Chapter Text
Caitlyn had a silly superstition.
Whenever she heard someone say anything negative — whether it was directed at herself or simply close enough for her to hear — she had to knock on a piece of wood.
It was stupid. And, rationally, Caitlyn knew it was stupid.
The bad thing wouldn't materialize just because she hadn't knocked on a piece of wood in time, obviously. But even so, it was something that left her restless until she found something made of wood to ward off the superstition. It couldn't be just anything — it had to be something actually made of solid wood for her nerves to calm down.
It had started when she was around six years old, when Caitlyn had told her mother about a dream in which she died, and Cassandra had replied, "knock on wood so it won’t happen," in a joking tone that Caitlyn completely missed. So, even after her parents explained to her countless times that it was just a common saying, she still felt the agony like an unreachable itch whenever she couldn't find something made of wood nearby after hearing some bad prediction.
Over time, she had learned to ignore it, especially during her preteen years. After all, her classmates could be quite cruel sometimes.
Caitlyn didn't fit in easily with the other children. Making friends had never been one of her strengths — and although a few curious classmates tried to strike up conversations with her, they quickly grew bored of all the oddly specific facts she excitedly told them and soon left her alone once again.
Then, in sixth grade, a new student joined the class. With spiky pink hair and a charisma that seemed inherent to his personality, Vi didn't take long to win over both the students and the teachers and become quite popular at school. Caitlyn wasn’t naive, so she had no intention whatsoever of trying to befriend the new kid — but she was grateful enough that Vi didn't make her a target in the way the other kids did.
On one particularly bad day, when a group of girls had spent the entire day cornering her around the school to say terrible things to her, one of them said, "I hope you fail this year so I don't have to see your ugly face every single day."
Caitlyn was pretty much losing her mind.
Normally, she could ignore the wave of urgency that swept through her to give in to the superstition she had been trying to get rid of for years. However, she was far too overwhelmed by everything that had happened that day and by all the girls' torment to ignore it this time.
With trembling legs, Caitlyn ran through the school, searching for something made of wood while ignoring the wet floor sign. The desks and chairs in the classrooms were made of fiber, not solid wood, so they didn't serve the purpose.
As she ran without really looking ahead, too busy stretching to peer inside the classrooms along the hallway, she bumped into someone, and they both went straight to the floor.
“Hey. You should watch where you’re heading.”
“Sorry,” Caitlyn took a deep breath, rolling over to get up quickly, but her foot slipped on the wet floor and sent her back-first against the tile once again.
“You okay?” The other person had more success getting up, extending a hand toward her immediately afterward, and she took it without thinking much about it.
She wanted to cry as soon as she recognized the pink hair of the person who was helping her.
Vi belonged to the popular group in their class, exactly the group that usually made her free time miserable, and although he had never directly participated in the bullying, it seemed crystal clear to Caitlyn that Vi would tell everyone that she was running around the school looking crazy.
If the girls found out how much they actually managed to affect her, she knew she would never have peace again.
“I'm okay,” Caitlyn answered, her voice trembling with the tears she had been holding back ever since hearing all the insults at the beginning of break time. “Sorry for bumping into you.”
With a firm tug to pull her to her feet, Vi only let go of her hand once Caitlyn was sure she wouldn't slip again.
“Don’t mind it. Why are you running like this?”
“I... I'm…” she bit the inside of her cheek, trying to come up with a lie in time. But Caitlyn was a terrible liar, and the silence stretched on while Vi waited for an answer. Cursing herself internally, she murmured with a defeated posture, “I'm looking for something made of wood.”
“What for?”
“I don't want to fail this year,” Caitlyn choked in the middle of the confession, stubborn tears finding their way down her cheeks. She shuddered, her crying intensifying as it sank in that, by tomorrow, she would probably be known as the class crybaby.
“Alright,” Vi shrugged, nodding as if the explanation made perfect sense. “Then I'll help you. I don't want you to fail this year either.”
The search continued silently, with Vi walking beside her, checking the classrooms on the right side of the hallway while Caitlyn took care of the left wing.
“Does that work for you?” Vi squeezed her shoulder to get her attention, pointing to a ridiculously large and old grandfather clock at the back of an art classroom.
“Yes,” Caitlyn breathed out in relief, her silent crying finally coming to an end.
Vi waited for her at the doorway, watching with curiosity as Caitlyn carried out her ritual of knocking emphatically three times on the wood, waiting five seconds, and then knocking three more times just to be safe.
When Caitlyn returned to the hallway, she stared at her own feet, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome, Cait,” Vi smiled at her.
Back in the courtyard, she turned to head back to the classroom and waited for recess to end at her desk, without saying goodbye. She could only assume Vi wouldn't want to be seen with her anyway.
Caitlyn never knew exactly what had happened, but from that day on, no one ever picked on her again. In fact, some of the girls even started being nice to her.
————
In the following month, when the science teacher announced that one of the assignments would be done in pairs, Caitlyn sank a little lower in her chair to wait for the rest of the class to pair up so she could work with whoever was left over, as usual.
Instead, Vi appeared in her line of sight, scratching the back of his neck nervously, and after awkwardly pointing to the empty chair beside her, asked,
“Wanna be my partner?”
“Ahn…” Caitlyn stuttered, looking around as if she was waiting for some joke. Was someone recording it? Was it a prank? Or perhaps Vi lost some bet and had to do it? In any case, she supposed she could take him out of the misery of being paired up with her. “You don’t have to.”
“I know that. I want to.”
“Seriously?” Caitlyn stared in utter disbelief, to which Vi only nodded and pointed to the empty chair again.
“Can I?”
“Yeah,” she breathed, still a little confused, but so were the rest of the popular kids who were watching them from the other side of the class — so, at least, Caitlyn could conclude it wasn’t some stupid and cruel joke on her. “Yeah, I want to be your partner.”
“Cool.”
From then on, Caitlyn and Vi became inseparable.
————
“You know that staring at the envelope without opening it isn't going to change whatever's inside, right?” Vi raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms expectantly.
Leaning against the study desk in Caitlyn's bedroom, he seemed almost more anxious than she was.
“I know. But what if I didn't get in?” Caitlyn frowned, gently rocking back and forth. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring at the letter bearing the university symbol as though it were some terrifying monster. “Shit, Vi, I just jinxed it. Knock on wood.”
Without questioning it, Vi stretched out his arm and knocked three times on the wooden wardrobe. After receiving a sideways glance, he sighed and knocked three more times.
“Be real, Cait. If I got in, you got in. You've always had better grades than me, and your academic record is flawless. There's no way you didn't get in,” he pointed out, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he watched her nod weakly. “For God’s sake, just open it already. The suspense is killing me.”
At the end of high school, they had agreed to apply to the same university so they could share a dorm room. Vi hadn't been able to wait and had checked his acceptance letter as soon as he took it from the mailman's hands, but Caitlyn had been putting hers off for two days now, afraid of what she might find.
“I can't,” she whined, holding the letter out toward him and throwing herself backward onto the mattress as soon as Vi took the envelope from her hands. “Go ahead. You look and tell me.”
With an eye roll, Vi tore open the envelope and chuckled softly when he saw Caitlyn covering her face with both hands. He read the letter for a few seconds and, with a loud sigh, said,
“Damn, Caitlyn. I'm so sorry.”
“What?” She pulled her hands away from her face and jumped to her feet in one movement, her eyes wide and her breathing beginning to become uneven.
“Looks like you're doomed to have to put up with me for at least a few more years.” Vi laughed, waving the letter excitedly. “Since we're going to share a room at university!”
Caitlyn screamed, bouncing excitedly in place before throwing herself on top of him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck in a hug that almost sent them both crashing to the floor from the force of the impact.
————
On the first day of visitation at the university, when they would get to know the dormitory and campus facilities, Cassandra accompanied them on the trip. After taking a brief look at the place, the tiny room, and the even smaller bathroom, the older woman wrinkled her nose.
By the end of the day, she suggested renting an apartment close enough to campus that the two of them could walk there.
“I would actually love that, mom,” Caitlyn visibly relaxed her shoulders, which had been tense ever since she had witnessed the chaos of students moving through the dorm hallways and the small pranks already being played on unsuspecting freshmen.
Deep down, she was very afraid of all that would come with moving out of her parents' house — and the chaos, loud noise, and small space in the dorms weren’t exactly reassuring.
Caitlyn had never handled change very well, and starting university would definitely be the biggest one she had faced in her life up to that point. Going through it with Vi by her side made everything easier, of course, but no less terrifying. And just seeing all the disorder in the dormitories had her nerves completely on edge.
“I appreciate the suggestion, but I don't think I can afford that,” Vi said, looking a little downcast. The idea of having an entire apartment for the next few years was much more appealing than a dorm room with only one bathroom per room and a shared kitchen.
“Nonsense, my dear,” Cassandra dismissed the concern with a wave of her hand. “You're practically family, and also, we’re extremely happy that Caitlyn isn’t coming alone. So, you don't need to worry about that.”
“But…”
“Hush now, it's already settled,” she smiled warmly, draping one arm over his shoulders and the other over Caitlyn's, pulling them into a half-embrace. “My children, I can hardly believe I'll be away from you for the rest of the year.”
“Mom,” Caitlyn laughed through her nose, hugging her back. “We'll see you during the holidays. And on vacations.”
“I know, but I'm going to miss having you at home every day, darling,” she squeezed her a little tighter. “I'm also going to miss having you over at the house every week, Vi.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Kiramman. I'll miss that too.”
“How many times do I have to say it? Just Cassandra is perfectly fine,” she sighed, letting them go. “Let's have lunch, then we'll start looking for an apartment for you two in the neighboring districts.”
————
When the big day finally came — the day they would be officially moving in —, both Caitlyn's parents and Vander and Powder insisted on accompanying them to their new apartment.
Everyone helped carry the boxes up to the second floor (which resulted in many complaints from Powder about the building being old and not having an elevator), unpack some basic cleaning, kitchen, and bathroom supplies, and organize everything around the apartment.
In the end, Vander ordered two large pizzas, which were shared by everyone sitting in a circle on the living room floor, since the dining table and the couch Cassandra had bought would only arrive at the end of the week. The only furniture included with the rental was the kitchen furniture, and the beds had been scheduled for delivery that morning, so they were saved from sleeping on the floor and had received them as soon as they arrived.
It was a very exhausting day, but rewarding all the same. The goodbye hugs were a bit overwhelming, long and full of tears, but soon silence settled over the apartment while Caitlyn and Vi split up to wash and dry the dishes they had unpacked for dinner, since apparently the Kirammans were abnormal enough to eat pizza with a knife and fork.
“I can't believe classes start next Monday,” Caitlyn sighed, putting the last plate away in one of the cabinets.
“I know,” Vi smiled, wiping his hands dry on his jeans and receiving a disapproving look in return, which he ignored. “And we still have so much stuff to unpack.”
“Yeah. Good thing we came a week early.”
“Oh, wait. I have something for you,” Vi said suddenly, having almost forgotten in the chaos that the day had been.
“What is it?”
“Follow me.”
He crossed the apartment in long strides, opening the backpack leaning against the foot of the bed and rummaging through the clothes he had packed inside, searching for a poorly wrapped present.
“A housewarming gift,” he murmured, standing back up with the crumpled package in his hands. “Here.”
“Vi, I didn't get you anything!” Caitlyn complained, pushing her lower lip forward in a pout.
“You didn't have to. I just... It's something I've wanted to give you for a while, but I thought today would be a nice day to do it.”
Slowly, Caitlyn peeled away the tape holding the wrapping together, and the shiny paper tore apart completely in her hands. Chuckling softly, she pulled from the mess of wrapping a small wooden block that fit in the palm of her hand.
“Now you'll never have to run around or panic looking for wood again,” Vi explained, watching her turn the little block over in her fingers with fascination. “You can carry it in your pocket, and whenever you need it, you'll have your emergency wood block. It's solid wood, just the way you need it.”
“Vi…” Her voice faltered, and when she lifted her face to look at him, her blue eyes were shining with tears. “Thank you. I think this is the most meaningful gift I've ever received.”
“Nah, it's nothing,” he shrugged. “My father had some scraps of wood at home from a table he modified, so I just grabbed one of these and sanded it for you.”
Caitlyn took two steps toward him and hugged him, squeezing him so tightly that Vi couldn't breathe for a few seconds.
“I have a feeling this year is going to be a good one, you know?”
“I'm sure it will be,” Vi chuckled softly, feeling her let go and step back just enough to look at him with a curious raised eyebrow. “I'm living with my best friend and the classes I always wanted to take are starting next week. There's no way it could be bad.”
————
Ever since the beginning of college, a year ago, it had been common knowledge among Vi's friends that, if they wanted him to show up to any outing or event, it couldn't be scheduled on Thursdays. Thursdays were, religiously, his movie nights with Caitlyn.
Even though it was well-established knowledge, Ekko was still impressed by the fact that Vi had just turned down a date because the girl could only make it if they went out on a Thursday.
"Vi." Ekko threw his arms up in exasperation, looking at him as if he were crazy. "The prettiest girl in your class is asking you out, and you're going to say no?"
"I'm not free on Thursday," he replied simply, shrugging. "If Ahri wants to schedule it for another day, that's fine."
"Right, your Thursdays belong to Caitlyn," the boy raised an eyebrow mischievously, and Vi promptly ignored him. "Seriously, what's the deal with you two?"
"She's my best friend."
"So she'll understand if you cancel watching some boring documentary to go on a date with the girl of the dreams of half the campus." Ekko pointed at him, narrowing his eyes.
"They're not always boring documentaries, only when it's her turn to choose," Vi argued. "We alternate weeks. This one's my turn."
"You know that's not my point."
"I do, but I'm not canceling on her," he let out a long sigh, leaning back further in his cafeteria chair. "I'm not going to stand up to a years-long tradition with my best friend for a date, little man."
"I'd stand you up without thinking twice."
"And that's exactly why you don't have a best friend as I do," he shot back with a quiet laugh.
————
The week had barely begun — it was only Tuesday — and Vi knew Caitlyn was exhausted just by the way she came home and kicked off her boots, leaving them tossed carelessly by the door instead of putting them in the shoe cabinet she had insisted on having.
With slumped shoulders and her hair in a messy loose ponytail, Caitlyn mumbled a "good evening" on her way to her bedroom, barely slowing her dragging steps enough to hear his reply.
Vi glanced at the clock on the wall, which read 6:30 p.m. He was sitting on the couch, absentmindedly scrolling through his Instagram feed while waiting for Claggor, his ride to basketball practice.
Taking a deep breath, he jumped to his feet. Claggor usually arrived around 6:45 p.m. to pick him up, so he had a fifteen-minute window to make something for Caitlyn to eat for dinner — at this point, after sharing an apartment with her for almost two years, Vi knew she wouldn't have the heart to cook, nor to go downstairs to pick something up if she ordered delivery.
The following week would be exam week and, apparently, Caitlyn was already starting her exhausting study marathons.
She had been like that ever since they met in their early years — Caitlyn Kiramman refused to be anything less than perfect at whatever she did. And when it came to college, she wouldn't accept grades lower than a nine on her transcript, nor her extracurricular projects being marked with anything less than academic excellence.
Honestly, Vi had already given up trying to argue that she should take it easier on herself. It was the same as trying to talk reason into a wall.
What Vi actually did was try, with whatever was within his reach, to keep Caitlyn from burning out at twenty-two years old. On the way to the kitchen, he put her boots away in the cabinet by the door and, after washing his hands, opened the refrigerator to consider his options.
There was nothing thawed, so he would have to improvise.
In a record ten minutes, Vi had a grilled cheese sandwich with two eggs and a cup of chamomile tea ready. He heard the shower turn off and, shortly afterward, Caitlyn appeared in the living room wearing nothing but a pair of panties and a shirt far too big for her, one that covered little more than her hips, with her wet hair falling down her back.
It wasn't unusual — Caitlyn had absolutely no problem walking around the apartment with her legs exposed — but it was still something that always made his cheeks warm a little.
They had known each other for what felt like forever, and Caitlyn had always been adorable, but after puberty she had become dangerously attractive. Exactly the kind of girl Vi would hit on if she wasn’t her best friend and this could ruin the friendship. In moments like this, he became painfully self-conscious of that fact, while she always seemed far too lost in thought to notice the blush on his face.
"This is for you," Vi said, setting the plate down on the counter that divided the kitchen from the living room and sliding it toward her. "There's tea ready too."
"Thanks," Caitlyn said weakly, sitting on one of the tall stools by the counter, her posture completely defeated. "Are you heading out already?"
"Any minute now," he said, leaning his hip against the sink. "Just waiting for Clag to tell me he's here."
Caitlyn nodded slowly, resting her arms on the counter.
Looking at her more carefully, Vi could see the dark circles beneath her eyes and how heavy her eyelids looked. His phone chimed with a message from Claggor: down here.
"Try to get some rest after you eat," Vi told her, making his way toward the door.
"Do I look that bad?" She asked with a tired laugh. "I still have an essay to finish by tomorrow."
"Caitlyn, my dear, you look awful," Vi laughed through his nose, grabbing his bag on the way to the door.
“You do have a talent for talking to girls, don’t you?” Caitlyn teased, biting her sandwich.
"Thought that was obvious,” he shot back, smiling over his shoulder. “But seriously, don't stay up late. You've got all of next week for that."
"Don't remind me," Caitlyn grumbled, dropping her head onto her folded arms.
In Vi's pocket, his phone started ringing, signaling that his ride was running out of patience in the wait.
"The tea's chamomile!" He shouted as he walked out of the apartment.
"Thanks, Vi," her reply was cut short by the door closing.
————
It was already past midnight when Vi got back from practice.
He did his best to be quiet as he entered the apartment, not surprised to see the light in Caitlyn's bedroom still on. After taking off his sneakers and tossing his gym bag onto the floor of his own room, he walked back into the hallway and stopped at the door across from his, finding the girl dozing over her books at the desk beside her bed.
With a sigh, Vi gently shook her by the shoulder.
"Come on. It's time to go to bed," he whispered, watching Caitlyn wake sluggishly, blinking repeatedly to shake off her drowsiness.
"But I–"
"No." Vi guided her up from the chair by the arm, leading her to the bed. "You can finish what you were doing tomorrow."
Caitlyn grumbled softly, huffing under her breath, but she was too sleepy to protest any further than that. Her body practically collapsed onto the mattress, and Vi pulled the blanket up to her waist, picked up the mug from the desk to take it to the sink, and turned off the light before leaving the room entirely.
"Good night, Vi," she murmured, almost inaudibly.
"Good night, Cait."
————
"Do you need any help?" Caitlyn's voice came muffled, accompanied by two light knocks on the bathroom door.
Vi hissed quietly, shuddering as he pulled a little more on the tape compressing his chest. He had been using tape for years, and, when properly applied, it could last up to five days without bothering him — though the longer it stayed on, the stronger the adhesive became. Because of that, taking it off was always somewhat painful, with his skin left sensitive from the friction.
He hesitated before accepting.
But... it was Caitlyn, wasn't it?
Caitlyn, who had helped him buy his first roll of tape back when they were teenagers. Caitlyn, who, before that, used all the strength she had to help him wrap the white bandages Vi used to bind his chest every day — and also lectured him about all the negative effects it could cause, from the way it made it harder for him to breathe to how it could actually cause hairline fractures if used for too long. To be honest, she was the one who convinced him to buy the tape in the first place and pretty much changed his life about it, because that was way more comfortable.
If he couldn't trust Caitlyn with this, he definitely couldn't trust anyone else.
And it wasn't as if she hadn't already been part of this exact situation before — helping him remove the tape or even put it in — but her offer was always met with Vi's hesitation to accept. To let himself be so exposed and vulnerable in front of someone else, and to allow himself to accept help.
"Yes," he cleared his throat, admitting beneath a heavy breath as he unlocked the door and opened it just a crack. "Please."
"Isn't the oil helping?" She asked, pointing at the baby oil sitting on the sink.
"Not really. The adhesive's still really stuck."
"I'll be right back."
A few minutes later, Caitlyn returned carrying a pot of hot water and a washcloth. She set everything on the sink and, testing the water with her fingertips to make sure it wasn't hot enough to burn him, dipped the cloth until it was soaked.
Slowly, she pressed the wet cloth against the tape.
"I read online that warm water can help loosen the adhesive," Caitlyn said, completely focused on what she was doing.
"I see."
Something about the situation made Vi feel his throat tighten with something he couldn't quite name.
Knowing she had gone out of her way to look it up...
Well, he simply had the best best friend in the world.
After a few seconds, Caitlyn removed the cloth and began peeling back the tape. Vi couldn't explain why — maybe it was because of the hot water this time — but the process always seemed a little easier when she did it. Maybe she was more patient, peeling it off little by little, or maybe she was simply gentler because she wasn't the one feeling the discomfort.
Whatever the reason, he could never thank Caitlyn enough for everything she did for him.
She was always talking about how much Vi had saved her since they met, and he remembered perfectly well how their classmates had treated her before he had put an end to it, but Caitlyn had no idea how many times she had saved him in completely different ways over all those years of friendship.
He flinched at a particularly sensitive spot where the adhesive stubbornly refused to come loose.
"Sorry," she said, without looking away from what she was doing.
"It's fine."
It didn't take much longer for her to finish removing one strip, immediately turning her gaze toward the sink afterward. That was another detail that always made Vi's breathing grow a little heavier — Caitlyn never looked any longer than was strictly necessary to help, always looking away as soon as she could so he would have as much privacy as possible.
When she had completely removed the tape from the other side as well, Caitlyn picked up the pot and the cloth and quickly left, murmuring, "Call me if you need anything else."
With a heavy sigh, Vi briefly examined the irritation on his skin. It wasn't that bad, even though it was a little sore, but it would be better to let his skin breathe for a few days.
After taking a long shower and putting on one of the only oversized shirts he still had in his wardrobe — most of them he had left behind at his old house, where Vander still lived — Vi ran into Caitlyn in the hallway.
"Heading out?" He asked curiously, noticing that she was dressed and carrying a backpack.
"Yeah, I'm meeting Jayce," she confirmed, walking around him toward her bedroom. Returning with a book in hand, Caitlyn added, "We're doing a project together for one of our classes."
"Oh, nice."
Vi nodded, following her into the living room, where she stopped to put the book into her backpack.
It was really nice seeing Caitlyn making new friends.
It had taken her a while to adapt to the new routine, and Vi knew she was a little insecure about meeting new people — presumably because of the bullying she had endured throughout elementary school — but she was slowly overcoming it.
Thinking back to when they had first met made his stomach twist a little.
Vi couldn't understand why the other kids had been so cruel to Caitlyn, who was the sweetest girl he had ever met.
Sometimes she monopolized conversations with countless incredibly specific facts — like the time Vi had looked up at the sky and said, "Look, it's a blimp," only for Caitlyn to immediately correct him, "Actually, an airship has a rigid metal hull. It's not a blimp."
But, in his opinion, it was exactly the way she got excited telling him those things that made her so adorable.
Looking back on it now, Vi regretted not stepping in sooner, something he had already tried apologizing for after they became close, only to have Caitlyn dismiss him with an eye roll.
"Your shirt's stained," Caitlyn pointed out, vaguely gesturing toward a spot on the side of his torso.
"Ah, damn it," Vi huffed, stretching the fabric to look at the stain. It wasn't big, but it was definitely noticeable enough that he couldn't wear the shirt to class the next day. "I'll dig around for something else to wear tomorrow. I must have something in the back of the closet."
"I left the chicken to thaw, if you want to cook it for dinner." Caitlyn adjusted the straps on her shoulders, took her sneakers from the cabinet beside the door, and sat down on the couch to put them on. "If not, put it back in the fridge, and I'll cook it when I get home."
"Caitlyn, I hope you know I'm saying this with all the love in my heart." He placed both hands over his chest in an overly dramatic gesture. "But leaving that chicken for you to cook is the same thing as throwing perfectly good chicken in the trash."
"What?" Caitlyn slapped her hands against her thighs in pure indignation, her eyebrows knitting together.
"Sorry, Cait. You're a terrible cook," Vi laughed, raising both hands in surrender. "And that's okay. Everybody has to have at least one flaw, you know?"
"Oh, shut up," she muttered, finishing tying her shoelaces and standing up from the couch.
"At least you're lucky enough to live with your best friend, who's an amazing cook."
Caitlyn rolled her eyes dramatically at him and, in an incredible display of maturity, stuck her tongue out at him, though she didn't argue.
Deep down, she knew cooking wasn't her thing.
"Alright, chef," she teased before leaving. “See you later.”
————
Vi didn't see Caitlyn get home — it was routine for her to lose track of time whenever she got involved in a project, and he knew Jayce well enough to know the guy would have insisted on bringing her home, so he wasn't worried about it.
Their schedules didn't line up, so they usually only saw each other in the evenings and on weekends, when neither of them had any other commitments. So, when Vi got up in the morning to make something to eat before leaving, Caitlyn was fast asleep in bed.
He shook his head in disbelief as he peeked into her room and found her with a pillow covering her head to block the sunlight coming through a crack in the window that she often forgot to close.
He closed the window and the curtains before continuing with his routine.
On the counter dividing the living room and the kitchen, Vi found an ointment that, according to the label, was for wounds and skin irritation, along with a new oversized shirt from his favorite basketball team.
Beside them was a handwritten note.
"I invited Jayce to grab something to eat at the mall before we went to the library yesterday, so I took the opportunity to buy this for you. Have a good day, Vi. :)
— C.K."
————
Caitlyn wasn't the biggest fan of college parties.
She hadn't actually been to many. Caitlyn became easily overwhelmed by loud noise and the number of people, but this time she felt confident.
After getting perfect scores in all her classes and receiving the excellence award for the project she had done with Jayce, he and Mel had convinced her to go to the end-of-semester party organized by the university's athletic association.
It would be held in the campus gymnasium, which was still an enclosed space, but it was large enough for her to assume no one would be crammed together inside a tiny room, which was already halfway toward making the night enjoyable for her.
After one last look in the mirror to make sure her outfit looked acceptable — a pair of high-waisted denim shorts, a top with a slightly lower neckline than she usually wore, and her hair tied into a bun with a few loose strands framing her face — Caitlyn nodded to herself in satisfaction and left her room to find Vi in the living room.
Sure enough, as a member of the athletic association, he was going to the party. And, when he found out Caitlyn was going too, it hadn't been difficult to get one more seat in Mylo's car.
Their apartment was close enough to walk to campus, but the path to the gym where the party was being held would have been quite a long walk.
Caitlyn barely had time to tie the laces of her boots by the door while Vi told her Mylo was already downstairs and, in his words, "being an idiot and annoying the whole neighborhood with that unbearable horn."
————
Caitlyn was having more fun than she had expected.
The drink, despite being a mixture she had judged to be awful before tasting it, wasn't unpleasant. The music was louder than she would have preferred, but because the venue was large, it hadn't bothered her so far.
As soon as they arrived, Vi had been dragged away by the basketball team — he had tried to refuse, saying he didn't want to leave her alone, but Caitlyn assured him Mel and Jayce were waiting for her in the open bar line, so they split up.
She hadn't seen him again yet.
Just as they said they would, her new friends were waiting for her at the bar with two cups of jungle juice in hand, since Jayce was the designated driver of the night. So, one of the drinks was for her, and she scrunched up her entire face before taking a hesitant first sip, deciding it actually wasn't that bad.
By the end of the third cup, Caitlyn was already laughing at nothing, swaying in time with the music.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a girl gradually approaching until she was almost beside her. At the same time, Mel and Jayce raised an eyebrow in her direction.
When the girl leaned in to say something, Caitlyn saw her friends take advantage of the distraction to slip a little deeper into the crowd, probably looking for a moment alone — after all, as much as they were trying not to leave her by herself, they were dating and presumably wanted some time together too.
"What?" Caitlyn shouted over the music, unable to understand what the girl had said.
"I said you are really pretty," she repeated, louder this time, sliding one hand to Caitlyn's waist.
Caitlyn panicked.
The girl leaned in even closer, her nose brushing against Caitlyn's as she brought her lips near her ear and whispered,
"Wanna dance?"
Caitlyn swallowed hard, feeling her heart racing at an alarming speed because of the closeness.
It wasn't that she didn't want to — truly, it wasn’t the want the problem in her line of thought. The girl seemed nice, and she was beautiful, but she was obviously way more experienced than Caitlyn just from the way her hand tightened around Caitlyn’s waist and the smirk she gave in her direction.
That was, in fact, the problem — that Caitlyn had never kissed anyone before. And she was completely convinced it would be a disaster, so she wasn't willing to put herself through that embarrassment like that.
Taking one cautious step backward, she gestured emphatically toward the exit and stammered,
"I-I... actually, I... I'm going to get some air."
Before the girl had a chance to answer, Caitlyn practically ran away.
Outside the gym, on the main campus walkway, she took a deep breath, relieved by the cold air hitting her after hours of feeling overheated from the crowd packed inside.
As the wave of panic subsided, she let out a quiet groan and pressed the palms of her hands against her eyes as she processed what had happened over the past few minutes.
Caitlyn felt stupid.
It’s been a really long time since she wanted to kiss someone, because she felt like she was missing out on something.
It didn't have to be anything grand, but it hadn't happened yet because of the irrational fear lurking in the back of her mind that she'd be so bad at it she'd be ridiculed on the spot — and just when the perfect opportunity had landed in her lap, because in the worst-case scenario she could have simply run away from the stranger afterward, she had ruined everything.
"Hey, cupcake." She startled, lowering her hands to find Vi leaning against a tree a few steps away. "You okay?"
"Yeah." Caitlyn sighed, hugging herself as another gust of wind swept over her. Narrowing her eyes, she noticed the cigarette in his hand. "Weren't you trying to quit?"
"I am," Vi laughed through his nose, dropping the cigarette to the ground and crushing it under his foot. "What are you doing out here?"
"A girl just hit on me."
“That's a bad thing?" He raised an eyebrow, one leg bent with his foot resting against the tree trunk.
"No, I just… Shit, I panicked."
"Why?" Vi tilted his head, looking genuinely curious.
"I don't know," Caitlyn shrugged, rocking slightly with nervousness. "I just... I don't know. What if it was bad?"
"What about it? It’s not like you’ll see her again if you don’t want to, nor is it like it would be important to you.”
“Perhaps it would be important to me. Kissing is a big deal.”
“Alright, fair enough. I’m just saying that it’s okay if it’s bad, it’s just another kiss. I had several of those, and I'm alive to tell the story. It’s not like this would be your first or something.”
She froze for a few seconds, her cheeks heating with an uncomfortable blush she couldn't control.
"Well..." she dragged out the word, staring at her own feet.
"No fucking way."
Caitlyn shrugged again, still refusing to look at him.
"Are you for real?" Vi scoffed, disbelief evident in his voice. "Caitlyn, I remember that last semester you went on, like, three dates with... what was her name? That short redhead."
"Maddie," Caitlyn supplied, grimacing. "Yeah, I did."
"Three dates and you two didn't kiss?"
"No," Caitlyn winced, finally lifting her eyes to meet his again. "It just... didn't happen. I wasn't really that into her, I guess."
"Oh," Vi smiled, pushing himself away from the tree to stand beside her on the sidewalk. "I see it."
"What?"
"You're waiting for something special?" he asked, tilting his head, the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Like… One of that movie’s first kisses where sparks fly around you and your whole life is changed?”
"No," Caitlyn huffed, shaking her head. "That's not it."
"How do you think it'll happen? An open field, a knight arriving on a white horse–"
"Vi," she stuck out her lower lip, hugging herself tighter. She was a little overwhelmed from both the situation and the party, and feeling like he was mocking her wasn’t helping. “Stop making fun of me.”
"Oh, I’m sorry,” he sighed, dropping every trace of teasing from his voice as soon as he realized she was being distressed by it. A little more seriously, he added, "I have absolutely no intention of making fun of you, Cait. Sorry it came out that way."
"Okay. I know you don’t," she assured him, shaking her head. "Just don’t joke about this, please.”
“Sure,” Vi stepped closer, taking one of her hands and squeezing it in order to provide some comfort. “But I gotta disappoint you a little, cupcake.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kissing is overestimated. Also, it feels pretty much the same with everyone,” he stated, looking her in the eyes. “There’s no difference between kissing a stranger at a party and the love of your life. A kiss is a kiss, end of story.”
“I fear all romantic comedies disagree with you.”
“Yeah, and they’re all wrong,” Vi chuckled, shrugging lightly. “I mean, there are people more compatible with the way you kiss, at how you like being kissed. But all the butterflies and sparkles they mention? It’s bullshit, cupcake. Sorry to be the one breaking the news to you.”
“Oh, stop it. There’s got to be more magic than this,” Cailtyn protested, giggling fondly. “Have you ever kissed someone you were in love with?”
“I guess so,” he thought about it, playing with her fingers in his hand. “Remember Sarah? I dated her for a few months.”
“Yeah, I remember,” she answered, crunching her face to it. Caitlyn was never a big fan of Sarah.
“I liked her a lot,” he finished the thought, “And still felt like any other hookup I had in these parties. And trust me, I am speaking with a big baggage of experimental trials for my theory.”
Caitlyn laughed out loud, trying to cover her mouth with her free hand, only to be stopped by Vi, who caught her wrist gently and stared at her with a bright smile on his lips.
“Don’t hide like that,” he said in a low tone. “You look beautiful when you laugh. I know you don’t like that little gap between your teeth, but it’s one of the most adorable things about you.”
He was right — Caitlyn hated her tooth gap ever since kindergarten, back when it was one of the traits other girls used to bully her about. Covering her mouth while laughing was one of the unconscious habits that followed her since childhood.
“You’re so silly,” she murmured to him, her cheeks burning with the compliment.
Whenever Vi was drunk, he would say something sappy like that to her. But Caitlyn knew it was the alcohol talking, so she didn’t put much stock in it.
“Yeah, guess I am.”
The silence stretched out for a minute, Vi still holding her hand. Caitlyn didn’t fight the smile that followed, her tooth gap completely on display, and she felt the heat running down from her cheeks to her neck when her best friend smiled back.
“Well… I’ll have to take your word for the kissing matter,” Caitlyn said when she felt the silence was too loud to bear, clearing her throat.
“As I said, I’m speaking from a place of experience.”
“I know,” she chuckled, watching him let go of her hands. “But again, that’s not my problem. I’m not waiting for it to be a mind-blowing movie kiss.”
“What’s the problem, then?”
"It's just…" Caitlyn sighed, rubbing her hands over her arms. "I don't know how to kiss someone."
Vi stared at her for a few long seconds. And then, to Caitlyn's horror, he burst out laughing.
"Vi!" She complained, hitting his arm. "I knew it. I knew you'd think it was ridiculous."
"No, shit, sorry. I promise I don’t find it ridiculous, just caught me by surprise," he shook his head, trying to hold back the laughter. "Sorry, cupcake. It's just that... That's your big concern?"
"Yes."
"Cait, nobody knows how to kiss before their first kiss. You’re fine, I assure you."
"I know," she sighed. "Rationally, I know. It makes sense, I don't know how to do something I’ve never done before. But what if… What if I'm really bad?"
"So what if you are?" Vi shrugged. "Then you'll get better. Practice is the key."
"It's not that simple,” she grunted, frustration rising in her chest.
"It kind of is."
“What if I’m so bad that they’ll turn me into a joke?” Caitlyn asked, hesitant, her voice so small that it trembled in the edges of the words. “What if they laugh at me, and then I’m just eight years old again listening to how terrible I am in everything that I do?”
“Oh,” Vi held his breath, the reality of what this really was hitting his stomach like a thousand-pound rock. “I’m… Fuck, Cait, I’m sorry you ever had to deal with any of this shit when you were younger.”
“Vi, it’s–”
“Sorry I didn’t step in as soon as I met you," he interrupted her, borrowing his browns. Vi brought his hand to her face, cupping her cheek. “I wish I could’ve met you sooner and prevented all of this from happening to you.”
“I already told you, you did save me back then,” Caitlyn whispered, pressing her face into his palm. “Don’t beat yourself over it. I’m fine now, I’m just… Scared. Of trying something new, in which I’ll probably suck.”
“If it helps, I was pretty bad in my first kiss,” Vi laughed through his nose, dropping his hand from her cheek. “I had no fucking clue what I was doing.”
“Not really helpful, since it is expected that your first kiss when you’re fourteen years old is going to be awful,” Caitlyn huffed. “Being twenty-two and having no fucking clue about what I should do, as you put it, it’s just downright embarrassing.”
“No, it’s not.”
“C’mon, Vi. It is.”
He sighed, pushing his hands in his pockets.
“You know what you should do?” Vi asked, narrowing his eyes. When she gestured to him to continue, he replied, ”You should kiss a friend.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously. If you’re afraid about the reaction of who you’re going to kiss, you should just ask to do it with someone you trust. If you know they’re not going to make fun of you even if it’s bad, you don’t have to panic about it.”
Caitlyn took a moment to think about it. It was, actually, a pretty good idea — as she stated since the beginning of the conversation, she didn’t really mind who she was going to kiss. She wasn’t waiting for magic or for love, but she wanted to have that experience in college.
And, if she could practice with someone she trusted… Perhaps that was exactly what she needed, to go through it all at once and overcome this stupid and irrational fear. Then, Caitlyn would be able to finally date someone.
“That’s a great idea, Vi.”
“What can I say? I am a genius,” he gave her a convincing smile that earned him a roll of eyes.
She thought about who she could ask for it. It wasn’t like Caitlyn had an enormous list of friends — Mel was dating Jayce, so she was out of the table. She and Maddie did stay friends after the disastrous dates they had, but asking her after a year of that would be just humiliating. There was a nice girl in one of her classes that wasn't exactly a friend, but maybe…
But then, looking at Vi while she considered it, Caitlyn felt stupid for the second time of the night. Because her answer was right in front of her.
Who else would be better for this? She trusted her life to Vi, why wouldn’t she trust him with her first kiss as well? Also, after all that talking, Caitlyn was sure he wouldn’t find it weird. So, she took a deep breath and asked,
“Would you kiss me, Vi?”
“Oh, me?” He raised one eyebrow, as if he was genuinely surprised by the request.
Caitlyn almost rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, you. You’re attractive, you’re clearly experienced, you know my reasons,” she listed. “Also, you’re my best friend. There’s no one I would trust more for this than you.”
“So, you think I’m attractive?" He bit back a laugh, swaging his eyebrows suggestively just to break the tension he could feel in Caitlyn’s posture.
“Oh, stop it,” she rolled her eyes for real this time, the corner of her lips tugging in a contained smile. “I’m not blind, Vi. Yes, you’re handsome.”
“You’re not bad yourself, cupcake.”
“You can say no, if you think it would be weird. I won’t be offended. No hard feelings, I promise,” she said, the word leaving her lips in such a rush she feared he wouldn’t understand them. Shyly, she asked again, “Would you kiss me?”
A few seconds passed in silence, and it felt like an eternity to Caitlyn. She tried her best not to squirm under Vi’s gaze, his eyes glued to her face like he was trying to pierce through her.
“Yeah. If you want me to.”
“I do.”
“Alright,” he nodded, taking some steps back. “Give me a minute first. Just wait for me here, please.”
“Where are you going?” Caitlyn frowned, watching as Vi turned around to go back into the party.
“I won’t take long, I promise,” Vi shouted over his shoulder, disappearing through the door.
Caitlyn took a deep breath, anxiety tingling her fingertips and spreading beneath her skin like something alive. Honestly, she could barely believe it — after so long agonizing over her first kiss, it would finally happen. And, surprisingly enough, she wasn’t scared. Knowing it would be Vi, and that he would never do anything to harm her, was really comforting.
She was quite excited about it, actually.
That’s why the few minutes it took for her best friend to return to the outside area felt like an eternity, time dragging on and amplifying the energy buzzing in her body. When she spotted the pink hair coming out of the gym again, Caitlyn had to fight the urge to squirm.
“Sorry,” Vi muttered under his breath, stopping right on her side. “I went looking for some gum. Figured you wouldn’t like to kiss me with the taste of cigarettes."
“Oh,” Caitlyn’s face warmed at that, not sure why she still got caught by surprise by her best friend's attentiveness. Regardless, she cleared her throat and turned to him, feeling the anxiety like a lump in her chest. “Thank you.”
“Yeah, no problem.”
“So…” she exchanged her weight from one foot to another, wetting her dry lips with her tongue. Vi’s eyes chased the movement. “How do we do this?”
“I mean… If you’re looking for tips, maybe don’t ask “how do we do this?” as if you’re dealing with a transactional business,” he smiled, taking one step closer. “But to be fair, your next kisses will probably feel more natural than this.”
“How so?” she asked, tilting her head slightly.
Caitlyn wanted to learn everything she could from this. If she could do it step by step with Vi, she would know what to expect for the next time with a stranger, and it wouldn’t be terrifying.
“Usually, kisses don’t start of nowhere. There’s gonna be flirting, y’know?” Vi raised an eyebrow, now standing in front of her, close enough to their arms to touch. “It’ll set the mood for it better than negotiating your first kiss with your best friend, but I’m just guessing here.”
Caitlyn giggled, the tension in her shoulders dissolving in the magnetic atmosphere that Vi brought within himself. At least she already knew how to flirt — besides all the time she had spent practicing lines she either read or saw in a movie, Caitlyn had some experience with it. Proof of that was the three dates she had with Maddie last semester, even though it didn’t turn out great in the end.
“Okay, so you need to flirt with me,” Caitlyn took a deep breath. “Like you mean it. Pretend you’re really interested in me.”
“I don’t think I need to pretend that hard, Cait,” Vi whispered, leaning in her direction. “If you weren’t my best friend, I would’ve been dying to get a chance with you from the first moment I laid my eyes on you.”
He stopped a few inches from her, their noses bumping lightly. Caitlyn watched the way his eyebrows furrowed, his eyes widening a little, as if he was alarmed by what he just said. She blinked and laughed softly under her breath.
“Wow,” she murmured, and Vi was so close now that she could feel his breathing in her face. “You’re good at this. No wonder you do have tons of experience with girls.”
Closing his eyes briefly, Vi laughed along.
“If I were really flirting with you,” he brought his hand to her cheek, cupping her face and stroking his thumb on her skin. “I’d say you’re the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”
“You don’t need to go that far,” Caitlyn rolled her eyes, smiling beside herself. Her whole body was reacting to him, her heart racing and her ears heating up — she needed to remind herself that it wasn’t real. Vi was just talking.
“I wouldn’t be lying.” He kept caressing her cheek, his gaze piercing through her like he wanted to read her mind. “You are the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”
“If we were flirting,” she moved an inch closer, brushing their lips. “I would’ve answered that I could also be the prettiest girl you’ve ever kissed.”
Vi searched for her eyes before moving, confirming without words that she was sure about it. When she nodded, he finally closed the distance between them and gently pressed his lips against hers.
Caitlyn didn’t know what to do, so she just waited for a bit, closing her eyes and feeling the softness of his mouth. Slowly, Vi pulled her by the waist, bringing her impossibly closer — his body was warm, and she gasped softly when he parted his lips, the strangeness of all the new sensations creeping into her thoughts.
He tasted like mint. Trembling slightly, Caitlyn intertwined her arms around his neck, one of her hands grabbing his shirt fabric as if she needed to anchor herself somehow, and she tried to copy him — the way he was moving, how he parted his lips and tilted his head a little bit. There was a warming sensation buzzing in her chest, spreading through her body pleasantly, making her lightheaded and curious for more.
Even though this should be expected, Caitlyn was surprised about how wet and hot the whole thing was. Vi squeezed her waist, freeing one of his hands to slide it up her body — Caitlyn felt every inch of her skin prickling where he touched, her heart hammering against her ribs with such force she wondered if she should worry about that.
When he reached her neck, Vi ran his fingers through her hair, closing them around the roots without much force on it. He tugged very gently, guiding her face up to deepen the kiss, but the feeling of his tongue pressing against her lips startled Caitlyn, and she couldn’t avoid the way her body jerked with the contact.
“Too much?” He asked, letting go of her mouth and moving back a little so he could look at her. Still close enough that Caitlyn felt his uneven breaths on her skin.
Caitlyn didn’t find her words fast enough to reply. Instead, her gaze was focused on how Vi’s lips were red from the kiss. The realization hit somewhere deep inside her stomach — that she was the one who made his lips red and swollen. She was the one who disrupted his breathing, who dilated his pupils.
An electric shock ran through her spine. Without thinking too much about it, Caitlyn brought her hand to his face, pressing her thumb on his lips, as if she was admiring the way they looked. When she met his eyes again, she saw he was still waiting for her to answer.
“It wasn’t too much,” she said, sounding almost out of breath. “Just different.”
“Bad different or good different?”
His mouth moved under her finger when he spoke, and a shiver crossed her arms with the feeling. She thought about it, her skin on fire where he was still touching her. It had startled her, sure, but Caitlyn soon realized she didn’t want to stop just yet — God, could she be addicted to kissing just from the first time she was doing it?
But Vi felt too good for her to wrap her mind about it right now. Instead, she pressed his lips a little more, and answered in a thread of a voice,
“Good different,” she gulped, moving her hand to his cheek. “Can you kiss me again?”
“As many times as you want, baby,” Vi murmured, his shining blue eyes sparkling affection towards her.
The pet name probably shouldn’t affect her as badly as it did. Caitlyn choked on a breath, urging forward to catch his mouth on hers again.
This time, it didn’t feel weird. She knew what to expect, so when she opened her lips on his, his warmth made her shudder, intertwining her fingers in his pink hair to hold him close. When Vi tilted her head again and pressed his tongue to her mouth, Caitlyn gave way to him, whining softly from how good it felt.
Caitlyn understood now why people were obsessed with this. How could she have gone so long without kissing before? The way Vi’s mouth molded to hers, how his tongue explored her mouth while his hands tightened her waist — it all felt like heaven.
She felt Vi’s gasp more than she heard it, as she stretched his scalp softly. His arms tensed around her body, and Caitlyn felt drunk in a different way, which had nothing to do with the alcohol she had been drinking at the party.
This was a different type of drunkenness.
One that made her feel weightless, her bones melting into Vi’s touch. Her skin on fire, and an itch in the deep of her stomach asking for more, making her fight her need for air so she could keep kissing him a few seconds more.
Eventually, Vi broke the kiss to breathe, pulling away after a few pecks on her lips. They faced each other in silence, equally uneven breaths, pupils blown wide. Caitlyn giggled quietly, blinking in an attempt to clear her mind.
“Now I see why you’re always kissing at these parties,” she said in an amused tone. “I didn’t know this would feel so good.”
“Actually, it…” Vi started to say something, but trailed off, wrinkling his nose. He looked into her eyes, seeming almost confused, and then cleared his throat and took a step back. “Yeah, right.”
Caitlyn did her best not to show the disappointment she felt about the distance he was putting between them, her arms dropping to her sides while he got out of her reach. Deep down, she wanted to ask for another kiss, but he had already done enough for her, so she shut the thought down.
“Thank you,” she muttered, still lighthearted and smiling.
Vi opened his mouth and closed it without saying anything, his eyes darkened by something Caitlyn couldn’t decipher. She definitely wasn’t the best at reading the room, but now she was pretty sure things were a bit awkward.
“No need to thank me for that,” he replied, at last, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Wanna go back to the party?”
“Was it bad?” Caitlyn furrowed her brows. Why was Vi acting so weird? Could it possibly have been that bad for him if it felt so good for her?
“No,” Vi blinked, shaking his head to emphasize the answer. “No, Cait, you’re a good kisser. I promise.”
“Is there any other problem, then?”
“Nope,” he swayed on his feet, restless. “It’s just cold outside, and I guess I could use a drink.”
“I’m gonna stay here a little bit,” Caitlyn bit the inside of her cheek, unsure about going back to the party. She could hear the music from where they were now. “Not looking forward to being on the loud noise again, to be honest.”
“Okay,” Vi nodded, hesitating before leaving. He glanced at her one more time. “Want me to stay with you?”
A cold breeze passed by, and Caitlyn felt the hair on her arms stand on end. She should go back, but the idea sounded so terrible — the music was louder, she could imagine more people had arrived, and she was feeling tired about all the new emotions she just went through.
“No, I’m good. Go ahead,” she gestured through the gym. “I’ll probably head back home soon.”
“Do you have a ride?”
“Jayce was going to drop me off, but I don’t know if he and Mel will be leaving anytime soon. I’ll call an Uber if they wanna stay longer.”
Vi didn’t like the idea, if the face he made was any indicator at all, but he also wasn’t ready to offer to go home with her, for what it seemed.
“I’ll share my location if that’s the case,” Caitlyn assured him. “You can go.”
“Alright,” he sighed. “Let me know about it. I’ll be checking my phone.”
“Sure thing.”
“Thanks, cupcake,” Vi smiled at her, taking a few steps backwards. He sighed one more, passing one of his hands through his hair, and added, “Don’t worry about the next person you’re gonna kiss. You’re good.”
“Thank you, darling,” Caitlyn smiled back, her cheeks burning with the compliment.
She saw as Vi’s step faltered a bit, and he coughed and turned around. When he disappeared into the crowd by the door, Caitlyn picked up her phone and texted her group chat with Mel and Jayce.
[01:56] Caitlyn
Where are you guys?
[01:57] Mel
We’re close to the bar
Actually, I was just about to ask you where you are. I haven’t seen you for a while 👀
I’m assuming you had a good time?
[01:57] Caitlyn
You’re assuming right
But I’m tired, and it’s getting late. I’m thinking about going home
I don’t want to cut your fun, tho. I’ll call an uber
[01:58] Mel
Don’t, darling
We were going to ask what time you wanted to leave bc we’re also tired, lol
Meet us at the parking lot?
[01:58] Caitlyn
On my way!
Before putting away her phone, she opened her chat with Vi.
[01:59] Caitlyn
I’m going home with Jayce and Mel, don’t worry
Enjoy the party :)
[02:03] Vi
alright. will do
sweet dreams, cupcake
Caitlyn chuckled, starting to walk to the parking lot while she scrolled through her messages until she found a specific contact. She could still feel the ghost of Vi’s lips on hers, her mouth probably swollen too, and she blushed as her heart raced again with the memory alone.
Once she found the contact, Caitlyn clicked to start a new chat.
It was with a girl named Gert, which Caitlyn didn’t know yet — the only information she had was that Gert was from Jayce’s class and was interested in her. Jayce had been trying to act as a wingman for some weeks and shared Gert’s number with her, but she was postponing calling her because of the kissing matter.
But this was solved now. And, to be completely honest, Caitlyn was buzzing in excitement thinking about kissing again and feeling as good as she just did. After all, Vi told her every kiss felt the same, didn’t he?
She considered what she should say, and opted for staying simple.
[02:07] Caitlyn
Hey, Gert! This is Caitlyn :)
Jayce gave me your number. Sorry for not reaching out sooner, I was kind of losing my mind over my finals lol
Wanna hang out sometime this week?