Attachment

Ekko walked home with my sister and I again. We were out in front of my house, discussing what our plans were for the paper. My sister was already inside. So it was just the two of us now.

“I’ll send you a link to what I’ve got so far,” Ekko said. “I think it’s really good, so I hope you like it.”

I nodded. “I have some sources to add too, so I’ll chip in wherever needed.”

Her gaze was aimed at the ground. She had a smile on her face, and hands held behind her back.

“Sounds good,” she spoke softly. “I…” her voice cracked with nervousness. “There’s something else I wanted to give you…but…”

Both her hands came forward, wielding a box with a little ribbon and that cat pin the barbarian guy tried to give her on it. I had no idea she held onto that thing…

“H…here. T-take this.”

This was a gift, for me? I didn’t know how to respond. I can’t even remember the last time someone got me something.

With reluctant hands, I accepted the box.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Open it, silly,” She smiled, but turned away.

I took off the cat pin, undoing the ribbon she’d crudely wrapped around the box. Then I slowly lifted the lid off it…

“Chocolate?” My eyes went wide at the glossy brown treats. “Ekko, these are illegal.”

“Don’t ask me where I got them, okay?” she nervously snickered.

I couldn’t help but salivate at the idea of consuming one of the pieces. My mind clearly craved even a taste of one. What would it be like?

For a moment, I questioned if I was off my own pills. How could anyone desire such tiny morsels of caffeinated sweets, defying the law? But I’d taken my medication today, so clearly this desire would have been given a pass by its standards.

Or, maybe Ekko’s craziness has been rubbing off on me.

“Today is February 14th,” she spoke as if I couldn’t tell the date. “I doubt you’d know what that means though.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Let’s just say…it’s a day where I can speak my mind as a girl,” she winked. “If you can figure out what I’m trying to tell you, I’ll give you something even more special.”

My heart began pounding heavy. My sight narrowed in on her, as if she was the only person who existed in that moment. It was cool out, but heat filled my body all over. I took a breath, drawing many more as if I were doing some exercising routine.

These feelings were so unnatural. I hadn’t taken a bite out of this, yet she’d already poisoned me somehow. Just thinking about it made me mad at her. But for all that, I’ve never wanted to be closer to someone in my life.

I wanted to hold her right then. To brush my hand through her hair and complement the flowery fragrance of her perfume. Little did I know, my body wanted it even more, executing that very deed.

“Ahh…” Ekko was nearly ready to shout as my arms warped haphazardly around her, but she quietly calmed her voice. “Wah…I…”

“I can’t stop…” I admitted. “What’s wrong with me? What did you do to me?!”

My fear grew by the second. I teared up as I embarked on this strange emotional autopilot.

Ekko was shivering, but the longer I held her, that shaking subsided.

Very shortly in, she was holding me as well.

“I’ll tell you tomorrow, okay?” she said in a calm tone. “I have to get home. My dad’s already getting upset that I’m walking home late every day.”

“Okay,” I agreed to her terms.

“You can let go of me now,” she snickered.

“Y-yeah, okay.” I really had to summon all my willpower to let go of her just then.

My eyes darted around, hoping nobody just saw that, but we were okay from the looks of it. Most people were probably still at work.

Even if they had seen it, I almost felt like I didn’t care. Maybe I wanted to do it again, and maybe I wanted people to see next time.

Next time? What was I thinking…?

***

When I got home I hid the chocolates in my desk, then I turned on my computer. Ekko sent me an email with a link to the shared document for our paper, like she’d promised.

She’d already typed up a portion of it. Something about the conclusion stood out to me though…

‘The conflict within Romeo and Juliet was never how foolish they were to take their lives in the name of love, it was how their families never accepted the idea of coming together for the sake of the two children's feelings. They were pushed to make a decision that ultimately brought them an early demise, and brought their families even lower, for those two found their happiness in the afterlife.’

The way that it was written felt so fluid, like each sentence was part of a poem, all leading to a grand conclusion of the greater moral of Romeo and Juliet. I had some criticism though…

"Happiness in the afterlife?" such a ridiculous statement. Death was an ultimate end. Who could possibly see something like that as an escape?

As pretty as her ideas were, this paper would fall apart during grading. I begin to delete everything she’d put in it, thinking it better to just start over.

Her text chat lit up.

“-WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?-” she wrote in her chat box. “-STOP-”

At her command I stop, but only until I saw her mouse click over the reverse button at the top of the document, putting everything back in place.

“-I apologize. But don’t take anything out. I’m confident this is going to be good for the project.-”

Her outburst seemed odd. The fact that she’d risk a lower grad for something as petty as a personal attachment to words was illogical. Maybe I picked the wrong partner after all.

However, something about it seemed endearing. I almost felt impressed by her dedication. For a moment, I almost liked it even.