brushed her bare chest, drawing out a twitch she didn't want to acknowledge.
"I'm sorry, Alice… but I'm actually getting excited now. I can't believe myself."
Her thighs rubbed together. Guilt swirled with anticipation.
.
.
.
"Ahhhhhhh!!"
She rolled onto her stomach and pounded the mattress with both fists. The bounce of her full chest against the bed sent a jolt through her… mortifying and slightly thrilling. Her butt popped up instinctively with every frustrated slam.
"Now that I think about it… Why did he push me away?! How dare he?! Am I not cute enough for him to pounce on me and ravage me like some primal beast?!"
She sat up fast, practically launching her body into a sitting position. Her breasts jiggled from the sudden movement, and she glared at the empty room.
"I mean, I don't think I'm any less attractive than Alice, right?!"
.
.
.
No rebuttal was heard. Nor was there any comfort to be felt. Just her, the mattress, and her swirling thoughts clashing with the silence of the room… which was probably for the best.
"I even said all those embarrassing things… What's with that self-control?!"
Her body tensed again as the memories pounced on her—each more mortifying than the last.
"Kyaaaa!! I'm remembering it all over again!"
.
.
.
She yanked the blanket over her head, rolling back and forth like a woman possessed. One leg slipped free, dangling off the bed.
Her body writhed beneath the covers, shifting positions, trying to find peace. Her mind, however, refused to shut up.
"Ugh… I should just go to sleep…"
.
.
.
After who knows how long of flopping, kicking, muffled screams, and emotional damage to her pillow, Seraphine finally stopped moving.
The room was quiet. Her breathing slowed.
She peeked toward her nightstand. The clock blinked.
4:02 AM.
"…Three hours of sleep… Kill me now…"