8 Crazy Memories

Awake, arise, or be forever fall'n. - John Milton, Paradise Lost

Aerith repeatedly told herself hours ago that she would do her term paper but here she was on her bed, laying down like a starfish as she spaced out, staring blankly at the ceiling.

For the past couple of hours, she felt numb to the point that even when she forced herself to cry, no tear would fall from her eyes.

Wasn't she deeply in love with him?

Why? 

Why won't her tears fall? She wanted to cry. She wanted to drown in the pain of betrayal.

But whyyy was she feeling nothing but absolute serenity? 

Was it because she knew she got rid of someone unworthy of her love and attention?

Or maybe… she didn't give him enough of herself and Zach felt it too, that's why he didn't even bother to protect her honor?

She was so lost in thought when a soft knock echoed from her door, snapping her out from her reverie.

She knew it was Kevin, nagging her again just to make sure she's not a crying mess like how he caught her earlier in the kitchen's darkness.

"I'm not crying! I swear!" she said without peeling her sight away from the ceiling.

"Cry all you want but please remind your guest that visitors are allowed only until ten in the evening. King's orders."

Guest? What guest? Aerith's head snapped towards the window's direction. 

She shot up from her bed and hopped her way towards the window so she could get a peek of who might visit her at such an ungodly hour.

It was almost two in the morning, and she wasn't expecting any visitors at that time of the night.

To her surprise, it was her friend, Krishna, leaning lazily on her mini convertible cooper. "Let her in! Let her in!" she squealed as she sprinted to open the door. "You don't let a girl wait outside in the dark, Kev," Aerith reprimanded Kevin and bumped her hip to his side before walking ahead of him.

Kevin was shaking his head in amusement, wondering about the radical change in Aerith's demeanor.

Earlier, the little one was depressed and now look at where she was? Oh yeah, there, skidding on the wooden floor, using her socks as her roller skates.

Down the hall, by the door, stood a security detail. His name was Bob, and he held his arm up to catch Aerith when it seemed as if the princess would face-plant on the door. But to everyone's shock, as Aerith braked using the heel of her feet, she slipped and fell bum first. 

"What's so funny, Bob?" she sassed, wincing as she soothed her aching tushy. "Can you help me up, please? Ooof. Thanks."

Bob stifled the smile on his face and pulled the princess up on her feet. 

The scene was nothing new to them, that's why he just let Aerith horse around the house as she pleased; however, beside him was Stuart, the more serious guy in the bunch, growling as he opened the door for Krishna.

"Thank you so much, Stuart," Aerith said and beamed at the man named Stuart. 

Bob and Stuart. Those weren't their actual names. They were known as MIB7 and MIB8, respectively. 

It all began when the Sui Family adopted her, and Kevin who was still known as MIB1 at that time was assigned to her as her personal security detail.

Eventually, the cheeky princess tricked the bodyguard by telling her his real name. Since then, everyone started calling Kevin by his real name instead of his agent name which is MIB1.

The sands of time trickled by and soon Aerith got an acceptance letter from Harvard, which meant it was time for her to fly out of the nest. It was on her first day in Boston when her dad, King Maxen, introduced two more security personnel who would be her constant companions while she was thousands of miles away from home.

Since she knew Kevin's real name, she felt obligated to give the two new guys a name too.

It was then that she baptized MIB7 and MIB8 on the spot. She had Kevin, now all she needed was a Bob and Stuart to complete the mix.

Krishna stormed inside the second the door opened for her. She ignored Stuart who was holding his hand out, waiting for her to hand him an ID so he could scan it in their system.

Aerith swatted Stuart's hand anyway, sticking her tongue out. She dragged her friend, but Krishna dug her heel on the floor, rooting them in their spot.

"Three years, Stuart, and you're still asking for my ID?" Krishna braced her hands on either side of her hips as her eyes narrowed, zeroing in on Stuart. 

Her lips quivered at how consistent the guy was with asking for her ID for years even when the rest would just give her a pass every time she drops by Aerith's apartment.

Krishna tiptoed, her cheek almost touched Stuart's chin, but he tipped his head away from her. "Look? See this heart-shaped mole under my eye? That's my ID. By the way, you smell so good, I could eat you for midnight snack." Krishna winked, taking pleasure at how Stuart's Adam's apple bobbed. 

It was the only thing that gave away how much her words affected him because his face was devoid of any emotions.

"Go," Stuart commanded, pushing Krishna away with two fingers on her forehead. She chuckled at her insignificant victory and bobbled her head just to irritate the guy a little more as she let Aerith drag her away.

The friends, Aerith and Krishna, reached the living room and plopped themselves on the couch.

"That was a good one," Aerith commended her friend.

"Phew," Krishna let out a sigh through her pursed lips. "Wait. I came here because of this. Have you seen this?" She held her phone up and went straight to business, tipping her head sideways to witness Aerith's reaction.

"What? I can't see anything. It's locked."

"Oh, just a second. Here you go. LOOOOOOK!" By that exact moment, Krishna was fuming. Her foot angrily tapped on the wooden floor, waiting for Aerith to say something.

When Aerith sat frozen in her spot, Krishna checked her phone one more time just in case the automatic lock feature of her phone was back on yet again but it's not. 

"We broke up. It's fine." Aerith swallowed a lump in her throat. She grabbed the phone from Krishna and zoomed in and out the photo, checking all the angles and studying what else or who else she could see in the frame.

Aerith would not lie, but her heart was squeezing painfully in her chest. Right before her eyes was a photo of Zach having the time of his life in the rugby team's victory party, specifically; him smiling as some girl gave him a lap dance or something. "What an asshole. He was calling me nonstop earlier, and then this? When was this photo uploaded?"

Krishna took a deep breath. She was deeply puzzled why Aerith was so calm, even at the face of what seemed to be a betrayal. Wait? Did she just hear it right? "You broke up? What?" Her saliva spat out as she voiced out her surprise.

It made Aerith lean a little back to avoid the trajectory of Krishna's bodily fluids. "Yeah, we did. I was hurt, and I said we're over… so. Want something to drink?" Aerith offered and changed the subject, jerking her thumb towards the kitchen.

"Yeah, but I think I'll be needing a beer instead. We both do. Let's call Jasper."

"What? Don't call Jasper. He's doing some coding thing for H."

"Oh, yeah." Krishna pursed her lips at the mention of H. She was kinda jealous that Aerith and Hunter had that H and A moniker for each other. 

Aerith never called anyone by their initials, not even her boyfriend, Zach, of three years.

That's why Krishna felt that if Aerith would call her K or whatever letter in the alphabet, it would also make her friendship with Aerith special, but she didn't want to sound like a clingy BFF so she never brought the topic up. Whatever. Aerith could call her whatever name she wanted. 

Snapping Krishna out from her trance was Aerith who was clutching on her sleeves, murmuring something she failed to hear. "What?" Krishna tipped her head sideways.

"I said… we can crash the party. Wait for me outside. I'll jump from the window."

"That's a bad idea, Aerith. Stuart will skin me alive if something happens to you."

"Nothing bad will happen. And Stuart is a softie, so he can't do that to you, especially when I'm around. What we're going to do is simple: we will just drive down to Zach's frat house and join them in their party."

"You missed the point. The point was… you can't roam around without at least one bodyguard right next to you and Stuart skinning me alive when you're not around to save me."

"He will not skin you, I swear. He might strip you naked with that chemistry going on between you two though," Aerith said and winked.

"Gosh. You won't let it go, would you?"

"Nope," Aerith confirmed and shook her head. Clasping her friend's hands with hers, she pleaded, "Just one night, Krishna. What could go wrong, right?" 

Aerith cheekily grinned and wiggled her eyebrows to convince Krishna of her plan to sneak her out through the window. 

They both knew anything could go wrong once she sneaked out of the apartment without permission, but the promise of adventure awaited them on the horizon.

After all, you only live once; might as well make some crazy memories with your bestie.