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Vertin lay on her bed, tossing and turning in the sheets as she tried to eliminate stubborn, negative thoughts that swirled in her head.
She thought about the numerous possibilities where she could lose her friends to the impending storm. As she had already lost several of them, she couldn’t bear the thought of losing even more.
She shifted restlessly from side to side, attempting to distract herself from thinking of such thoughts. She knew she needed to get some rest to prepare herself for the following day, yet for some reason, tonight was unusually stressful for her.
Vertin stretched her limbs as she rolled over to the left, reaching for her alarm clock to check how late it was.
” Ugh… It’s already 1 a.m. I should try to get some sleep as soon as possible. There’s no point in me thinking about such things right now.”
Once again, Vertin decided to close her eyes and count sheep - in a futile attempt to distract herself and fall asleep. She took a deep breath as she let her eyelids fall shut, trying to replace the constant insecurities in her head with more mundane ones - trying to doze off as quickly as she could.
Minutes passed, and Vertin still found herself unable to sleep. Her exhaustion was overshadowed by the constant worries of her friends being reversed in the storm, afraid of losing them again.
She thought about Sotheby, a sweet and intelligent girl who helped her go against Manus Vindictae. She was silly but remarkably knowledgeable in potion-making.
Then there was Schneider, a close friend she made whom she believed had been successfully saved from the storm! However, failing to do so due to unfortunate circumstances…
There was also Sonetto, an intelligent girl her age, a childhood friend who had closely stuck by her side for four years. Unlike the other friends she had made, Vertin sees Sonetto in a somewhat different light. She sometimes smiled as she often thought about Sonetto’s compliments.
She began reminiscing about that one time Sonetto praised her as gentle, decisive, and beautiful. That statement had yet to leave Vertin’s mind, lingering in her head for quite some time now.
Ever since they met, she had admired the intelligence and dedication she would put into her work. She loved that girl - platonically, or at least she believed so. The blush on her face began to grow as she thought about her.
” Sonetto…”
Vertin mumbled herself as she continued thinking about her childhood friend. She was completely unaware of a figure standing by her bedroom door.
” Timekeeper?…”
Vertin jolted up from her resting position as she stared at the orange-haired girl standing before her. Her thoughts were coincidentally interrupted by the girl she was pondering over.
” Ah, I’m sorry, Timekeeper. I didn’t mean to startle you… Earlier, I just happened to notice you weren’t asleep. So, I made this for you.”
The orange-haired girl held a white porcelain cup in her hand. A solid and rich cocoa aroma wafted from the liquid it contained. She carefully settled the cup on Vertin’s nightstand, giving her a gentle smile.
” I once read in a newspaper that drinking hot drinks like these helps with blood circulation in your body, which… will help with your sleep.”
Vertin sat up and took a sip from the cup, and all the questions and negative thoughts stuck in her head for several hours instantly disappeared. As if the hot drink Sonetto had prepared for her had replaced her mind with a warm, comforting sensation.
” Thank you, Sonetto, this means a lot. However, I can’t help but wonder… why are you also awake during this hour of the night?”
Sonetto averted her gaze from Vertin, trying to hide the redness growing on her cheeks.
” Um… I was finishing reading my newspapers and decided to check on you to see if you were asleep. You looked like you were having some trouble, so I, um… I decided to make you a hot drink to help.”
Vertin heaved a sigh of relief, her earlier worry that Sonetto might also be having the same trouble sleeping subsiding. She took one last sip of hot chocolate from the cup before lying comfortably on the sheets, feeling much more at ease.
” That’s a lovely gesture, Sonetto. Thank you…”
They then talked as usual, discussing topics from the storm to daily antics. Suddenly, Vertin’s head dropped onto the pillows, catching Sonetto’s attention. She watched Vertins’ eyelids slowly shut as her voice trailed off. Sonetto glanced at the alarm clock, which was set on Vertin’s nightstand.
” 1.45 a.m… No wonder she’s so tired.”
Sonetto mumbled to herself as she gazed at Vertin. She took several steps towards her, trying to be as quiet as possible to avoid disturbing her. Her hands held onto the blanket as she gently tucked Vertin underneath it. She then traced her fingertips delicately on Vertin’s cheeks, brushing away the last few messy strands of hair that obscured her face.
” Goodnight, Vertin, please rest well…”
The orange-haired girl muttered softly. Slowly, she moved her face closer to Vertin’s, their faces barely inches apart, as she planted a soft, tender kiss on her cheek.