Archive of Our Own

Manon had never thought that she would actually stay in one place. She always enjoyed moving around and being able to see the world. 

That's why she had transferred to California for her senior year of high school; for a change of pace from Switzerland.

Manon just never thought she would actually apply to college in California. But here she was, second year in college, with no intentions of transferring out.

She had gained a little friend group along the way, and they were basically her everything. They had shared countless laughs, secrets, and even melancholy moments with each other.

Manon had also taken her role in the friend group seriously—being the oldest—even if the rest of them thought it was silly.

They had told her that she’s basically the same age as Sophia, and that they all could rely on each other.

(She knows it’s true, but sometimes her motherly instincts kick in.)

1. Sophia

February has been a stuffy month. It’s when the semester is actually starting, but at the same time winter blues are still present.

Manon actually wishes for it to be colder during this time. Something about the cold brings her into a good mood.

(Maybe it’s because Switzerland is cold during this time.)

Still, even if it’s barely dropping to fifty degrees out, she found herself sitting outside of the arts building. There was a little area where chairs and benches were put for students to study outside if they wanted to.

She was currently listening to an old playlist she had made back when she first moved here—something that felt a bit like new beginnings and a bit like home.

Halfway through the sixth track (she likes to listen to playlists in order), she hears something through her headphones. 

“Manon!” She turns her head to the noise to see her best friend—Daniela—walking towards her with a small smile on her face.

“Dani, Hi!” She slips her headphones off her head, and pats the spot next to her on the bench. “How have you been?” 

“I’ve been okay, I haven’t seen you in a bit.” Realistically it’s only been a week, but last semester she saw Daniela almost daily. “What about you?” 

“Just seeing where the wind takes me.” She sees how the dancer gives her another small smile. “How’s Sophia?” 

She remembers how she was the first one to know about their relationship—Daniela had called her asking what she should wear to their first date.

“She’s been okay.” She can tell Daniela is lying, especially by the way her eyebrows furrow slightly. “Okay well, I’m not really sure. Everytime I try to ask, she pushes it aside.”

Manon gives her a sympathetic smile, she can tell the dancer really cares about her girlfriend; even in the early stages of their relationship.

“I see.” Manon thinks for a moment. She’s known Sophia since her spring semester of freshman year. They’re good friends, they talk every once and a while, and they bond over being international students. “I’ll try to help.”

“You don’t have to. I just needed to tell someone.” Daniela waves her hand around like she’s telling her not to worry about it.

“Nonsense, mama Manon is coming to the rescue.” She cringed at herself after saying that. “Okay, I take half of that statement back.”

Daniela starts laughing at her, clutching her stomach in the process.

“C’mon it wasn’t that funny.” Manon can feel her cheeks heat up a bit, but she’s glad to have Daniela laughing. 

“It definitely was.”

So, Manon does what any good friend does and arrives at Sophia’s dorm later that evening. 

She made sure to come before it gets dark, just because Sophia settles in bed earlier than anyone she knows.

She raises her hand into a fist and gives the door three firm knocks. She can hear some slight shuffling around before she sees the door slightly crack open.

“Manon?” She gives her a wide grin and pushes the door open, almost making Sophia stumble.

“Oops, Sorry. Hey!” Manon holds out both of her arms, and gives Sophia a warm hug.

“What are you doing here?” 

“Can’t a girl want to visit her friend?” Sophia gave her a suspicious look but shut the door behind them anyway. “Besides, you should put on a jacket.” 

The younger girl gave her an unamused look. “Why.” 

“Just put one on.” And Sophia does.

After, Manon grabs her by the wrist and drags her outside (and makes sure to lock her door in the process). 

She leads them to her car and ushers Sophia to go into the passenger seat. It’s a beat up Camry that she bought off of ebay—which sounds suspicious but the seller was nice.

“Are you sure you can even drive, also where are we going?” Yes, she had recently gotten her licenses over break and texted the group chat ‘clear the roads it ain’t safe no mo’, but she would say she’s a pretty good driver.

She puts her pointer finger in front of Sophia’s lips and gives her a mischievous smile. 

“Did you just tell me to shut up?”

“You ask too many questions.”

She can see Sophia roll her eyes and slouch down into her seat.

They drive for about ten minutes when they reach their first destination. It’s the Filipino restaurant Sophia always raves about to basically everyone she meets—it’s close enough to campus and is almost the real deal. 

“We’re here, mon ami.” She can see the younger girl’s face light up as soon as she recognizes the area.

“You didn’t have to.” Sophia is already stepping out the car and walking towards the front door.

“I wanted to.” She says as she follows behind.

They decide to dine-in there, choosing a table in the back corner to sit at. Sophia is already flipping through the menu and imagining all the things she wants to order.

Manon on the other hand is just watching her. She knows Sophia has been having a rough time, she could tell by the way her shoulders sit tightly. 

“Order whatever for me, Soph.” She trusts her taste and also knows taking care of people through food is one of her love languages.

Sophia gives her a big smile and flips through the menu like she’s been given an honorable task. When the waiter comes by, she orders everything for them.

“So, why’d you drag me out here. And don’t say just because. I know you enough to know there’s a reason.” She is right, Manon didn’t take her here just because she wanted to.

“How are you?” She can tell the question catches her a little bit off-guard by the way she goes a bit wide-eyed.

“I’m…surviving.” Manon is not exactly satisfied by that answer. Before she can reply, their food arrives at the table.

Sophia starts digging in immediately, Manon can see how the food almost washes her worries away. 

They eat mostly in silence. Maybe it’s because Sophia doesn’t really know what to say or maybe the food is just that good. Either way, Manon will get something out of the younger girl eventually.

Once they finish, Manon quickly pulls out her card to pay for their food.

“Hey, you don’t have to.” Sophia tries to—poorly—stop her and take out her own card.

“It’s okay, I dragged you here. It’s my treat.” She gives her a lopsided grin and taps her card on the reader.

“Thank you.” They head back to her car shortly after. “So, is our adventure over?"

“Of course not. There’s one more place.” 

Manon starts up the engine again, and drives off to a road she’s sure Sophia will recognize.

“How do you know about this place?” They’re headed to the flower field that’s about in the middle of nowhere. 

“Yoonchae was talking about it with me, and then Dani told me. I just put two and two together. There’s not many places for flowers here.” 

Manon was right, California was dry all the time and campus was a bit far from here. She parks on the shoulder of the road when they arrive, maybe one day there will be an actual parking lot.

She quickly opens her trunk to reveal a blanket and some snacks while Sophia gives her a curious look. She guides them to the middle of the field and places the blanket down for them to lay on.

“‘Chae told me how the stars are bright at night here. She said something about Megan taking her last semester.” 

She watches as Sophia studies the sky, almost amazed at how clear everything is.

“It’s like I can see the curvature of the world.” Manon giggles, the younger girl has always been the magical one.

“So, do you actually want to tell me how you’re doing, or do I have to play a game of twenty questions.” 

“I don’t even know. I feel better than I did last semester, but sometimes I have these moments where I feel like I’m paused.” Sophia turns her head slightly to face her and lets out a deep sigh.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m not here. My body is physically here but my mind starts to drift.” Manon lets her finish before trying to say anything. “And I don’t want to bother Dani about it, she’s already done enough for me.”

“I get it, it’s like you're witnessing everything from afar.” She gives her a small smile. “And hey, Dani loves you, maybe she hasn’t said it, but through her actions she loves you. And she worried about you.” 

“I know. I just can’t help myself from drifting.” Manon takes hold of her hand and squeezes it tightly. 

“Can you feel that?” She hears Sophia give a small giggle.

“Yes, of course I can.” 

“Then you're here. Sometimes, you just need people to ground you. It’s okay to ask for help, hell even ask Dani to lay on you or whatever.” 

“You just made this moment weird.” She can’t help herself and starts bursting out laughing.

“I didn’t, what!” Sophia follows suit and starts laughing hard too.

“In all seriousness Soph, come to us. We're your friends, we want to help.” She squeezes her hand again, and uses her other hand to wipe away the tears that formed from laughing.

“I know, it’s just hard.” Manon thinks for a moment.

“How about this?” She sits up and sits crisscrossed on the blanket. “Everytime you want to talk to someone, but don’t know who to go to, text me “Ariel” and I’ll help you out.” 

Sophia looks at her with a half confused and half amused look.

“Like a safe word? Weirdo.” 

“It’s only weird if you make it weird.” 

They share a couple more laughs before packing up. It was getting late, and Yoonchae would probably maul Manon if she brought Sophia home past 11 p.m.

The only noise is the quiet hum of the car as they drive back. 

“Hey, Manu.” 

“Yeah?” 

“Thank you, for this. I know Dani told you, but thank you.” 

“Mama Manon is always here to help.” Both of them cringed and laughed. “Okay, I should stop saying that.”

“Please.”

2. Daniela

Manon preferred spring nights over summer nights. She enjoyed the wind that would brush past her cheeks when she was walking around at night. 

It’s now early March, and she could tell spring is almost here by the way the flowers are so close to blooming. The weather is in the middle of being not warm enough and too warm.  

At night is when it starts to get cool again, which lets her explore campus without complaining about the heat. Maybe it is a bit weird since she did live off campus, but her apartment is only about a ten minute walk away. 

She finds herself outside of the arts building, it’s where half of the art classes are and half of the fine arts classes are. Manon always finds herself back here, maybe it’s because she took that art class last semester and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

She tests if the door is still unlocked from the outside, which it is. She walks through the halls of yet building, it’s a bit creepy but she admires the art on the wall. 

The first two floors are mainly for the art students; from art studios you can rent out to free one-day painting classes.

By the third floor she can feel herself a bit out of breath from climbing the stairs.

(By now, Megan would’ve made a grandma joke.)

The third and fourth floor are more for the fine art classes; from soundproof practice rooms to rooms that are filled with mirrors.

She can hear music faintly coming from the third floor, which isn’t rare but also is a bit weird. The practice rooms supposedly ended bookings about five minutes ago, so someone was enjoying their overstay. 

She walks slowly to the noise, maybe she is being a bit creepy because she’s curious who it is. Luckily for her, the practice room is all windows, so it’s easy to see who is inside.

She recognizes brunette curls and the small speaker that’s on the ground in the room. She quietly goes in, not wanting to disturb the dancing girl. 

The song comes to an end a minute later and she sees Daniela take a deep breath. 

“Hey.” The dancer jumps slightly and spins around to see who it is. You would think with all the mirrors around, she would look.

“Manon? What are you doing here, it’s like 11:30.” She sees Daniela quickly pull out her phone to glance at the time.

“I could be asking you the same thing. Practice rooms closed like thirty minutes ago.” Daniela has a guilty look on her face.

“I don’t know. I just—“ She sees Daniela’s shoulder slouch down into a defeated position. “—there’s a part I can’t get right. It’s frustrating.”

“What is it for?” Manon sets her bag down near Daniela’s and starts stretching her arms.

“Spring showcase. Everyone has to prepare a piece.”

“Show me.” She says as she sits down on the floor to stretch out her legs.

“Are you sure? It might be bad.” 

Manon knows Daniela flourishes in dancing, it’s the first thing you learn about her. She swears every time she sees her dance, she’s mesmerized by the way her body moves.

“Dani, it won't be bad. I already know without seeing it.”

Daniela quietly turns on her speaker again, and what comes out is a contemporary tune. She watches as the dancer fluidly moves around the room; her eyes are so focused Manon can tell she’s counting in her head.

Halfway through the song though, Daniela abruptly stops. She can see how the dancer’s face warps from focus to frustration.

“I just can’t remember what comes next. Every single time I stop at this part.”

Manon tilts her head to the side like a puppy. “Any idea why?”

“It’s like, my mind. I have so many things to remember, I just start blanking.” Daniela combs her hand through her hair. 

She can tell the dancer is stressed about her showcase, and she could also tell that there were cracks forming on her confidence.

“There’s just too many things occurring at the same time. I mean my accounting test is coming up and I’ve barely had time to study because of this dance.” Daniela breaths out a long sigh. “I mean should I even be doing it? Maybe I should just change the song I’m doing.”

Manon gets up from the floor and cracks her knuckles. “I think you just need to lose up, babes.” As the song still plays out she grabs Daniela’s hand and spins her around.

She’s danced with Daniela a couple times before, mostly when she needs an extra hand for a partner performance. Besides that, they usually just have their fun on a club’s dance floor.

“Manon!” The dancer almost stumbles over by the surprise spin.

“C’mon, just dance with me. Don’t think about your next move.” And they do. Manon leads her all around the room, combining random steps together. 

By the end of it Daniela’s face is red from laughing and dancing. They both collapse on the floor, breathing heavily.

“See, wasn’t that fun?” 

“You’re annoying.” Daniela says as she blows hair out of her face. 

They lay there in silence for about five minutes. Manon takes this time to think about how she can actually help Daniela with her choreography. 

“How about you teach me it?”

“What?” The dancer turns her head towards her in confusion.

“Your spring showcase. Teach me it.” 

“Are you sure?”

Manon rolls her eyes and gets up, cracking her shoulders in the process.

“I wouldn’t suggest it if I wasn’t serious.” She holds out her hand to help the other girl up. “It’ll be fun. And it’ll help you remember.”

“Okay.” Daniela takes her hand and brings herself off the floor. 

For the next thirty minutes Manon learned the choreography, and to her surprise she’s a quick learner.

Daniela would count out loud and she’s  able to follow them, not perfectly of course, but just enough to make it look like she was creating something.

“I like it. Your dance. It’s so, you.” 

Manon is breathing harder compared to when she started.

“You say that about all of them.”

Which is true. Manon has spent many different days in the studio with Daniela, but she’s never actually asked to be taught a choreography she’s made. 

She mostly does her homework in the corner of the room while glancing up a couple of times to make sure the dancer is drinking enough water and taking enough breaks.

“This is the first time I’ve learned one.”

Manon takes her phone that’s on the floor to check the time: 12:45 a.m. She claps her hands together, startling the other girl.

“Let’s do a complete run. You and me. Me and you.” 

Daniela rolls her eyes but nods her head in agreement. “Alright, one run.”

When the music starts, Manon doesn’t even have to look at Daniela to remember the steps. This is the first time she’s felt this fluid in her life.

From the corner of her eyes though, she sees the dancer not even thinking about her next move—like her body actually does remember the steps.

She cracks into a big grin as she continues to dance. 

As the song comes to an end, Manon starts jumping up and down; she’s high off of adrenaline. 

“You did it!” She shakes Daniela by her shoulders while her laugh vibrates throughout the whole room.

“What?” She can tell Daniela is mildly concerned and mildly confused by the way her eyebrows are furrowing.

“You were able to do a whole run-through, without stopping.”

She could see the gears turn in Daniela’s head before she started smiling widely—teeth and all. 

“You’re right!" 

“Hey, you know what?” Manon pauses and sees the dancer tilt her head to the side. “That dessert place ten minutes from here closes at two.”

She wiggles her eyebrows at her suggesting they go.

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” Daniela is already packing her stuff in her bag, getting ready to leave.

“I’ll race you out the building.” Manon quickly grabs her bag and starts running to the door. 

“Hey! Wait—“

She’s already giggling as she’s running down the hallways. She can hear the echoing of her footsteps stomping on the ground.

Manon makes it out before Daniela (not because she cheated, of course) and waits for her outside the front. By the time the dancer comes out, she can see how red her face is.

“Not fair, we didn’t say start.” 

“You snooze, you lose.”

Daniela pushes her shoulder lightly, and they start walking to the dessert shop. They walk in silence for most of the ten minute walk there.

“Hey, Manon?”

Manon turns her head towards her.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for today.”

Manon gives her a big smile and pats her in the back.

“I’m always here for you.”

3. Lara

Manon is one of the few lucky people who are financially comfortable to live wherever she wants without worrying about the price. 

That’s how she chose to live in a two bedroom apartment that’s close to campus. It does almost cost an arm and a leg, but it’s cozy and somewhat nice.

She lives here with her long-term girlfriend, Lara, who is a year younger than her and was one of her first friends in high school. 

She had met her in their Astronomy class; Manon had taken it because she was missing a science credit to graduate, and Lara had taken it because she needed a filler class.

They had bonded over their love for music, and hung out regularly outside of class. They had started dating the summer before Manon was going to go to college.

Lara had actually asked her out the day after graduation.

(Manon swears she was going to ask her out first, Lara just beat her to it

(She never mentions how she was too nervous to ask)).

During her freshman year of college, Lara had visited a couple of times. She would go to classes with her, eat lunch, stay the night, and leave maybe a day later.

They would facetime each night, talking about each other's days, and Manon even helped her apply to colleges.

So, it made sense that Lara would live with her once she had chosen to go to the college Manon attended. 

It was a rocky start at first, they had to adapt to each other’s small habits; but after the first month they got into a sort of routine.

Manon would usually have classes later in the day compared to the younger girl, so she would often wake up to a half messy bed. 

She would also end class earlier than her, so she always made sure to try to prepare dinner for the both of them. 

(Even if Lara basically pulls all-nighters in the library at least twice a week).

Now that spring is in full blast, everything is busier. Manon can feel everyone on campus rushing to go somewhere or do something.

She hasn’t really seen her girlfriend in about three days; she’s been busy at the studio, something about having to sketch out the entirety of a building. Of course Lara comes home to semi-sleep, freshen up, and maybe grab a snack—but she never stays for long.

She feels a little stuffy being at home alone with no one to talk to but the walls, but she knows this assignment is important to her girlfriend. She just wishes she could help somehow.

So, Manon ends up deep cleaning the apartment on the fourth day of whatever this is. She needed something to do before she went completely crazy and start talking to the stuffed animals on their bed.

(Like that one time Megan was sick with a nasty flu and had to be in isolation).

Midway through her sixth episode of Sex and the City and scrubbing the bathroom floor tiles, she hears the click of the door. 

“Manon? Why does it smell like bleach and despair in here.” 

She hears Lara voice from down the hallway, and she’s honestly surprised the architect is here. She wasn’t sure if she finished her project or if she just completely gave up.

Manon stands up and cracks her back before turning around to see a half tired and half amused Lara.

“Hi, baby.” Manon presses a kiss on her lips. 

“Hey.” Lara returns the kiss and presses one more on her temple.

“What are you doing home?” Manon takes off her gloves and sets them in the sink counter. She washes her hands before pulling her girlfriend into a tight hug.

“Um, I live here, remember?” Of course Lara would still be witty even if she’s about to fall asleep in her arms.

“I know, silly, but what are you doing home so early and like…alive.” 

Alive is a bit of an overstatement; she could see the prominent eye bags Lara had. Manon presses a firm kiss on the side of her head, and starts swaying them from side to side.

“Prof told me to go home. He said I’m spending too much time in the studio and that I’m not getting enough sunlight. Also I feel a bit dizzy.”

She quickly stops swaying them and pulls apart from her a bit when she hears that.

“Do you know why?” Manon runs her hands through Lara’s hair as a way to try to soothe her. She sees the younger girl close her eyes and hum at Manon’s touch.

“It’s probably just because I haven’t been getting enough sleep.” 

“Aw.” She presses another kiss on Lara's forehead. “How about this? I make dinner, we watch a movie, and you stop staring at your models or whatever.”

“Okay, but can you make pasta?” Lara looks at her with wounded eyes like she was forced to stay up. Manon gives her a wide grin, one with teeth. She’s so in love with the girl right in front of her. 

“Of course, honey. Go freshen up, the bathroom is nice and clean for you.” She sees the younger girl nod and gives her one last peck on the lips before exiting the bathroom.

She quickly gets started on dinner for the both of them; it isn’t a complicated recipe, just buttered noodles with a side of chicken for extra protein.

By the time she plates the food, her girlfriend comes out from the bathroom. 

“Wow, maybe a long shower is what I needed.” Lara is practically almost glowing again. “It smells good in here.”

“M’lady, dinner is served.” Manon puts both of the plates down on the coffee table in front of the couch. “Come join me.” She sits down and pats the spot next to her.

She decides to put on Twilight—a classic of course—while they eat their dinner.

“Haven’t we rewatched this like four times?” Lara says with a mouthful of food.

“You love me enough to watch it a fifth.” Manon sees her roll her eyes but smile anyway.

“Whatever.” 

By the time they’re almost done with the movie, their plates have been cleared, and they’re cuddling on the couch. 

Lara has her head tucked under her chin as she slowly falls asleep to the movie in the background. Manon quietly giggles and snaps a quick picture before nudging her girlfriend awake.

“It’ll be more comfortable if we sleep in bed.”

“Carry me, please. I’m too tired to walk.”

“You’re spoiled.” Still, Manon carries her bridal style; one arm under her knee and the other at her upper back. She gently lays Lara in bed, and tucks her in under the sheets. 

“I’ll be right back, I’m gonna put the dishes in the sink.” The younger girl gives her a slow nod before basically passing out.

Manon quickly walks back to the living room to tidy it up, she doesn’t want Lara to wait too long. Five minutes have passed when she’s finally done, and she makes her way back to their shared bedroom.

From the looks of it, Lara is already asleep. However once she enters the room, she starts making a grabbing motion with both hands towards her.

“It’s cold, I can’t fall asleep. Come cuddle me.”

Manon lets out a small laugh before climbing into bed. She slings an arm around Lara’s waist as the younger girl tucks herself into her chest. 

“Goodnight, love.” Manon whispers out as she presses a kiss on top of her head.

“Night.” Lara responds to the kiss by snuggling herself deeper into Manon’s chest.

In the middle of the night, Manon feels movement and then warmth leaving her skin. She stirs lightly, she isn’t sure what exactly is going on.

“Lara?” She manages to rasp out, she can tell her voice is thick with sleep. She doesn’t get a response, but she hears a quick shuffling towards the bathroom. 

“Babe, are you okay?” What wakes her up is the sound of gagging. She quickly jumps out of bed and rushes to the bathroom, whatever tiredness she had gone away.

“I think I caught something.” She’s met with a tired Lara on the floor in front of the toilet. “I feel terrible.” 

Manon quickly sits on the floor next to her girlfriend—she makes sure to hold her hair back as she’s gagging into the toilet. She starts rubbing circles along her spine, trying to soothe her.

“Take your time.” 

After what felt like ten minutes, Lara slumped down and rested her head on the toilet bowl.

“This is horrible.”

Manon is sympathetic and helps Lara up onto her feet. She brings the architect to the sink and helps her get her teeth brushed.

“I’m sorry.” She says as she wipes her face with a small towel. “I think it’s from the stress.”

Lara just nods slightly and slumps her body weight onto her. “I’m tired.” She mumbles into Manon’s shoulder.

“Let’s get you back to bed, and maybe some medicine.” 

Manon brings her to bed and lays her down in the same spot she was in an hour ago. She has Lara sit up on the backrest of the bed before grabbing medicine from the bedside table.

“Here this should help.” She quickly unscrews the cap of the water bottle that's sitting on the table and guides it to Lara’s lips.

Lara is able to take the medicine smoothly, which makes her relieved. At least it isn’t as bad as she thinks it is.

“I feel like I’m dying. Am I going to die?” Manon giggles slightly—if Lara is able to make jokes, it’s a good sign.

“You’re not going to die, this will pass.” She quickly joins her back in bed and makes sure to guide Lara to lay down. “You’re also going to be on bed rest tomorrow. No studying, just resting.”

Lara makes a sound that sounds like disagreement, but she doesn’t say anything. Manon presses a kiss onto her cheek and fixes the blanket to cover her more. 

“Sleep now, wake me up if you wake up again.” Lara cuddles herself under her chin and into her chest again.

“I love you, thank you.”

“I love you too”

4. Megan

If there's someone who loves her apartment more than herself and Lara, it’s Megan.

Eighty-five percent of the time Megan is at their apartment when she doesn’t have class or when she’s bored. It’s to the point where Manon gave her the spare key that was just laying around on their key rack. 

She met Megan through Lara, they were in the same math class first semester and hit it off as friends. They had hung out often, and sometimes Lara would drag her along with them.

When Megan was close enough with Lara to start coming over, it was a bit awkward for her. Manon wasn’t super close with her like Lara was, and sometimes the younger girl came over when her girlfriend wasn’t even home.

She remembers the first time Megan came over unannounced when Lara wasn’t actually there; Manon was just sitting on the couch, thirty minutes into The Twilight Saga: New Moon, when she heard a knock on the door.

She wondered who it could be, they weren’t expecting any packages or guests. She cracks the door open to see a smiling Megan standing there.

“Oh! Megan, come in.” She opens the door wider and lets the dancer in.

“Hi, Manon!” Megan quickly makes her way to the couch and carefully sits down.

“Uh, Lara isn’t home yet.” 

“Oh, I know. She told me to just come and wait for her.” Well, maybe she should’ve checked her phone before watching the movie. She did hear it buzz, but she just assumed it was just a spam email or a TikTok that Daniela sent.

“Did you want a snack or maybe something to drink?” Manon makes her way to the kitchen, wanting to busy herself with something.

“Just water is fine, thank you.” From the corner of her eye, she sees Megan getting more comfortable on the couch. 

“So…” Manon makes her way back to the couch and hands the younger girl a glass of water. “…how’s your classes?” 

To be honest, Manon had no idea what to talk about with her. She’s met her maybe twice, so there’s not much shared common ground yet. 

“It’s been fine, just busy.” She sees Megan actually focus on the TV in front of her. “What are you watching? This looks weird.”

Manon audibly gasps out loud. 

“You’ve never watched Twilight?” Megan shakes her head and Manon feels betrayed.

(She barely knows the girl, but still).

“You’ve got to watch it, wait.” Manon exits the movie to find the first one in the series.”You’ll love it.”

She sees Megan’s eyes widen with curiosity as the introduction of the movie starts playing. Manon realized Megan was actually engaged, she asked questions about the characters and plot when she was confused.

Manon hears the door click open halfway through the second movie, meaning Lara is finally home.

“Hey everyone, I’m—“ She sees her girlfriend walk into the living room and take a glimpse at the TV and a glimpse at Megan. “—Are you spreading your Twilight propaganda again?”

“Hi, babe! I was just showing Megan what a great series it is.” Manon pauses the movie and stands up to greet Lara with a kiss.

“It’s awesome, I understand why she likes it.” She sees the architect roll her eyes and place her bag down near the couch.

“Don’t listen to anything Manon says about it. It’s all propaganda.” 

“Hey!” Manon makes her way back to the couch, leaving a space next to her for Lara to sit.

The rest of the day and into the night, the three of them watched all the movies in the series, ordered pizza, and just talked about life. Manon thinks that’s when she truly became friends with Megan.

So it wasn’t a surprise that Megan found a sort of safe space in their apartment.

Manon had actually finished class early today, it was almost spring break; she could feel the week of no school just around the corner. 

She expected to come home to an empty apartment—after Lara recovered from her sickness, she was back to cramming at the studio.

As she opens the door, she hears the TV playing something. She can’t distinguish whatever it is, but she already knows who’s here.

“Megan?” She walks into the living room to see the dancer cocooned in blankets, and watching what looks like a random Korean drama she found while scrolling on their Netflix. 

“Hi.” Megan pauses the show and looks up at Manon from where she’s sitting. Manon can see how bloodshot her eyes are, and how she has eye bags under her eyes.

“Aw, babes are you okay?" She leans down to pull the younger girl into a hug. 

“Yes. No. Maybe?” She feels Megan return the hug and squeezes her tighter.

“What do you need?” Manon detaches herself from the other girl and sits next to her on the couch. Megan leans slightly so their shoulders are touching.

“It sounds stupid—“ The dancer pauses and turns her head to face her. “—Do you wanna play Minecraft with me?”

“Hey, that’s not stupid. I would love to.” Manon gives her a small smile and pats her cheek. She knows that when Megan’s having a bad day all the younger girl wants is a distraction from everything.

She reaches into her backpack for her iPad and opens the game up.

“You have to have mercy on me though, I’ve only played like once.” That cracks a smile in Megan who also has her iPad out to play.

“Don’t worry, we can build a house together. We can even tame a cat and name it after Spoon!” Manon giggles at her; Spoon is the cat she had to leave behind in Switzerland when she moved to LA. 

“Alright, let’s play!” 

They take their time when they first load into the world. Megan carefully explains how to gather items like wood and stone, and how to craft certain things. They were able to progress throughout the world—finding a big cave near a village.

“Manon! Behind you.” It was too late, Manon had half turned around her character and was met with a creeper explosion—leading to her death.

The big red ‘You Died’ fills up her screen as she mourns the loss of her experience levels. 

“Oh my gosh!” Megan next to her is laughing hard, she has her stomach clenched. 

“You should see your face!” She quickly respawns back into the village while Megan gathers her stuff to put it in a chest.

“You’re so getting karma for that.” 

“Or Spoon might be next.” Manon gasps, not her precious baby.

“I’m going to kill you when I see you.” 

Megan screams and starts running away from where the older girl had died. Manon was able to get her stuff back and she started chasing the dancer after.

“Truce! Truce!” Megan is breathing out as she’s laughing into her iPad.

“Fine!” They go on with their exploration, until Manon finds diamonds. “Megan! Look, diamonds.” She quickly mines them as the dancer’s character is walking towards her.

About thirty minutes later, they emerge outside of the cave with a full set of iron armor and full inventories of stuff. 

“Let’s build a house.” Megan says as she grabs her phone to look for YouTube house tutorials. Manon peaks at her screen and they find one they like called ‘How to Build a Cottagecore Cherry Blossom House / Tutorial’. 

“This one is cute, but we need to find a cherry blossom biome.” So, they set off and left the village they had ransacked to find a cherry blossom biome.

They’re able to find one that’s about a thousand blocks away, and gather the remaining materials needed to build the house.

Once it was done, they had taken pictures with it, and Manon posted it on her story with a caption that said ‘minecraft with megs 💗’.

“Are you hungry? I can order us food. It’s getting late.” She sees Megan think about it for a second and then sees her slightly nod.

“I could go for some food.” They say one final goodbye to Spoon before logging out of the world. 

“What do you want? I could get that Hainanese chicken rice that you like?” Manon is already pulling out her phone and looking at a food delivery app. 

“Delivery is so expensive though.” Megan is now laying horizontally on the couch and is holding her phone above her face. Her head is close to Manon’s lap as she’s also scrolling through a delivery app.

“Megs, I’m paying for you. Let me spoil you.” 

“But I feel bad” The dancer puts her phone on her chest and looks up to Manon.

“I’m like, at least five times richer than you.” Manon reaches to pinch her cheeks and orders the Hainanese chicken rice on her phone. “It’ll come in thirty minutes.” 

Manon puts a random show on the TV that she's half paying attention to and half not. She doesn’t think Megan is really paying attention to it either.

Their food comes at the time it said it would and they eat while watching the show.

“Are you okay?” The older girl turns to see Megan with a bite of food halfway to her mouth. She knows it’s awkward, but she can’t help it. She wants to try to help the dancer as much as she can.

“Yeah. I think so. I think everything just got too much for me. I haven’t really been able to sleep.” Megan puts her spoon down onto her plate. “I was going to go to ‘Chae’s dorm today, but she was busy. And then, I don’t know, I just felt like coming here. Sorry if I intruded.”

Manon puts her food down and pats Megan’s cheek again. “You could never intrude.” She scoots closer to the girl so their shoulders are touching. “You always have a place here.”

Megan gives her a smile, a real big one, and continues eating. The older girl does the same and picks her plate back up. 

Once they finish their food and clean up, Manon dims the lights and turns on the lamps Lara insisted they’d have when they first moved in.

She finds her way back to the couch—once she sits down, Megan leans her head on her shoulder. Manon makes sure to turn the volume of the TV down, wanting the younger girl to get some sleep.

“Hey, Manon?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for this. For just putting up with me today.”

Manon smiles a little.

“You’re never a bother, I’m always here for you.”

When she doesn’t hear anything, she looks down to see Megan with her eyes closed. She quickly takes a picture and sends it to Yoonchae, before gently laying Megan down on the couch.

She draws a blanket over her, and stays there next to her. 

“Goodnight.”

5. Yoonchae

Spring break wasn’t really important to Manon; it was too short to fly back home, but also not long enough to feel like an actual break from everything. 

Still, she decides to try to spend it the best she could. Lara had driven back home to her hometown, and asked her if she wanted along—she declined because she didn’t really feel like it. 

Lara understood her, she wasn’t the closest with her host family there, and she just wanted some time just for herself.

(Plus she knew some of their friends would still be in town).

On the first day of break, she checks everyone’s location—Sophia had made them all get Life360 together—and saw that everyone was everywhere.

It looks like Daniela took Sophia home with her, Lara is back in their hometown, Megan was out in town at the mall, and Yoonchae was at her dorm.

She forgot that Daniela had told her that she and Sophia were going back to San Diego for the first half of the week.

She decides to stay home today, there isn’t much she had planned for break. Maybe she could call her parents one day, hang out with Megan and Yoonchae another, and then binge watch Twilight again a different day.

It’s already 4 p.m., and she’s spent all day scrolling on TikTok. She’s about to put down her phone and actually do something productive, but she gets a text from Sophia.

soph 🫰

Today at 4:06 PM

Hi manon!

I hope your break has been well :)

Was wondering if you could do me a favor

Me

Today at 4:07 PM

depends…

maybe 😊

soph 🫰

Today at 4:07 PM

You're annoying

Can you keep an eye out on yoonchae for me?

I feel like she gets angsty when she’s alone for too long

Manon was confused; she remembers Megan saying something about staying over at Yoonchae’s dorm the next few days while Sophia is gone.

Me

Today at 4:08 PM

i thought megan is staying w her

while ur gone

soph 🫰

Today at 4:08 PM

She had to go home today

Something about a family emergency 

Just drag chae to your apartment or something 

That makes more sense, it might be a bit weird that they all baby Yoonchae, but she is the youngest out of all of them.

Me

Today at 4:09 PM

okay 

don’t worry i’ll take care of it 😛

soph 🫰

Today at 4:10 PM

Thanks minion ♥️

Manon puts down her phone and goes into her bedroom to change out of her pajamas. She thinks about what food they should eat for dinner, she knows the fridge is almost empty (her fault for not grocery shopping).

She makes sure to take her keys and walk to her parked car. She actually hasn’t driven Yoonchae before, but she thinks the younger girl will trust her.

The drive to the dorms isn’t far, it’s about eight minutes—well, six this time because there’s no traffic—away. Once she’s parked she clicks call on Yoonchae’s contact.

“Hello? Why are you calling?”

“I’m outside your dorm, pack your stuff, we’re having a sleepover” 

“Sleepover?” 

She snorts at the confusion in the younger girl’s voice. Manon quickly gets out of her car and walks to the front entrance of the dorm.

“Yes, now come outside and let me in.”

“Fine.”

Yoonchae ends the call before Manon can say bye, she doesn’t really need to anyway because she’s about to see her.

“Why are you here?” That’s the first thing she hears when the door cracks open, and she sees Yoonchae on the other side of it.

“Is that any way to greet your friend?” Yoonchae is walking ahead of her back to her room.

“Answer my question.”

“Sophia said you get angsty when you’re alone. Now pack, I’m taking you to my apartment.” Manon picks up the younger girl’s bag that’s in the corner of the room and holds it in front of her.

Yoonchae takes the bag and starts packing her stuff in it. “I don’t get angsty.” She says as she’s shoving her clothes into the bag.

“Yeah you do. You’re angsty right now.”

“Whatever.” Secretly she knows that Yoonchae is glad she’s here, even if the younger girl doesn’t say it.

“You get to pick what we’re eating tonight.” She sees how that piques her interest. 

“Really? Can we please get Korean food? Please.” She hears Yoonchae draw out the ‘e’ sound, and she can’t help but laugh a little. 

“Of course ‘Chip.” She ruffles the younger girl’s hair and takes her packed bag. “Come on, let’s go.” 

Manon types into her Google maps to see where the closest Korean place is. It’s about a ten minute drive, which she’s glad about. 

Once they get there, Manon tells Yoonchae to order whatever she wants to-go, and she makes sure to slip in her card before the younger girl can.

“Thank you.” She hears Yoonchae say quietly as they’re walking back to her car. Manon smiles and ruffles her hair, making the younger girl swat her hand away.

Once they arrive at her apartment, they unpack the food on the coffee table. 

“What should we watch?” Manon says as she unboxes all the food, Yoonchae went all out with this order.

“There’s this Korean drama! 스물다섯 스물하나, I’ve been wanting to watch.” She sees the younger girl scroll on her Netflix—Twenty Five, Twenty One. 

They eat while focusing on the show, Manon was actually invested into what was happening. 

“Wow, they’re so gay.” She comments about the two main characters. Yoonchae snorts and nods her head in agreement.

“Too bad they don’t end up together.” 

“Missed opportunity.”

They stop watching at episode seven—mainly because they’ve finished eating about an hour ago, and Manon really wants to take a shower.

“You go first, you're the guest.” Manon ushers the younger girl to the bathroom, and gives her a clean towel from the cabinets under the sink. “Let me know when you’re finished.” 

While she’s waiting for Yoonchae to finish, she gets a text on her phone from none other than Megan.

Megs 🍒

Today at 10:36 PM

heyyy 

how’s chae

and u i guess

Me

Today at 10:36 PM

wow didn’t even try to hide it

she’s having fun

[attached 1 image]

the food we bought

Megs 🍒

Today at 10:37 PM

i’ll be back soon 

i feel bad i left her :(

Me

Today at 10:37 PM

i’m sure she understands

things come up

Megs 🍒

Today at 10:38 PM

okay i gtg

thanks for taking care of her 💕

Manon hearts her message, and goes back to scrolling on TikTok. About fourty-five minutes later, Yoonchae finally emerges from the bathroom.

“Your girlfriend said she’ll be back soon.” Yoonchae scrunches her face, and picks up her phone.

“How soon is soon.” Manon stands up and pats her shoulder. 

“Probably in the next two days. I’m going to go shower, just watch something on the TV or whatever.”

Manon makes her way to the restroom, she feels her shoulders ache slightly. Maybe from the fact that she’s been sleeping weird lately, or maybe she just feels a little off.

Once she finishes her shower, she goes back out to the living room and hears Yoonchae talking to someone.

“Okay, bye Mei. Love you.”

Manon similes slightly—the joy of young love as they say. 

(Even if Megan is almost the same age as Lara).

She thinks of other ways she could entertain Yoonchae, maybe they could watch another movie? Or they could try to bake something? She thinks for a little bit, until an idea pops up in her head.

“Let’s build a pillow fort!” Manon starts gathering the pillows on the couch into a pile.

“What are we, five?” The younger girl looks up from her phone.

“Stop acting like you don’t want to build one.” She can see the smile that creeps up on Yoonchae’s face. The younger girl helps her gather all the pillows and blankets from her shared room with Lara. 

“This is going to be big.” Yoonchae says as she’s stacking up pillows in the middle of the living room—they had pushed the coffee table to the side.

Manon is dragging the two chairs from the dining table to act as the structural skeleton for the fort. “That’s the point.”

It takes them about twenty minutes to actually finish; when Manon drapes the last blanket on top, Yoonchae quickly enters the fort.

“I thought this was childish.” The older girl pulls out her phone to snap a quick photo of her in the fort before entering herself. “I’m sending this in the group chat.”

“Shut up.” Yoonchae hits her with a spare pillow that's laying around. “It’s comfortable.”

Manon decides to put a Disney princess movie on—if they were going to be childish, they might as well go all out.

They sit side-by-side, and Manon feels the weight of Yoonchae’s head on her shoulder.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?” Manon shifts slightly to make it easier for Yoonchae to lean her head on her. The younger girl is about three inches taller than her.

“For this. I was sad that Megan couldn’t stay, and then you popped up. So, thank you.”

Manon smiles and leans her head onto Yoonchae’s. 

“You don’t have to thank me, silly.”

+1. Manon

Midterm season is finally over for Manon. She had really regretted not studying at all during spring break, but she was able to push through.

Now, it’s almost like there’s nothing to do—which makes her feel uncomfortable. She needs something to do, something to worry about, or just something to think about.

She’s felt too mundane recently, it might be because of the changing weather. Where the heat starts to creep up on her skin, but she still feels cold from time to time.

It all makes her dizzy—figuratively and literally. She realizes that maybe she just needs to take a step back and rest. This past semester has gone by so fast, but she’s also felt like she’s crammed so much into these past three months.

She misses home, specifically Switzerland. Not the home she built here in LA, her actual home. She only visits during the summer, when the break stretches to three months and not three weeks (like winter). 

She hasn’t had fufu in a while, there’s just not a place near campus that makes it. The closest restaurant is a twenty minute drive away, and with LA traffic it’s more like thirty. 

Having it delivered is nearly impossible since it’s so far, so Manon only gets to eat it when she’s in the area for another reason.

She’s tried making it at home a couple of times, but it just never comes out exactly the same.

Manon feels her feet dragging itself as she’s walking back to her apartment. She definitely needs to take the next few days to just recharge. 

When she unlocks the door, she’s met with an aroma of food in the air. 

“Lar?” She kicks off her shoes and makes her way to the kitchen. She sees her girlfriend cooking over the stove, it looked like some sort of fried rice dish.

“Hi, baby.” Lara turns around and plants a kiss on her lips. “I’m making dinner, figured you’d be hungry.” 

Manon smiles and returns the kiss. “Thank you, I’m going to freshen up.” She’s glad to have a girlfriend like Lara, all she feels is love from her.

As she’s showering, she feels her bones start to ache; maybe it’s from the walk here.

(It’s not, she takes the same walk every other day).

When she comes out of the bathroom, she sees plates filled with food on the table and Lara waiting for her.

“Thank you, honey.” She places a kiss on Lara’s cheek before sitting in the seat in front of her.

“How was your day?” Lara asked. Manon enjoyed these simple moments, where they just talked about their day over a meal.

“It was the same, my arts professor was telling us that our last project is due soon. What about you?” The older girl starts eating the dish in front of her while waiting for a response.

“Busy. I have an exam tomorrow that I’ll be cramming tonight.” That surprises Manon, it makes her wonder why Lara is home (not that she minds).

“You’re not studying in the library?”

“It gets too stuffy there, plus the energy is always bad there.” Manon snorts at her response. 

“Alright, I’ll make sure not to bother you, and I’ll do the dishes.” 

“You’re the best.”

Once they finished up, she washes the dishes as promised, then she settles down on the couch. Lara stays at the dining table to study. She has her headphones on and her tongue peaking out from the corner of her mouth.

Manon finds it cute and makes sure to snap a photo without the architect knowing.

After about three hours, she hears Lara close her laptop. She sees the younger girl stand up and make her way to where Manon is.

“I’m done, there is no more possible studying I can do.” Lara drops herself half on the couch and half on Manon’s lap. She puts her phone down to cradle her girlfriend properly.

“So, is it bedtime then?”

“Definitely.”

Lara shuffles off her lap and drags her to the bathroom so they can both get ready for bed. Once they finish brushing their teeth and washing their faces, they settle into bed. 

Manon feels a little warm under the covers, but she doesn’t say anything about it. She opens her arms, an invitation for Lara to cuddle her.

“Goodnight, love.” Manon kisses the top of her head.

“Goodnight, I love you.” 

Manon feels herself wake up with a cold sweat, and she turns her head to see that the clock says 6:20. She feels warm, but she’s shivering—definitely sick. Her throat hurts when she tries to swallow her silva, and her nose is half stuffy.

Great, just what she needed, to be sick. Of course she’s cursed with one of the worst immune systems ever.

It’s too early for Lara to wake up, and she doesn’t want to bother the younger girl. She tries shutting her eyes, maybe she could just sleep off whatever this is.

Manon manages to fall asleep—slightly, she’s more in limbo where she’s half asleep and half not. When she fully opens her eyes again, it’s Lara staring at her.

“Are you okay?” She feels Lara feel her forehead with the back of her palm. “Jesus, you’re burning up.” Lara half whispers mostly to herself.

She feels a wet towel being put onto her forehead, and shifts uncomfortably from it. 

“It’s cold.” She murmurs out. 

“I know, honey, but we need to cool you down a bit.” Lara places a kiss on her cheek. “Listen, I have to go to class, but I’ll send someone to come check up on you. Just get more sleep.”

Manon slightly nods, she kind of understands what Lara is saying—but really she feels more delirious than anything.

She falls back asleep as soon as the architect leaves, and doesn't wake up until she hears their bedroom door open.

She opens her eyes to see a concerned Sophia standing over her. She feels the younger girl remove the towel from her forehead.

“This feels like you're watching me die.” She manages to croak out, her voice thick with sleep and sickness.

“You kind of are dying. I brought soup. Lara said you need to take medicine too.” Manon groans, she hates taking medication for anything. “Don’t be like that. Here, sit up.” 

Sophia guides her to sit up and rest her back against the headboard. She puts a pillow behind her, trying to make it a more comfortable experience. 

“Open your mouth.” Sophia sits on the bed and has a bowl of soup with a spoon halfway to Manon’s mouth.

“I’m a taken woman.”

“Don’t make me force feed you.” 

Manon frowns but opens her mouth anyway. The soup goes down easier than expected, the warmth of it soothes her throat.

“See, that wasn’t so hard.” She feels the back of Sophia’s palm on her forehead. “You’re still pretty warm.” 

The younger girl then makes her take medication (how terrible), and ushers her to lay down again. She sees Sophia pull up a chair near the bed and sits there.

“Are you just going to watch me sleep, or?” Manon turns her head to face her, but she’s met with her knees instead. 

“No, just making sure you don’t die.”

Manon isn’t able to fall asleep again, so they mostly talk. Well, Sophia is talking about random stories while she’s half listening and half trying to breathe.

Daniela comes a bit later, forty-eight minutes later to be exact. She comes mostly to make sure she’s okay, and because Sophia is also here already.

“Manu! How are you feeling?” 

“Like death hasn’t taken me fast enough.” Daniela giggles and Sophia gives her a stern look. “Can we move to the living room, this room is stuffy.”

Sophia nods her head and helps her get up from bed. She holds onto her while going to the living room, making sure she doesn’t fall down or anything. 

“I feel like a grandma holding onto you.” 

“You realize you’re not much older than me, right?” 

Manon shrugs her shoulders and flops down on the couch. 

“Do you want anything, Manon?” She hears Daniela ask from the kitchen. “I’m getting water for me and Soph.”

“Can you make me hot tea?”

“Of course I can.”

Sophia sits next to her on the couch and turns on the TV for them to watch something. 

“By the way, how did you even get in?” Manon knows the only person who has an extra key is Megan; so either Sophia broke in, or she has a secret copy of the key.

“Lara banged on my dorm, told me you were dying, and handed me her key.” Manon smiles at the thought of that. Of course her girlfriend would do something like that.

“Here’s your tea.” Daniela makes her way to where they are on the couch, and sits on the other side of Manon.

They watched Sex and the City together—the part where Manon left off when she was cleaning the bathroom—until they heard the door handle rattling. 

They’re met with a concerned Megan and Yoonchae with what looks to be takeout bags.

“Manon! Are you dead?” Megan calls out as she takes off her shoes.

“Was Lara really that dramatic?” 

“A bit.” Yoonchae says as she places the bags on the dining table. “We bought food from that place you mentioned with the good fufu.”

“You what?” Manon felt like she was about to cry tears of happiness. “That’s like a thirty minute commute.” Yoonchae shrugs her shoulders and takes a seat on the floor in front of the couch.

“Yeah! We assumed you probably wanted it when sick.” Megan said as she sat next to Yoonchae on the floor.

“You guys are so sweet.” She ruffles both of their hairs; the Korean girl swats her hand away while the Chinese girl lets her.

“You would’ve done the same for us.”

They continue watching the show with laughter, and Yoonchae asking questions. Lara comes back about thirty minutes later.

“I’m home! Manon are you okay?” Manon sees Lara look at the scene in front of her; with Sophia and Daniela pressed up against her on the couch, and Megan and Yoonchae leaning on her legs.

“Aw, everyone’s here.” 

“Of course we are. You literally texted S.O.S in the group chat, but also we didn’t want Manon to suffer alone.” Daniela says as she snuggles closer into the oldest girl’s shoulder.

Manon smiles at that, she’s grateful that everyone took the time to stop by today and take care of her.

“We were waiting for you to eat, Lara!” Megan is already making her way to the bag of food that still sat on the dining table.

She brings it over to the coffee table in the living room, not forgetting paper plates and utensils. 

“You gotta teach us how to eat this Manon.” Sophia says as she helps Megan spread out all the food. Manon smiles even wider than before—if that’s even possible—and proceeds to show them how to eat fufu.

With their stomachs full, they all squish on the couch, and are all mostly on top of each other. Sophia makes sure that she takes her medicine again, and Yoonchae suggests they watch a thriller movie. 

“Why did we choose to watch this!” Lara half screams out as she buries her head into Manon’s shoulder. 

From the left side of her she sees Yoonchae giving her whole focus on the movie, and Megan clutching to her sleeve next to her. On her right Sophia is trying to act like she isn’t spooked out, and Daniela is half covering her own eyes.

She smiles at the scene in front of her. Manon realizes that home is really where the heart is. She feels so loved around her friends, and she wouldn’t have it any other way.