Say Hello For Me

t h i r t y - f i v e || surprises

Raindrops fall from the wispy, gray clouds scattered amongst the dark night sky, each individual drop tapping against the window pane. The syncopation of the rain's decent nearly replicates the seconds ticking by on the clock in Nessa's kitchen. She's in the middle of an embarrassing dance combination when a loud knock on the door pulls her attention away from the music blasting through her headphones. She yanks the headphones out of her ears on the way to the door, dodging the maze of art supplies and mismatched papers on the floor.

Over the course of a week, her apartment has become an obstacle course due to all of the exams. Ironically, the only one she thinks she's aced is calculus. That's all thanks to one person in particular.

Vy is standing on the other side of the wooden door with a bright, authentic smile painted on her face. Her curly hair is braided into two pigtails, taking away nearly five years of her age. She's wearing a pair of bunny slippers and pink pajamas, the handle of an umbrella wrapped securely around the palm of her hand. A collection of Nicholas Sparks' movies rests in the other.

"Where are your pajamas, Ness?" Vy teases as she slides through the front door, resting the umbrella against the wall. "Did you forget about movie night?"

"These are my pajamas." Nessa frowns, her eyes falling down to her old, baggy t-shirt that looks more like a dress than anything else. "And of course not. I was just about to text you."

While Vy slides the discs into the DVD player, Nessa peers out through the window overlooking Seattle. The downfall has only flooded the streets. In the distance, she sees a lightning bolt crackle through the sky, illuminating the hidden stars. A loud clap of thunder follows, nearly shaking the entire building let alone her individual apartment.

"God, it looks really bad out there," Nessa says. "How the hell did you drive in this?"

Vy shrugs, stepping back once the movie has started playing on the TV screen. "It really wasn't that bad when I left. If it stays this way, I might be spending the night here."

"The guest room is practically yours already."

After Nessa goes to grab a blanket and pillow from her bedroom, she comes back to find Vy staring at a pile of maroon cloth sitting helplessly on the couch cushion. Their eyes meet for half of a second before Vy bends down and picks up the hoodie, her fingers curling around the material. Beneath the sound of the rain pattering on the window, Nessa's heart is racing. She doesn't know how to decipher the emotions spinning inside of her.

Her lips part with half of an explanation in mind, but Vy beats her to the front of the line.

"Is this what I think it is?" Vy asks, her brown eyes landing on Nessa's. "Oh my God."

"I can ex—"

"Oh my God," Vy repeats, clapping her hands together gleefully. "Liam's going to be so happy. I have to tell him immediately!"

Nessa can't keep up with Vy's rapid movements across the living room. One second, she's standing in front of the couch. The next, she's hovering over her purse, digging through its contents for her phone.

"Tell him what?" Nessa asks anxiously, digging her nails into the skin at her wrist. She has a habit of fidgeting when she's nervous.

"That I found his maroon hoodie. We were looking for it the other day. He thought he lost it!"

"That's . . . good. I'm going to go make some popcorn for the movie," Nessa volunteers, desperate to change the subject at hand.

All she can think about as she pulls down a bag from the counter is the tangled web she has gotten herself into. Someone's going to get hurt, and she can't bear the thought of Vy going under. Nessa's never really believed in fairytales or the happy endings. Now, she's certain they don't exist.

"So, how was the study date?" Vy shouts over the sound of the popcorn popping in the microwave.

"It wasn't a date," Nessa replies a little too defensively, obviously on edge over the entire situation.

"You know what I meant, Nessa! Did he help you at all? Is he actually as good at calculus as he claims?"

"Yeah," Nessa admits. "He's probably the only reason I—"

Three crisp, loud knocks on the door stop Nessa mid sentence. At the same time, the microwave starts beeping.

"Can you get that for me, Vy?"

"Yeah, of course!"

While Vy runs to get the door, Nessa carefully pulls the bag of popcorn out of the microwave. Steam diffuses into the air through the opening in the bag, filling the apartment. She decides to leave the bag on the kitchen counter to cool down before she makes her way back to the living room.

"Who is it?" Nessa asks, poking her head out from behind the wall.

A boy with dark blonde curls stands in the doorway with hands sheepishly tucked into the pockets of his jeans. His shoes have left footprints down the carpeted hallway, completely drenched from the pouring rain outside. It looks like he's spent the past five minutes pacing in the rain. His glasses are foggy, the blue in his eyes barely visible behind the frame. He's panting heavily, like he's been running up multiple flights of stairs because the elevator took forever to clear out. There's a look of urgency in the way his lips refuse to close. A thousand words are resting on the tip of his tongue, but he's not the first one to speak.

Vy is.

"Liam?"