#still pinging u bc eiden & i tried the notif settings thing & it didn't work for him (yet?) so rip

[nobully]

At one point Wang Yi does hear Nicolette's voice from the other side, but the words are too soft to make out. It convinces him that this trip wasn't wasted though, and he pounds against the door even harder until his hands hurt and he has to take a break.

"Hahh..." C'mon, think. He's always been more brains than muscle, after all. I don't want to actually call the cops...

Could he lockpick his way in? Wang Yi carefully inspects the door, but this doesn't seem like the right kind of door handle. Or maybe he could give Sun a call to ferry him up to the window? Yeah, that seems doable. It also beats the alternative, which is accepting that maybe Nicolette's given him up for good after his last stunt. Again, she can do whatever she wants but he has to confirm she's okay first. Did anyone tend to her bandages? Was she eating properly while he was gone? What about the day he left her, what did she do then?

Turning to the side, Wang Yi digs out a phone and starts furiously texting Sun the address and request. Before he can press Send, the door suddenly opens up and makes him freeze like a deer in headlights. A waft of alcohol fills the air and then he sees her: barefoot and disheveled, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her messy, tangled hair, face so pale and body faintly trembling.

She's the teenager in her memories all over again, alone and lost without a single person to love her in the world.

His relief at seeing her alive turns to panic at what she looks like and Wang Yi can't help blurting out her name as soon as she speaks.

"Nico—"

❝ — AH!! ❞

Her face flushes—still pretty even when the rest of her looks so wrecked—and then she's stuttering and skittering away like a startled deer. Luckily, his body reacts before his brain can catch up by sticking his foot in her door before she can slam it shut in his face. The pain doesn't even register as he braces himself against the doorframe to pry out a space for himself.

"N-Nicolette," he tries again, too afraid to charge in in case it startles her, too terrified to back out in case she never sees him again.

"I'm—i-it's me." Don't go, she had said. "I'm back."

"I remember it. I remember us—everything."

His hands almost grabs for her before he checks himself, uncertain. He wants to touch her so bad but he doesn't know if she'll let him and—wait, is she bleeding again? He reaches out once more, timidly touching the tiniest corner of her bloodstained blanket between two of his fingers.

"Can you...let me in again? I'm," he swallows, feeling a pressure build in his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, p-please... ..."

Please don't hate me.

@nicawlette

There's pounding on the door and in her head when Nicolette's eyes finally open. It's hardly peaceful— her return to the waking world. She's lying in a heap on the floor and the back of her ankles ache from where they'd collided with some random junk during a drunken haze. Nicolette vaguely remembers falling and then promptly passing it. Whether it was the booze or the collision that caused it, she can't be sure, but her fucking back hurts, too. Pieces of broken glass are scattered beside her.

The pounding continues. Screwing both eyes closed once again, Nicolette attempts to block it out, praying that sleep claims her, but then a familiar voice shouts her name and she suddenly feels a lot more sober than before. A sharp hiss through grit teeth as Nicolette moves to sit up too quickly, exacerbating the throbbing headache and slicing her palm on some shards. It's followed by a pathetic moan, heart aching with renewed longing.

Ignore him— it's for the best. She can't take any more of this. Please, she wants to beg, just give me a break. Ignore him. It's a solid plan, but her mouth opens before she can stop it. He's always been good at getting under her skin, making her feel and do things she knows she shouldn't. ❝ Go aw̷a̷y̸! ❞ Her voice cracks, throat dry and emotions high, ❝ I don't— I don't want to see you! Go ahead and call the cops! ❞ She really hopes he doesn't do that, actually.

The knocking continues as Nicolette pushes herself up and stumbles towards the couch where a bloody hand retrieves the blanket thrown over the back cushions. She wraps it around her shoulders and tries to breathe deeply. In and out. In and out. A minute or two slips by and then, blessedly, the banging stops. All is quiet. He's gone.

And Nicolette feels her heart still as the thought repeats itself, more desperate this time. He's gone. Wang Yi is gone. She doesn't realize she's started to shake until reaching up to touch her temple, taking rapid gasps of air. No... no— this isn't what she wants. Not really, not again. It's like watching him walk away in the coffee shop all over, unable to call out until it was already too late. What if this is really it? She thought it already was, but this feels more final, somehow.

Against all reason, Nicolette turns and runs towards the door, eyes already burning with unshed tears as her hands grasp the handle and throw it open. When she steps past the threshold and peers down the hall... there's nothing. Not a single sign of life. Her expression crumbles as she stands there, shoulders slumping in defeat. It hurts— oh, it hurts. ❝ Don't go... ❞ She whispers to the empty space, ❝ Wang Y— AH!! ❞ A voice speaks up behind her and Nicolette shrieks in surprise, whirling around in time to see see pink hair and green eyes. Her heart jumps, yearning, as she gapes, pale features burning red in seconds. Uncharacteristically, she's rendered speechless. His reason for coming here after everything... it makes her afraid.

❝ I-I... you — ! ❞ Nicolette tries to speak, to breathe, but settles for attempting to hide her flushed features behind a corner of the blanket and run back into the apartment, pulling the door closed behind her.