The sleep over
Sayo returned to her bedroom, where Lisa was. The brunette was on her bed, mindlessly scrolling through her phone. “Hello Imai-san,” Sayo said. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change. “What are you doing?”
Lisa looked up. Her face was aglow by the light of her phone screen. “Just texting Yukina, she was worried if I made it home safely.” She continued, “I told her I was staying over at your place.”
Sayo sat next to her, surrounded by a sea of stuffed animals she probably should’ve hidden away when Lisa was changing. “I see,” Sayo stated. She laid down on her stomach next to Lisa. Sayo can’t help but blush within such close proximity to her, their arms were practically touching. She chose to avoid Lisa’s gaze by staring intensely at the flower pattern on her comforter.
Lightning flashed outside followed by another round of thunder. Lisa touched her shoulder to Sayo’s, which totally didn’t send a chill down her spine. “That didn’t spook you, Sayo?”
“I am fine,” Sayo mumbled. She was lucky it was dark or her pale face would have given away her lie. “Are you hungry by chance, Imai-san?” Sayo said as she searched for a way to give her heart a break. “I can go fetch some snacks if you would like.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, that would be great, Sayo~,” Lisa winked at Sayo, which nearly knocked her down where she was standing. Sayo gave a flushed nod and quickly left the room. She walked down the dark hallway to the dimly-lit kitchen. Hina was at the kitchen table doing homework. Hina noticed Sayo enter, who made a beeline to the pantry to avoid questioning by her sister. However, luck was not on her side.
Hina gave a wide grin. “So~,” she teased, “how’s it going with Lisacchi, onee-chan?”
“Fine,” she replied, keeping her eyes on the bag of chips in front of her. She picked the bag up and closed the pantry. “I will be going back to my room. I just came to get snacks for Imai-san. It is the least I could do to her.”
Hina’s eyes sharpened as she teased, “Onee-chan, what are you doing to Lisacchi ? Keep in mind, these walls are thinner than they seem so you better keep it down~.”
“You know what I meant,” Sayo mumbled as her cheeks turned red. Why did I say that ? “I just tripped over my words, it could happen to anyone.”
“ Sure ,” Hina rolled her eyes teasingly. “Don’t take too long, she must be getting hungry.”
“Of course,” Sayo replied cooly. She walked down the hallway back to her bedroom where Lisa was. “Good night, Hina,” Sayo said as she closed the door behind her.
“Good night, onee-chan!”
-
“So,” Lisa chimed as she grabbed a chip, “what’s the gossip, Sayo?”
The two sat across from each-other on Sayo’s bed, surrounded by blankets and stuffed animals. Sayo held a plush cat in her arms, fiddling with its arms. She remembered naming it Momo when she was younger. Meanwhile, Lisa was wrapped in a purple blanket. Her phone was propped up against the bag of chips between them, providing light by its flashlight. The room was completely dark otherwise, only lit up by the occasional strike of lightning.
“Gossip?” Sayo questioned, “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you are asking.”
“Ah, come on Sayo~,” she groaned. “Girls do this all the time at sleepovers!” She brushed a piece of hair out of her face. “How about I start, okay?”
Sayo looked down, “Alright then.”
Lisa began rambling, but Sayo tuned out. The only thing she could pay attention to was how Lisa’s lips moved with each remark. Despite the fact the majority of her make-up was washed away from the rain, Sayo could still notice the slight tint of cherry lip-gloss on her soft lips. Her train of thought was broken when Lisa tapped her arm.
“Earth to Sayo~,” Lisa teased. “You’re staring at my face all weird, I don’t have any food on it do I?”
“You do not, my apologies,” Sayo replied with a blank face. Internally though, her body was burning with embarrassment and self-loathing. Why was I staring? Why did I let myself get caught, carried away? She held tears back. It was stupid of me.
Lisa picked up on this. She was always an empath. “Sayo,” she began, “is something up? You seem kinda off.”
“I am fine.”
She grabbed another chip. “You sure? You don’t always have to be.” She held the blanket around her. “I’m good at this kind of thing you know, you can trust me~.”
No, I can’t. But I want to.
“ I am honestly fine,” Sayo replied, gripping the plush cat harder. “I appreciate your concern though, Imai-san.”
“If you’re sure then,” Lisa said. “Anyways,” she laid down, still wrapped up in a blanket. “I’m gonna get some sleep, it’s getting pretty late.”
“If you are about to sleep, then I will go brush my teeth,” Sayo added as she stood up from the bed. “Would you like me to grab you a pillow before I go? That position doesn’t look very comfortable.”
“Nah, I’m good! Sleep well Sayo~.”
“Very well, then,” the guitarist nodded as she stood up from the bed. She tip-toed across her bedroom and slipped into the bathroom. She walked to the tap, turned it on, and splashed some cold water on her face. Stop it Sayo. Just stop it.
-
Once Sayo had finished getting ready for bed in the bathroom, she opened the door back to her bedroom and shut off the bathroom light. Sayo did her best to feel her way back to her bed. Fortunately enough, she found it with no issue. She quietly laid down on her bed and covered herself with one of her blankets. She rested her head on her pillow.
As Sayo’s eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see Lisa’s frame right in front of her. She squinted at Lisa’s face. She was gifted with good looks, it wasn’t fair to people like Sayo. The guitarist noted the subtle rise and fall of Lisa’s chest. She is asleep, Sayo noted. Definitely asleep. Sayo leaned forward and planted a kiss to Lisa’s forehead. “Good night, Lisa.”
-
Hina noticed the clock on the kitchen turn to the next hour. She shovelled a spoon of cereal into her mouth. “It’s almost eleven in the morning,” she sighed. She tapped her fingers against the table, “Onee-chan’s normally an early riser, I wonder if something’s wrong…” She finished up her cereal and marched down to Sayo’s room. “As her sister, it is my duty to protect her!”
Hina wrapped her hand on the doorknob and quietly pushed it down, opening the door. She whispered, “Sayo? Lisacchi? Are you two... oh."
Hina stared at her sister, who was somehow wrapped within Lisa’s blanket. It was as if the two were in a blanket cocoon. “This is priceless,” she giggled. Hina dashed back to the kitchen as fast as she could to grab her phone. “I so have to take a photo of this~.”
-
Sayo was warm when she woke up - actually, sweltering. She only remembered using a single blanket the night before, why was she so hot? However, she could tell that morning had come. Preparing to begin her day, she opened her eyes. She had expected to see Lisa on the other side of her bed, however, her face was only mere inches away from her own. Sayo’s mind stalled. No answers came to the questions in her head as she lay there. As all thinking in her head stopped, she basked in Lisa’s light.
“Pst, onee-chan!” Sayo heard from the entrance of the room. She turned her head, careful not to wake Lisa. Hina came into her gaze, head poking through the open door. She felt every morsel in her body melt in embarrassment. Hina was grinning. “Meet me in the kitchen when you’re ready,” she emphasized the end of her sentence, “ I have something to show you~.”
Sayo was done for. Is this the end for her? Could she ever look at Hina in the eyes again? She sighed and made careful to not disturb Lisa’s sleep as she removed herself from their cocoon. She would be lying if she said she didn’t enjoy it, her sentiments actually held the opposite. Sayo’s eyes trailed over Lisa’s lips, of which were slightly agape. It was actually a great sleep. Sayo removed a robe from the back of her door and wrapped it around her. She left her bedroom and walked cautiously down the hallway into the kitchen. Sayo noticed Hina, who was sitting at the kitchen table. On the opposite end of the table was a bowl of cereal, spoon beside it. “Hina,” Sayo questioned, “what is this?”
Hina turned her gaze to Sayo. “Yay, you’re up onee-chan! That’s your breakfast.”
Sayo did a double-take. “My breakfast?”
Her sister nodded. “Yep!” Her eyes went dark with mischief. “You’re gonna need it,” she gestured to the empty seat beside her. “Take a seat!”
Sayo gulped as she took a seat. “So,” she dipped her spoon into the milk. She did a deep inhale and then sighed. “How,” her eyes stay low, “how much did you see?”
Hina pulled out her phone. “Well…” She opened her photo gallery and swiped twice before shoving her phone into Sayo’s face. “I saw this~.”
“Hina,” Sayo deadpanned, “that is a photo of you and Maruyama-san.”
Hina frowned, “Oh really? Darn.” She swiped one more time and showed Sayo her phone-screen. “ This is what I saw.”
Sayo’s stomach flipped when she saw the photo. The photo was of her and Lisa wrapped up in the blanket, they were basically snuggling. Lisa’s pale complexion glowed with the sun and her hair looked like a sea of caramel. She managed to look princess-like even in the morning. Sayo felt her heart swell.
Hina sighed, “Yep, I knew it. You’re in way too deep.”
“Deep?” Sayo sputtered. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Sorry to break it to ya onee-chan,” she said, “but I’ve, like, never seen you look at a dude like that before.” She looked away. “To be honest, you only look at your guitar like that, which is… well,” she sighed, “kinda depressing.”
Sayo tried to find a way out of the conversation, knowing she would rather be anywhere else than in this kitchen with Hina. “I don’t understand what you mean, I am asleep in the photo..?”
“I’m not talking about the photo, silly! I saw the way you were staring at my phone-screen~.” Hina smirked, “You were staring at the photo with like the biggest heart eyes I’ve ever seen!”
Sayo wished she could die right there. She sunk lower into her seat. “You are, you are mistaken…”
“Nah, I’m never really wrong about these things,” Hina replied. “So? Do ya?”
“Do I what?”
Hina smirked, “Do you have a crush on Lisacchi?”
Sayo shrivelled to the bottom of her seat, not wanting to admit this to Hina out of all people. She stared at her cereal, sitting still - almost as if she’d fade away if she moved. She knew that Hina was too perceptive to lie her way out, not to mention she was a terrible liar in the first place. Sayo just wanted to go to the bathroom and cry. Not knowing how to respond, she continued staring at her cereal while tears rushed to her eyes. Sayo felt a tear slip, followed by another. What started out as a cry turned into a sob as she slowly nodded. She held a hand over her mouth to limit any sounds she’d make. Why couldn’t Hina ever leave her alone? “Ah, onee-chan!” Hina pouted. It was out of character for her sister to be this transparent with her emotions. “Please don’t cry!”
Sayo’s held her face between her arms on the kitchen table. She was exposed. “Why,” she mumbled, “can’t you ever mind your own business?”
Hina brushed her hand through Sayo’s hair. “It’s okay, onee-chan.” She took a deep breath. “It’s totally fine! You can like whoever you want, it’s all okay by Hina!”
“No, I can’t.”
Hina’s face went neutral. “Onee-chan,” she began, “you know you’re one of my favourite people in the world, right?”
“What?”
Hina exhaled with a smile. “I couldn’t ever spend enough time with you, and I still can't now. If you think who you like changes my opinion of you, you’re just wrong, onee-chan.”
At this point, Sayo felt like a baby. Hina only did what she thought was best for her. “Please don’t tell our parents,” she murmured.
“Of course,” Hina replied. “They aren’t exactly the most modern people around-”
A voice echoed from down the hallway. “Hey, guys! I can’t believe I woke up this late~.” Sayo turned her head to see who it was. Sayo stared at Lisa as her heart flipped. She had never seen Lisa this early in the morning before, she was adorable. “Did I miss something? You’re both giving off some weird vibes…”
Sayo kept her head down, so Hina took the cue. “Don’t worry, nothing happened! Sayo’s just not a morning person,” she pouted.
Lisa giggled. It was like bells in Sayo’s ears. “In that case, I’m gonna go grab my things and then I’ll get going.” She walked over to Sayo and gave her a hug, “Thanks for letting me stay over again, Sayo~. Remember, I owe you one!”
Sayo mumbled something along the lines of agreement. Lisa turned around and headed for Sayo’s room. Hina rubbed Sayo’s shoulder to comfort her. “Dang, if I were you I’d be down for the count~.” Sayo continued holding her blushing face in her arms.
What was she supposed to do now? She was fortunate she and Lisa went to different schools, but they met up to rehearse multiple times a week. She knew she would have to face her again eventually. Hina spoke up again while Sayo slumped. “So, when are you gonna tell her?”
Sayo almost laughed. “You think I’m going to tell her?” She frowned, “I’m going to keep it a secret until my feelings are gone.”
“That’s no good!” Hina replied. She stood up and brought Sayo’s bowl to the sink. “You’re just gonna be more sad.”
“I am fine with that. As long as Lisa never finds out.” Sayo looked away. “I don’t want anything to change.”
Hina knew it was out of her jurisdiction to tell Sayo what to do with her feelings. She knew she had to give her sister time. “Fine,” she pouted. “I’m gonna go watch some TV.” She walked to her sister and poked her shoulder before heading to the couch. “Thanks for telling me onee-chan, I promise I won’t tell.”
”Thank you,” Sayo said.
“Love you, onee-chan!”
”I love you too, Hina.”