I wake up startled by a sound somewhere near me. Sitting up, I stay still, waiting to hear it again, but it never comes. I swallow hard and pull my duvet closer to me, looking around in my room for whatever might have fallen and made such a noise.

Sunlight shines through my window, slipping around my purple curtain and into the room. My bedroom is all dim shadows elongating the furniture, but I can't spot anything out of place. Perhaps I just imagined it.

I rub the sleepiness away and blink a few times, scanning my room once more. I'm almost convinced it was all on my head when I hear steps and my door opens.

Nina walks in, pushing the door with her back. She has a plate with a slice of the chocolate cake I baked last night in hand and a fork jabbed on top of it.

"Good morning, 5E!" She smiles, taking an enormous chunk of cake to her mouth.

I pull the sheets closer to me, staring at her like the crazy woman she is. I could yell and make a scene. It would've been the irrational action one should take on this kind of scenario. Instead, I watch her sit on the end of my bed.

"How did you get in?"

"That's how you greet people? Seriously? You need a class on manners." She rolls her eyes.

I take a big breath. She entered my house without permission, got herself a slice of my cake in my kitchen, and then came to my bedroom. Who let her?

"What are you doing here? How did you enter?" I ask again.

With a shrug, she fetches a bunch of keys out of her sweatpants pocket and waves them around. "Stole the keys from the doorman."

"You what?"

"Yeah. I'm supposed to water the neighbours' plants since they got stranded in another country, but I misplaced the keys. So I resorted to good old thievery. And today I wanted cake, and you didn't answer when I knocked, so I remembered I had the keys."

I should be shocked, but somehow I expected a way crazier explanation. Although the natural way of how she says all of this is bizarre enough.

"And you think it's okay to walk in on someone sleeping?"

She shrugs. "My mom, a very reasonable person, may I add, says I can do whatever I want and I don't own an explanation to anyone."

"Your mom is crazy," I reply automatically, but then I feel bad for what I just said. "No offence."

Nina laughs, walking from my bed to the window. She pulls the curtains away to let the sun in and sits on the windowsill. She looks dashing with the light coming from behind her.

"My dad says the same," she says with a smile. "Aunt Rita too. And uncle Gio."

"Well, if it is the whole family, maybe they're onto something. Just saying."

"Oh, but aunt Laura and aunt Jenny are even worse."

I frown. "You're sharing a lot, you know? That's not normal."

Nina shrugs, leaning against the window. "You said you wanted to know me. This is me letting you know me."

"I didn't really mean your family dynamic. I meant things about you specifically, you know? Things- You have a lot of aunts." I stop to think about what she said. I only have aunt Jackie, my mother's sister. Must be nice to have a larger family.

"Nah, most of them are just family friends, but I got used to calling them aunts and uncles," she explains. "Although I have three aunts in the family tree."

"All women?" I ask. "Your dad must be going crazy."

She smiles. "A little, I guess."

I feel a twist on my stomach just hearing how she mentions her family. She seems happy about it, somehow. Well, happy might not be the word. Yet, she is totally fine talking about them, and not awfully distraught by the thought of them. I couldn't picture telling her about my parents at all. Family is something so personal and so awfully suffocating. But it doesn't seem to be for her.

"What are you thinking about?" she asks, and takes another bite of the stolen cake.

"What?" I frown.

"You're looking at me weird. You're not going to start with the nervous giggles, are you? I was quite happy when you stopped with it."

"I don't nervous giggle!"

She shrugs. "Sure. Why are you looking at me funny?" I don't reply at first, and she scoffs. "Oh no, I'm starting to sound like you and your distrusting little inquiries."

I'd throw a pillow at her if she wasn't eating. My mother gave me those plates. I don't intend on getting scolded because one broke. I can't imagine even telling her about the situation at all.

Hey, mom. So my neighbour broke into my apartment and stole a plate and a cake I baked and was eating it in my bedroom, so I had no choice but to throw a pillow at her. Unfortunately, she dropped it when the pillow collided with her quite endearing face and it broke into pieces. No, you don't need to put security outside my door.

"I'm not distrusting!" I complain. "Can we forget about that day? Please?"

"Sure. You are distrustful, though."

"I'm not!" My voice comes out high pitched, and I shut my mouth immediately, hoping she doesn't comment on it.

She chuckles to herself. "Whatever you say, 5E."

"Jade," I correct for the umpteenth time.

"Shut up. That's not even your name." She rolls her eyes. "Anyway, I finished my cake and I'm bored. Let's do something."

I sigh in defeat. "Something like...?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. I can go get the mayo jar."

"Sure. Bring it."

Nina leaves my place and I take the opportunity to get dressed. She's here, so I try to look more than just presentable. Yet, she comes back faster than I expected and I'm still placing pins on my short hair when she strolls back into my room.

"What are you doing?"

I place the last pin on my hair and look at her. "I was getting dressed. It's one of those things civilised people do. I'm sure you've heard of it even if you haven't experienced it."

She grins. I'm still taken aback every time she smiles. It changes her entire face. She goes from looking stone cold to someone who would stop to pet a dog on the street. And I made her smile this time.

"Proper clothing is overrated." A typical excuse from someone whose entire wardrobe consists of pyjamas and sweatpants.

She puts the jar in front of me and nods towards it, encouraging me to take one of the folded pieces of paper. I shove my hand inside of it, hoping she washed it properly. Her scrutinising gaze is making me nervous as I open the paper I got out and- Ah, no way!

"What is it?"

"I'll pick a new one," I say and crumble it in my hand.

"You can't. That's cheating, and it is an insult to the mayo gods. Do you want to insult the mayo gods?"

I sigh. She's talking gibberish again.

"It's stupid. I'll get a new one." I stare at her, holding her gaze.

"Why? What does it say?"

"Throw water balloons at people. We're not doing that, though."

She nods seriously. "I have some water balloons somewhere at home. I'll be back in a second."

"No! Nina!" I almost yell after her. "We can't do that!"

By the time she comes back, I'm sitting on the balcony watching the street. For a moment, I forgot we weren't the only people locked inside our homes. I hope Nina gives up on that mean idea of hers once she sees there are no targets. Still, I'm painfully aware of all the take away restaurants on this street that will probably have a few clients at lunch time.

Nina sits on the other chair and watched the street. She's brought the already filled balloons in a container and left them beside me.

"It's empty," she notes. "I had forgotten about that."

"It was a terrible idea either way. That's really mean of you."

She rolls her eyes. "Maybe I am mean. What's the issue, 5E? It's not like they'll know it was us."

I frown. "You're a child, did you know that? What if you were the person down there? Would you like it?"

"Depends on the context. Is it summer, winter...hot day, cool day...?"

"You're impossible," I groan. "You're as crazy as your aunt Jenny and your aunt Laura." I hope I got the names right and I hope they are good examples.

"I have always seen aunt Laura as a role model, so thank you." She grins at me, and I'm foolish enough to smile back. Then she points at the building in front of us. "Aunt Laura lives right there. She just loves the restaurants around here."

"So you moved close to her?" I ask, looking at another sad grey building.

"It wasn't on purpose. It's just close to campus and my parents thought I needed to do something for myself and survive on my own. They live across the city, though. If I called crying, they'd be here soon."

"Ah, independence," I mutter to myself. "You don't seem like you need to be kicked out of the house to do something."

"I agree. They don't, though. I'm not sure why." Something in the way she said it sounded like she knew why, but preferred to pretend she didn't.

"Is it because of that argument with your mum? Because of your ex-girlfriend?" I suggest.

She swallows and leans towards the banisters. "Oh look, there's someone down there!"

She was quick, so quick I could've sworn she made up that someone just to avoid the question. We are both leaning against the banisters when she throws the blue balloon at a blonde woman by the salad place under the apartment. If she was aiming, she wasn't good at it. It falls next to the woman, who stares up at us.

We duck, looking at each other. Nina's eyes are panic stricken as she lets herself sit on the floor. That didn't go as planned.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she keeps repeating. Her face went pale and I don't understand why all the confidence from moments ago disappeared.

"She didn't see us. We're on the fifth floor," I try reassuring.

"That's aunt Laura!"

"How do you know? We're on the fifth floor!"

"She's going to complain to my mum, and I am fucked. You were right. This was the stupidest idea ever."

I hold her by the shoulders and force her to look at me. "Nina, it's okay. She couldn't tell it was you. We're on the fifth floor."

Spoke too soon. Nina's phone starts ringing almost immediately and I see Aunt Laura flashing on the screen.

"Don't pick up," I tell her.

She does it anyway. "Hey, auntie!... Studying. Why?... What? Who would do that?... It was not! I'm studying in my apartment... Are you sure it wasn't just someone who looked like me? Maybe I have a doppelgänger... No! No need to call her!"

She pulls the phone from her ear and stares at the screen for a second before looking at me. "I am fucked."

I swallow hard. She looks a lot calmer than before, but now I'm the one having trouble breathing. I don't want her to get into trouble. It was a harmless prank, and no one got wet, anyway.

"What can she do? You're not even living with her," I say, knowing if it were my parents, I'd be handling it worse than Nina. They'd send someone to retrieve and admonish me.

She sighs, hugging her knees to her chest. "Mum is mad at me. I don't need to keep proving I'm a terrible daughter."

I move closer to her. "I'm sure she doesn't think that."

"She does... I've let her down so many times already," she whispers. I have to lean forward to hear her.

"That can't be true-"

"It is," she interrupts me, shaking her head. "All I do is screw up and then there was the thing with Grace..."

She hides her face behind her hands. I'm not sure if she's crying, but I want to comfort her. I place my arm around her shoulders in a half hug, startling her. Even I am shocked by myself. She's always been more touchy than me. But I hate seeing her distraught.

"She hated my ex-girlfriend from the moment she saw her and I was so mad... All we did was scream and slam doors." She sighs. "I shouldn't have picked Grace over my mum. She was bad news. And I could be home right now if we weren't fighting."

"I'm sorry," I tell her, truthfully. "You'll work it out. I know you will."

I know she will. It's this feeling I have every time she mentions her family. For a long time, it was jealousy of a home life I never had. Whatever she has, always seemed better than what I have, even if they're not on the greatest terms. Not once did she mention them with bitterness in her heart, so I know they can still mend the relationship.

"How would you know?" she asks between gritted teeth.

"I just do." I try to show a friendly smile. "And for what is worth, I'm glad you're here with me right now."

She looks at me. We're close. Too close. I hadn't realised it when she had her face hid, but I see it now, as our noses almost brush and my arm envelops her back. I pull it back, but I don't move from where I'm sitting.

"Yeah, I'll figure it out," she brushes it off with a tight smile. She tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear and I freeze. "Now let's do something that doesn't get me in trouble with the people I'm financially dependent on, okay?"

"Okay," I mutter, forcing myself not to touch my face where her hand brushed my skin. "What do you want to do?"

"I'll get the mayo jar."

God no.

Hello guys. Hope you like this chapter.

I have this planned chap by chap but I'm always open to suggestions so, as I'm not sure what am I going to write next chapter, you can comment something you'd like to see.

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Love y'all because you're actually reading this