Short Stories | Sean x Kaycee

Anchor

Wrote this while waiting and during my flight. I get so emo at airports, you see.

*****

She didn't know how long she had been staring at her ceiling. All she remembered was how the deep golden sunlight bathed her walls and slid up to the ceiling as the sun sunk beneath the horizon. Now, the moonlight shone through her windows, blanketing the earth with its pale luminescence.

She could say that night was her favorite time of the day. It was the time when all the rush of the day run through her head, giving her a temporary high, and then a sense of calmness would wash over her. It was her mind telling her that you did well today; you can rest now. And then she would do just that, mulling over the things she was grateful for, taking notes of the not-so-good things so she can learn from it.

But that wasn't the case right at that moment.

As she stared up at the ceiling in her dark room, eyes burning, she could feel her heart get heavier with every tear that slid down at the side of her eyes.

She didn't know how long she had been crying. All she remembered was how she felt so powerless the moment she read those words.

She was never this bothered by opinions because it was all that were –opinions. She was rather fond of reading them and take it as a constructive criticism, a learning experience. So she didn't know why it bothered her now.

She jumped as her phone rang from beside her, hiccuping as she craned her head to look at the screen. She groaned, seeing who it was, sinking her head back to the pillow and cried in frustration.

"No..." she cried to no one in particular and wished that the ringing would stop.

But what could she do? He knew she wasn't asleep at that time, and even if she pretends to be, it was unlikely for her. He always call right at that hour, and they would talk until they become drowsy.

Still sniffing, she pulled up the hood of her sweater, drew the string until the hood shrunk and covered her entire face, leaving a small hole before answering his Facetime call. Good thing he was used to her weirdness.

"Hey, Kayc– what are you doing?" he answered with a laugh. She couldn't see him, but she knew he had this amused look on his face.

"I-I got a pimple on my forehead," she answered, her voice muffled due to the hood still covering her face.

"Uh...so?"

"Sean...it's not really pleasant to the eyes," she whined.

"Since when did you become so conscious with your pimples? You know I don't mind," he said, a hint of amusement lacing his voice.

"I-It's also cold," she said, almost desperate. She didn't want him to see her face.

"O-kay? Then at least leave your eyes uncovered. I want to see your eyes."

"Sean..."

"Please, rice bowl?"

Kaycee sighed, relenting. Slowly, she stretched the drawn hood, now displaying her face. She hesitantly looked at the screen, and saw how his grin faded as he took in her face. She quickly averted her eyes.

"Kaycee," he started, his voice dropping, growing soft. "What happened?"

She couldn't tell him; she had to think fast. "I-I was watching a movie. Up. I was watching Up," she said almost too quickly, shooting him a furtive glance.