August blurred together in our usual rhythm. Classes, the occasional dates when time allowed, and most days spent inside the same house we'd lived in for over a year now.
Somewhere along the way, August ended.
September arrived quietly, bringing with it the first exam of the semester.
And currently…
"Ah."
We were loafing around in the living room, Anathasia sprawled across the couch while I sat beside her.
"This paper sucks," she grumbled.
The sheet dissolved casually in front of her before she stared up at the ceiling, using my lap as her pillow. Something that had become a habit by now.
"It's too heavy. You can't even fold it properly." Her eyes drifted, and she reached a hand out, only to pull it back.
"Manipulating its molecular structure is a pain too…" she added.
I glanced down at her, then back at my laptop on the small table in front of us.
"Making paper planes instead of studying?" I said, watching the small loading circle spin uselessly at the center of the screen.
The Wi-Fi was down.
So she couldn't read any manhwa even if she wanted to. And for that reason… this was where we were.
"The prelims are, like, two weeks away, right?"
"Yeah," I replied. "Reviewing now would be ideal… but—"
I glanced at the lower right corner of the screen. The Wi-Fi icon was practically empty, punctuated by the occasional pop-up.
No Internet Connection. Please try again later.
"…This sucks."
Anathasia sighed, shifting on my lap before burying her face against it.
"Ugh… should I just snap it back to normal?" she said, her voice muffled. "I had my notes on cloud storage—"
"I still have mine in my notebook," I cut in, rummaging through the bag beside me before pulling it out. "This one. Though it's more like an all-in-one binder."
Anathasia went quiet. Her body relaxed completely.
Did she… seriously just fall asleep while I was talking?
I set the binder down on the table beside my laptop.
No… she's just trying to avoid studying.
Even as I gently rolled her onto her back, she continued to "sleep." She was terrible at pretending.
"Anathasia?"
I ran my hand through the ends of her hair. Unnaturally silky and soft, though that was hardly surprising by now.
Well, if she wants to play this game…
Shrugging, I leaned back against the couch and kept stroking her hair, my gaze drifting through the glass doors that opened into the garden beside the house.
Cicadas buzzed in the distance. The sun hung high in a clear blue sky. It was still summer. Though the rainy season was only a few days away.
"September… oh, right," I murmured, my eyes lowering to her face as she peacefully pretended to sleep in my lap.
"It's been a year and a month by now… huh?"
And in that year… a lot happened.
Anathasia appearing out of nowhere. Marianne losing her position as the next Matriarch. Arianne.
*Running into my old grade school classmates… yeah. Them too.
I brushed a strand of hair away from Anathasia's face.
And then there was that 'Fragment of Stillness' thing…
"It's still hard to believe all of this…" I chuckled softly, then shook my head. "A fundamental part of everything… apparently."
The thought itself was absurd.
And yet… it made sense. Even if I couldn't fully connect the dots, the clues were there.
Stillness is equal to neutrality in some way…
Is that why I always feel… strangely calm?
Or the reason why I look like…
I picked up my phone and stared at my reflection.
…this?
An androgynous boy looked back at me. Soft features. Long black hair. Amber-yellow eyes that barely resembled my mother's, but were an exact match for my father's.
"Ruzen?"
?!
I snapped out of my thoughts, my gaze whipping toward the front door.
That voice… I was just thinking about her—
Mom!
I gently shook Anathasia awake.
"Athy, Athy," I whispered urgently. "Wake up—Mom's here."
The front door clicked. Footsteps followed almost immediately.
Wait… she's not alone?
They grew closer. I shook Anathasia again, a little more urgently, but she didn't budge.
"Girl—girl, wake up!" I hissed.
And before I could try again—
"Ruzen, Leah's here. She asked personally if she could visit—oh."
Mom stopped at the threshold.
Behind her stood Leah.
The same Leah from grade school.
My body stiffened as I tried, very unsuccessfully, to slide Anathasia off my lap.
"Mom, I didn't know you were coming," I said, forcing a slightly crooked smile. "The Wi-Fi's been down, so I didn't see your messages."
Her gaze didn't move to me.
It stayed on Anathasia. Still asleep, still comfortably sprawled across my lap, dressed in a blue camisole and shorts that definitely did not help my situation.
"I see," Mom said gently. Her smile softened. "Were we interrupting something?"
I swallowed.
"No—Anathasia is just… tired."
"Tired?" she echoed. "Did the two of you… do something last night?"
My blood ran cold.
I'm fucked if Mom starts thinking that.
"No—of course not," I said quickly, pinching Anathasia's nose to force her awake.
She jolted upright with a sharp inhale, shot me a glare, then slowly turned toward my mother.
"Oh—Auntie," she said calmly. "Good afternoon."
She stood from the couch and stepped forward, lowering her head slightly. Gently, she pressed my mother's knuckles to her forehead for a brief moment before lifting her gaze again.
"What's with the sudden visit?" Anathasia asked, her expression brightening into a polite smile.
It was a far cry from the lazy, half-asleep version of her that had been using my lap as a pillow just moments ago.
Mom smiled back.
Then, without warning, she pulled Anathasia into a hug, one hand settling at the back of her head as she stroked her white hair affectionately.
"I sent a message to Ruzen before coming," Mom said. "But it seems like he never received it."
Anathasia gently pulled away and nodded.
"Ah… yeah. Actually, Auntie, the internet's been down since this morning," she explained. "That's probably why."
Mom glanced at me briefly, then back at Anathasia.
"Hm. I suppose that's understandable."
She stepped aside, her gaze shifting toward the girl standing behind her.
Leah.
Anathasia's smile didn't change, but her eyes flicked to me.
[Isn't that the girl who basically dissed you years ago?]
[Yeah… Leah. I forgot her last name.]
[Not important. But I do wonder what brings her here…]
Leah stepped inside, her smile stiff, forced.
[…Yeah. This is definitely about back then.]
Anathasia fell silent.
That alone was enough to set off every warning bell in my head.
[Please don't play rough with her.] I thought quickly. [She was just a kid back then.]
She didn't respond.
Instead, I caught the faintest movement, her tongue brushing briefly against her lip before she straightened.
That was worse.
"That said," Mom spoke up, breaking the tension, "Leah will be staying here for the next three years."
My breath caught.
"So get along well, okay?"
"Eh?"
I stared at my mom.
Then at Leah.
"Wait," I said, not even pausing. "Why? Did something happen?"
Mom only smiled.
"Why not?" she replied. "She decided to transfer to NSGU since her previous institution was too far away."
"She and her parents already discussed it with me. And this house still has a few spare rooms, doesn't it?"
She gestured vaguely.
"It'll make things much easier for her."
Then she added, almost casually—
"And she's your cousin. Why not?"
I didn't argue.
Or rather… I couldn't.
Leah was my cousin after all. On my mom's side. Refusing outright would only lead to an argument, and that was more trouble than it was worth.
Mom glanced at Anathasia.
"Your girlfriend wouldn't mind," she said lightly. "Right?"
My eyes narrowed.
"I don't remember telling you Anathasia and I were already—"
"Together?" Mom cut in. "Noah told me."
…That piece of—
"With that said," she continued, already turning away, "help your cousin settle in properly, alright?"
And just like that, she was gone.
The door clicked shut behind her.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Anathasia stepped forward.
"Nice to meet you," she said, her tone just a little too sweet. "I'm Anathasia Dunaleff. Kyle's girlfriend."
She extended her hand, smiling as she waited.
Leah hesitated, then nodded and took it.
"Leah… Leah Santos."
The silence returned.
Surely… this new setup won't make things more complicated, right?