Xenophobia

Khai



Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in...

Breathing. The process of taking in air and expelling it from the lungs. Such a simple act, really. We do it everyday. An involuntary act, meaning we did it without a second thought. It was like a second nature for us living creatures... Without it we wouldn't survive. Life itself would slip all too quickly out of our fingers due to the lack of just one simple act.

But without Harry here, that simple act became all too difficult for me to carry out. It was as if he was my oxygen tank... And his absence was depriving me of the oxygen molecules my lungs so desired.

Breathe in... Breathe out... Breathe in...

I sat on the uncomfortable window seat that came along with my room... Staring at everything... But nothing all at once. I was more than aware of the cars driving by, the children happily screaming or even the paper boy... But at the same time... I wasn't.

Wrapped up in a thick blanket, I replay the memories shared between Harry and I in this very spot. Maybe I was a masochist... Though it caused me great pain to continue to think about the times Harry and I had together, I couldn't bring myself to stop.


"You're gonna fall out that window I swear to God." Harry shakes his head in amusement. I ignore his worried words as I continue to dance crazily to a song my neighbor was playing at full volume. I grab ahold of my summer dress, swaying it back and forth to the sweet sounds that filled the open air. Harry's lips twitched into a stretched grin as he reached out his hand to hold mine.

"Dance with me?" I ask, swaying my body back and forth.

"I think I'm good here baby." Harry kisses my hand, causing butterflies to erupt into my stomach.

"Boo!" I scream, jumping onto his back. "Dance with me, peasant!" Harry's laugh overrode the music now as I punched and kicked at his toned body. I knew it had no impact on him, but yet I continued to do so. "C'mon loser, nobody's watching."

"Fine..." He chuckles. Gently, Harry sets me back onto the window seat. I wrap my hands around his neck and though I am standing on the high furniture, I'm still not taller than Harry himself. We dance slowly to a fast paced song, completely entranced as our bodies move together in sync.

Harry sings along to the song softly as he gently pushes my curled hair out of my face. "Mmm, so beautiful."

I lean in to kiss him, so does he. But as soon as our mouths were millimeters away from touching, his fingers dig into my side, causing me to erupt into a boisterous laugh. "Harry, stop!"


-


"Khai," Violet's worried voice interrupts my reminiscing state. I turn to face the blonde. I lowly chuckle to myself once I see she had replaced her nose ring.

"You're laughing?" She looks at me oddly as she sets her school bag onto my bed.

I sigh. "Barley..." I remove my brown eyes from her green ones as they remind me too much of a special someone... Someone whom had left.

"Tomorrow's the bonfire you know..." Ahh, I was waiting for her to bring that up. The senior bonfire... It was an annual thing of course. Violet and I had been talking about it for years. I still remember the reactions of our freshman faces when had first heard about it. Excited... Excited would've been an understatement.

"Hmm..."

"No," violet says. "You are not missing the senior bonfire. Khai, we've been talking about this forever..."

"I can't..."

"Jus-"

"V," my nose scrunched in discomfort.

Violet sighs, taking a seat beside me on the window. "I'm worried about you, bub."

"M'fine."

She scoffs. "Don't give me that bullshit Khai. I know you miss him."

"Stop..." We've had yet to talk about the situation. Though Violet is my best friend, the topic was still much too sensitive for my heart to bare at the moment.

"Just," Violet's hand is placed gently onto my face and I sigh into it. "Just think about it okay? You could use a little fun in your life right now."

I wanted to. God, I wanted to. I wanted to sit around a huge fire on the beach two miles from here singing tunes. I wanted to play drinking games. I wanted to skinny dip. I wanted to run, laughing like crazy with my friends as the cops chase us for underage drinking. I wanted it so bad. But I couldn't. I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

"Try." Violet's soft voice interrupts my thoughts. She send me a small smile and I manage to return one.



"Okay," I sigh. "I'll go."

Notes

Predictions? :)