Kronii’s head flares in sync with their heartbeat as they wake up in a cold sweat. There’s something rough cuffed around their sore and irritated wrists. The restraints keep their hands in place as they tug at their numb hand to scratch their dry, still-shut eyes.
As they recuperate more of their senses, they feel the same thing coiled around their wrists, grappling their upper body and legs as well.
Groggily, they lift their eyelids open. Observing the pitch-black space, they notice the prickle of the icy air on their skin and a soft mechanical whirring. Fluttering their eyelids, a foreboding notion of terror washes over them.
‘I'm not supposed to be here.’
Something clicks and rattles. What might be a door creaks open, bleeding pale light into the room from behind. Panning their head around, they can barely glimpse the outlined frame of a door. A quiet giggle radiates from the doorway, causing Kronii to freeze in their seat.
Opening their mouth to speak, a bitter taste divulges itself to their tongue. Instinctively, they gag.
The giggling crawls closer. A shadow, impressed on what they realise is a wall in front of them, grows, overlapping their own.
“Wha-” Kronii rasps through their parched throat.
The deranged giggles escalate, creeping up from behind. Warm breaths puff on their neck, causing them to instinctively recoil away. Foreign fingers fiddle with their hair, sending them shuddering in their seat.
“Eheheheheh, Kronii~” A small, honeyed voice whispers.
Still in a daze, they groan.
“Don't you remember me, Kronii? Do you remember me, Kronii? You still remember our promise, right?” The girlish voice saunters into obsessiveness.
“Who are you?” They garble.
“Hmm, might’ve used too much gas.” The voice mumbles in a flat tone.
“Ga- Wha?"Even in the groggy state their mind is in, the admission sends them grappling with its implications.
“I drugged you with sleeping gas!” The voice chirps.
Their mind locks on to three words. ‘Drugged? Sleeping gas? When? Where were they now? What was she gonna do to them? Who was this? Why?’
The last question unwittingly staggers its way out of her mouth.
“Because how would I convince you to come with me then, silly?” The voice asserts.
“Who are you?” Kronii repeats.
“Do you really not remember me?” Disheartenment laces the tone of the voice.
“You drug me and expect me to know you?” They rationalise.
Now that they think about it, the voice strikes a dusty chord of memories of their naïve childhood.
A switch is flipped without warning, flickering lights trailing as if its abruptness surprises the current. Kronii flinches, closing her eyes to shield them from the sudden spotlight. They unravel their eyelids to scan the now decently lit room. There's enough light for them to gauge the depth of the space.
The chair they're confined to looks to be a few feet away from the pale blue-ish wall. Looking down confirms their suspicions, seeing themselves bound to the quaint seat in a thorough manner.
Soft thuds circle around them, and a person strolls into view. She turns to face them.
“How about now?”
The white soles of her otherwise black running shoes contrast the rest of her outfit. Asphalt-shaded gym pants wrap around her legs, accentuating her toned quads and glutes. A midnight-inked hoodie rests on her shoulders, sagging down her waist and giving her upper body’s silhouette much more volume. Coal black gloves clasp her balled hands, leaving the only exposed skin to be from her collarbone and up.
Black and white highlights stand out in her fawn brown hair that's tied back in a high ponytail. Her face, framed by her bangs, is glowing in contrast with her outfit. Kronii knows those curious amber eyes. Don’t they belong to…
“Mumei?”
‘Holy hell she’s hot.’
“You remember!” Mumei’s grinning from ear to ear.
“You remember!” She repeats in a trance-like state.
“Ehehehehehe, you remember me!”
Kronii can only sit in a pool of unease as they watch her giggles intensify.
'What’s happening?’
Leaning in forward, she asks. “So you remember your promise to me, right?”
“I- erm, I don't know; I mean, it’s been so long since we last spoke.”
“You promised me you'd love me forever and ever and ever. You still love me now, right?”
Their breath hitches. ‘Fuck, this is so stupid. Does she mean the promise we made before I moved?’
They still have an unconscious crush on her, albeit toned down since moving back to Canada. She’s been their friend since childhood, when they first met in the autumn park on the old swing set. It especially made their separation hurt like a bitch. And while they’re thankful for the reunion, they’d be damned if they didn’t think it was quite weird.
“I, um- fuck.” They whisper the tail end.
“What is it, Kronii?” She cocks her head.
They grimace, deep in thought. Mumei squints, trying to read their face.
Sighing, they speak up.
“I- still like you.” They verbally trudge.
Her eyes sparkle.
Immediately, they shift. "But could you untie me first? My wrists are itchy and this chair is really fucking uncomfortable.”
“Alright!” She sings.
Circling around them again, she hums while fiddling with the restraints. After a minute of finding and untying knots, the ropes loosen and unravel.
Kronii heaves themselves up from the chair and groans, stretching their stiff muscles.
“What’s all this—” They gesture at their restraints. “—for anyways?”
“It’s to protect you!”
“What do you mean protect?”
“I didn't want anyone to find you and take you away from me again.” Fanaticism tones her voice.
'Oh shit.’
“Wait, where are we?”
“It's a secret… Unless you promise not to run away and leave me again~”
“I wouldn't do that to you.” A well-intentioned half-truth. In all honesty, they want to get out of dodge. Well, at least they think so.
A conflicted expression coalesces across her face. “If you run, I'll find you again, you know?”
“I promise. I won't run or leave you alone.”
After a few seconds of deep thought, she exhales.
“We're in my basement!” She trills.
'What the fuck?’ Their eyes widen.
“Your basement?” They spit in disbelief.
'This is something out of those shitty stories Gigi forces me to read. I swear to god.’
“Mhm!”
“And where’s your basement?”
“In my home.”
“And where's your home?”
“A few miles from your apartment!”
“How do you know where my apartment is?” They poll with a sizable sprinkle of concern.
“I've been stalking you for a while now. I like watching.”
“That's… Honestly, that's so fucking weird. Since when?”
Mumei pouts. “I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to know if you were safe.”
“Safe from what?”
“From all the bad people who would want to take you from me! You're mine after all~”
Kronii feels an odd tingling in their stomach. Being claimed by someone feels… Queerly good. “Never mind. What were you planning when you, er, kidnapped me?”
“Well, I wanted to keep you all to myself, so I kidnapped you so we could stay together forever!”
“Oh, that's-”
'kinda cute actually.’
“Hey—” Kronii looks to the floor.
“Mm?”
“—you're actually really…”
“Really what?”
“c- cute…” They feel their face flush.
'Fuck what am I doing holy crap I shouldn't’ve said that oh my god oh my god oh my fucking god I am stupid I should not have said that no no no stop reverse go back please no.’
“Um, you're—” She pipes up.
They snap up at her.
“—a- also c- c- cute too.” Kronii sees Mumei’s bright pink face glow in the overhead light.
‘What kind of kidnapping is this? First, the kidnapper is my childhood friend, and now we're flirting?’
“Uh, good to know the feeling's mutual?” They concede.
“So… If you like me, and I like you, does that mean…” She trails
“To be honest, I've liked you for like, a really long time.” Kronii confesses.
'It is so over. I can not come back from this.’
“I'm—” Mumei chokes up. “—so, so happy right now.”
“No no no no don't— please don't cry.” Instinctively, they wrap their arms around her like they used to when they were little.
She squeals in the embrace. Self-conscious, Kronii retreats. “I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to-”
But Mumei cuts them off with her embrace
“Don't be sorry, silly. You won't leave me, right? We're gonna be together forever~”
“Yeah, uhuh.” They nod in a mental limbo.
Mumei pecks them on the cheek, causing them to blush even harder. Her smile is radiating like a warm campfire in the cold night.
Kronii's face is bursting with incredulity. Their heart is running the encore of a marathon.
'Ok, hmm, alright, yeah, mhm, HOLY SHIT DID- DID I JUST GET A FUCKING GIRLFRIEND?’