Chapter 7

Lily kicks her door shut gently behind her and flops onto her bed face-first. The late evening moonlight filters through the window, casting silvery shadows across the blue-and-gold room. She flips over with a groan, grabbing her phone off the nightstand and unlocking it.

LILY
(softly, to herself)
Alright... Let’s see if she’s still awake.

She taps into her messages and opens her chat with “Sanny🩸.” Her fingers hover over the keyboard a moment before she begins typing.

Lily:
yo sanguinella u up

Read.

Sanguinella responds almost immediately.

Sanny:
always. sup?

Lily:
wanted to call for a bit if that’s cool. we haven’t talked in a while

Sanny:
ok! gimme like 2 min. let me go somewhere quiet

Lily grins to herself and adjusts her position, holding the phone up. A moment later, the call comes through.

She answers.

LILY
Yo, Sanny!

SANGUINELLA
(quietly, a bit breathless)
Hi Lily... sorry... had to sneak out of the study room...

LILY
Wait—you were studying this late?

SANGUINELLA
(stammering)
W-well... Papa says night studying helps memory. But I mostly just read this cool old book on starflow patterns...

LILY
(chuckling)
Berwick’s influence is strong in you.

SANGUINELLA
(hushed giggle)
I-is that a bad thing?

LILY
Nah, it’s cute. Nerdy. But cute.

Lily picks at a loose thread on her blanket.

LILY
So... my dads are heading out again. Deep Sea this time. Gonna talk to one of the Primordials.

SANGUINELLA
Woah... that sounds scary...

LILY
It’s fine. I’m not going this time. They’re letting me stay behind.

SANGUINELLA
R-really? Why?

LILY
Said I earned a break. Plus... y’know. I wanted to see you.

Sanguinella’s breath catches slightly on the other end.

SANGUINELLA
Oh... t-that’s... nice...

LILY
(grinning)
Don’t make it weird.

SANGUINELLA
(blushing, voice dropping)
I-I’m not! Just... surprised...

LILY
Anyway. You doing anything this week?

SANGUINELLA
U-um... not really. Just lessons and training...

LILY
Cool. Then I’m dragging you out of the house. We’re hanging out. No takebacks.

SANGUINELLA
(tiny, but smiling)
Okay... I’d like that...

They talk well into the night, laughter and low chatter weaving through the stillness of Lily’s room. For now, the world-saving could wait—friendship came first.