Girls With Luv

TWENTY-SEVEN April

"That makes four of them." Vilhelm laughs as Julian and Liya very subtly make a run for the bedroom.

"I mean, is the movie really that bad?" I ask, slightly disappointed. "I thought Christmas movies are supposed to be fun."

"They are fun. It's just that the plot is a little too cliched."

"Whatever." I stop the film and sit like a pouty child.

"Hey, come on. We can watch something else, I'm nowhere close to sleepy."

"Really?" I look at him with puppy eyes and he laughs. I am not a movie freak, to be honest. In fact, I rarely ever watch them. But having a buddy to share the pain with sounds fun sometimes and since neither of us is sleepy, we might as well have some screen entertainment.

"Yeup. Anything but romance though. I think we've had enough for tonight."

"You got it." I crawl towards the tiny film collection and surf through the options, rolling my eyes at every Rom-Com that breezes past my gaze. Seriously though, there are other genres too. I feel Vil's presence right next to me and I try my best to not show the effect that has on me, probably succeeding in it because keeping calm comes naturally to me. As if on cue, I find a good distraction. "How do you feel about horror?" I turn to face him with bright eyes, only to realize that he is too close, our noses almost bumping. It's weird that none of us goes all awkward or let's-clear-throats-to-make-the-moment-pass uncomfortable. Of course I see no point in reading too much into it.

"I feel like it'll be a shame to let it go to waste."

I squeal with excitement and immediately put on the CD. Normally, Liya is my horror marathon buddy and we do it after Spencer goes to sleep. That child is terrified of the genre and stays miles away from even a whisper that mentions horror. Liya and I, on the other hand, literally face withdrawal symptoms when we become too detached from the world of ghouls and ghosts and spirits and psychopaths. It works out well because if the horror sticks to our brain cells longer than necessary, Spencer's dragging complaints about it make the pain go away almost immediately.

Vil and I settle down on the sofa and face the screen, waiting for the creepy sounds to begin playing. I'm unfazed most of the time unless the plot is crazy enough to make a sober soul like me go absolutely nuts. It's a good thing that The Conjuring is having at least some effect on my composure, which goes out of the window the moment Vilhelm decides to pull a prank and slowly spill water on my neck, causing me to jump afright.

"YAH!" I yell while the perpetrator holds his stomach and laughs. The film keeps playing and I put a hand on my heart to steady it. "You are dead meat." I grab my water bottle and don't give him even one second before emptying it on his head. But to my discontent, he just laughs it off and pats the space next to him, silently asking me to sit back and continue watching the film. I roll my eyes and maintain good distance between us because I live with Spencer, which means I gradually learnt how to be a pouty kid in situations that demand such a behavior.

Ten minutes later, I feel another warm touch on my skin but it isn't slimy or creepy as the previous one. Instead, it is a safety net that speaks of possible promises that require acknowledgment. I steal a glance towards our now entwined hands and smile slightly. I don't know what confident ghost decides to boost me up because I end up nudging closer to Vil and putting my head on his shoulder, our hands still the same. Together, we watch the rest of the film in silence.

* * *

"No, but your hair is long enough to be put in a ponytail!" I explain as I run after Vil with a rubber band in my hand.

"I prefer to leave my hair open, thank you very much." He goes behind the kitchen counter and I jump over it before he can run away, trapping him between the wall and my outstretched legs.