A few days after the competition...
Carter had his head against his soft and comfy pillow. Although he lay down on his bed, his eyes were wide open, unable to fall asleep. He stared at the blurry ceiling, surrounded by darkness.
'I wonder what Kokomi's doing', Carter wondered as his mind trailed to a wonderful memory. Unfortunately, there was a haunting part of it that still lingered in his mind. Something that would make the Clockworks take a hiatus from band practice, specifically Emily herself.
Carter recalled a memory of him singing with The Clockworks on stage for a music competition. His mind vividly remembered the swirling colours of blurry light and the sound of the audience cheering as he began singing. The moment when he felt truly free from the unintentional shackles of his routine was when he met Kokomi. Carter smiled to himself at the fond memory. He soon remembered that unintended memory, though; he wanted to find out what exactly happened after they announced the winner of that music competition.
Carter then grabbed his cell phone from the small table on the right side of his bed. He pondered at first why he took it. Should he call her? Maybe she was already asleep? Would he wake her? Will she feel disturbed? He shook his head at all the unneeded thoughts and whispered to Siri to call Kokomi.
The phone rang, and Carter felt it buzzing in his hand as it rang. Bzzt! Bzzt! He waited in anticipation, with all sorts of worrying thoughts running through his mind. Then he heard someone pick up the phone.
"Carter?" a groggy voice called out.
Carter let out a small smile on his lips. He didn't expect that she would answer this quickly. Carter laid his head on his fluffy pillow as he held his phone securely to his right ear.
"Sorry, I thought maybe you weren't asleep," Carter softly said.
He felt a little squeeze on his heart as his guilt was sweeping in for waking Emily up. She even sounded like she was having a good sleep. He probably should have followed his anxious thoughts after all.
"Oh no, no. Thank you for waking me up and for waking me up just in time! I almost didn't submit my assignment. I owe you one," Kokomi ranted on the other side with a sense of relief in her voice.
Carter could hear the sound of fingers hitting the keyboard keys, typing away quickly. He assumed that Emily intended to swiftly send in her assignment before the due date. He couldn't hear any sounds in the background, so her roommate was probably sleeping. Maybe she didn't have a roommate at all and was all alone typing away in the night with no one to converse with.
"Should I leave her be?" Carter questioned himself in his thoughts.
"Give me just a few more seconds. Alright, done!" Kokomi said as Carter heard the final click of a desktop mouse.
"You should get some rest, Emily. You probably feel tired after working so late in the night." Carter assumed, trying to figure out her thoughts.
"You're right, but...you probably called me for a reason. So, what's plagued your mind tonight, Carter?" Kokomi asked in a cheerier tone.
Carter stayed silent for a while, unable to tell her why he called. He should have gone to bed, but he couldn't; he felt that he needed to be awake. He wanted to find out what happened that day, but the words just wouldn't form in his mind. He didn't want to call Kokomi, especially so late at night.
On the other side...
Kokomi waited patiently for the answer; she didn't want to interrupt his thought process with baseless questions and assumptions. Kokomi knew that Carter was the type to only put in the effort if he saw fit. Some people may describe him as a power saver on a laptop battery. After a minute of waiting, Carter still didn't answer. She figured out what he wanted to ask but needed confirmation.
"Is it about that day?" Kokomi inquired.
"Yes," he courtly answered.
"I need a walk outside; care to join me?" Kokomi asked, getting up from her seat that she had sat in for about 3 hours trying to finish her work.
"I would, but I don't know if my brother would let me," Carter said.
"Oh yeah. Is he not on his 'date night' again?" Kokomi questioned.
"No clue, after you've become my brother's... friend? I don't know. He felt no worry to not tell me where he's going anymore." Carter confessed.
"Huh? That's the first time I've heard of that behaviour," Kokomi questioned.
"You know him—always moving mysteriously," Carter chuckled.
Kokomi smiled to herself; she had always found Carter's and Joey's brotherly relationship to be quite adorable. She then lowered her eyes to the ground as she felt the loneliness in her empty room. Being alone has always felt like a blessing, but being alone for too long may make one go insane someday. After all, nobody wants to hear their own thoughts every single night before bed. Someone with no plans in mind might have irrelevant thoughts slowly seeping in like water, flooding their brain with unfortunate self-discussions and thoughts.
She misses her family.
"Kokomi ?" Carter worriedly called out. He had been calling her a few times now, with each pronunciation getting more anxious.
Emily snapped out of her self-thoughts and shook her head.
"Oops, sorry, Carter, I spaced out for a moment. I'll come over, since Joey's not home. I'll explain my reasons; see you!" Kokomi said, then turned off the call.
"Wait, *beep*," Carter frowned as he lay in bed.
Carter didn't want Kokomi to come over so late in the night; it might be dangerous for her to come alone. He then sat up and removed the covers, exposing the cold air to his sock-covered feet. He tried to call her again, hoping that she would pick up, but to his dismay, the phone line only led to her voicemail. Carter then decided to wait for her near the front door, waiting patiently for a knock in the beat of a waltz.
*knock* *knock, knock*
After hearing the knock, Carter didn't waste any time and unlocked the front door. He heard the panting of a person out of breath. Kokomi had her hand against the door frame, leaning on it for support. Carter heard her huffing and puffing, so he stood aside to let her into his home. Kokomi smiled and walked into his home.
"Thank you for letting me come over on short notice; I really appreciate it." Kokomi said softly.
"It's no problem; anything to make you feel comfortable," Carter replied, shutting the door gently behind him.
He then placed his hands on what he confidently presumes is the wall where the light switches are located. The texture of the wall was quite smooth, though in some areas it was a little sticky. Joey used to place pieces of duck tape in various places to differentiate the texture of the wall. It was done so that Carter could find his way around the house by himself. He soon found the slick texture of the light switch and flipped it on. The living room was soon illuminated by bright yellow lights, though not very bright.
"I thank you again, Carter. Sorry for barging in when you're asleep." Kokomi apologised again as she took Carter's left hand in hers to show that she was on his left.
"As I've said before, it's alright. Joey already said that our house is open for your visits," he said as he plopped himself on the beige leather couch.
Kokomi sat on the opposite couch and sighed contently.
"Sigh, this place feels like home," Kokomi muttered.
"You're right, its small but cosy," Carter replied.
"Hmm, I feel content," Kokomi said, closing her eyes and sinking deeper into the couch, still sitting politely, of course.
Carter's mouth turned into a small frown, hesitating to ask the question that had been on his mind before the phone call he had with Kokomi. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. Kokomi heard the creaking of the sofa opposite her and cracked an eye open. She then smiled to herself as she sat up straight again.
"You're dying to ask me a question, aren't you?" Kokomi guessed.
"Hm, how did you know?" Carter inquired, straightening his back in a proper sitting position with his hands resting on his knees.
"You're blind, but you have impressive body language," Kokomi complimented and giggled.
Carter blushed in embarrassment; he then shook his head. He took a deep breath and let it out.
"Why did you decline the record offer we got?" Carter asked straight-forwardly.
Kokomi furrowed her eyebrows in hesitation and decided to remain silent. That silence indicated that she was thinking hard about how to convey the words she wanted to say. She let out a sombre sigh and closed her eyes.
"Your silence is very worrying; is the situation that bad?" Carter interjects.
Kokomi had a small frown on her face as she answered.
"Hehe, its not that. It's just that we do not have much experience yet when it comes to being a band. There's no saying that we can meet up all the time, you know?" Kokomi explained in a gentle voice.
"Oh! I thought it might be something worse. But anyway, why do you think we aren't ready?" Carter asked in anticipation.
"Well, you see, our band hasn't made any original songs; all of them are just covers that I had arranged with Beyond. So, that's why I think that we're not ready to have a contract with a record label," Kokomi explained further.
"Ohhh, I see now," Carter agreed.
Kokomi then pushed herself off the couch and stood up. She straightened her t-shirt and cardigan, moving over towards Carter. Before she did that, her eyes glanced at the clock on the wall behind Carter's head.
"Would you look at the time? It's getting super late," Kokomi said.
"Huh? Oh..." Carter sighed in relief.
"Aww, don't be sad. I'm still alive, you know; I can come visit anytime. Well, unless I have my own business to take care of," Kokomi reassured him.
Carter stood up from the couch and carefully walked towards the entrance.
"Thanks for spending time with me, Carter. I really appreciate it," Kokomi said, standing beside him.
"Don't mention it," Carter quickly answered.
"Alright, don't forget to lock the door. See you next time," Kokomi advised before opening the front door.
Before Kokomi stepped out, she turned to Carter, facing him. She raised her hand and gently placed it on Carter's cheek.
"You're very kind, just like my family," Kokomi muttered, loud enough for only Carter to hear.
Carter's cheeks instantly turned red as his lips almost curled up into a cheerful smile.
"Drive home safe," Carter said.
"I will. Goodnight." Kokomi then went off towards her motorcycle, parked near the porch.
"Goodnight," Carter mumbled, still blushing.
He then shut the front door and locked it. He leaned his back against the door and slid down onto the floor. He placed his right hand on his forehead in astonishment. He cracked out a big smile, almost jittering.
"What is this feeling?" Carter said it out loud.
He soon placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heart thump at a fast pace. He soon got up and went back into his room. He laid on his bed and pulled the soft, thick covers over himself, leaving out his head.
"She said I'm kind," Carter mumbled before closing his eyes and gently falling asleep.