Chapter Text
The ride back had been considerably quieter than the one going to the mall.
It wasn’t because either of them had run out of things to say. If anything, Columbina had found herself noticing far too many little things about Sandrone now that she had spent an entire afternoon with her. The way she would occasionally glance over her shoulder to make sure Columbina was still comfortable on the bicycle. The way she slowed whenever the road became uneven, despite insisting that they were already running behind schedule. The way she had bought Columbina an extra drink because she had noticed her finishing the first one faster than expected.
By the time they reached Columbina's neighborhood, the sky had already faded into deeper shades of blue, the last remnants of sunset barely visible between the rooftops. The streets were quieter now, with only the occasional tricycle passing by and the distant sounds of television sets drifting from open windows.
Sandrone slowed the bicycle as they approached Columbina's house.
"I believe this is yours."
Columbina looked up. Her house stood exactly as it always did, familiar and warm beneath the porch light. The curtains were drawn over the windows, which wasn't particularly unusual.
What was unusual was the fact that one of them moved.
Columbina stopped walking.
Sandrone glanced at her, always quick to notice."What is it?"
"...Nothing."
Another curtain shifted. Columbina narrowed her eyes. There was a face behind the window.
Then another.
Then a third.
And as if they could sense her gaze, all three immediately ducked.
Shit.
"...Oh, no."
Sandrone tilted her head, she looked unfairly handsome like this- Columbina desperately chased the thought away. "What?"
"Oh hells, they're home." And as if to confirm her suspicions, the briefest glimpse of soft pink hair appeared on the windowsill. Columbina can already tell that Sonnett has gossiped about everything to the rest of her sisters already. She wanted to crawl up in a ball and just disappear.
Sandrone was none the wiser. "Your sisters?"
"Yes."
"That is not a problem."
Columbina slowly turned toward her. "You don't understand."
She pointed discreetly toward the window. Sandrone followed her gaze. The curtains were perfectly still.
"I see no one, Columbina."
"Shh, they're hiding."
"Why would they hide?"
"Because they're watching us!"
Sandrone blinked. "...Watching us?"
A tiny movement appeared behind the curtain. Columbina's eyes widened."Oh my goodness."
Columbina knew her sisters too well. Canon would be pretending not to care while secretly memorizing every detail. Sonnet would already be preparing several embarrassing questions. And Aria— Aria would probably just stare silently until Columbina confessed everything herself. Columbina could already imagine the interrogation. Who is she? How long have you known her? Why was she walking you home? Was that a date? Did she hold your hand? Do you like her?
She was not prepared!
Absolutely not!
Sandrone parked the bicycle beside the gate. She still looked perfectly composed in her pristine uniform, with her hair held in its usual bun that didn't look messy at all from the wind. Columbina found that a bit too unfair for someone who takes hours getting ready before going to school, only to look absolutely ransacked after an hour of school air exposure. Sandrone looked back at her with those electric blue eyes, and tilted her head slightly. "Hmph, I shall accompany you to the door, then."
She felt her stomach drop. "No."
Sandrone paused. She looked more confused with the answer than when she answered the infamous difficult question in her competitions. "You dare question my authority?"
Columbina smiled shakily, hoping she looked convincing enough because the thought of Sandrone, being in the same space as three of her sisters, would bring horrors to her. "N-no. You should just go home. It's been a long day after all."
But, gods, she had forgotten how Sandrone's stubbornness was known by the entire school for a reason. "I can at least make sure you reach the porch safely."
"Really, that's not necessary, Sandrone."
"I have already brought you this far, Columbina."
"That's exactly why you should leave."
Sandrone frowned, she looked strangely like a dejected kitten."You are behaving strangely."
"I'm fine, really!"
"You are not."
Columbina looked desperately toward the window again. Three silhouettes were now visible behind the curtain as if they’d grown tired of hiding. They disappeared the moment she looked at them, because they were now approaching the gods damned door.
Her face went pale.
"Sandrone."
"Hm?"
"Please." Something in her voice made Sandrone stop arguing. Columbina stepped closer and lowered her voice. "My sisters are going to interrogate me."
"Of what? About me?"
"Yes."
Sandrone considered this. "I don't see the issue. Are you ashamed of me? MIght I remind you that you confessed first."
"That’s- alright, fair but-” Columbina gave her an incredulous look. "You weren't raised with them. You don't understand what they're like. Give them something to gossip about and they’ll scour it like a pack of hyenas.”
“You forget I'm close acquaintances with Rosalyne."
"That is completely different, Rosalyne didn’t meet you when you were in diapers."
Sandrone nodded slowly, the thought of it terrified her as well. "Fair."
Columbina glanced toward the house again. She saw Sonnet's face. Sonnet holding a camera.
They're literally spying on me.
Sandrone followed her gaze. For once, Sandrone seemed genuinely uncertain. "Then again...Should I introduce myself?"
"No!"
The answer came so quickly that Sandrone flinched. Columbina covered her mouth. "I'm sorry." She lowered her voice again. "Can you please just... go home?"
Sandrone stared at her for several seconds. Then her expression softened the same way it did during that universe altering afternoon. "All right."
Columbina sighed in relief. "Thank you."
"But I will see you tomorrow and I shall message you when I get home. And tomorrow after class—"
"Sandrone."
"Hm?"
"Go."
"Right, then. Initiating bicycle departure."
Sandrone stepped back toward her bicycle. Columbina watched her mount it, still feeling the weight of three pairs of eyes behind the window. Before Sandrone could pedal away, Columbina called her name. "Sandrone?"
The other girl looked back. "...Thank you."
Sandrone's expression softened even more, to the point Columbina couldn’t recognize her. "For today?"
Columbina nodded. "Yes, I had fun."
A small smile appeared on Sandrone's face. "Good...Then I shall see you tomorrow, Columbina."
"Goodnight, Sandrone."
"Goodnight."
Sandrone pushed off, the bicycle disappearing slowly down the street. Columbina waited until she was far enough away before turning toward her house. She took one breath, then another. She finally opened the gate. The moment she stepped onto the porch, the front door flew open.
"SO."
Columbina froze.
Canon stood there. Sonnet was directly behind her. Aria stood farther back, arms folded, wearing the most suspiciously innocent expression Columbina had ever seen. Columbina stared at them. They stared back and nobody spoke.
Then Sonnet smiled. "You really did have a date with Guillotin?"
Columbina closed her eyes, she began to pray for her sanity. "Good evening to you too."
Canon leaned against the doorframe. "You do have a date, don’t deny it, Sonnet’s already told us."
"It was not—"
"You came home on a bicycle. With Sandrone and she walked you all the way home. Oh, our baby sister is growing up so fast!"
Sonnet leaned closer. "Why are you acting so surprised, I thought you confessed to her?"
"Could you just let me explain?-"
"Well, whatever, that's not the point."
Columbina rubbed her temples. "I don't want to talk about this."
Canon smiled in that shit eating grin of hers. "Oh, we're absolutely going to talk about this."
"Canon."
"Come inside."
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I can already tell where this conversation is going."
Sonnet grinned.
"Can you?"
"Yes."
Aria finally spoke. "Do you like her?"
"I'M GOING TO BED."
Behind her came three simultaneous laughs. "It’s only eight!”
"GOOD.NIGHT!"
Columbina did not stop until her bedroom door was safely closed behind her.
She leaned against it for several seconds, staring blankly at the ceiling while the sound of her sisters' laughter drifted through the hallway. Sonnet's voice was the easiest to recognize, loud and shameless even when she was trying to whisper, while Canon's could occasionally be heard telling her to stop making things worse. Aria was quieter, but Columbina knew her well enough to imagine the amused little smile she was probably wearing.
They were going to talk about this.
Of course they were going to talk about this.
Columbina groaned and covered her face with both hands before pushing herself away from the door. She had known her sisters were nosy, but seeing them practically pressed against the window, watching Sandrone escort her home as though they were witnessing some historic event, had been a special kind of humiliation. She could already imagine tomorrow's questions. How was the date? Did Sandrone hold her hand? Did they eat together? Did she say anything romantic? Did Columbina actually like her?
That last question was the one she was least prepared to answer.The thought made her slow down.
Columbina sat at the edge of her bed and stared at the floor, her mind wandering back to the afternoon. It had been strange, getting to know someone she had technically known for years but had never actually spoken to. Sandrone had always been the intimidating girl from the classroom next door, the one teachers praised and students avoided unless they needed help with something difficult. Columbina had never imagined sitting across from her over lunch, listening to her explain why she had chosen a particular place because she thought Columbina would be comfortable there— and yet, somehow, she had enjoyed it.
She had enjoyed the bicycle ride. She had enjoyed watching Sandrone become increasingly flustered whenever she pointed out how much preparation she had done for the date. She had even enjoyed the awkward silences. This wasn't supposed to feel so natural.
Her phone vibrated against the mattress.
Columbina glanced down.
For a moment, she expected another message from one of her sisters, perhaps a humiliating sticker or a photograph of her from earlier. Instead, the screen displayed a name that made her expression soften almost immediately.
Sandrone.
She picked up the phone.
Sandrone: I have arrived home safely.
A small smile appeared on Columbina's face. Of course, she had told her she would message. Sandrone had always seemed to take promises seriously, even the smallest ones. Columbina typed a quick reply.
Columbina: That's good.
She hesitated before sending another message.
Columbina: Sorry about earlier.
The reply came after a short pause.
Sandrone: For what?
Columbina stared at the screen. How was she supposed to explain this? She rolled onto her stomach and hugged her pillow beneath her chin.
Columbina: My sisters.
There was a long pause from the other line.
Sandrone: Ah.
That single word made Columbina laugh quietly. She could practically hear Sandrone saying it in person, with that same thoughtful expression she always wore whenever she was trying to understand something. Then another message appeared.
Columbina: They literally cornered me as soon as I stepped on our porch
Sandrone: Were your escape attempts successful? Did you evade the questions of the pack?
Columbina: Barely. I’m dreading coming down for breakfast tomorrow.
She imagined Sandrone sitting somewhere in her own bedroom, probably with her school things neatly arranged and her uniform already prepared for tomorrow. She wondered if Sandrone was worrying about the same things she was. Probably not. Sandrone seemed capable of approaching almost anything with a frightening degree of composure.
Sandrone: What questions do you anticipate?
Columbina stared. She could not help but smile. Only Sandrone would ask that seriously.
Columbina: Dunno. They'll probably ask how the date went.
Sandeone: It went well.
This was not good for Columbina's heart.
Columbina: Sandrone.
Sandrone: What?
Columbina: You can't just answer everything honestly.
Sandrone: Why not?
Columbina dropped her forehead onto the pillow. "Oh my god," she whispered. She could already imagine it and Sandrone would answer every single thing with complete sincerity. The thought made her laugh again.
Columbina: My sisters are going to make this embarrassing.
Sandrone: I’m sorry?
Columbina: It's not your fault. They're just like that.
Sandrone replied a little later.
SAndrone: I understand.
They must care about you.
Columbina stared at the message. She knew that. Her sisters could be overwhelming, nosy, and occasionally unbearable, but she knew they cared. Their teasing was often just another way of making sure she was happy. And perhaps that was why seeing Sandrone standing at their front porch had frightened her so much. Because suddenly, this wasn't something happening at school anymore.
Sandrone was beginning to enter the parts of Columbina's life that belonged to home. Her sisters knew. Her family would eventually know. The thought should have frightened her more than it did. Instead, she found herself smiling.
Columbina: You're right.
Columbina's heart gave a small, unexpected flutter. She looked at the time. It was getting late. She should probably sleep. Tomorrow would bring another school day, another round of questions from her sisters, and most likely another encounter with the girl who had somehow gone from a complete stranger to the person Columbina found herself looking forward to seeing.
She typed one last message.
Columbina: It’s getting late.
Goodnight, Sandy.
She hesitated before sending it. Then she smiled and pressed the button. The reply came almost immediately.
Sandrone: Goodnight, Columbina.
Columbina stared at those words for longer than she probably should have. Something warm settled in her chest.
Tomorrow. She would see Sandrone tomorrow.
And despite everything waiting for her—including the inevitable interrogation that would happen the moment her sisters caught her in the morning—Columbina realized she was looking forward to it too. She placed her phone against her chest and fell back onto the mattress, staring at the ceiling with a smile she couldn't quite explain.
˚.⋆꒰১ ໒꒱⋆.˚
Back in her room, Sandrone could barely contain the grin threatening to appear on her face. She wanted to squeal, kick her legs, shout to the world even.
But alas, Alain was sleeping next door.
That doesn’t stop her from smiling like an idiot though.