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Chapter 1 - Perfect Situation2,879 words
Chapter 2 - Cold Dark World2,918 words
Chapter 3 - Wind in Our Sail2,718 words
Chapter 4 - Jacked Up1,352 words
Chapter 5 - Falling For You3,341 words
Chapter 6 - Burndt Jamb4,662 words
Chapter 7 - Byzantine3,551 words
Chapter 8 - Something Green and Sigmund1,563 words

Chapter 8 - Something Green and Sigmund

Wallflower believed she was sleeping sometime around 4 AM, a very early Saturday morning. She knew it was a little past 4 AM because her uncle always woke up at this time. She was also awake.

Specifically, his phone’s alarm would go off and wake him up to a muffled tune that she could hear through the walls. After that, it’d take him a few minutes to get up from bed before going to the bathroom.

For the next half hour or so, he'd play sad rock ballads on his phone as he quickly made himself presentable for work. Then, he'd come into her room to rub her shoulder and give her a soft kiss on the head before going downstairs to make breakfast and head to work.

The sad and muffled wailing of guitars was paused, telling Wallflower that he was about to come into her room. Tensing up in anticipation, she curled up under her blankets as her door rattled open. Familiar yet comforting footsteps creaked along the floor of her room, soon stopping at the side of her bed.

She felt her uncle’s presence, even as her eyes were closed shut. She felt him lean down, his fuzzy walrus mustache tickling her face as he kissed the top of her head.

“..hhk...” Wallflower swore she wouldn’t make any noise, but she did. Affection always made her choke up a bit.

“Ope,” Pine muttered, gingerly brushing messy strands of hair out of Wallflower’s eyes, “did I wake you up again, sweetheart? Sorry ‘bout that.”

“N-No, it’s okay..” she croaked, her voice still raw and dry. “I was already awake..” Her eyes fluttered open, now looking up to her uncle, Light flooded in through the crack in her door, letting one long strand of light filter in.

“Awake? C’mon now, you ought to be sleeping..” He placed his hand on her shoulder again, giving her a smile. “Something troubling you? You’re only awake like this when you’re sad.”

Wallflower was often awake at this time. She blinked away the wetness in her eyes, briefly thinking of what to say. Usually she was able to keep her composure around her uncle. But tonight, his comfort and voice were making that familiar bubbling cry come from her throat. "C-Can you, um.. Stay today? I, uh.. I want you to be here.."

Pine frowned and leaned down to give her another kiss on the head. "Oh, Wally. You know I would, but I can't.. But, I have less hours today, so I can be home for you to cook dinner fresh for me. Would you like that?"

"Yeah.." Wallflower nodded, biting the inside of her cheek to stop the tears from flowing. "And.. Spend time together? I-I'm only going to the beach tomorrow, so we have time.."

"Sure thing, sweetheart." Pine gave her shoulder another rub before leaning back up with a sigh. "I gotta get going, I'll be back at four. Will you be okay until then?"

Reluctantly, Wallflower nodded. Part of her wanted to believe, if she ever said no, that he'd put everything on hold and stay with her for the day. But she would never be so selfish as to say 'no' and force him to stay with her. She always said yes, and he'd always be gone until four. Or five-thirty if it wasn't Friday or Saturday. He had Sundays off, but tomorrow was beach day for her and the Dazzlings.

“Alright then,” He continued, in a slightly louder voice so Wallflower could hear. “I’ll be back soon. I love you, sweetheart.

“..I love you too, uncle.”

And with that, he was off. Gently shutting the door behind him, going downstairs, unpausing the sad rock ballads, and audibly pulling out of the driveway in his rumbling truck.

Now, the house was quiet again. She was alone. It was still dark out. And she had nothing to do today.

Except..

Reaching for her phone, she turned it on and winced at the brightness. Quickly turning it down as she went straight to her texts. With Aria.

The last message was sent by Aria. A simple ‘goodnight dweeb.’ Sent about four hours ago.

Wallflower reacted to the message with a little heart.

What else did she have to do to flirt? Surely a heart emoticon was the pinnacle of flirting! It was basically screaming ‘I want to kiss you!’

No. She’d never be that forward. More forward than heart emoticons, anyways. If she directly flirted, how would Aria react? It just wasn’t something Wallflower would do. Or wanted to do. It was unbecoming of her.

But that didn’t stop her feelings for Aria. She could still feel that want whenever they were together. An Aria-shaped hole in her heart that ached every moment she looked at her. Wallflower desperately wanted to fill it.

But it wasn’t right. It was selfish. Incredibly selfish! Having these kinds of thoughts..what would Aria say if she knew? If Wallflower told her? Not only was it selfish, but it could ruin everything between them..

..After everything, Wallflower felt like she was owed a moment to be selfish.

And Aria was the only person she wanted. A relationship with her was the only thing she wanted. That was all. Couldn’t she silently want that, even when it was never going to happen?

Wallflower’s eyes suddenly began to sting with tears. It was never going to happen, no matter how badly she wanted it. No matter how much she wanted to deserve it.

They’d always be together, but in her eyes there would always be a chasm between them. Something preventing her from being as close as she wanted. As personal as she wanted. As loving as she wanted.

…

Her thumb, practically moving on its own, tapped the few buttons needed to pull up Aria’s contact. Without even thinking, she began to call her.

..Vrr.

Vrr.

Her phone only vibrated twice before the call went through.

“..Hello?” Aria’s voice came through, tinny and quiet.

It took Wallflower a moment to realize Aria actually picked up. This was her. She was awake, and she picked up!

Scrambling to put the phone on speaker, she sat up straight and held the phone to her ear. “A-Aria? You’re awake?”

“..Yeah. Can’t sleep. You’re awake too.”

“..I can’t sleep either.”

“..mhm..”

“I missed you.” Wallflower sighed. She really was pathetic. “A lot.”

“We saw each other on Friday. And texted until we slept.”

“..and I missed you. I’m missing you right now.”

“..I missed you too.”

Her breath hitched. “Really?”

“Yeah.” …. “Is that kinda dumb?”

“No, it’s not! I, uh..if we missed each other, it’s not.”

“Yeah… Excited for tomorrow?”

“Of course! I-I’m..I’m really looking forward to it. Being with you..—a-and the others! I, uh..y’know..wanna spend time with Adagio and Sonata, too. But..mostly you.” Wallflower squeezed her phone tight against her ear after she spoke. She was completely hanging on Aria’s every word.

Through her phone’s cruddy speaker, she could hear what sounded like Aria chuckling in the middle of exhaling. “Definitely. You gotta hang out with them more often… No more than with me, though. You’re my best friend, remember that.”

Wallflower couldn’t help but giggle. She loved it when Aria said that. It felt possessive, but in the good way..was it supposed to be possessive? “U-Um,” she spoke up, “anyways..it’s late, soo..how were you awake too? Since..I’m also awake. Obviously.”

Aria made what sounded like a grunt in response. “Couldn’t sleep. Thinking about stuff..I was gonna text you, but..I figured you sleep better than me.”

“No way! I’ve already told you about how late I sleep..you forgot?”

“Nah. I just thought that..if you were actually sleeping, I wouldn’t wanna bother you.”

“I’d have woken up to answer! If I was asleep, that is..I wouldn’t care if it was you calling.”

“..Sh..damn. You’re too nice to me. What’s up with that?”

“..I like you.”

Wallflower held her breath immediately after she said those words. It was a simple statement. She had probably said it to Aria several times before. But right now, tonight, those words felt heavier and more important than ever.

“..I like you too, Wallflower.”

…
“Should we, uh… Go to sleep? It’s.. Late. Or, almost morning, I guess..”

“Yeah. Yeah..I was, uh..just about to say. See you tomorrow, right?”

“Right. Definitely.”

“Definitely.”

Wallflower continued to hold the phone to her ear, and it seemed like Aria did as well. Neither of them hung up, for a solid ten seconds.

“..Dweeb. Go to sleep.”

And then Aria hung up.

Somehow, Wallflower felt at ease. Her legs were shaking underneath her blankets, and her heart was racing, but she felt..okay.

Aria liked her. She said it just now in return to Wallflower saying it. Had Aria ever said it before? Maybe.

Wallflower put her phone down on her nightstand, deciding it was too late to dwell on it. She wanted to dwell on it, though. If she had the energy, she’d be dwelling on it harder than anyone else had ever dwelled on anything. She’d be the biggest dweller on earth.

…Well, she was dwelling on it a little, even as she snuggled up back into bed.

She’d have plenty of time to dwell on it later that day. Preferably not tomorrow, at the beach. Tomorrow was for her, Aria, Adagio, and Sonata.

Though, in her eyes it was mostly for Aria.

Author's Note:

This took me too long. Far longer than I was planning!! I wanted to get it out before my classes started up again, yet I completely missed that deadline. So, here's a little filler chapter before the big beach chapter! Only a few weeks late..

I wanted this to be a lot more melodramatic, at first. A sort of repeat of Jacked Up. No flashback, though, mostly because I forgot I wanted to possibly include it and then I decided against it once I remembered! I'll save more angsty trauma for later.

Also, this was proofread by Sunshyne! It's about time I had someone reading for me who isn't a total Yes-man. It helps me take constructive criticism better, and improve my little bad habits!

The next chapter is quite a ways off. I'm taking a small break from my little baby of a story here to write a new story, just to have some variety. It'll be all done and complete once I publish it, so I'll be right back to Pink Triangle here afterwards!

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