BUTTERFLY FEELINGS

Orange juice or Hot chocolate?

    I woke up with my hair all tangled and a little disoriented, I was not in my room, it was orange and green, flowers everywhere, a thousand and one pillows on the bed when I put my feet on the floor, the long purple shag carpet tickled my toes. Next to me, a light snore drew my attention, Ana was sleeping in her flowery pajamas (not surprising considering the room) and drooling on her pillow (flowery print).

I was walking down the hallway barefoot, I passed a large mirror and hardly woke up it caught me by surprise. I wear my clothes from yesterday, my green dress is all wrinkled. There is nothing left of my French braid and the elastic is stuck in my hair, my dark circles are still there. I stand there in front of this face, completely stoned. Suddenly a door opens and Mael comes out, he's wearing gym shorts, shirtless, and is rubbing his hair still wet from the shower I guess, he hasn't seen me yet. "Wow! Didn't see you, slept well?"

At the look on my face, a smile began to form on his angelic face.

"Hi, Mael calling Grace here?"

"What? Ah, good morning."

"Are you okay? You look lost."

"I don't really remember how I ended up in Anna's room."

"It was late and you fell asleep on my shoulder. We didn't want to wake you up so I took you to Anna's room."

"Thank you so much for letting me sleep here, I don't like going home alone when it's dark."

"It's normal, we wouldn't have let you go home alone. No matter what time it was, I would have taken you home."

***

Sitting on the old blue leather sofa, a goose poo-colored fleece blanket I would say. The window of the balcony was open allowing the morning songs of the birds to pass by. In the kitchen, September by Earth, Wind & Fire played on the radio.

My thoughts were running away to the words Mael had told me earlier. The smell of hot chocolate made me come back to the living room. Mael handed me a cup in the shape of a teddy bear, he sat down beside me with a red cup filled with... orange juice?

He guessed my thoughts, "I can only drink that in the morning."

I chuckled, I hadn't imagined Mael that way.

"What! Why are you laughing? Does it surprise you?"

"I pictured you more with a big, black, bitter coffee."

"Bitter?"

"I don't know...you looked so serious to me in the library, so tall, so...grown up?"

"Thanks for your honesty but you know, I'm only twenty-two. I have a calm and serious side but when it comes to having fun, I'm not the last one!"

"I know! I saw it yesterday!"

"Yeah, I had a great time last night with you and the two monsters."

"You are an inseparable trio, you've known each other for so long it's great..."

"You know I think yesterday Leo and I adopted you so now we're pretty much a quartet."

"Do you really mean what you say?"

"I mean everything I say! No lying is allowed in this flat share. You are our friend."

With tears welling up in my eyes, I put my now almost cold cup on the coffee table to wipe away my tears.

"Hey, Grace..." Mael pulled himself close to me, rubbing my back.

"I've always wanted real friends with whom we can tell each other everything without any judgment and just be ourselves."

"And you think we could be those friends you need?"

I raised my head, "Yes...I think so."

"I think so too, I may not have many friends but when I do, it's for life," he said, taking me in his arms.