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“What was it like, living in such a small shack for so long, with nothing but your blastia to keep you company?” Estelle asks one night, sitting in the bed opposite of Rita’s in their shared inn room. Rita had been distracted by the thick book she was paging through before Estelle broke the silence, and she looks up with mild annoyance.
“Where did that come from?” Rita frowns, narrowing her eyes.
“I just… There’s still so much I don’t know. About the world, about people. And I want to know more about you, Rita!” Estelle smiles, kind and bright, and something flutters in Rita’s chest, a blush lighting up her cheeks. She hopes Estelle is too oblivious to notice.
Finally, Rita responds, “It was normal. I didn’t mind it. As a matter of fact, I liked it.” She hugs her knees to her chest. “Nobody bothered me there. As long as I didn’t bother them, anyway.”
“But didn’t it get lonely?” Estelle chews at her bottom lip. Rita has no idea why that manages to distract her.
“No. I mean… Sometimes. I mean. No. What do I care if a bunch of random strangers think I’m eccentric or whatever? Who needs them, anyway? I spent every minute I could doing research.”
“But… “ Estelle trails off, still troubled. “Aren’t you happier now? There’s Yuri, and Karol, and… Well. There’s me. I really like you, Rita!” Estelle holds her gaze and offers her a bright smile, so genuine that Rita doesn’t know how to react. She’s discovering that she doesn’t know how to react to a lot of the things Estelle says and does.
“Do you even realize what you’re saying?” Rita glares, but the tips of her ears are red. “You can’t just… You can’t just go around saying those things, you know?”
Estelle tilts her head, unfazed as usual. “Why not?”
“Because… because… you just can’t, okay? You’ll give people the wrong idea.”
“But I do really like you, Rita.” Estelle’s smile softens, her voice lowering to something more quiet, more gentle. “I really, really like you. I like Yuri, too, and I like Flynn, but it’s different with you. I’ve read about it in books, but I still don’t know how to explain it. Putting it into words is complicated, but…” She laughs, shrugging her shoulders helplessly.
Rita is silent.
“… Is that strange?” Suddenly Estelle looks slightly panicked, her eyebrows knitted with concern. Rita still doesn’t reply; instead, she stands up and moves to sit beside Estelle, still not quite sure what to do. All she knows is that Estelle isn’t allowed to be sad. Estelle is better when she’s smiling. Rita decides that she needs to protect that smile.
Rita thinks she really likes Estelle, too.
“Well,” Rita starts, swinging her legs back and forth. “Yeah. It’s weird. But you’re weird, and everyone thinks I’m weird, too, so maybe it balances out. Like chemistry. A complicated equation. I don’t know. I’m no good at metaphors.”
Estelle seems to ponder this, humming to herself before meeting Rita’s gaze. She giggles. “As long as I’m by your side, then I don’t think I mind being weird at all. Actually, it’s kind of nice.”
Warmth blooms in Rita’s chest. She remembers what Yuri said back in Halure: his warning. Don’t hurt her.
“… Well, then.” Rita clears her throat. Here goes her dignity. “High five?”
Estelle’s eyes light up, her pink lips curving into a brilliant smile. This girl is going to kill me, Rita thinks. I’m dead. I’m dead and I’m a ghost and I am going to haunt Estelle because she’s just so–
“Yeah! High five!”
When Estelle raises her hand, Rita is quick to look away and tangle their fingers together instead. Her heart is thrumming in her chest. Nervousness, anticipation… She doesn’t know what it is, either, but Estelle is right. This is different.
Estelle laughs again and gives her hand a squeeze. “This is even better. This will be our secret, alright?”
And that’s when Rita Mordio thinks she fell in love with Estellise Sidos Heurassein.