she walks in beauty like the night (1.5k, nymallura)
She walks in beauty like the nightâŠ
Nyma was used to sneaking out of her house at night - so used to it, in fact, that one could think of her as an expert; the boys on her street certainly did, considering how often they went to her for advice on the matter. The key, she always said, was sound, not sight. Too often, an amateur escape artist would give themselves away by trying to turn on a light, or else they would stumble along in the dark and cause a racket as they went.
But Nyma was no amateur â she knew how to navigate her world by sound.
She had figured out everything, like how to plan her steps so that the floor wouldnât creak or how to hold a ring of keys so that they wouldnât jangle, or even how to determine if her mother was deep in sleep or only lightly dozing based on the frequency of her snores. Perhaps that was why she loved darkness, while so many others feared it. Even if she couldnât see a thing, there would always be sound to guide her.
This time, as she made her way through a poorly-lit alley at three in the morning, the sound that Nyma was following came from her own stomach. Nighttime walks had a tendency to leave her feeling hungry, so rather than turn home, Nyma decided to take a left and head towards what she insisted was the best restaurant in town.
About fifteen minutes later, she stopped at a 24-hour fast food joint.
Mankindâs greatest inventions, she always said. Â Poor impulse control and unrestricted access to chicken nuggets.
After ordering her usual meal, a milkshake and way too many fries, Nyma turned to survey the scene. The restaurant was practically deserted, as usual; besides the employee at the cash register and Nyma herself, there was only one other person at a table in the corner, a girl about Nymaâs age who was calmly working her way through a salad.
Sheâs gorgeous, Nyma thought dimly, taking in the girlâs bright eyes and slender frame, her dark brown skin framed by long white hair. She turned slightly, and Nyma thought she saw pink tattoos running along the girlâs cheeks. That was about the time that Nyma realized she should probably stop staring before this turned into some cheesy teen romance, but before she could turn away, the girl happened to look up and catch Nymaâs eye.
Fuck, Nyma thought to herself, quickly averting her eyes and willing the blush in her cheeks to go down. She glanced up a second later, hoping that the girl had ignored her and gone back to daintily eating her salad or whatever it was she was doing.
Only, the girl hadnât looked away. In fact, she seemed to be beckoning her over. Â âOh, Nyma!â she called, waving slightly. âI didnât expect to see you here so late.â
ââŠSure,â Nyma said slowly, taking a few hesitant steps towards this girl. Who was she?
Whoever she was, the girl immediately noticed the blank look on Nymaâs face. âIâm Allura,â she clarified, an expectant look on her face. âFrom your English class in sophomore year?â
âI sat a couple of seats away from you?
âFor an entire semester?â
âI was usually asleep-â
âWe worked on a project together?â
âI was the girl who wrote a nine page essay on Lord Byron?â
Nyma stopped, her face immediately lighting up with recognition. âOh! Byron girl! âŠThat was you?â
The girl - Allura - just sighed. âYeah, thatâs usually what people remember me by.â
Nyma smirked and leaned against the table, looking down at the other girl appraisingly. âLast I remembered, you had giant glasses and a Totoro backpack.â
Allura looked unimpressed. âLast I remembered, you wore punk rock band t-shirts and announced that you were going to fight the entire varsity football team.â Â
âHey, in my defense, I called that one off. It just wouldnât have been a fair fight for those boys.â
Allura didnât say anything, just let the corner of her lips lift up in a smile - no teeth, just cute dimples and warm eyes and beautiful pink tattoos that stretched along her cheeks - and all at once Nyma felt like she had never seen the sun until that day. She had been stumbling around in the dark all her life but finally, the dawn was breaking; finally she could see a little clearer.
Iâm⊠definitely sleep-deprived, Nyma thought, trying to beat back her clichĂ© thoughts with a stick. She had a reputation to maintain, after all.
âSo, uh, what brings you to this corner of hell so late at night?â Nyma asked, sliding into the seat across from Allura. Smooth, real smooth.
âLate at night?â Allura quipped. âItâs practically four in the morning. Iâm up early.â
Whatever confident smirk Nyma was trying to keep up immediately fell off of her face. âYou- Youâre what?â
âLike, you woke up? At like 3:30 or something?â
âYeah? Actually, closer to three. I can never fall back asleep after I wake up, so I figured I might as well get an early start to the day.â Allura laughed at the shocked expression on Nymaâs face. âWhat, have you been awake all night?â
âOf course!â Nyma said, feigning offense. âI take my bad sleeping habits in the form of insomnia, like any other common man.â
Allura raised an eyebrow. âReally? I wouldnât exactly say that taking a stroll before bed is common. â
âHey. Look whoâs talking. There is no way that waking up and eating breakfast in the middle of the night is less weird than not being able to fall asleep. Insomnia is fairly common - but salad at three in the morning? Unheard of.â
Allura laughed again, and Nyma quickly realized that she could grow addicted to that sound. âAll right, I suppose so. But look - we ended up in the same place, didnât we? I believe thereâs enough oddness around here to share.â Â
âI couldnât agree more, Allura.â
Nymaâs order was called soon after that, so she jumped up to grab her milkshake and fries and then returned to their table, grinning in anticipation. âSpeaking of sharing, do you want any fries? No offense, but that salad looks kinda dead on the inside.â
Allura shook her head slightly. The way she was holding her plastic spork, poised above her salad bowl, one might assume she was holding expensive silverware- she was positively regal.
âIâm fine, thank you,â Allura said, bringing Nyma out of her musings. âThe fries here are actually made with a meat flavoring. There arenât too many vegetarian options here, to be honest, so I make do with what I can.â
âHence the breakfast salad?â Nyma asked.
Allura smiled. âHence the breakfast salad.â
Nyma felt herself smile back, a warm silence beginning to fill the room before she realized what was happening. She quickly tore her gaze away and instead looked down at her food.
âWell then, uh-â Nyma cleared her throat- âdo you want any of my milkshake? Unless theyâve been secretly mixing in steak or something.â
âOh! Well no, they havenât, butâŠâ
âBut what?â Nyma looked up to find Allura regarding her with an odd expression on her face.
âI mean, sharing a milkshake?â
âItâs like a cheesy date.â Allura was looking away now, staring intently at her salad with a slight blush on her cheeks.
Nyma froze, holding a fry halfway to her mouth. âOh⊠would you look at that,â she finally managed to say - and damn it, Nyma was supposed to be good at flirting! Would you look at that? Really? It was like three years of swindling boys had gone down the drain. âHere,â Nyma said, recovering enough to grab another straw and stick it in the milkshake. âConsider it a reward for putting up with me at like, 4:45 in the morning.â
Allura looked up, smiling. After that, the girls ate in silence for a while, Allura finishing her salad, Nyma munching on her fries, both of them taking turns to take a sip of milkshake from time to time. Allura may have looked calm and confident as ever, but Nymaâs head was buzzing . âHey, uh, sorry for earlier,â she began, awkwardly breaking the silence. âNot remembering you, I mean.â
âOh, thatâs perfectly alright,â Allura responded. She hardly even looked up from her food.
Nyma shook her head, unconvinced. âIâm serious,â she continued, âI didnât mean to act like you were⊠insignificant. It was just that I, uh, literally slept through about every period in that English class. Iâm, uh, more of a math person - numbers and hard facts, you know- but anyways, yeah, thatâs still a poor excuse for forgetting a girl like yourself, so I guess that oneâs on me? â
âSeriously, donât worry about it,â Allura laughed. âI certainly wouldnât have remembered so much if I hadnât been constantly arguing with half of the people in that class.â Nymaâs face must have still looked skeptical, because Allura finally put down her spork and leaned forward, her hand landing only inches away from Nymaâs. âBesides-â she continued, almost shyly- âI think we can learn to get to know each other.â
Nyma nearly dropped her fry, staring at Allura in wonder. She could hardly look away - it was as though everything else in the room had faded to black. âI couldnât agree more,â she said softly. Â
Allura looked up through her lashes and met Nymaâs eyes, her mouth curved in a breathtaking smile. âWell, then,â she whispered, âI guess we could call thisâŠa date?â
Her smile is contagious, Nyma thought, her own lips starting to take on a grin. There was something about this girl that just couldnât be contained, something that spoke of shooting stars and old poetry and rays of sunlight peeking through window shades. Allura was, by all respects, bright. She was confident and warm and kind in all the places that Nyma wasnât, drowning out the shadows that seemed to follow Nyma wherever she went. Where her words were quick and sarcastic and indifferent, Alluraâs were low and sweet and genuine. Where her hands were rough and calloused, Alluraâs were gentle and kind. And where Nyma kept her doors shut, Allura could knock once and bring the entire structure crashing down.
âOr we could⊠not,â Allura said nervously, bringing Nyma back to life. But Nyma shook her head, because even though she was used to negatives, the childish naivete still left in her was begging her to say yes.
âItâs a date,â Nyma finally said, at around five in the morning. She tentatively brushed her hand against Alluraâs, and the feeling where their fingers met sent a thrill racing up her spine. âEven if it is at an ungodly hour.â
Allura just laughed. âThe sun should be rising by now,â she said, turning around in her chair to look at the faint glow beginning to rise over the horizon. âIâve always loved watching the sunrise.â
âI think I can understand that,â Nyma said, her eyes remaining fixed on Allura. The sun was rising, alright - and she had white curls and pink tattoos.
this piece was made for the vld s3 gift exchange ( @vld3exchange ) for
@sassy-bean-queen. i also had some editing and writing help from
@anakkin, so all my love to amy for her patience and talent! enjoy!
areudirty
2087
kianamaiart
origamiaround
