Page 65 of Encounter

“I’m really sorry,” I said, nervously licking my lips. “I wish I could get us some booze, but I don’t think I can be persuasive or confident enough.” Alcohol was probably the only thing that was going to force my messed up brain to rewire for the night.

Zola sipped from her drink and then nervously glanced toward the bar.“I can try,” she said, and before I could object, she jumped up, making her way there. Stunned, I stared at her back with eyes wide, wondering if this was the night we both lost our minds and acted like the regular, normal people we were supposed to be according to society.

Anxious for her, I watched Zola’s back while she talked to the bartender. Pushing her hair behind her shoulder and resting her bust on the counter giggling, it was almost like I was looking at a completely different person.

When she came back, it was with four shot glasses between her fingers and a smirk on her face.

“Strawberry vodka. Doubles,” she rejoiced. “Is that alright?”

“I— Sure! Wow.” Nervously accepting the glass, I couldn’t help but give Zola a look of admiration. “Didn’t know you had it in you, Zol!”

I wasn’t sure if her cheeks got pinker or if it was her makeup. Sitting down next to me, she placed the rest of the shots on the little table. “I’ve had theater classes since I was eight, remember? I guess I can make some use of it sometimes!”

For some reason, it put a smile on my face, seeing her like that. There was so much more to Zola than anyone else saw—thanshesaw... I wished she could have witnessed herself through my eyes.

The shots were nowhere near making us drunk enough for dancing, but they got us relaxed enough to laugh and chat like normal people who didn’t worry about others judging.

Close to midnight and nearing the time we were about to go home, we spontaneously decided to get on the dance floor after all, when one of the songs we used to listen to when we were younger came on. It was mostly us jumping around like a pair of excited toddlers, but… nobody cared. Nobody looked at us; nobody judged my moves—we were free.

Free to do whatever we wanted.

After the song ended, Zola and I ran out of the door laughing. Waiting for our taxi, we stood in the alley next to the club to cool ourselves down in the fresh midnight air.

“Oh my god, it’s so freaking hot in there,” I said, wiping the sweat off my forehead.

Zola kept giggling, louder and crazier than she ever would at school. “I know!” Her face radiated—vibrant with pure happiness. It put a stupid, wide smile on my face, one I tried to hide by looking down and taking off my glasses to wipe them clean. “You... look really handsome without glasses, you know? Not that you don’t look good with them. But it’s different,” Zola said as she ran her hand through her hair, eyes fixated on me.

Though it was only a compliment from Zola, it made my heart skip a beat. “Th-thanks,” I chuckled, leaning to the wall behind us. “I guess this was... enough clubbing for a bit, huh? It wasn’t as bad as I expected.”

Still gazing at me softly, she nodded. “It wasn’t bad at all...”

With the subdued music in the background, we could hear—and see, unfortunately—the piss-drunk people outside clumsily getting into their taxis, laughing and rolling on the ground. Fashionably dressed groups of young women chatted vehemently not far from us, while some pack of frat boys sang drunken songs on a bench across the street.

It was all that meant chaos for the both of us, everything I despised. Everything I knew wasn’t for me. Yet in that moment, in the heat of the night, it felt right and peaceful.

Zola played with her hands, fingers twisted together, before she took a deep breath and looked up at me. I saw the moment she stepped closer to me, with a spark of courage in her expression. As she stood up on her tiptoes, Zola closed her eyes and before I was able to react, her soft, plump lips pressed against mine.

For a split second, it felt like all the music stopped and the air around me became pinching cold. I blinked rapidly, but kept kissing her back for a few more moments, because of the sheer confusion and shock of it.

When Zola stepped away and saw my expression, a similar sense of dread must have filled her, too. “I-I-I’m... I’m sorry!” she blurted out, eyes wide and face devoid of color. “It m-must have been the alcohol.” Accompanied by nervous chuckle, she rubbed her forehead in a way that made her hair fall over her face, hiding it from me.

I might have been equally freaked out but quickly tried to calm the situation. “It’s fine, it’s alright, I just...!”

That was all I could get out. Instead of thinking about words, my mind raced with panicked, loud questions.

Has she ever shown any interestlike thisin me before?!

Was I too stupid to notice?

I always thought this was how Zola was—friendly and close. She had been the only person who was always kind to me. How was I supposed to know it... meant something more?Was I too focused on myself to pay attention to her?

“I had— I didn’t know you—” Blubbering like an idiot, I tried to say something, anything, to not completely lose her. My entire body reacted like I was in a life-or-death situation, like I was going to die.

“It’s okay, it’s nothing! Really!” Putting her hands up, Zola shook her head and stepped away, but I knew it wasn’tnothing. “I was just feeling the moment, y-you know? That’s all! It was stupid. Really dumb!”

I knew she lied. I saw her trying to suppress whatever horrible storm I caused inside her. Her eyes turned hazy. She looked lost, staring at the ground and playing with the edge of her skirt while she pressed her thighs together.

This... couldn’t have gone any worse.

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