⌗ 19
third person ✎ᝰ
mavis & mara
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The two friends are nestled close in each other's embrace. Mara has her left arm behind her neck, the other, resting on Mavis' shoulder.

The latter rests her head against Mara's chest. There's that warmth and closeness that she loves, and only if it's Mara. The projector above them plays their favourite movie—The Parent Trap.

The pair had seen the film countless times. Nevertheless, they watch it over and over, like it's the first time, enjoying it wholeheartedly in each other's company. They share soft smiles and laughter as the film plays. "I love this."

Mara runs her fingers through Mavis' hair and smiles. "Me too." She replied. There were three words that were lodged in the back of her throat.

I love you is what she wanted to say. But that's too much. Mavis is her best friend. She couldn't do that to the latter. No matter how much she wanted to. Mara was too afraid of the risks. She'd rather bottle up her feelings than to admit how she really feels for the latter. She'd rather drown and die in her longing and misery that tell her truth. She was afraid of it the most, the mere thought of losing Mavis had sent her heart rate into a frenzy. She could feel it beat rapidly against her chest. This isn't good.

Mavis laughs loudly as the film goes through one of their favourite scenes—Annie and Hallie have finally gotten their parents to meet, unknowingly and risky. But a plan that worked nevertheless.

The film pauses. "Huh." Mara creases her brows. She lowers her gaze. Mavis is holding on to the remote, her thumb lingering over the play/pause button. "Do you need to use the bathroom?"

Mavis extends her arms and pushes herself up into a sitting position. "What's wrong?"

Mara blinked rapidly, "What do you mean?" Her heart rate was increasing by the minute. "I mean we're still watching, right?" She chuckled.

Mavis leaned in—close enough. She holds two fingers out and places them between the crook of Mara's neck. "Mavi, what are you—"

The latter's touch sends her into a frenzy, making things much worse than they already were. "Your heart rate," Mavis spoke. "It suddenly spiked. I could hear it as I was laying on your chest..."

Mara moves Mavis' fingers away from her neck, "It's nothing, Mavi. Let's just finish the movie." She tries to take the remote but fails miserably.

"You're not okay are you?"

The sudden question makes Mara chuckle nervously. She swallows the emptiness in her throat and shakes her hear. "I'm okay."

The latter scans the girl in front of her carefully. She'd gone red and hot. Her heart rate had spiked and she was acting weirdly suspicious.

"You say that but your body is telling me otherwise." Mavis exclaimed.

The film glitches for a second before the projector switches to rest mode. The bright blue screen now lights up the room around them. 

"If I told you then..." Mara's voice fades. "No, I can't do this tonight." She uttered. The older girl reaches for the remote. "Mavi, I need the—"

Mara was rendered speechless but the immediate feeling of lips against her own. Her eyes widen in shock as she pulls away instantaneously.

The two look at each other in silence. It was evident that both had felt the same thing. Their cheeks were flushed, their chests rising and falling. "Did you just kiss me?"

Mavis' eyes start to well with tears.

"Mavi..." The older tries to reach for her but she resists, moving back slightly, putting space between the both of them on the single bed.

"I need you to be honest with me," She sniffled. "And I don't want some bullshit answer. I need you to be completely and utterly honest with me. Because I can't bear being around you any longer knowing that you probably don't feel the same way and I'm just getting my hopes up thinking that maybe we could be a thing. You treat me like I'm special but at the end of the day I'm still your best friend. Just your best friend. And it hurts."

Mara keeps quiet for a few moments, unsure of what to say and where to begin. But she clears her throat and parts her lips so to speak.

"If you want me to be honest, I'll do just that. I never thought that you could ever reciprocate the way that I feel. I always thought that we were only ever going to be those inseparable best friends that everyone talks about...but that's the thing, Mavi. I built myself to be happy with the way things are between us. Because truthfully, I'd rather have you in my life as a friend than to lose you all together. I would sacrifice everything I've ever felt for you if that meant that I would never lose you. But deep down I wish that I could be the person that you get to call mine. Because, I've loved you for so long. And I can't bear living another day without telling you that I do. I love you. You have been my world ever since you came into my life and changed it for the better. You have inevitably become the person that I would run to through and through. You are the one person my heart has ever beaten for...
I love you so desperately. I have longed for you. And I would wait countless years for you. Even if it meant another life time. Mavis Pham, you are the light of my life. Without you I am nothing. And since you want me to be honest, I would do anything to make you mine. I would walk scorching deserts and hazardous blizzards. If it meant coming home to you, I would. There is no one I love greater than you. And so I hope that you finally understand me. Everything I've ever done or said weren't for nothing."

Mara hadn't realised that tears had begun to roll down her face as Mavis inched closer to her. The latter cupped her cheek gently and smiled softly.

"All this time I thought you loved someone else."

Mara shook her head, resting her right hand over Mavis' as the latter caressed her cheek. "I have never loved anyone else. It's always been you."