If only, back then, I was brave enough, we would have been friends. We would have been there for each other. I would have helped her find the person of her dreams.
FOND NATTICHA as DAO 'THIAM' and PAHN PATHITTA as DAO 'SUAY'
official pilot of WISH UPON A STAR
"There's only one bed." "Well, darlin', I'm not sleeping on the floor, so I guess we'll have to share." planymphia
hii!! here you go :))
The motel room smelled like lemon-scented cleaner and regret. Faded yellow wallpaper, buzzing overhead light, one chair in the corner, andâ
âThere's only one bed,â Nymphia said flatly, her voice strained with exhaustion and the tail end of annoyance.
She didn't need to say it like it was a personal attack, but she did.
Jane didnât flinch. Instead, she tossed her bag by the door and flopped dramatically onto the mattress with a bounce. âWell, darlinâ, Iâm not sleeping on the floor, so I guess weâll have to share.â
Nymphia rolled her eyes, arms still crossed, still fuming a little from the argument earlier.
The drive had been hell. Jane refused to let her navigate, insisting the GPS had it handledâuntil they ended up stranded outside a town Nymphia swore didn't exist on any map she knew.
Xunami, Morphine, and Mirage barely held back laughter when they offered to bunk together in Room 103, leaving Jane and Nymphia standing awkwardly in front of 104.
âTheyâll be fine,â Mirage had said, not even whispering.
âI'll take the side by the wall,â Nymphia muttered after a moment, setting her bag down and refusing to meet Janeâs eyes.
Jane raised a brow from the bed, head propped up by her arm. âSuit yourself. Just donât kick me in your sleep again.â
âThat was one time, and you stole the blanket.â
âAllegedly.â
Silence stretched. The heater kicked on with a wheeze.
Nymphia sat on the edge of the bed, back still to Jane. She could feel the warmth of her behind her, barely inches away. Too close, but not close enough.
They were always like this. Hovering on a line neither of them dared to cross. Close enough to feel it burn, too scared to name it.
Jane yawned behind her, casual and easy. âYou still mad?â
Nymphia scoffed, lying down stiffly. âMaybe.â
A pause. Then, softlyâ
âYou still dizzy?â
That made her pause. Janeâs voice had dipped into something gentler. Something real.
âA little,â she admitted, eyes fixed on the ceiling. âYou drive like youâre being chased.â
Jane chuckled under her breath. âIâll slow down next time.â
Another pause. The heater hummed. The bed was too small.
Nymphia turned on her side, slowly, finding Jane already facing her. Too close.
Neither moved. Neither blinked.
âGoodnight,â Nymphia said, quietly.
Jane smiled. âNight, darlinâ.â
And thenânothing. Just the thrum of shared breath in the still room.
"Is it a bad time to tell you I'm claustrophobic?" for jewelzie please !! thankyuu :DD
hello!! here you go!! sorry for the long wait :((
The plan was dumb. But in the best way.
It started with Kori leaning across the table at lunch, whispering like she was offering government secrets instead of gossip she heard from someone. âWhat if,â she said, practically bouncing, âwe hid the whole day? Like really hid. No classes. No attendance. Just stealth. And we only come out when the schoolâs about to lock up.â
Lana gasped dramatically " And! we don't get to be in Mr. Castro's class"
âExactly,â Kori beamed. âjust one last prank before graduation. Come on, itâll be fun!"
It was absolutely Kori logic, and that meant Jewels was immediately in. Lydia groaned but didnât say no. Suzie Toot just sipped her apple juice quietly and didnât look at Jewels, which meant she was thinking too hard about itâwhich also meant sheâd definitely end up doing it.
And now here they were.
7:53 AM. School had just begun.
Their circleâKori, Lydia, Lana, Jewels, and Suzieâplus a few scattered seniors who joined in for the thrill, were weaving through the hallways in loose formation, ducking past classrooms, library doors, and suspicious staffroom corners.
It was Lana who shouted the warning.
âTEACHER! TWELVE OâCLOCK!â
Instant chaos.
Hands were grabbed. Feet slapped on tile. Bags bounced. Kori squealed in pure adrenaline. Lydia swore under her breath. Jewels let out the kind of laugh that sounded like a firework misfiring.
And Suzieâsharp, stage-trained Suzieâjerked open the side door to the theater room like sheâd rehearsed the motion a thousand times. âHere!â
Jewels didnât hesitate.
Suzieâs hand curled around Jewelsâ wrist, warm and firm. And then: darkness.
Inside the theater room, there was a smaller doorâhalf-hidden behind a tall rack of tattered curtains and broken lighting rigs. A place no one but techies ever really entered.
It was the prop closet.
Tiny. Dusty. Chaotic. Full of fake swords, foam apples, and abandoned Halloween wigs. And as soon as Suzie tugged Jewels in, the door clicked shut.
Silence.
And a smell like mothballs and glitter.
Jewels blinked. âUh. This isâthis is not a room. This is like⊠half a coffin.â
Suzieâs shoulder bumped hers. âWould you rather be in detention with Ms. Visage?â
A beat passed. It was quietâeerily so, considering the rush theyâd just come from.
Their bodies were so close that Jewels could feel the heat radiating from Suzieâs arm. She turned her head slightly and accidentally bumped her nose against what she hoped was a feather and not some extinct creature.
And then she said it.
âIs it a bad time to tell you Iâm claustrophobic?â
Suzie froze.
Jewels could hear itâthe inhale. Sharp. The kind of breath Suzie took when she was about to go full musical-theater hero mode.
âOh my god,â Suzie whispered. âWhy didnât you say anything sooner?â
âBecause I didnât realize until I was sandwiched between a fake tombstone and your hip,â Jewels hissed back.
Suzie shifted instantly, her hands brushing Jewelsâ shoulders, checking, grounding her. âHey, hey. We can leave. Iâll sneak us out.â
But Jewels shook her head. âNo, itâs notâbad-bad. Just⊠small.â
And Suzieâs voice softened. âOkay. Then Iâll stay right here. And distract you.â
Jewels blinked again, adjusting to the dark. Suzieâs voice had that calm clarity nowâthe one she used during dress rehearsals when everyone else was melting down and she was calmly fixing mics.
âDistract me how?â Jewels mumbled.
Suzie didnât answer right away. Jewels could hear the smirk before she saw it.
âWant to guess what prop is touching your left foot?â
Jewels made a strangled sound. âI swear to god if itâs that fake head with maggots that Lydia made-"
Suzie giggled. âItâs not. I think itâs a rubber chicken.â
âOh, much better,â Jewels muttered, but a smile tugged at her lips anyway.
The closet somehow felt less suffocating.
They passed time like that. Quiet guessing games. Suzie softly humming showtunes. Jewels tossing sarcastic remarks to mask the fact that her heart felt like it was doing a whole gymnastics routine of its own.
Somewhere between teacher impressions and debating whether the feather boa touching Jewelsâ elbow was haunted, Suzieâs hand brushed hers.
Neither of them moved away.
Jewels tilted her head slightly. She could barely make out Suzieâs profile. But she could feel her. Every breath. Every small shift.
And Jewels, in a whisper so small it couldâve gotten lost in the dark, said, âThanks. For grabbing me.â
Suzieâs voice came just as soft. âAnytime.â
Another pause.
Then Suzie added, quietly but clearly, âAlso, I wasnât going to let anyone else hide with you.â
Jewels looked at her.
âWaitâwhat?â
Suzie laughed under her breath. âI saw the teacher, and I panicked. My legs were running, and my brain was screaming âyou better grab Jewels Sparkles right now or regret it for the rest of your senior life.â So I did.â
Jewelsâ heart tripped.
The closet wasnât big enough to run from that kind of honesty.
So she didnât.
Instead, she bumped her shoulder against Suzieâs. âIâm glad you did.â
And then, with all the courage that hiding in a dark room full of wigs and rubber chickens could muster, she laced their pinkies together.
would love âWhat do you mean there's only one sleeping bag? You had one jobâ for buttking if that inspires you!! always excited to see your work :)
Hello!! so sorry this took so long i got busy all of a sudden :/
"What do you mean there's only one sleeping bag? You had one job."
Koriâs voice ricochets through the trees, half-laughing, half-accusing, as she gestures toward the lone sleeping bag laid out pathetically in the corner of the tent. Behind her, a chorus of crickets hums, indifferent.
Lydia stands a few feet away, arms folded over her hoodie, looking every bit the unimpressed academic introvert. âI said I would check the packing list. You said youâd bring the sleeping bags.â
Kori opens her mouth. Pauses. Closes it again.
Okay, yes. That did happen. In her defense, she'd been busy cramming trail mix into ziplocks and triple-checking if Lydia remembered her allergy meds. And also, itâs not like this trip was her idea.
They were hereâdeep in some vaguely educational nature reserveâfor the schoolâs Environmental Science overnight field trip. Forty students. Six chaperones. Twelve tents. And one very cruel group assignment draw that paired Kori King, loud, curious, terminally enthusiastic, with Lydia B. Kollins, silent observer of all things mildly annoying.
âOkay, but still,â Kori says, flailing her arms toward the tent like it might help her case. âWeâre in the woods. In June. Itâs freezing. What are we gonna do, cuddle with a pinecone?â
Lydia raises an eyebrow, her expression infuriatingly calm. âItâs a double sleeping bag.â
Kori blinks. âThatâs not better.â
Lydiaâs already turning toward the tent flap, nonchalant. âWe can share. Or you can sleep outside with your pinecone.â
Kori sputters. âYouâre weirdly okay with this.â
âIâm just realistic,â Lydia says, disappearing into the tent like this isnât the most emotionally compromising situation of Koriâs entire seventeen-year-old life.
Kori stands in the dark for a second, processing. She can hear Lydia adjusting inside. The crinkle of the sleeping bag. The soft zip. The way she says we can share like itâs no big deal. Like they arenât two near-strangers with polar opposite vibes whoâve only really started talking since they got paired last week.
Well. Talking is generous.
It was more like Lydia stared blankly as Kori narrated their entire packing process. And Kori⊠kind of liked the blank stares. They made her want to fill the silence. With stories. With jokes. With questions Lydia sometimes actually answered.
Kori shakes the thoughts off and crawls into the tent.
Inside, Lydiaâs already nestled into one side of the bag, hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands. Her dark hair spills across the pillow in neat waves, somehow unbothered by nature itself. The sleeping bag lies open like an awkward dare.
Kori stares at it. Then at Lydia.
âYou sure this isnât like... crossing a boundary?â she asks, voice quieter now that theyâre in close quarters.
Lydia doesnât even look up. âDo you want hypothermia?â
âNo, but I also donât want to get emotionally naked in front of you.â
That gets the tiniest quirk of a smile from Lydia. Not full. Just a soft flicker.
Kori exhales and climbs in beside her. Careful. Delicate. Her arm brushes Lydiaâs, then her thigh. Warmth pools between them, instantly electric.
Lydia doesnât flinch.
They lie there in silence. Tense. Still. Kori counts ten seconds, then twenty. Then a full minute of trying not to think about how theyâre in a zipped-up nylon tube, lying next to someone she once described to her friends as âmysteriously intimidating but like, hot in a Wednesday Addams kind of way.â
Thenâ
âYouâre shivering,â Lydia says, voice a whisper.
Kori laughs softly, breath fogging slightly. âNo, Iâm just⊠vibrating with enthusiasm.â
âCome closer.â
Kori goes still. âFor real?â
âItâs stupid to freeze just to be polite.â
Kori hesitates. Then scoots a little closer. Then a little more. Until itâs undeniable: her headâs inches from Lydiaâs shoulder. Her hoodie brushes Lydiaâs sleeve. Their legs bump.
Lydiaâs hand finds Koriâs wrist under the sleeping bag. Not holding it. Just⊠resting. There.
Kori forgets how to breathe.
âYour heartâs going fast,â Lydia murmurs.
âIâm just excited about the long ass walk we'll have to endure tomorrow.â
A beat. Lydia shifts her head, close enough now for Kori to smell her shampoo. Lavender. Sharp and calm. Everything Lydia is.
âI hope this isnât weird,â Kori says, softer now.
Lydia turns her face just enough to meet her eyes. âItâs not weird.â
Kori swallows. âYouâre hard to read, yâknow.â
âI like it that way.â
âBut you did smile when I almost set the Jetboil on fire.â
Another ghost-smile. âOnly a little.â
Kori grins in the dark, heart beating somewhere above normal human range.
âYou did this on purpose, didnât you?â she whispers. âForgot the second sleeping bag scheme or whatever"
Lydia blinks slowly. âYouâll never know.â
And then, she smiles againâtiny, barely-thereâbut real.
"Quit following me!" "I was hired to follow you, princess, better get used to it." with Planymphia pleaassee <3 (this drought is killing me, sister)
hello!! here u go!!
To Nymphia Wind, being social was a chore.
People exhausted her. Small talk made her skin crawl. Eye contact? Ugh. And now, this? Having someone follow her around like some weird golden retriever with muscles and a scowl? It was hell.
âQuit following me!â she hissed, spinning around in the hallway of her university like she was in some dramatic K-drama. Her black hair swished over her shoulder with flair.
Jane, the infuriating blonde shadow behind her, didnât even flinch.
âI was hired to follow you, princess,â she said, her voice dry and annoyingly smug. âBetter get used to it.â
Princess.
That nickname. That voice. That stupid smug expression.
Nymphia glared at her, arms crossed in her usual bratty fashion. âI told you not to call me that.â
Jane gave her a one-shoulder shrug. âAnd yet, here we are. Princess.â
Nymphia groaned loudly. She was this close to committing a felony.
It hadnât always been like this.
Six months ago, Nymphia was sneaking out of her house every other night like a pro. Sheâd slip past the sleeping maids and the six layers of security like a cat burglarâonly to walk to the nearest 7-Eleven and drink banana milk in peace.
And then her father found out. Of course, he did. The man was practically Taiwanâs answer to James Bond with stock options.
Their argument had been loud enough to shake the mansion.
But surprisingly, he gave inâsomewhat. He let her enroll in a college to take the fashion atelier program she wanted, but she knew it wasnât for free.
Because ever since that day, a new problem had appeared.
Jane.
The human migraine.
Tall, sharp-jawed, blue-eyed, and with an attitude that screamed Iâve tackled someone before breakfast. Apparently, her dad hired her to keep Nymphia âsafe.â (Translation: babysit.)
Nymphia even caught her at her Pilates class once, pretending to stretch.
It was⊠insane.
Her friends teased her constantly.
âMaybe sheâs in love with you,â one of them giggled during lunch.
Nymphia gagged into her boba.
Today was no different.
She walked through campus with heavy steps, Jane exactly six feet behind like a loyalâbut extremely suspiciousâduckling.
Nymphia turned around again.
âI swear, Jane, one more step and Iâm calling the police.â
âI am the police,â Jane deadpanned.
âYouâre not!â
âTry me.â
âAre you even real?â Nymphia whispered, staring at her like she was a government experiment gone rogue.
Jane smirked. âYou tell me, Princess.â
Ugh.
Nymphia turned back around, walking faster. She mumbled to herself. âThis is a nightmare.â
But truth be told, Jane wasnât all bad.
She never overstepped. Never judged her when she had panic attacks in crowded places. Never asked why she skipped parties after ten minutes or why her hand trembled when too many people looked at her at once.
Once, during a study session, Nymphia forgot her notes at home. She was ready to spiral into a full breakdown.
Jane had silently handed her a file, already printed and color-coded.
Nymphia blinked. âWait⊠how did youâŠ?â
âYou always forget stuff on Wednesdays,â Jane said casually, sipping her black coffee. âPattern recognition.â
It was the weirdest, warmest, most annoying thing anyone had ever done for her.