It started off small at first. The mere whisper of a giggle that turned into soft laughs, punctuated by the obligatory coughs. It was only when she looked up from her lap and took notice of the befuddled expression painted on my face, did she drop the act completely.

There wasn't any giggling or coughing involved this time, oh no, none of that did justice to the bubble of sheer jubilance that erupted from her mouth and floated towards me, making me almost unconsciously crack a small smile of my own. I wasn't sure if the laugh was a premonition of my doom or the contrary. But what I did know was that my plan was slowly disintegrating and all I was doing was smiling at the pieces.

The thought immediately wiped the very trace of a smile from my face and I found myself looking at Ava. I didn't want to take the other way out. Not again.

Ignorant to my probing eyes, Ava let out another bout of helpless giggles with her finger firmly fixed in the direction of my face. 

It was only ten minutes later that her giggles finally subsided and she found the time to actually look at my solemn expression. Her cheeks lost their dimples and she struggled to stop her smiling eyes from giving too much away.

"Yes Ava," I replied in answer to her previous question with a slight frown on my forehead. "I have heard of synesthesia."

A smug smile bloomed on her face and she nodded her head knowingly. I quickly went on before she could make any assumptions.

"Mark was a synesthetic," I continued, leaning into the pillow. "But what does that have anything to do with me?"

The corner of Ava's mouth quirked upwards and she merely crossed her legs in reply. I watched with bated breath as she dug her hand under the pillow and pulled out the phone she'd been talking on not moments ago. In a quick motion, Ava switched the phone on and then proceeded to do a sweep of the various applications. 

I let out a soft sigh of frustration. I was already tired of acting anxious.

I had enough of Ava's attempts to pique my curiosity and I was about to make a comment on my lack of knowledge of mobiles when a soft song washed over me. With a jolt, I realized it was the same tune as her ringtone. 

It was with difficulty that I managed to keep my back stiff against the relaxing hues of yellow and blues floating around. After completely composing myself I looked up at the girl before me and noticed the glint in her eye.

"You know what Mia, you really aren't very subtle," murmured Ava with a crooked grin tainting the side of her face. 

"It's chromesthesia that you have, isn't it?"