He ran down the hall and kicked open the bathroom door.
Yuki was on the floor, hair all over the place, mascara running down her face. A blonde white girl stood over her, hand tangled in Yuki's hair, slapping her hard across the face.
"YOU - Fucking - BITCH!" the blonde screamed.
Luke's brain stopped working for a second.
It was Emily. His ex-girlfriend Emily.
"What the FUCK?!" Luke shouted.
A few audience members had followed him and were now crowding in the doorway. Two guys rushed forward and tried to pull Emily off Yuki, but Emily shoved them back with surprising strength.
She'd lost it. Completely lost it. Her eyes were wild, filled with pure hatred as she stared at Yuki.
Luke grabbed Yuki and pulled her into his arms, shielding her. "What the hell are you doing?! Get the fuck out of here!"
Emily lunged forward and got her hands around Yuki's throat.
"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" Emily screamed, squeezing. "You fucking WITCH! You cursed me! You're evil! Someone call the cops! GET HER ARRESTED! SHE'S A FUCKING WITCH!"
More people grabbed Emily, finally managing to pull her off. She was thrashing, kicking, still screaming.
"She's crazy!" Emily shrieked. "She did something to me! Black magic or some shit! Look at my skin! LOOK AT IT! This isn't normal! She's not human! She's a fucking demon!"
Someone had already called 911. Within minutes, police arrived.
Emily was still fighting as they restrained her. "You're all blind! She's dangerous! That bitch put a curse on me! I'm rotting! I'm fucking ROTTING because of her!"
The cops dragged her out. Even as they put her in the car, Luke could hear her screaming curses at Yuki through the window.
**
Luke brought Yuki home immediately.
The show was completely ruined. Emily had destroyed everything. The audience didn't know what the hell had happened, only that their beloved Yuki had been attacked by some insane woman. People were posting videos from their phones about it already.
Back at the apartment, Yuki curled up on the couch and cried. Not the loud and dramatic crying from the bathroom. This was quieter, sadder like something inside her had broken completely.
Luke tried to make her something to eat. He wasn't good at cooking, not like she was. He managed to throw together some scrambled eggs and toast but it looked terrible like shit. The eggs were too dry, the toast was burnt on one side. But it was all he could do.
"Here," he said softly, bringing the plate over.
Yuki looked at it and gave him a weak smile. "Thank you,Luke."
She picked at the food for a while, not really eating. Then she put the plate down and looked at Luke with those dark, tired eyes.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Yeah. Of course."
Yuki took a shaky breath. "These past few years here... it's been really hard. Being who I am. Being Japanese." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Men here, they have this fantasy in their heads about Asian women. We're either anime girls with tits bigger than our heads, or we're porn stars who moan and scream through entire videos, or we're creepy Yamamura Sadako crawling out of wells."
Luke didn't know what to say.
"I've met so many guys at bars,clubs, dating apps." Yuki's voice got quieter. "I tried to have real relationships,like, long-term things. But it never worked. Every time after we'd sleep together they'd start pulling away. Like they got what they wanted and suddenly I wasn't interesting anymore. Just another Asian girl they could check off their list."
She looked down at her hands. "They never saw me as a real person. Just a fantasy. And once the fantasy was over..."
Luke felt something heavy settle in his chest.
"I thought you were different," Yuki said, finally looking up at him. "When you picked me up that night. When you let me stay. When you didn't run away after the prank." Her eyes were wet with tears again. "I thought maybe you actually saw me."
Luke moved closer and pulled her into his arms.
"I do see you," he said. "I promise."
Yuki buried her face against his chest and cried.
But Luke felt confused. What she'd said about men pulling away after sleeping with her... it didn't make sense. At least not with him. After being with Yuki once, all he wanted was to be with her again. And again. He'd never gotten tired of her. Never lost interest. She was like a treasure he kept discovering new things about. Sure, she had her weird moods, those explosive moments of anger, but even that just made her more intriguing.
How could anyone sleep with her and then want distance? It seemed impossible.
Yuki's crying slowed. She tilted her head up, looking at him with those wet, dark eyes. Then she kissed him.
It started soft. Gentle. But then her hands moved to his face, pulling him closer, and the kiss deepened. There was desperation in it. Need. Like she was trying to prove something or hold onto something slipping away.
Luke kissed her back, his hands moving to her waist. She shifted, climbing onto his lap on the couch, her body pressing against his. The air between them changed, charged with tension and heat.
They didn't make it to the bedroom.
Afterwards, as they lay tangled together on the couch, Luke stared at the ceiling, his breathing slowly returning to normal.
Something felt different.