Chapter Text
rendezvous
ren·dez·vous
intransitive verb
: to meet or come together at a particular time and place : come together for a rendezvous
Zoey loved parties.
The frat house that they’ve been invited to is one of the bigger ones on campus, it was nearing Halloween and the decorations were set up to match. The strobe lights were shining green and red, and the lights were almost completely off. There were fake cobwebs hung up around the windows, and fake bats were strung from the ceiling. She can already see that some people are taking full advantage of the rare open bar. They’ve been here for just over an hour, and there were already people on the dance floor.
One of them was her girlfriend, Mira, always ready to show off her dance moves in one of these settings. She looked up to find her girlfriend among the crowd - which wasn’t hard as she towered nearly everyone there. She was pulled away by her dance mates a few songs ago and Zoey opted to stay behind, promising she would be watching.
Zoey laughed lightly as her girlfriend met her eyes over the thrum of bodies around them. She bit her lip and tried to cheer her on. Mira must’ve mistaken her look with something else, and after a few beats she was by her side again.
“Hey,” the taller girl leaned in close and put her arm behind her back. “You alright?”
Zoey looked up to meet Mira’s eyes. She’s sweaty and her breathing is labored. The half-assed costume of a secret assassin already ruined by the rolled up sleeves and unbuttoned white shirt. Her face is slightly flushed - Zoey doesn’t know if it’s from the few drinks they had before or her impromptu dance-off. She ran her hand over her exposed collarbone, earning a shiver.
“Better now that you’re back,” Zoey replied, leaning in close so that Mira could hear her over the blasting music. Mira, the ever-attentive girlfriend that she is, pulled her closer by the waist and gave her a peck on the forehead. Zoey was wearing a black dress that had a slit on the thigh, an old prom dress she couldn’t part with. She also wore a thigh garter with a fake knife attached to it. When Mira saw it at first, she struggled not to take her right then and there but they were already late and she promised her later. If anyone asked what their costumes were, they were a knock-off Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Zoey had a more proper costume plan for actual Halloween day but didn’t want to show up without one tonight.
“We don’t have to stay for longer, if you don’t want to.” Mira said, her voice by her ear.
Zoey shrugged and drank another sip of her soju-beer concoction. She relished her girlfriend’s touch for a moment longer. Zoey did truly love parties but tonight - there was something a little bit too loud about the music, and the movement of people is giving her more of a headache than energy. She can’t help the sinking feeling in her stomach that something was going to go wrong tonight, but she can’t quite put a finger on it. And if she told this to Mira, she would not hesitate to bring her home right now. But Zoey didn’t want to go home yet. She spent too much time looking good to waste it for only an hour so she kept her mouth shut.
A yell from in front of them broke her out of her stupor. “Mira! Come back, we have to do this dance!”
Zoey can’t help but giggle as Mira almost snarled at the voice, but Zoey knows her girlfriend. Without thinking, she pushed Mira away from her and back to the crowd with a silent go and kick ass, I’ll be right here.
Mira gave her another hesitant glance before Zoey just smiled and blew her a kiss. Even if she’s not having that much fun, she can at least enjoy looking at Mira dancing. And the promise of what comes after thrilled her to no end. Yea, Zoey did love parties.
After a few more songs, Zoey finished her drink. She looked up to find Mira’s gaze and gestured that she was going to get a refill at the bar. Mira nodded and that was all Zoey needed to push herself off the wall she was leaning on and make her way there.
She said hi to a few people she recognized from her classes, ignoring the ones that were too drunk. It’s still relatively early into the semester, and these parties always garnered some gossip. Either from people doing embarrassing things while drunk or the occasional hook-up story. Zoey did not want to be at the receiving end of the gossip this year.
She dodged a few more drunk people and finally ended up at the bar. The fresh-eyed recruit who is definitely too young to drink, took her order and went to busy himself opening a can of beer and soju. Zoey took this chance to look around the room. The main room she was in before was crowded, but the hallways and adjacent rooms were a bit more quiet. She breathed in a moment of respite.
The boy handed Zoey her drink and she took a sip. A bit too strong on the beer but it’ll do, Zoey thought. She thanked the bartender and just as she was about to leave, her eyes caught on two people on a couch together on the far corner of the room. She can see a girl and a guy, and to anyone else who was not sober, this might have not raised any flags.
She recognized the girl though. It’s Rumi. Zoey’s had a few classes with her before, the first one being a required dumb first-year class where she was partnered with her in a group project. She remembered her being really reserved and certainly not someone that Zoey thought would ever willingly go to a frat party.
The blonde guy, she doesn’t recognize, but she does know that with the way Rumi is hugging herself and inching away from him that she is not comfortable with her current situation.
Zoey had a brief instinct to turn and leave, Mira must be wondering where she was. But her conscience pulled her feet towards the two people in front of her. Now that she’s closer she can see that Rumi was clutching a can of drink in her hand until her knuckles turned white, leaning as far away from the guy as she can. She realized that Rumi’s entire body language seemed scared. The guy is none the wiser, attempting to crowd her space more.
“Come on babe, just one dance,” Zoey can hear the guy’s words as she comes closer, “Finish your drink and I promise I’ll show you a good time.”
“No, I’m good. I actually should get going.” Rumi replied, her voice wavering. She went to stand and then he followed her a second later taking her arm to his hands.
“Don’t play hard to get,” He slurred while dragging her back to him with his grip.
Zoey doesn’t know what went through her head, but one second she was watching them and the next she was between them, making sure to put distance between Rumi and the guy.
“Hey Rumi! I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Zoey managed to get the guy to let go of Rumi and she quickly replaced his hand with hers on Rumi’s arm. She intentionally slurred her words making her look drunker than she was. The guy stumbled back and lost balance, ending up back on the couch with an oomph.
“Who is this?” Zoey asked. Rumi didn’t reply, looking a bit confused but mostly relieved.
“Who am I? Who are you?” The guy grunted, going to stand up again.
In a moment of dumb impulse to get him to sit back down, Zoey made a show of tripping and ‘accidently’ poured her drink all over him. “Shit!”
“What the fuck?!” The guy looked at them with wide and angry eyes, “What the hell did you do you stupid bit-”
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Zoey cut him off, and pushed him back down on the couch. “You should probably clean this off,”
“Get off me!” The guy pushed her arm away and this led to Zoey staggering back to Rumi, who steadied her with the arm Zoey was holding on to. His loud voice garnered the attention of a crowd and he seemed to notice this as well. The guy finally stood up grumbling how she wasn’t worth it anyway and left to presumably clean himself off in the bathroom.
Zoey turned around to find Rumi standing right beside her with the same confused look in her eyes. Zoey just gives her a beaming smile, her drunken act ending.
“Hope that was okay,” Zoey said.
Rumi just blinked a few times and looked at her empty cup, now dripping the leftover contents to the floor.
“Oh don’t worry, I wasn’t going to drink that anyway. The bartender put too much beer in it,” Zoey explained as Rumi nodded slowly.
“Thank you.” Rumi said after a while, and she smiled softly at Zoey. “Zoey, right?”
Zoey nodded elatedly when Rumi remembered her name. “Yeah! I’m surprised you remember. We haven’t had a class in like a year,”
Rumi smiled back, “Of course.”
Zoey noticed that her hand was still on Rumi’s and moved to get off her, muttering a quick sorry. Rumi just shook her head in a silent show of contentment.
“I didn’t think you would be the type to go to these parties,” Zoey said honestly.
“I’m not.” Rumi said while shaking her head, not elaborating further.
Just as Zoey was about to reply, the offending guy came out of the bathroom and looked straight at the two of them making a beeline towards the pair. Zoey, not knowing what else to do, reached for Rumi’s hand and started running. She dragged Rumi out of the room, and into the crowd of people where hopefully he wouldn’t follow.
She slowed her pace when Rumi was struggling to keep up, she knew she was fast and nimble due to her small stature. But at this rate, the guy was going to catch up to them. She looked behind for a moment to make sure Rumi’s okay, when their eyes met she seemed just as determined as Zoey to escape him. That’s all the reassurance Zoey needed to pick up the pace again. Zoey’s been to this frat house a couple of times before as she expertly guided her through doors, hallways, and stairs.
“Through here!” She exclaimed, bursting through the house’s back door, leading outside.
She tugged Rumi through the door and made her way down the porch stairs and into the backyard. She pulled Rumi into an alleyway between two houses, it had a fire escape hatch and trash bins. She only knew about this place from the time Mira couldn’t wait to go back home and made out with her right in the alley. Zoey put their backs against the wall and listened to any sounds of movement. When she deemed it safe, she let out a heaving breath. Rumi, getting the signal that they weren’t being followed anymore, also huffed loudly trying to catch her breath. They’re still holding hands.
The shorter girl turned to find Rumi’s face red from the effort of running, her breaths heaving. Strands were coming out of her braid, Zoey stared at her.
“I think we’re good.” Zoey whispered after a moment, not taking any chances, in case he might still be around.
Rumi squeezed their conjoined hands and Zoey finally let go. She stepped away from the wall to give Rumi some space and then her phone rang. Zoey quickly thought of Mira and how worried she would be right now. She facepalmed, already wondering how to explain to her girlfriend about her situation and took her phone out of the dress pocket. Zoey pointed to her phone, gesturing that she needed to answer this and Rumi nodded, turning away from her to fully catch her breath.
“Hi babe!” She huffed out as cheerfully as she could manage.
“Zoey, where are you?” Mira’s voice had a tinge of worry. Her voice was slightly muffled due to the blasting music.
“I met a friend at the bar, we’re just catching up! We’re outside on the porch right now getting some air.” She lied.
She promised Mira to come right back in shortly and not to worry about her. Mira gave some push back but eventually relented with Zoey’s sweet words. They ended the call with their usual I love yous and Zoey hung up. She doesn’t know why she didn’t tell Mira the whole truth, chalking it up to exhaustion from running. But that wasn’t entirely true either - maybe she just didn’t want to make Rumi uncomfortable.
She turned back to Rumi and found her already watching her. “Sorry for kinda kidnapping you.” Zoey let out a hesitant laugh. Now that the situation was mostly behind them, she felt a little bad for making Rumi run a marathon across a frat house.
“I am grateful you did.” Rumi replied, smiling at her.
Zoey laughed loudly then. She motioned Rumi to follow her out of the alley and to the porch. The porch was unremarkable in every way a porch in a frat house would be. There was an outdoor chair that looked like it’s seen better days with all of the stains on it. Zoey decided she didn’t want to risk sitting in that chair and sat on the porch stairs instead beckoning Rumi to come sit next to her.
Instead of sitting, Rumi stood in front of her at the bottom of the stairs, still holding her drink in her hand, sipping it once. Zoey saw that it was a can of soda instead of beer as she previously thought. She nodded towards the drink.
“You don’t drink?” Zoey asked.
Rumi shook her head slightly, "Not tonight." And finally went to join her on the stairs. “I can’t believe you poured your drink on him,” Rumi said after sitting down.
Zoey felt a flush of embarrassment through her body, now that she thought about it more, there were definitely better ways to have handled that. If he was a frat boy here, there was no chance she was going to be invited back. No matter how much social cred Mira and her had.
“Yeah, sorry. It seemed right at the time, I didn’t know how else to get him off you. I wasn’t going to fight him, he was like twice my size.” Zoey explained.
“Don’t be sorry. I should be the one apologizing.” Rumi said firmly. Zoey turned to her and shook her head, implying that no apologies needed.
“No apologies! The guy was an asshole,” Zoey said, “How did he come up to you anyway? It’s not like you look approachable.”
Zoey immediately regretted saying that as she saw Rumi purse her lips and begin to shrink back. “Not that you don’t look nice! I just- I mean, like, you look good. Nice outfit! I meant your face - no - aura?? is like- I mean you just don’t seem like the type to attract-” Zoey shut up before she can make the situation worse by her rambling.
It seemed to work, as Rumi let out a soft giggle. “I get it. My friend, who I came with, left briefly to talk to some of his other friends. I think the guy thought that my friend unsuccessfully tried to hit on me and went to try his luck. He gave me the soda after I denied alcohol, and you know what happened next.”
Zoey hummed throughout Rumi’s explanation, not trusting her voice to reply in case she said something wrong again. “Well if he thinks he could get someone like you, he’s delusional.” Zoey said after mulling it over.
Rumi blinked at her and took a sip of her soda, she looked away as she did so. Zoey looked away as well, feeling a little self-conscious and heated now. Maybe she had too much to drink.
“You should report him if he continues to bother you,” Zoey said, not liking the silence. “I know the student conduct officer, if he tries anything after this party, just let me know and I’ll shoot an email to him.”
“Thank you, Zoey. I will let you know if that happens.” Rumi replied slowly.
Zoey nods, and the silence overtakes them again. The music from the house was quiet here. Zoey can hear them play another party song and wonders if Mira’s still dancing. She suddenly had a strong urge to go back to her girlfriend.
“Where’s your friend now?” Zoey asked. She decided that she will drop Rumi back with her friend, find Mira, and go home. The night’s festivities finally took a toll on her.
“Most likely with some girl,” Rumi said, “He figured I probably went home.”
Well there goes her plans, Zoey thought. She didn’t really want to leave Rumi alone but can’t find a good segue to leave. “What kind of friend is he?” Zoey mumbled annoyed on behalf of Rumi.
“A bad one.” Rumi sighed, there was a story there Zoey could tell. But she didn’t want to push further.
“You can leave if you want. I’ll be fine,” Rumi said. Zoey wanted to take that chance to leave but her good conscience told her to stay. Leaving Rumi alone right now would reflect badly on her, and she would be thinking about it for weeks wondering if she would be okay.
“It’s okay! Knowing Mira she’s probably still enjoying herself.” Zoey replied, bouncing her leg.
Rumi tilted her head in question as she took another sip of her drink.
“Oh! Mira’s my girlfriend. She’s on one of the college’s dance teams. We were invited out because one of her dance crewmates is in this frat. They like to show off. Last spring, they hosted a private dance battle event at the house. Mira’s team won obviously and now they keep inviting her back.” Zoey rambled, taking any chance to talk about her girlfriend.
Rumi hummed, “She sounds nice.”
“Yea! You should meet her sometime. I know we haven’t talked much since last year but you’re always welcome to sit with us during lunch or whatever, if you want.” Zoey continued. “No pressure, obviously!”
Rumi smiled and left the conversation at that. Zoey remembered that she did that a lot when they were doing their group project. With Mira, it’s easier to continue jumping to topics as she likes to reply with snarky remarks. Zoey found that she didn’t mind this either though, it wasn’t awkward as she thought it’d be. And if anything, it forces her to think before saying anything.
After some time, Zoey thought of a new plan on how to go home. She came up with this: find Mira, convince her with her puppy eyes to drop Rumi back to her dorm or bus stop, go home, tell Mira everything that happened, then let Mira have her way with her. Then she could make sure Rumi’s not harassed when she leaves, and get Mira’s angry side or concerned side in bed. She really hopes it’s the angry side.
Just as she finished daydreaming about her girlfriend, Zoey turned to Rumi to tell her about the first part of the plan. (She didn’t need to hear the second part.)
But the shorter girl immediately knew something was off. Rumi had her head on her knees, her two arms shielding her head. Zoey called out softly to her, “Rumi?”
The purple-haired girl did not reply.
Zoey patted her on the back and shook her lightly, “Hey, you didn’t fall asleep on me, right?”
Rumi groaned and turned her head slightly to look at her. Zoey saw that her eyes were glossy and unmoving. As soon as she did that though, Rumi turned her head back to her knees again. She muttered some incomprehensible words.
“Rumi, do you know where you are? Zoey asked. “Do you remember what happened?”
No answer. Shit, Zoey thought. The guy roofied her drink.
Zoey immediately texted Mira to meet her on the back porch quickly, citing an emergency. She put her phone back in her pocket without checking for a reply, knowing Mira would be here in less than two minutes. She focused her attention back to Rumi.
“Rumi, hey, we’re going to take you home, okay?” Zoey put her hands around the taller girl. Rumi took this chance to fully lean on Zoey unconsciously. “Does that sound good? Can you tell me where you live?”
Rumi still had her eyes closed but she muttered something under her breath. Zoey could make out the word head and hurt. “Your head hurts? I know. I’m sorry.” Zoey shushed her, brushing some of Rumi’s stray hairs out of her face. She gave up on trying to get her to answer any more questions.
A moment later, Zoey heard the back door open and stretched to look at Mira. She was huffing like she ran here - which she probably did. Zoey put a finger to her mouth just as Mira was probably about to ask what was going on loudly. She signaled at her to sit on her other side. Mira, albeit the confused and annoyed look on her face, obediently went to sit beside her.
“This is Rumi, old classmate. I found her being harassed by a guy, spilt my drink on him, ran away, and found out he roofied her.” Zoey whispered not wanting to disturb Rumi.
Mira’s face turned from her usual annoyance to one of anger. Usually, Zoey would bite back a retort, doing their usual push and pull. But Rumi took precedence.
“Who?” Mira growled.
“I’ll tell you later but we gotta get her home.” Zoey said, trying to console Mira. Her girlfriend wasn’t happy but the taller girl looked over to Rumi and sighed, knowing that picking a fight with someone right now won’t help her.
“Where does she live?” Mira asked.
“I don’t know.” Zoey replied.
Mira looks back at her with her annoyed face, which Zoey would find so cute any other time but right now.
“Should we call the campus police?” Mira asked. “They would probably-”
It was then that Rumi stirred from where she leaned against her and managed to mumble out, “No police.”
“We’re trying to help you-” Mira started to raise her voice and Zoey gestured to lower her voice down when Rumi grimaced. She knew that she’s pushing her luck with Mira right now, but it didn’t matter.
“That doesn’t help right now, and you don’t want to be known as the one to call campus police on a frat party,” Zoey said, reminding Mira of where they are. Mira grunted and sighed loudly.
“Rumi, hey, do you have your phone on you?” Zoey asked lightly, turning to Rumi, already going to check her pockets. She found the phone in her jacket and didn’t wait for Rumi’s response to take it out.
She held it up to Rumi’s face to unlock it and found several text messages.
Chat with Jinu
[Rumi's IPhone]
Saturday, 23rd October, 11:34 PM
Jinu
Hey, couldn’t find you! I’m going home with someone
Be back by tomorrow morning, don’t wait up
They’re from the campus across town
we ubering there don’t worry
Have a good night, Rumi ♥️♥️
Zoey cursed under her breath reading the messages, this Jinu guy really was a bad friend. Mira must’ve thought similarly when she read the messages over her shoulder. Zoey didn’t want to be too invasive on Rumi’s privacy so she thought the best course of action would be to text the guy back hoping he would answer.
Me
hey asshole!! this is rumi’s actual friends
she got roofied by some other
asshole when you left her alone
what’s her address?
There were immediately text bubbles replying to her message. At least the guy didn’t start his tryst yet. She saw that the message came thirty minutes ago, around the time she and Rumi got to the porch, and figured he was still in the car ride. She didn’t hesitate with her messages, trying to make him feel bad about leaving his friend alone.
Jinu
Oh fuck. It’s 123 Maple Ln.
Apartment #8 - 5
I’m on my way back right now.
Could you stay with her, please?
Me
Thanks. We will.
Zoey locked the phone and put it back in Rumi’s jacket pocket. She turned to Mira and found that she was already ordering an Uber for them to the address. “The driver will be here in 7 minutes.” She grumbled.
“Thank you. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the whole situation before. I was with Rumi and didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.” Zoey apologized, suddenly feeling guilty.
“Call me sooner next time. What if the guy did something to you? You’re telling me the full story when we get home.” Mira gruffed out, clearly still unhappy. Zoey took Mira’s left hand and put it towards her mouth to kiss it, mumbling out quiet I’m sorry’s over and over until Mira calmed down.
It worked, soon Mira wasn’t nearly as angry. “I’ll carry her from the other side. Just keep her from falling over.”
Mira stood up and went to Rumi’s other side. The taller girl tugged one of Rumi’s hands over her shoulder to steady her. Zoey took this as a cue to help Rumi to stand. “We’re going to stand, okay?” She whispered to Rumi.
Rumi groaned at the push and leaned heavily on Zoey, who stumbled back a bit. “Easy. Put your weight on me, Zoey won’t be able to carry you, she’s shorter than you.” Zoey heard Mira say.
Thankfully, Rumi seemed to register what was happening and leaned on Mira instead. “There we go.” Mira said, putting an arm around Rumi’s waist, the other holding her arm from her shoulder.
“Let’s go through the alley, I don’t think it’d be good to take her through the house.” Zoey said, standing up fully and taking Rumi’s arm to guide them.
The car arrived, and they managed to walk Rumi to it and sit her down in between them with no hassle, considering the situation. Rumi mumbled a few things during the car ride but Zoey didn’t understand any of it. She could only make out one word, Jinu. When Rumi was okay again, she was going to seriously sit her down and tell her about her choice in friendship. Suddenly feeling protective over someone she barely knows. For now, she just wrapped her hand tighter around Rumi’s arm.
Once they got to their destination, they found that it was more difficult getting Rumi out of the car than in. Mira had to manhandle her and tug her out of the car forcefully when the driver grew increasingly annoyed that they’re holding him up. Zoey heard Mira mutter a quick apology to Rumi who still seemed out of it to notice anything going on.
Just as Zoey was going to resume her old position, Mira bent down and picked Rumi up on her back. Zoey blinked a couple of times and couldn’t help the flush of her face when she realized how strong her girlfriend was. She smiled sweetly at Mira, who looked smug and nodded her head to lead the way.
Zoey went inside the apartment building and located the elevator. She pressed the eighth floor assuming that the apartment number corresponded to the floor it was on. In the elevator, she took a quick look at Rumi. In another circumstance, her sleeping face looked actually peaceful. Zoey thought it looked cute.
She immediately frowned at the thought, and shook it away.
When they got to the floor, Zoey ran through the hallway looking at the apartment numbers to find apartment 8 - 5. She could hear Mira following behind her. They stopped at the front door realizing that they needed the keys.
Zoey tried to wake Rumi up, “Rumi, hey, can you tell me where your keys are? If not, I have to search you again like I did when I needed your phone.” She teased lightly, hoping that would get Rumi to talk.
That stirred Rumi and she opened her eyes briefly, she whispered, “Pocket,” before going back to sleep.
Mira snorted and rolled her eyes, “That’s helpful. Just check her pockets again, Zo.”
Zoey did as told and began to search Rumi’s pockets, starting with her jacket. With no luck, she searched her pants, it took a bit of maneuvering to get the keys out of her front pants pocket. She already felt bad about touching her essentially without her informed consent. Zoey unlocked the door. She turned on her phone flashlight and went to turn on a lamp, forgoing overhead lights in case Rumi was still sensitive to it. While she did, Mira dropped Rumi gently on the living room couch.
“Okay, safe and sound. Let’s go.”
“Mira.” Zoey chastised, turning on the living room floor lamp encompassing the room with a soft yellow glow. “We promised to stay until her friend gets back,” Her girlfriend groaned at her but didn’t say anything else.
Rumi’s body must have subconsciously recognized that she was back home, as she began to sit up. Zoey rushed to her side, “Hey there, you feeling any better?”
“What? Where?” Rumi asked.
“We brought you home. That asshole guy roofied your soda, Rumi. I’m sorry.” Zoey took one of Rumi’s hands into her own, trying to comfort her. Rumi blinked a couple of times and massaged her head.
Mira came back with a glass of water in her hands. “Drink,” Zoey dropped Rumi’s hand and took the glass when Rumi didn’t move to take it. She offered it to Rumi who sipped it little by little. Once Zoey was satisfied with how much she drank, she put the glass down on the coffee table.
Rumi sat back down on the couch and leaned her head on Zoey’s shoulder, “Thanks.” She mumbled quietly before falling back asleep. Zoey knew that the thank you meant much more than just the water. She hummed beside her.
Zoey looked up to her girlfriend who was still standing over her, and didn’t know what to say. Sorry? Thank you? I want to go home? I’m tired? None seemed right. Mira seemed to sense her distress and offered a hand out to her. Zoey took it gratefully. Her girlfriend took a seat beside her on the arm of the couch.
“I’m not mad at you.” Mira whispered. “You have a kind heart.”
Zoey smiled up at her. Mira leaned over to kiss her on her head. They were okay, Zoey thought. She breathed a sigh of relief and closed her eyes. With her girlfriend holding her hand and Rumi’s body heat beside her, she dozed off.
Zoey was awoken by whispering voices getting louder by the minute. She recognized Mira’s and an unfamiliar guy arguing.
“What the hell were you thinking leaving her alone at a frat party?” Mira sneered.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t think anything would happen. Rumi’s my best friend, I would’ve never left her if I knew.” The guy, who Zoey thought must be Jinu, replied. “I left her for like five minutes and she was gone the next, I assumed she went home!”
Zoey suddenly felt bad. Maybe if she didn’t take Rumi out of that room, they would’ve avoided this situation entirely. It sounds like he came to look for her right after Zoey ran off with her.
“You didn’t bother to check?” Mira responded increasingly annoyed.
“I texted her like I usually do! I looked for her in every room she might’ve been in.” Jinu defended himself.
Now Zoey definitely felt bad. She willed herself awake to look at the scene in front of her. Rumi was still leaning on her side.
“It’s my fault, I took her outside when the guy started chasing us,” Zoey said, making the two people in front of her look at her.
“It’s not your fault, Zoey.” Mira cemented firmly, “If this guy never left her, this wouldn’t have happened.”
“I told you I left for like five min-” Jinu started to talk again, but shut up when Mira glared at him. “In any case, thank you. Both of you. For bringing her back.”
Jinu sighed in relief and looked towards Rumi. “I’ll take things from here. Did you guys Uber here? I’ll pay for it, just let me know how much and I’ll pay you back.”
“Don’t bother,” Mira said, “Just- don’t leave her again, alright?”
Jinu nodded and picked Rumi up bridal style, he took a look at both of them again and thanked them sincerely. “I’m glad Rumi finally made some friends that care this much about her.”
Zoey tensed up at that, and she saw Mira do the same as well. They couldn’t tell him that tonight was the first time Zoey talked to Rumi in over a year. And Mira having not talked to her at all.
“Yeah, well, she obviously needs people other than you in her life.” Mira retorted defensively. Jinu didn’t reply but smiled almost sadly, and with that he disappeared from the hallway with Rumi in his arms.
Zoey looked up at Mira, suddenly feeling very tired. She whipped her phone out and found that it was nearing two a.m. “Take me home, Mira.”
Mira didn’t need to be told twice.
rumi from prof. sanders class
[Zoey’s IPhone]
Sunday, 24th October, 8:06 AM
rumi from prof. sanders class
Hi Zoey. This is Rumi. Jinu told me what happened.
I’m very sorry to both you and Mira.
Please let me know if the lunch
offer is still available.
I would like to treat you guys as an
apology and thank you for last night.
Me
you have nothing to be sorry for!!
but i’m not going to decline a free lunch 👀👀
miras busy this lunch tho :(:(:(
wb dinner?!?!
rumi from prof. sanders class
wb?
Me
whoops sorry
**what about dinner?!?!
rumi from prof. sanders class
Dinner is fine as well.
Please feel free to choose the location.
I will be paying.
Me
K-POT THEN!!! WOOO!!
we’ll meet u thre at 7?
rumi from prof. sanders class
See you then.
Mira looked down at her girlfriend, who was currently putting on the finishing touches on her make-up in the bathroom sink. They were getting ready to go out for dinner after she told her that Rumi offered to buy them dinner as a thank you offering for last night.
She can’t quite get past the events of last night out of her head. She felt boiling rage at the still unknown blonde guy, angry at Jinu for leaving his friend, frustration over Rumi for dragging her girlfriend into that mess, and still a little bit hurt that Zoey lied to her on the phone.
The taller girl left the bathroom and paced around their room while waiting. Obviously, she knew that Zoey didn’t lie completely. She did meet an old friend and was on the porch, but she also told her not to worry. Mira didn’t know if she should’ve pushed harder that night, asking her if she was really okay.
They got home around two a.m. last night, and after Zoey recounted the whole story on their bed, tears threatening to come out because of her guilt, Mira couldn't be mad at her any longer. When they woke up this morning, everything seemed fine. Zoey was back to her normal self and didn’t let herself linger on last night’s adventures. She didn’t want to fight with Zoey, that was the last thing Mira wanted. So Mira didn’t bring it up as well.
When Zoey told her that Rumi invited them to dinner, she only nodded in response. Hopefully, getting to actually meet the person she helped last night would calm her nerves down.
Zoey bounced out of the bathroom and said, “Ready!”
Mira looked at Zoey, she had her hair in her usual two space buns, donning a bomber jacket and shirt underneath with some baggy jeans. She looked cute and Mira couldn’t help but gravitate towards her. She wrapped her arms around Zoey’s waist and gave her a kiss. Zoey hummed against her lips, opening up to being engulfed by her girlfriend’s taller figure. She moved to her neck and bit Zoey there before sucking, knowing it was going to leave a hickey. Sue her for being possessive.
“Mira…” Zoey whined, but not doing anything to push her off. Mira knows she likes it too.
They decided to walk to the place. It was only twenty minutes away and they wanted to enjoy the last bits of warmer fall weather before it gets colder. Zoey held her hand the entire time, rambling about the videos she watched today, pointing out the squirrels on the road storing nuts for the impending winter, and her newest music assignment.
Mira listened to it all, of course, storing each bit of information in her brain. She gave an occasional reply or retort here and there to make sure Zoey knew she was listening. The walk passed by quickly due to Zoey’s constant rambling, it did successfully take her mind off of things.
She saw Rumi waiting for them out front. Her girlfriend waved at her and yelled, “Rumi!” from across the road. The said girl looked up and waved meekly, offering a tight smile.
When they reached her, Zoey didn’t hesitate to give Rumi a hug. “How are you feeling? Was the recovery okay? Jinu took care of you like he promised?” She bombarded. “I swear if he left again after he swore he would take care of you, I’ve got some firm words to-”
Rumi looked overwhelmed by Zoey’s antics. Not uncomfortable but stiff? “Zoey, you need to let the girl breathe.” Mira touched Zoey’s shoulder and gently pulled her back.
“Oops sorry!” Zoey peeled back from her.
“I feel better now, thank you. And yes, Jinu gave me lots of water to flush it out of my system.” Rumi answered.
Zoey smiled at her. “Good! I’m so excited for Kbbq!! Me and Mira come here often, have you come here before?”
Rumi shook her head. At the mention of her name, Rumi glanced up at Mira.
“Oh right! You guys never officially met. Mira, this is Rumi. Rumi, this is Mira!” Zoey offered introductions.
“Hey. Glad to see you back on your feet.” Mira said.
Rumi nodded, “Thank you for last night.”
“It’s not a bother.” Mira replied.
Zoey took the chance to lead them both in the restaurant, she was now rambling to Rumi about the menu while Mira stayed behind them. Turns out, Rumi made a reservation for them, something that Mira and Zoey never do. Always needing to wait at least twenty minutes for a table.
Once they were sitting at the table, Mira and Zoey on one side, and Rumi on the other, the server came and took their order. Zoey basically took the lead and ordered almost everything on the menu.
As they waited for their food, Rumi spoke up, “My memory is a bit hazy from last night. I remember up until we had that conversation on the stairs. Would you mind telling me what happened after?”
Zoey and Mira looked at each other, Mira kept quiet to let Zoey tell the story.
“Well, after our conversation, you blacked out like fully blacked out and then I called Mira- well texted her to come help once I knew that he roofied you, I mean- you wouldn’t get that way over a soda! Anyway I asked where you lived and you didn’t answer so I took your phone- I’m sorry!” Zoey clapped her hands together and bowed in apology. Then continued, “I didn’t look at anything, I swear! Actually no- I saw that Jinu texted you so I texted him back assuming he would know where you lived.”
Mira watched Rumi as Zoey was telling her story. Her eyebrows were pursed together and she kept nodding. At Zoey’s bow, Rumi flushed and waved her apology away. The server came back with some food, and Mira took the liberty to cook it while her girlfriend was still in conversation.
“Then we ordered an Uber to your place- then I think you passed out in the car because it was so hard to get you out. Mira ended up carrying you all the way up to your couch!” Mira saw Rumi bite her cheek and her face was turning more red with embarrassment. She could barely look Mira in the eye, not that she was expecting her to. “Then we gave you water and you passed out on me again-”
“Again?” Rumi squeaked out.
“Oh yeah, you were like using me as a pillow the whole time on the porch, I didn’t mind though! You know, because of the circumstances.” Zoey recounted.
“Because of the circumstances…” Rumi echoed.
Mira was slightly irked at that but only slightly, because of the circumstances. She clenched her teeth and continued to cook the food in front of her.
“Well- then Jinu came home, we berated him- seriously, he is an asshole! He claims he’s your best friend? Is that true? No offense, Rumi, but you gotta branch out and leave his ass.” Zoey pointed her chopsticks at Rumi.
Mira put some of the cooked beef on Zoey’s plate, “Ditto.” She added.
“Right! Even Mira agrees, anyway-” Zoey took a bite of her beef and continued on with her rant.
Mira took the time to tune out a bit, still listening but not participating in the conversation. She put some of the cooked beef on her plate, and the rest, she put on Rumi’s plate. Rumi looked down at the action and finally met her gaze. She looked surprised and whispered a quick thank you to listen back to Zoey’s story.
Mira’s ears burned. It was just the leftovers, she thought.
After some time, she quickly figured out what Rumi ate and what she avoided eating. She cooked Zoey’s favorites, then Rumi’s, putting the leftovers on her plate instead.
“- so that’s why otters hold hands while in the water! Isn’t that cute?” Zoey asked.
Rumi laughed lightly, “Yes, it is. What other animal facts do you know? I would love to hear them.”
Mira saw instantly how Zoey’s eyes got starry eyed. She knew how much Zoey loved her animal facts. A sudden release of tension suddenly left Mira. Was she feeling tense this whole time?
“No, Rumi, don’t get her started. She’ll talk your ear off about it.” Mira fake rolled her eyes.
“Shut up, you love my animal facts. Don’t you?” Zoey started poking her in the ribs, pouting. “Was it all a lie? All this time? Quick fire: how do bats see in the dark?”
“Echolocation.”
“What color is a lobster’s blood?”
“Blue.”
“What animal can taste through its arms?”
“Octopus.”
“What bird has the largest brain-to-body ratio?”
“Crow.”
“Wha-”
Mira put her hand on Zoey’s mouth. “Reindeer. Sydney funnel-web spider. Sunflower. Eighteen. Green. And yes, turtles are the cutest animals on the planet. Happy?”
Zoey gave her an angry face when Mira took her hand off. She smirked, her girlfriend was so predictable.
Mira heard a soft giggle on the other side of the table, momentarily forgetting that they were in the presence of company. Usually, this is when Mira kissed Zoey to make up for being mean. She settled on patting her head instead, then rested her hand on her shoulder, her fingers nonchalantly pressed against the hickey on the other side of her neck.
“Sorry, Rumi!” Zoey apologized sheepishly, a blush creeping up her neck.
“It’s okay. You guys are cute together.” Rumi smiled at them.
After that, the conversation lulled, they did some usual small talk for a bit. It's a bit disorienting how fast they settle in, their conversation naturally flowing. Zoey and Rumi catching up on some of the classes they had, Mira learning what Rumi’s majoring in (Business), both of them learned that Jinu is a childhood friend, Zoey talked about how they met and started dating. It was pleasant.
“By the way, do you know the name of the guy who- you know- harassed you?” Zoey asked suddenly.
“I think it was Andrew? Andy? I’m sorry, I must’ve tuned it out. I don’t remember.” Rumi looked sullen.
“It’s okay, leave it to us! We can ask our friend, Bobby, to look into it.” Zoey said. “Then we can report him to-”
“No.” Rumi cut Zoey off gravely, “It’s okay, I’m not going to report him.”
“What?” Mira asked. “You’re not going to report the fucker who roofied you?!”
“I don’t want to cause any trouble. I’m not going back there so there's no need.”
Mira felt her body heating. “What the fuck? The only trouble there’s gonna be is if you don’t report him!”
Zoey took her hand, and squeezed it to calm her down. “I think what Mira is trying to say is that if you don’t report him- he will get away scot-free, meaning he can do this to other girls. Hell- he might’ve already and we don’t know.” She explained calmly.
Rumi looked down at her plate to avoid their gaze. Mira tried to calm down looking at Rumi’s stature. She just couldn’t believe she didn’t want to report the douchebag!
“You can do an anonymous report. Or we can do it, and you just have to give a witness statement. Fully anonymous.” Zoey continued, “Just please think about it?”
The purple-haired girl nodded, “I’ll think about it.”
There was a tense silence in the group now. Mira didn’t trust herself to speak, and Zoey looked tight-lipped. Rumi was still staring at her empty plate.
Mira sighed and waved down the waiter for the bill.
Rumi paid for all of them like she promised. “Next time, we can treat you out.” Zoey said, hopeful.
“Next time?” Rumi asked.
“Yea! Unless this was like a one-time thing and if you wanna just continue being like civil in the hallways- then I’m cool with that too…” Zoey said, each word quieter than the last.
“No, I mean. Yes, I would love a next time. You still want to see me after last night?” Rumi asked.
“Of course, why wouldn’t we?” Zoey answered for both of them. Mira could think of a couple of reasons but she didn’t voice them out. She was still intrigued by the girl in front of her, angry too but mostly curious.
Rumi gave an unguarded smile at that in a small show of vulnerability. “Okay, next time then.” She said, meeting her gaze too.
The sun was already down when they exited the restaurant, another reminder that winter is coming. The atmosphere around them wasn't as awkward anymore but Mira definitely didn't feel any better than when she came in. Well, not entirely true. She did feel a bit lighter having gotten to know Rumi a bit. But then she remembered the whole not-reporting thing and her mood turned sour again. When they all stood outside of the restaurant to leave, Zoey practically jumped Rumi. “Thanks for the dinner, Rumi! Text me when you’re free to hangout!”
“Thanks for paying,” Mira said.
“Anytime, and thank you for cooking everything tonight.” Rumi directed the compliment towards her.
“Whatever,” Mira waved her off, but her ears burned again. Maybe she's still angry.
They all heard a small honk of a car beside them, it was Jinu. “Hey guys.” He offered a smile.
Both Mira and Zoey did not smile back.
Rumi quickly bid them goodbye and went to Jinu’s car, waving again once she got in. Mira saw Jinu say something to her through the car window and Rumi hit him in the arm.
“Wanna get boba across the street?” Zoey asked once Jinu drove away.
“Hell yeah.” Mira took Zoey’s hand and prepared to compartmentalize the past twenty-four hours with a cup of bubble tea.
Chat with rumi from prof. sanders class, miraa my love ♥️💃🥵, Me
[Zoey’s IPhone]
Sunday, 24th October, 10:04 PM
Me
hii rumi!! this is mira’s number too!!
miraa my love ♥️💃🥵
This is my number
Me
thanks for dinner again!! 😛
even tho its bcuz of the circumsatnces
**circumstances
rumi from prof. sanders class
It was the least I could do.
Because of the circumstances.
Me
[You reacted to 'Because of the circumstances' with a laughing emoji]