A gift for a dear friend of mine. I hope you're doing okay <3
The apartment that the young women are currently in could be accurately described as a pink wonderland. Light sifts through the blinds of the windows, dappling the space in golden warmth. ‘’Listen.’’ Nyx slams both of her hands down on the living room table. ‘’This is some serious shit, okay? This will require meticulousness, precision, focus, and ambition.’’
She scans the people in front of her with an intense glare. ‘’We can’t fuck this up.’’ The others gulp, they’d been planning this for months. One wrong move, and it would all be for nothing. Nyx breathes out, closes her eyes, opens them again. ‘’Any questions?’’
Miyuna’s perfectly manicured hand shoots up in the air. ‘’How do we make sure she doesn’t find out, though?’’
‘’Okay, as much as I love her, I wouldn’t call her the brightest bulb in the room. I don’t think this will be an issue.’’ Nyx waves her hand dismissively at Miyuna.
Luna doesn’t seem to be as convinced, though. ‘’It’s just that, uhm, this whole thing is so aggressive… Can’t we just do a normal–’’
Nyx bristles, as if she’d been offended by Luna’s remark. ‘’No! I’ve been planning this for months. My plans never go wrong!’’ She dramatically falls back onto her couch with a thump.
Yuna and Luna share a look. They seem concerned.
‘’Well,’’ Yuna starts, ‘’I think Luna has a point. This doesn’t feel very ethical.’’
‘’But it’s safe,’’ Nyx retorts. ‘’It’s foolproof. You distract her, I snatch her, Luna’s backup.’’
The two women, who are sitting on the opposite side of Nyx, shrug. ‘’Alright.’’ Yuna rummages through her clutch. ‘’I’ll put my trust in you.’’ She brings out her lip gloss and swipes it over her sheer pink lips. The black and pink haired woman smacks her lips together. Her legs are crossed, and her back is straight. The look on her face is quite serious. ‘’But if anything goes wrong…’’
A scoff escapes Nyx’s lips. ‘’Like I’ve said before, nothing ever goes wrong under my watch.’’ Yuna lets out a small laugh. Nyx furrows her brows. ‘’What, did I say something funny?’’
The other woman simply looks amused. ‘’Don’t you remember what happened on the 1st of April–’’
‘’Nothing happened on the 1st of April,’’ Nyx growls. Yuna laughs again. Probably because she sounds as intimidating as a chihuahua. This causes Nyx to groan and bury her face in her hands. ‘’I mean– it was one time!’’
‘’Alright, sorry,’’ Yuna clears her throat. She is, in fact, not apologetic at all. She turns her face away to hide a lingering smile.
‘’Anyway,’’ Nyx says, ‘’let’s just get this over with. Yuna, did you buy the supplies?’’
Nyx shoots a look at Luna. ‘’You know what to do, right?’’
‘’I’m gonna need something more reassuring than that.’’
Luna clears her throat. ‘’Ahem— yes, of course.’’
‘’Great,’’ Nyx beams. ‘’We’ll relocate to the planned spot after school, secure the target, and proceed with the plan.’’
‘’I think you’re trying too hard to make this sound cooler than it actually is,’’ Yuna hums.
She hates to admit it, but Luna and Yuna have a point. It felt kind of creepy to sneak around and spy on their mutual friend. On the plus side, it’s quite easy to keep track of her. All Nyx has to look for is a giant hamster backpack. Nyx’s friend seems to be accompanied by someone. Nyx thinks she spoke of him before. Sol, was it?
The brunette woman and the black and green haired man walk down the hallway of the university as they chat. As far as Nyx knows, her friend has already attended her last lecture. If the schedule she’d gotten her hands on was accurate, little miss hamster backpack is on her way home.
The only thing that’s bothering her, though, is that guy, who looks like he’s a regular at Hot Topic. Nyx needs her friend to be alone, so she’ll have to come up with a way to get rid of that human version of a Monster Energy drink. She looks down at her phone and sends a text to her group chat. Being nimble as a cat, she blends in seamlessly with the crowd of students as everyone’s on their way to classes.
Sol and Nyx’s friend make their way out of the school building. As if on cue, her phone vibrates. The woman, clad in cream and pink, reads the message she received from Miyuna. She shoots an apologetic look at Sol, excuses herself, and disappears to the back of the building, where the parking lots are.
Nyx lets out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, everything’s going according to plan. She stays a little longer to observe Sol. To her surprise, she notices him trying to sneak after her friend. And she thought that she was being creepy, what the hell was that dude doing? ‘’Oh no you don’t,’’ she murmurs as she rummages through her pink, bedazzled school bag. Luckily, Nyx is the kind of girl who has a plan for every thinkable scenario.
In her empty hand is now a water balloon. She takes a deep breath, aims it at Sol, and misses spectacularly. The balloon crashes into the concrete with a wet splat. Sol, startled by the sound, narrows his eyes and looks around the area. Nyx ducks into a nearby bush. After a few seconds, he leaves in the opposite direction, figuring out that someone’s probably watching him. Her aim might be absolutely atrocious, but at least she got the job done. She runs to the parking lot.
There, behind the school building, stood Yuna and their friend. Yuna has successfully stalled for time. They’re still talking when Nyx gets there. A smirk grows on her face. So far, so good. Nyx holds her breath, afraid that any small sound or movement will catch her friend’s attention. Her steps are slow as she draws closer and closer to her target. She rummages through her bag again. This time, pulling out a burlap sack (and yes, it’s pink, duh), and swiftly puts it over the brunette’s head.
Immediately, the poor woman starts kicking and screaming. Her shouts are muffled by the bag over her head. ‘’Oh my God, help me Yuna! I’m being human trafficked!’’ she cries out. Nyx makes eye contact with Miyuna, who looks very guilty. Nyx, however, is too focused on restraining her victim to properly process how she feels about the situation.
It was indeed a struggle, like trying to wrangle a bag full of cats. The target elbows Nyx in the face. ‘’Yuna, are you there? Did they get you too!? Gosh, run, run!’’
Nyx clenches her teeth, trying to suppress the pain that’s blooming throughout her face. If this messes up her makeup, then she’ll be really mad. She focuses her eyes on Miyuna again. Nyx blinks three times, signaling her to send a text to Luna.
The aforementioned woman appears behind the cars and takes the hostage from Nyx’s hands. She throws their mutual friend over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Luna looks very, very unsure. Like she shouldn’t be doing this, but it’s too late. Also, Nyx looks scary glaring at her like that. She knows what that look means. Don’t mess this up. She’s seen that raging gaze many times when they play Mario Party together. Nyx signals Yuna and Luna to follow her.
Luna takes the kicking and squirming woman to a nearby car. Nyx opens the trunk and waves at Luna. They stare at each other for a while. Luna mouths, ‘’Do I really have to stuff her in there?’’ She looks uncomfortable, like she’s being held at gunpoint.
‘’Yes!’’ Nyx mouths back. So Luna does as she says, because what the hell is even going on at this point.
The three friends enter the glittering pink car. Nyx sits down at the wheel. Yuna takes her place in the passenger seat. Meanwhile, Luna sits at the back. The latter clutches her head in her hands. ‘’Oh my God, did I really just kidnap my friend?’’
‘’It’s for the greater good,’’ Nyx reassures her.
‘’I probably traumatized her for life!’’
‘’She’s been through worse.’’
‘’What’s worse than getting human trafficked!?’’
The shorter woman pulls out Google Maps on her phone. ‘’7 AM classes on a Monday?’’
Yuna quirks an eyebrow as she looks around in the car. ‘’Since when did you have a car?’’
‘’Since I rented it,’’ Nyx dryly replies.
‘’... I honestly didn’t know you could drive,’’ Luna quietly says as she sinks into her seat.
The woman at the wheel whips her head back. ‘’What? Of course I know how to drive!’’
‘’I think this might be the most dangerous part of the plan.’’ Yuna clicks her tongue as Nyx shoots her a questioning look. ‘’Who did you bribe to get a driver's license?’’
Nyx lifts her hands up. ‘’No one, I swear I got it fair and square. Come on, Luna, you trust me right? I know how to drive!’’
The black and purple haired woman flashes an uncertain smile. She seems to be trying to come up with something nice to say. ‘’Uhm, you know…?’’ Unfortunately for Nyx, Luna can’t really come up with something to say.
Nyx pouts. ‘’You really need to learn how to lie.’’ She starts the engine and drives out of the parking lot.
After finally arriving at their destination, the young group of women get out of the car. Taking a closer look at it, Luna and Miyuna notice that it’s actually a very nice car. ‘’I know that you rented it, but how are you affording that while paying rent?’’ Yuna questions.
Nyx sighs. ‘’A few sacrifices were made…’’ Her stomach grumbles in response. She turns her head around to face Luna. ‘’Do you have the supplies ready?’’ The other woman nods, holding a big basket in her arms. Nyx smiles. ‘’Good, set everything up. Then we’ll let her out.’’
The worst part of it all was the noises coming from the trunk. Nyx almost felt a twinge of guilt, which she pushed down to the very depths of her hellishly black soul. Her friends, on the other hand, seem to fare much worse. Miyuna taps Nyx on the shoulder. The shorter woman turns around and cranes her neck up to look her in the face. ‘’This better be worth it,’’ Yuna purses her lips.
‘’Okay, it’s all done now!’’ Luna shouts from the field. Nyx goes to the trunk of the car and opens it. She drags the hostage out of the cramped space and leads her to the spot Luna set up. The brunette whimpers.
‘’Please,’’ she pleads, ‘’I don’t have anything of value, except my Angelic Pretty collection from 2010, I can give–’’
Nyx snatches the burlap sack off her head.
The brunette blinks in confusion, her eyes are as wide as saucers. As if in a daze, she looks around her surroundings. She seems to be in a flower field. Specks of colorful chrysanthemums cover the ground she stands on. The autumn breeze is refreshing, carrying a hint of floral sweetness. In front of her is a picnic blanket, covered in all kinds of delectables. From teacakes, to chocolate-covered fruits and berries, and homemade cookies. In the center of it all stands a birthday cake, covered in pink frosting, with the words Happy Birthday! written on top.
‘’Happy birthday!’’ Yuna, Luna and Nyx shout gleefully. The brunette spins around. Her friends run up to her. Nyx is the most eager of them all. ‘’What do you think, do you like it?’’ she grabs her friend by the shoulders, shaking the confusion out of her skull. She puffs her chest out proudly. ‘’All of it was my idea!’’
‘’Yeah, just so you know, it was Nyx’s idea to kidnap you,’’ Yuna explains.
Luna shoots her friend an apologetic look. ‘’I’m sorry if I was too harsh…’’ She puts her arms behind her back and looks away. ‘’I didn’t mean to hurt you–’’
‘’Oh no, you didn’t hurt me. I’m fine,’’ the formerly kidnapped woman reassures. ‘’I had no idea you guys were planning all of this…’’
‘’I mean, that’s the whole point of a surprise party,’’ Nyx raises an eyebrow. ‘’You didn’t think we like, forgot your birthday or something, right?’’
The brunette is still taken aback. ‘’Well, you didn’t really have to do all of this for me.’’
‘’Are you kidding me?’’ Yuna cuts in. ‘’Of course we’d celebrate you, you’re our friend!’’ She grabs the hand of her friend and holds it close. A soft smile appears on Miyuna’s face. ‘’But I’m sorry if all of this was too startling. I tried to convince Nyx that it was too much.’’
Nyx scoffs. ‘’Look, it’d be too obvious if any of us had invited her home.’’
‘’I still don’t think the kidnapping part was necessary,’’ Luna mumbles quietly.
‘’Yeah sure, let’s invite her into my suspiciously blinged out car that she’s never seen me drive before. That won’t raise any red flags at all,’’ Nyx rolls her eyes.
Her friend looks surprised. ‘’Oh, you were the one who was driving?’’
Nyx puffs out her chest in pride again. She puts her hands on her hips. ‘’Yep!’’
‘’Oh. That explains… a lot.’’
‘’... What do you mean by that?’’
‘’It was a very bumpy ride.’’
Miyuna and Luna laugh. Nyx doesn’t look amused at all. ‘’Hmph, whatever, let’s just get this celebration going.’’
The four of them walk towards the picnic blanket, where they sit down and indulge themselves in cake and tea. The girls talk with each other and laugh as they discuss Nyx’s incredibly risky plan. They came to the conclusion that even though it was successful, they probably wouldn’t repeat it a second time.
‘’I felt so bad back then,’’ Luna sighs. ‘’Again, I’m so sorry.’’
‘’It’s fine,’’ their brunette friend reassures as she takes a sip from her teacup. ‘’I’ve been through worse.’’
Luna tilts her head. ‘’Like 7 AM classes on a Monday?’’
‘’Oh no, someone actually tried to kidnap me once.’’
‘’But that’s a story for another time,’’ she waves her hand dismissively, as if getting kidnapped was just another Tuesday afternoon for her. She smiles down at her teacup. ‘’Thank you girls, really. I usually don’t celebrate my birthday at all.’’
‘’Then we’ll have to keep planning surprise parties for you,’’ Yuna smiles. ‘’Minus the kidnapping.’’
‘’Come on guys,’’ Nyx snorts. ‘’It worked out in the end!’’
Luna and Yuna shake her. ‘’Still a bad idea!’’