Chapter #5Friends and Flatmates by: Reneg4de   "So, lemme get this straight..."
A silver haired woman tapped her fingers on the coffee table in front of her, her sapphire eyes never leaving the gothic woman sat opposite her. Alisa had found it off that Yuri had wanted to meet somewhere as plain as the local Starbucks, but then again, the goth was always finding ways to surprise her, such as right now with her offer.
"You want me to be your roommate?"
"That seemed awfully dramatic for so little words, Alisa," Yuri commented dryly, lifting her cup and taking a sip of her drink. Bitterness filled her mouth, plain black coffee being squished around before flowing down her throat. "But yes, I am asking you if you want to move in with me."
"Why?" Alisa asked bluntly. "Wait, that came out a bit wrong... but you get what I'm asking, right? Why me?"
"We're friends, aren't we?" Yuri shrugged nonchalantly, lifting her tuna sandwich and taking a bite. "And I figured you'd be the best person to ask, given your circumstances."
"H-Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"
"You're in the same boat as me, nothing more, nothing less," Yuri answered simply, resting her elbows on the arms of her chair. "We've both just finished college. We're both absolutely broke. And while we both could continue to mope around our respective family homes for a few years, do either of us really want that?"
"I suppose not". All of Yuri's points were completely valid. The two of them had just finished college, something that had utterly drained Alisa's savings account. And while her parents had offered to let her move back in with a heavily discounted rent, her old room had been given to her younger brother, Damian, while his old room had been turned into some sort of rumpus room for everyone. She wasn't sure how comfortable she could be in a room that wasn't hers, especially with Adam coming to visit and... sleepover. "But how do you know I'm not planning on moving in with Adam? Maybe we've got a cute studio apartment all lined up?"
"I don't, but moving in to a studio apartment with a man not even in the country at the minute would be difficult," Yuri took another sip of coffee. "Look, I'm not gonna spend all day trying to convince you, Alisa. Yes or no, all I want."
Alisa pondered Yuri's offer for a few moments. It would make sense, the two of them living together. They were best friends after all, not that Yuri would admit something so sentimental.
"Alright, I'm in," Alisa nodded slowly, reaching for her own drink. She had a large cup of cream and sprinkles, sat atop a vanilla latte with a pump of caramel syrup, something that had made Yuri roll her eyes when she had ordered it. "You got somewhere in mind, or do we have to start hunting?"
"I've got somewhere in mind already. Friend of my aunt owns a few flats throughout the city, they've offered one to me with a discount on the rent provided I give them a hand with a few things," Yuri explained. "Yes, those types of things you're thinking, Alisa, I am still a practised witch."
"Can't blame me for being curious... but sure, just send me the address!" Alisa offered Yuri a bright smile, but got only a nod in return. Someday, she'd make the dour goth grin.
- Two Days Later -
Alisa pulled up outside the address Yuri had given her a few days ago. Peering out the window, a four storey building loomed over the van she had rented. Each floor looked to be its own flat, and Yuri had explained they were on the top floor. She had also explained, much to Alisa's fury, that the building didn't have a lift. So all her furniture, her bed, her desk, her chair, her damn wardrobe, had to be lifted manually.
"Looks like a nice place, honey," Alisa's dad commented. "A peaceful neighbourhood, from what I've -"
A bright light erupted from the windows of Alisa and Yuri's new flat, cutting him off. Alisa merely blinked at the spectacle, while her dad awkwardly cleared his throat.
"A former peaceful neighbourhood," he quickly amended his statement with a smile. "Come on, Damian, we've got work to do."
Sat between him and Alisa was Damian, Alisa's younger brother. In true older sister-younger brother fashion, he had long outgrown Alisa in both height and muscle mass, something he loved to lord over her until she threatened to kick him through a wall.
"Uh-huh, coming..."
The trio got out of the van. Alisa left her father and brother to start unpacking, and charged up the stairs to her new flat. The door was ajar, a faint burnt smell emanating from it.
"Yuri? Everything okay?"
Poking her head in, Alisa found Yuri coughing and splattering, the goth lying on the floor next to a couch that seemed to be upside down. In fact, the whole room was filled with various bits of furniture in odd orientations. A bed was pressed up against the wall, and a table with two chairs was neatly set up on the ceiling.
"Hey, 'lisa..." Yuri grumbled. "Tried moving everything in with my power, might have made a few minor miscalculations".
"A few, huh?" Alisa looked around the disaster zone of furniture. She couldn't let her family see this, as cool as it looked. "Look, you gotta fix this. My dad and Damien are helping me, and they do not know about magic, which means they're gonna question why the stove is upside down!"
"It is? Huh. That was already here..."
"Yuri!"
"Fine..."
Yuri sat up, signing heavily before planting her hand on the floor and closing her eyes. The room flashed again, blinding Alisa for a moment. When she regained her vision, it was neatly set up as a joint living area, kitchen, and dining room.
"One to move, and one to set everything up makes more sense, I suppose". Standing, Yuri gestured to a door behind her. "My room, no arguing. It overlooks the back of the building, which is quiet and important to me. Your room is there, closer to the bathroom. It's also slightly bigger than mine, for which you're welcome. Now, I suppose you'll want a hand moving all your stuff up?"
"A literal hand, please, not a magical one that will invert my wardrobe or make my bed float". With the flat looking normal, Alisa led Yuri back down the stairs to begin moving her in.
- Six hours later -
"Y-Yuri... I hope you realise that... I'm never moving out..."
The two girls lay on the floor, chests heaving and coated in sweat. It had taken them the better part of the day to move all of Alisa's things up the stairs, despite multiple offers from Yuri to knock her father and brother out and just teleport everything up.
"Fine... just keep paying rent, I don't care..." Yuri huffed, wiping sweat from her brow. "At least we're done..."
"True!" Much more fit than Yuri, Alisa recovered some breath and sat up, a grin on her face. "We've got our own flat now! And we can decorate it however we want!"
"Yeah, suppose..." Yuri rolled into her side, pressing her hand against the floor. Breathing out, she released a pulse of magic that she had hoped would bring forth all the decorations Alisa had told her were packed away in her stuff, as well as her own. Instead of the flat becoming more homely, everything in the room suddenly switched colours. The black sofa became pastel blue. The brown dining table was now purple. And Alisa's silver hair... well, that was now amber coloured, which Yuri found hilarious.
"Yuri, what the fuck?!" Alisa yelped, grabbing at her honey how's hair. "W-Why is my hair... no, never mind my hair, why is everything a different colour?!"
"Sorry, another miscalculation..." Yuri sent out another pulse of magic, returning most things to their normal colour. Unfortunately, Alisa's hair wasn't one of them, meaning the former silverette was a) stilla a blonde, and b) absolutely furious.
"Yuri!!!"
"Give me a minute, fuck!" Yuri snapped back, sitting up. Building up a hasty charge, she clapped her hands, sending out a blast of magic that not only fixed everything's colour, but sent Alisa and her spiralling to the ground.
"Yuri..." Alisa breathed, her silver hair falling into her face.
"Uh-huh?" Yuri panted, feeling awfully drained.
"Stick to your rituals. And I'm banning magic in the house."
"That's fair".
Later that night...   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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