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Yellow groans, collapsing on top of the book she has been struggling to read for the past hour, eyes half-lidded and closing every few minutes.
Her teacher is going to test if they've all read it tomorrow and she regrets ditching it for her other (totally important) projects the past week. She regrets enrolling in school by her own choice entirely. She was never fond of mandatory reading. But her teacher is very strict, and is aware of students watching video summaries, so she's taking notes too, and she's not even halfway through yet. This will be the end of her, she’s convinced.
There's a knock on her door. She makes a noise of acknowledgment muffled by her sleeve. It creaks open.
"Yellow?" Blue's unsure voice rings out, and they close the door after themself gently. They take in her exhausted state. "Woah, dude, you good?"
Yellow slowly pushes herself up from the desk, nodding sluggishly. "Yeah I'm 'kay," she mumbles.
"You don't look okay. What, are your teachers torturing you again?" They grin, walking over and sitting at her bed, bouncing up and down on the mattress.
"They are." She dog-ears the page and closes the book. She'll take any excuse for a break.
“I never understood why you chose to try out school in the first place…” Blue mutters under their breath. Loud enough for her to hear.
“‘Cause I thought it was important. I mean, having the means to learn that many things at once, and not even having to do your own research?” She’s defending it as if her decision wasn't kicking her in the ass right now. At least it's not fully bad. She doesn't even have to go there, only for important tests and other stuff like that, which this reading is a part of.
“I think it's ‘cause you're a freak of nature,” Blue decides.
Yellow’s eyes narrow, but she ignores them. "Why're you here? Did you need anything from me?" She turns in her chair inquisitively, pushing up her glasses.
Blue shakes their head. "No, not this time." Usually, they need help with cooking something with a lot of ingredients that need to be used carefully. Yellow is naturally good at precisely measuring things. "I didn't have anything to do today, so I wanted to see if we could talk or hang out. But it looks like you're busy, sooo..."
She shoots up hurriedly, pushing her cursed assignment away. "No! No I'm not!" She thinks twice. "Well, I am. But I can do it later, I was starting to fall asleep anyway."
Blue tilts their head. "Shouldn't you take a nap, then?"
Yellow purses their lips in thought. They agree wholeheartedly but are keenly aware of how much they savor spending time with the other, to the point it feels more important than rest. They can't allow themself to send them away now that they're here. It'll be fine. "Nah, I have enough energy for like, a movie or something."
"We'll see what you'll say when you see the new horror movie I found," they smile, standing and walking out of their room.
Yellow's more excited about their proposal than frightened. Them watching horror movies together is sort of... a thing. It's not exclusive, per se. Only they haven't done it with anyone else. And they always end up clinging to the other. Blue fancies presenting themself like they aren't afraid of a thing but end up violently flinching at every jumpscare. Yellow can get equally scared sometimes, though is usually too busy pondering what tricks they used to make effects and what the big plot twist will be to pay attention. They've told them they get too lost in their head to enjoy what they're watching.
Blue collapses on the couch, Yellow following. They're both glad to see Red isn't hogging it binging wildlife documentaries that day, so they don't have anyone to kick out. Blue snatches the remote and takes to finding the movie while Yellow disappears off to the kitchen to make popcorn.
When they get back, Blue has the movie ready and is eagerly waiting for them, digging their grabby hands into the bowl as soon as they place it down.
"I can't wait to see what this one's about, honestly. The trailer made it seem super spooky, " they remark, talking with their mouth full and then shoving more popcorn into it. Yellow grimaces. They have no idea how they managed to develop feelings for this animal.
Then they nod. "I'll take your word for it."
"Really? We could watch it right now. Hold on." Blue sits up and pulls out their phone.
Yellow lightly stops them with their hand. "It's fine. I like watching movies as spoiler-free as possible anyway."
They turn their head towards them. "Right." They smirk. "Cause you like predicting stuff, you little nerd," they tease, ruffling their bouncy hair.
"Hey! I'm not a nerd!" Yellow steals the bowl away from them before they finish the whole thing without letting them have a single bite.
Blue pretends to be shocked, gasping. "Yes, you are. You've even got the glasses!" They tap their own temple matter-of-factly as if it were a big revelation.
Yellow snorts, shaking her head. "Glasses do not turn someone into a nerd, Blue."
"Oh right, you would know."
She laughs. "Shut up!" And begins lightly hitting them with her hand and pushing them away. They deflect her attacks with a bright smile.
"You just-" they take one of the pillows to defend themself "-refuse to tell me I'm right." She tries tearing it away from them to no avail. "You're a nerd, Yellow! Admit it!"
"If I'm a nerd, you're a nerd too." She gets the other pillow from behind her and begins hitting them over the head with it. She dashes forward, making them stumble and fall back. "It's contagious."
"You're projecting," Blue argues. They push the pillows to the side so they're able to take Yellow's wrists and shove her, pinning her against the couch.
Yellow's eyes widen and something flutters in her stomach. That's a little too close to comfort. She forces a smile and laughs. "Okay, fine. You're right. But we should watch the movie now."
Blue, to her relief, lets her go and happily shuffles back on the couch. "Right!"
They click play with the remote.
A while into the movie, Blue is flinching at every sound during a chase sequence and Yellow is trying not to break out in chuckles as they clutch her arm tighter each time. They told her this movie mostly consists of practical effects and is praised for its effective use of them. They gradually stopped opening their mouth as it went on and now are trembling with fear. It's kind of cute if you were to ask her.
She averts her gaze to the screen. Blue was right. The blood splatters look realistic, and so do the character's injuries as the main antagonist digs their claws into their stomach and tears through them. She winces at a scream.
Blue inches closer to her, shuffling on the couch so they're a hair away from burying their head in the crook of her neck. Which they do once it quiets down and promptly ramps up again, leaving them jumping when the antagonist unexpectedly barges in through another opening in the protagonist's hiding place.
Yellow freezes up when they recover from their own reaction. Blue is breathing against them so heavily it's sending shivers down their spine. They want to push them away like earlier, but find themself detesting the idea. They don't want this to stop. It feels nice.
Yellow unwinds and brushes circles into Blue's side with their thumb. The soothing action is more intimate than they intended, but they're sure Blue is too busy in their own world to mind.
Their mouth quirks up in a smile, although their heart is racing. What they would give to be able to do this whenever; pull Blue into an embrace and rest against them when they desire, to hold their hand when they walk together more often than not, to pull them close when they play games with the others.
Then they frown. There's a low chance of that ever happening. Blue hasn't hinted at them being interested, and Yellow would rather not endanger their friendship for something more. They love risking it and achieving new results with their projects, but not with something related to this, never with Blue. Blue is too important.
They sigh and melt into the other. At least they have this. Though now that this particular movie night has made them discover new fantasies regarding Blue, they know they will have trouble sleeping for the next couple of days. At least their assigned reading will be enough of a distraction after this, right?
Yellow and Blue can't get any closer. And with the main character dying after the plot twist gets revealed, it all ends. Yellow was enjoying themself up until now. Knowing where the monster came from kind of ruins it, but that's how it goes with these movies. At least it's not predictable this time.
They part. Blue bids them goodbye and announces their early nap, and Yellow trudges back to their room and convinces themself their feelings for the other never existed.
They slam the door behind them, walk over to their desk, and cram their mandatory reading with such newfound determination that it feels as if five minutes passed when they're done. Their impulsive thought to ask Blue if they could nap with them from earlier, which they brushed away shakenly, has become enough of an incentive for them to fill their mind with other things. Like old English words, upon words, upon words. Seriously, these wrinkly dead men must've been making them up at some point.
They slump over when they're done, and whine as Blue instantly crosses their mind. They were doing so well. Now they'll have to control their urges whenever they're around the other all over again. And they thought realizing their crush was the worst entre to this mess. Now they're in the climax. It would be best if they could invent some machine to rip the feelings from their heart, but that seems like something up Blue's ally instead. An anti-love potion doesn't sound bad.
Ugh, Blue. Blue and their wonderful smile. Blue's breath on their skin. Blue's warmth enveloping them when they excitedly hug them after winning Mario Kart. Blue's soft hair tangling when they ruffle it. Blue's chapped lips, which she has offered her chapstick for numerous times. She wasn't being suspicious, of course... just helping a friend. Not that the idea of an indirect kiss dusts her face pink. Not that she jumps on any opportunity to share it with the other.
Yellow pushes herself up and makes her way to the bathroom. She glares at herself as she brushes her teeth, spits in the sink, wipes her mouth.
She stares at Blue's door as she walks back, and her steps absentmindedly come to a halt. She gulps. Maybe if she told them it would all go away. They could reject her, of course, but at least she would have a reason to finally get over it. No more painfully close-but-not-enough interactions. No more stupid longing. It would be over, her ever-running mind at peace.
She knocks.
When Blue opens the door, rubbing at their eyes, her eyes widen and she finds that going through with it is much harder than her imagination made it out to be.
"Mm, Yellow? What's up?" They stand up straighter, their eyes fully opening when they register her.
Yellow scrambles for an excuse. "I- uh... Um..."
They smile. Yellow's stomach does somersaults. "What?" Did you have a bad dream?" Their eyes crinkle up before they chuckle at their teasing remark.
" No . I haven't even slept yet. I-" She curses under her breath. For Alan's sake. "I needed to tell you something."
Their eyebrows raise. "Is it serious?"
"Not really. Well, yes." She looks aside. "Can I come in?"
"Sure, dude!" Blue opens the door wider and invites them in. A waft of incense smoke and an intense candle smell hits them, and they cough before they follow the other. They breathe in deeply once they recover from the whiplash. The combination of smells is actually not too terrible once they're used to it.
Blue sits on their bean bag and pats their side. Yellow settles down next to them. They're forced to press up against each other, but they quickly ignore it.
Yellow looks around. They don't come here often, as they usually hang out in their room instead of Blue's, who always claims they can't go in because they'll get high off the new potions they're making. How Blue lives inside their room, they don't get.
They snort. "Why does your room smell so much?"
Blue's jaw drops. "It doesn't smell!"
"I meant that in a nice way. But it is a lot," Yellow comments, eyeing the lit scented candles lining up Blue's windowsill.
"Eh, potion-making smells awful." They shrug.
Yellow turns back to them. "Why don't you open the window then?"
"I like this more?"
They shake with laughter. The other's face flushes with embarrassment and they press their back into the bag. "You're dumb," Yellow says.
Blue frowns. "I'm not dumb. What'd you want to tell me?"
Oh. The world stops. Yellow forgot why they were here in the first place. They wrack their brain for an answer. "I forgot." Perfect.
"Oh, come on! There's no way you actually forgot! You said it was important," Blue whines. Their frown shifts into a pleading pout.
Yellow crosses their arms. "I said it wasn't really important."
"That's not how I remember it," Blue mutters passive-aggressively. Then they go quiet for a moment, faltering, and come back up with an epiphany. "Wait! You just admitted you remember!" They jab their finger into their chest, beaming.
Yellow turns away in shame. They contemplate making the run for it, but recognize they'll never get this close again. If they don't get it over with now, they never will. And that is a painful possibility.
They start with something unassuming enough. "Do you recall that time we all played truth or dare?"
Blue cocks their head, rubbing at it before they light up. "Oh! Yeah!" They eye the other suspiciously. "That was so long ago... Why are you bringing it up?"
"I answered a question. That was about, um..." The words clog up their throat. They're hunched over and fiddling with their hands.
"If you like someone?"
"Yes-" They tilt her head up to look at them. "You remember that?"
"Of course I do!" Blue exclaims with an amused grin. "You were so flustered... I still think you lied." Their eyes widen. "Oh my Alan, did you lie? Who is it? Do you still like them? Do I know them? Do you have a secret relationship? Am I the first one to know?"
Yellow's nose scrunches and they put a hand up, silently signaling for them to stop. They roll their eyes.
Blue notices their reaction and shuts up. "Sorry, sorry." They mutter apologetically.
"You were right. I was lying."
The other jumps up and down in their seat, shaking the living daylights out of them. "Holy shit!!! I'm a genius!!! " They shout.
Yellow shushes them. "Everyone’s asleep, doofus."
"Oh." They hold their tongue and survey their surroundings anxiously, as if The Second Coming was going to burst through a wall any second now.
Yellow takes a gulp of air. "About that," she continues, "I do still like them. You know them."
Blue gawks at her expectantly. "Who?" They are mere inches away from her face.
"It's..." She flushes, inclining her head. "I can't do this," she mutters.
There's a still moment between them. And it permits Yellow to get lost in her thoughts. What if Blue will be disgusted with her? What if she makes things weird between them?
She snaps out of it when they pat her shoulder. "Hey, it's alright." They peer at her fondly. "It's not a big deal or anything. I won't judge you even if it's like, Purple or something." They snort, then control their laughter and deadpan. "I'm serious. No judgment. Safe space," they vow in earnest.
She turns her head to the side and averts her gaze in fear of it revealing everything. "You don't understand. It's a great deal to me."
Blue purses their lips. "Well, I'll try to understand. Pinky promise?" They stick out the aforementioned finger.
Yellow can't help but giggle. "You're a child."
"The one and only." They move it closer, almost jabbing it into her. "Take it."
"Okay." She relents with a remnant of disbelief and accepts it. She swears she can feel a spark of electricity at the small contact.
Blue is so considerate, going out of their way to make her comfortable. She wants to scream it's them! They're the object of her foolish infatuation! They're the one she can't stop scribbling dumb writings about in the corner of her notebooks! Yet it's so difficult. She doesn't have any experience with baring her heart like this.
But Blue deserves it. Blue deserves her honesty. For all they do for her, for the time they spend with her, they deserve her trust. She breathes in and faces them and her fears with closed eyes.
"It's you," she breathes out. "I like you. "
Her eyes are still shut. She doesn't know their reaction. She won't open them unless she's sure what she sees won't terrify her.
Blue's eerily quiet, stunned. "You like... me? " They whisper in awe.
Yellow nods. Still closed. Still not safe.
Blue's hand goes to rest above her elbow. She has no idea what it means.
"Me as in... Me? Blue me?"
The corners of her mouth quirk up against her greater judgment. "That is your name."
And right when she thinks they'll respond: 'Sorry, I don't feel the same,' or 'I don't think we should be friends anymore,' or 'I don't know what to say,' she gets enveloped in a hug which knocks the air out of her. Her eyes shoot open. All she sees is the edge of Blue's hair in the corner of her vision.
What?
"I'm so happy," Blue mumbles into her shoulder. "I'm relieved." They squeeze her waist to emphasize their point.
Yellow's hands settle on their back. "You're relieved?"
"So relieved."
"Why?" She furrows her brows.
She can feel Blue shake with laughter against her. Despite her confusion, she feels a little relieved as well.
"I feel the same, stupid." They bury their nose in her neck.
Her eyes go wide. "You do?"
"Uh-huh."
"Can I... Can I kiss you? Can we cuddle?" Yellow shifts their head to try and look at them.
So many possibilities have opened up to them. Whereas previously they could only peek in, now they see a plethora of different paths, of ways they could take this. This could be a thing, an actual thing! Not merely a daydream.
"Yes, we can do that," Blue confirms and pulls away. Yellow ogles them with a brand-new warmth.
Blue yawns, their hand sliding down and interlocking with theirs, pulling them up with them. "We should do the second one first," they announce, and soon they're stumbling into the patch of soft grass in front of Blue's door.
As Yellow falls on top of them, and shuffles to make themself comfortable, they shut their eyes and sigh contentedly. They think this must be it. Against all odds, (and they were not in their favor, they did the calculations themself,) they won. They won at life. Now their single fear is the ways Green will make fun of them both once he inevitably finds out.