Things had been tense in the academy for a while; with everyone hitting 18, rumours were flying around the siblings that they were planning to leave and escape the academy. Escape wasn’t a term that is ideal for moving out, but under their father, it was a sense of escapism to squeeze out from under his watch. If they weren’t legal adults, there was no way he would have let them leave.
Walking down to her room she noticed the door to Vanya’s room was ajar. She wasn’t sure what forces made her peak through, but as she did, she noticed the barren white walls and bare desks, everything packed into small boxes. Vanya never had many belongings, she was never given gifts from fans, nor much attention from their father to buy her more than the bare necessities.
“Vanya?” She slowly pushed open the door to walk into the compact room. “What are you doing?” She looked around the empty room already knowing the answer.
“Oh, hey Allison.” Vanya meekly spoke, turning around to her sister. She shared a small connecting glance before returning to the task at hand, packing small trinkets into neatly stacked plastic Ziplock bags to add to the pile of home contents. “I’m packing my stuff. I’m going to leave.” Voice merely more than a whisper she spoke, as if she were afraid of anybody hearing her plans in fear of punishment.
“Leaving? Vanya- you can’t leave yet!” guilt started to bubble in her voice, they had left her out of many activities, but she just wasn’t a part of the Academy. She wasn’t special like the rest of them. They tried to talk to her, but she just seemed to push them away.
The words struck Vanya like a sour note. “As if you care now?” her voice cracked as she turned to face her sister. She was much shorter than Allison, probably by around at least half a foot, shrinking more as she was towered by Allison’s domineering presence.
“Of course I do!”
Vanya sighed as she looked at her sister. She was never accepted, she didn’t believe for a second Allison fully cared about her, yet at this point, it didn’t really matter. “Allison, before I leave, there’s something I want to do.” She slowly built up a newfound confidence, her dreams and desires overtaking the rational thoughts in her mind. “I don’t know why, but I’ve felt this way for a while. I’m different from you all but not just in being ordinary.”
“Vanya, you’re not making any sense” Allison replied, confused as to why her sister was acting so strange. She was always shy, but there was a different feel to her today, as if she were building up the courage to say something she shouldn’t.
“Just- please Allison.” She spoke softly as she slowly walked towards Allison.
“Vanya, I-“ she was cut off as Vanya reached up to kiss her, cupping her face in her hands as she reached up on her tiptoes to reach her. Her lips were chapped but full of warmth, the soft tickle of her breath brushing the top of their lips as she breathed through her nose. Coming to her senses, Allison lightly reached to the back of her head, bringing her closer to deepen the kiss. She never knew she wanted this, never realised how much more she wanted until now. Warmth enveloped her body as lost track of time, focusing solely on the kiss and the dizzy fealing of excitement it brought.
As Vanya pulled away, Allison instantly began to miss the warmth and connection as the cold hit her lips once again.
“I’m sorry I- I don’t know why I did that” Vanya whispered looking down, bringing her hand to the back of her head in an awkward attempt to avoid eye contact.
“No! No it’s fin-“ Allison began, flustered in embarrassment over the action that just occurred. She wasn’t so much as embarrassed, but shocked. She had been flooded with feelings she never knew existed, feelings she had repressed for years until they came to fruition.
“You should go, I’m sorry” she whispered as she ushered Allison out of the room, sadness starting to unveil across her face. She lingered at the door, taking in every inch and intricate feature of her sister’s face before she gave a brief smile and closed the door, shutting Allison out once more.
Allison left, unable to speak in shock of the action that had just occurred. She had never expected timid little Vanya to make such a move, yet she was enticed. She never considered her feelings towards her as more than friendly, but the way she lingered past her door to hear her violin practice, the way she always looked at the way she say at dinner for just a few more seconds than she should. It all began to make sense.
The next day she was gone, disappearing from the academy with no word of a goodbye to anybody. It was no surprise, with the way she was treated, it was a shock she hadn’t attempted to leave earlier. Yet, Allison missed her presence. The halls were empty without her music, the dinner table was soulless without her radiating beauty shining across her. She like Vanya, she was just too late to realise it.