Nina: I’m just watching Parasite rn. It’s on Netflix - was gonna watch it with the fam but they didn’t feel like it haha. Wbu?
Seth: Nothing really. My brain is way too fried rn to work on anything, so I’m just chilling, trying to decide what to do. Maybe game?
Nina: I’d encourage you to keep working but, same. Do something chill, you deserve it!
Seth closed his eyes, as he let the echo of Nina’s voice wash over him. With every message she sent, he could always imagine the words coming from her mouth, could hear the bright tone she always possessed.
He was suddenly struck with the desire to just be with her. But he couldn’t.
So instead…
Seth: What part are you up to?
He pulled his laptop from his desk, and onto his bed. Then, he brought up his own Netflix profile.
Nina: I’m about half-an-hour into the movie. Why?
Quickly, he scrubbed through the timeline and reached half-an-hour into the movie. Then, he called her up.
“Hello?” she asked, her tone confused.
“Catch me up on what’s been happening,” Seth told her.
“What?”
“I have Netflix up and I’m gonna watch the movie with you. Give me a little dot point summary of what’s been happening before so I’m not lost.”
What was meant to be a two hour movie, turned into four, because they kept pausing and rewinding. Nina was a talker when watching movies, commenting on mundane things or stopping to analyse a plot point further. Seth was the opposite, and admittedly, he always disliked whenever he was interrupted when watching something.
Back when his Mum lived by herself, and he visited her apartment, they’d always spend their nights watching movies. And his Mum never stopped talking.
So why was it, when Nina did it, it became his favourite thing in the world?
Maybe, next time, he’ll let his Mum talk too. And his Dad, since he chatted as well.
Eventually, that one night in June turned into an almost nightly routine of picking a movie on Netflix, and watching it together. By mid-June, Seth and Nina had watched a total of fourteen movies together.
Toward the end of June, after a month of nightly movies, Seth felt the ache of Nina withdrawals. Physically, he hadn’t seen her since the end of May, after her last class. He missed her, more than he should.
Missed the way she sipped from her mint chocolate, sitting beside him, with her large, white tote bag and Hello Kitty keychain.
Yet, he was just her friend, so he tried to water down the intensity of how much he missed her.
It was normal though, wanting to see your friend. Missing your friend.
But was it normal to want to kiss your friend?No, stop. He wouldn’t think about that.Couldn’t.
So, he asked her out on a shopping outing to Parramatta mall, to change things up from their frequent visits to Sydney.
A friendly outing, and nothing more. Other than the double-friend-date with Jae and Anya, he and Nina hadn’t really hung out outside of their train rides.
Thankfully, she was free on the last weekend of June. Originally, she was going to go out to check out a new cafe with her sister, Elena, but Elena had sadly fallen sick.
“You look like a creampuff.”
The laugh that escaped Seth’s lips only deepened Nina’s playful scowl. The late June air was growing chillier with each day, and Nina had wrapped her neck in a red scarf, pushing her cheeks upward.
She reminded Seth of a marshmallow. He reached forward, poking her cheek.
