Chereads / The Blood-stained Lighter / Chapter 8 - Late

Chapter 8 - Late

they arrived home, it was late and Loid expected Levi to call soon but oddly enough he didn't Instead, Monika seemed to be suddenly attentive to Loid's well-being and kept asking questions about the day. After dinner, when it was just the two of them in the room, she asked about Maria. Loid was embarrassed at first but eventually explained how it all went down with her guffaws and comments here and there. When he finished explaining she gave him a warm smile and pat his head, she hadn't gone home yet because her parents were out of town and she doesn't have her keys on hand. Monika then held out her hand toward Loid and said, "I'm glad you found a friend today, let's make it official, shall we? Friends?" Loid's heart skipped several beats as he looked at her warm and innocent smile. Though she was way older than her (he's 13 and she's like 20) he's never seen her without her scarf, he knew there was an uncrossable gulf between them; it didn't stop him from taking her hand and firmly shaking it. "Friends." He repeated and couldn't help but feel the warmth of his cheeks, even in the poor lighting of the room they shared. Monika smiled at him, showing genuine happiness before tucking him into the bed he was supposed to be resting in and giving his forehead a light kiss. "Rest up for tomorrow, kid." She said before quietly slipping away.

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Scene Switch

Monika was sitting formally on the couch, watching a black and white movie flickering on the television. The only sound in the room was her quiet breathing. Her chest rose and fell as she thought about the last few moments she had with Loid, what he said, and how embarrassed he looked from smiling at him. She was touched, but also a bit scared. His age was so different from hers that she never really consider him as her friend or even love interest. up until tonight, he was merely a kid. She was about to turn the TV off but heard a bump, she turned around and Loid was there but it didn't look like him. Rather than his inky black hair he had snow-white hair, and red eyes instead of green… "Loid?" Monika asked, almost too scared to say anything else. "What happened?" Loid looked around before finally meeting her gaze with a heavy stare. "i'm…playing dress up..? I'm going on a run" he said, fidgeting with the edges of his clothes Monika couldn't help but giggle a bit which made Loid blush a little. "Don't you think My sister will be jealous? she said she was going on a run tomorrow morning." he dashed out of the house holding what seemed to be a razor but Monika was too focused on how he looked to notice. Monika was left with her thoughts, trying to make sense of what just happened. She couldn't think straight so she decided to forget about it. Suddenly she heard a scratching noise coming from behind her. She turned around to see what had caused it and saw a small stray cat perched atop an armchair by the window, eyes wide with curiosity as they watched Monika through glassy yellow irises. As soon as their gazes locked, it meowed softly before hopping off of its cushion to investigate further—purring affectionately all along as it reached out with its soft paws for an embrace that wasn't there. Monika couldn't help but smile as she tapped her fingers against the ground in a beat, too mesmerized by the cat's movements to move. She thought back to Loid and wondered how he was fairing on his journey and what else he had up his sleeves. She thought it was pretty cool of him to take such an initiative—was this the kind of person he was? Monika then reached out to the cat and it instantly sprang into her arms before snuggling against her chest, purring with joy. She could feel its warmth radiating as they shared a bond that went beyond just admiration. Monika closed her eyes and took in this moment of peace without any worries for once—free but she saw spots that had the number one and another cat that had the number two "Hm, that's odd…maybe I should give one to Lana! She would freak..in a good way of course "Monika opened her eyes and looked at the cats next to her. She named the first one Doodle and the second one Scout before gently placing them down on a cushion. Then, she took out her phone from her pocket to call Hanna.

"Hey Hanna, can you pick up a few collars for me?"