a tiny bit lonely

The small light from the red lava lamp is the single reason why the room is illuminated. The moonlight has been obstructed by the thick dark curtains, so none of the natural light from outside is welcomed. Everything else seems so dark; the walls, the carpeted floor, the heavy bed covers, and even the ceiling. The lava lamp is careful to light up only the desk in the corner of the room where a silhouette is there with its head bowed down.

Finally, Nakiri Erina forces her head up. She turns on the phone in her hand, but is disappointed that there are no notifications to show. She doesn't know whether to laugh at herself or cry because this situation she's in is certainly outrageous for a person like her.

"Erina~" someone sings from her door. Judging from the carefree tone, Erina assumes it's Nakiri Alice.

"Come in," she calls out.

The door creaks open and Alice's immediate reaction is, "Why is it so dark in here?!"

Erina rolls her eyes and looks over to where Alice is standing. Due to the door being open, light has surged in her room, rendering the lava lamp's duty as useless. Alice, meanwhile, stands with her hands on her hips on the doorway with a concerned look on her face. Although due to her position, Alice front looks darker in comparison.

"I'm saving electricity." Erina says blankly.

"Please, Earth Day isn't for another month or so. You're just depressed," Alice points out with a smirk. She walks over to the light switch and turns it on, causing Erina to squint at the sudden brightness.

Erina sputters out, "I-I'm not depressed! Plus, we should help the Earth even if it's not Earth Day!"

Alice, this time, rolls her eyes at that. She comments, "You're totally depressed."

"S-shut up!" Erina is blushing at this point. She cries out, "Get out of my room! I shouldn't have let you in!"

"How many days has the light been off?"

"Ugh, Alice!"

As if struck by lightning, Alice stays still with her jaw dropped on the ground. She accuses her dear cousin, "You've been cooped up here since Yukihira-kun went with Megumi-chan to Kyoto! You're jealous!"

"No, I'm not!" Erina screeches. She immediately walks up to Alice and pushes her out of the door in a flash. With a heating glare, Erina slams the door right in her cousin's face, unafraid of any consequence that would happen.

Alice wants to laugh because the way Erina's cheeks brightened at the mention of Souma is an obvious sign of the girl's true feelings.

As Erina prepares for another day in school, she notices how the clouds are dark today as well.

She sighs with disappointment because everything nowadays are not going her way. She can't seem to focus during lectures, cooking seems to be a chore, and even her God Tongue refuses to cooperate with her. It's like she wants to do something well, but her body just can't seem to follow her instructions. She wonders if she's suffering from some kind of sickness. A fever, perhaps?

"Erina-sama! We should be off to school now if we want to go there on time!" she hears Hisako say.

"Ah!" Erina jumps in surprise. "All right..."

She follows Hisako through the high expensive hallways of the Nakiri mansion.

"Are you okay, Erina-sama?" Hisako says with worry. "You look unwell today. Would you like a cup of tea?"

"No, it's fine," Erina tells her with a smile. "I'm sure I can live."

"But nowadays it seem you're losing focus. You're performance is not at its best."

"Don't worry about it, Hisako. Thank you, though."

"If you say so, Erina-sama..."

They walk towards the black limousine prepared for them. It's waiting right outside of the mansion with an elder man waiting patiently right beside it. The chauffeur willingly opens the backseat door and the two girls climb on. Nakiri looks out the window with a longing look, her purple eyes a bit dazed and hazy.

"Erina-sama?" Hisako calls.

Erina does not seem to notice her and Hisako frowns, concern addled in her eyes. The blonde continues to stare out of the window, showing no signs of whether she heard Hisako or not.

"Erina-sama?" Hisako prompts again.

There is no response this time and Hisako can only stay still without another word.

Erina receives a notification at eleven in the evening.

Of course, she's still awake by then, scribbling nonsense in her notebooks and/or constantly looking at the glowing red lava lamp right beside her desk. She wishes she has the strength to throw the lamp because it's only making her even more depressed and reminding her of memories that shouldn't have existed in the first place. But the soft light emitting from it reminds her of a certain someone's hair and she cannot bare to get rid of it.

The notification on her phone is a single text: how are you?

She almost cries with delight because this is the first time he texted her over the course of one long week.

I am fine. Where are you?

Right outside your door.

She freezes.

And then she rushes towards the door.

When she opens it, she finds him. He's smiling, a small grin that shows off his perfect straight teeth and a small dimple right below his cheek. His red hair is messy and spiky as usual. His golden eyes smile at her with warmth, familiarity, and everything that she's ever wanted from him. He's wearing his casual clothes: the blue sweater with the logo of Yukihira diner on the back and casual black pants with his white headband tied around his left arm. The way he casually stands, both his hands on his waist, makes Erina melt.

"Souma," she whispers. She has forgotten when and where she first called him by his name, but it's always felt so natural and intimate from her mouth that she's never tried to stop it ever again.

"Yo, Erina," Yukihira Souma replies, his grin growing wider by the second. "Missed me?"

Erina nods, tears sprinkling from the corner of here eyes. She's too overwhelmed to say anything, because it has been a week and she's never felt so alive and complete as she did that moment.

"Me too," Souma whispers. He wraps his arms around her body, holding her tightly, as if afraid to lose her or to let her go.

She wraps her arms around him as well, satisfaction already brimming from her face.

Alice raises a hard eyebrow at Erina's sudden positive mood.

"I swear, Erina, you should just admit that you and Souma have been seeing each other from behind our backs," the white-haired girl accuses.

Erina rolls her eyes as she continues to boil the potatoes with extreme concentration. She replies, "I'll admit that to you if it's actually real."

Alice exclaims, "You've been in a great mood ever since Souma arrived yesterday! We're cousins, right? Tell me!"

Erina smiles as she recalls a specific memory from last night, in between the bed sheets and soft breaths. She shakes her head and says to her dear cousin, "Sorry, Alice, but sometimes the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb."

"Don't confuse me with quotes that don't exist! Erinaaaa!"

end