FELIX'S eyes fluttered open as the sunlight seeped through the room. His lips curved into a small smile while he glanced at the bed beside him. He spotted his lover's figure lying beside him, wrapping her arm around his waist and hugging closer.

"Good morning, sunshine," she spoke in a soft, raspy voice as she squeezed his waist closer.

"Good morning, baby," he softly smiled and squeezed her torso closer to his. She returned his smile with a wide grin and leaned in to plant a soft peck on his plump lips.

"You look beautiful," she complimented, running a hand through his soft, blond hair. He sent her a genuine smile at the compliment and muttered a similar sentence, his cheeks turning light pink.

"Come on, sunshine. Let's get up."

He obeyed and sat up straight, wincing at the pain jolting up his back and waist. He reached up to message his waist gently, avoiding her gaze while he hissed in pain.

"Sunshine, are you okay? Is your back hurting?"

He weakly nodded. She reached up with a sympathetic smile to caress her fingers against his skinny waist, lightly massaging his sides.

He let out a groan of pain and threw his head back, leaning his neck against her chest.

"My back hurts so much..."

She frowned and hugged him by the waist, then continued to message his sides, kissing his cheeks softly as he teared up.

"I'm really sorry, sunshine. I'm here for you," she assured, planting a kiss on the sensitive part of his neck.

"Relax. I'll take care of you today."

He nodded and threw his head back, staring at the ceiling with blurry, tearful eyes.

She squeezed his sides and moved her fingers towards the small of his back. His body jolted up and he flinched at the contact, pain rushing through his back before fading away.

"It's okay, baby. I'm here for you."

She lightly messaged his back before reaching for his flat stomach, rubbing it gently.

"You're going to be okay," she reassured in a softer tone.

She started to lightly massage his buttocks. He let out a groan, a small tear streaming down his face.

"Why am I like this?" He whispered in a weak, trembling voice.

She muttered a small apology, shaking her head in disapproval at his sentence.

"You're perfect, Felix," she replied, "I wouldn't want anyone else. I love you so damn much."

He faintly smiled at the words.

"I love you more than anything, darling."

Before she could say anything further, they both bolted up at the loud knock on the door.

"Mal, your friends are here!"

She rolled her eyes.

"Sunshine, lie down for a few minutes," she ordered in a soft voice, "I'm going to give you a proper massage."

He obeyed with no hesitation, closing his eyes and allowing the sensation of his muscles relaxing to flood his weak, skinny body.

☂︎

"What are you all doing here?" Mal asked, rolling her eyes at the sight of her friends smirking at her. "I was with you guys yesterday."

"What were you doing to Felix over there?"

She rolled her eyes at Aya's question, slightly chuckling at how funny it sounded.

"Nothing, only a massage. Now tell me," she turned to her friends and sat down across from them, "what are you all doing here?"

Farida frowned at the envelope in her hand, then stood up while extending her hand to give it to her friend.

"This came from the photographer this morning. It's the pictures we took with our classmates that we invited to Notre Dame for the posters."

Mal nodded with a suspicious glance, accepting the envelope from her friend.

She sighed before tearing the seal open, taking continuous glances at her friends.

"And what about it?"

"See for yourself," Mirona ordered, nervously cracking her knuckles.

She obeyed, and let out a couple of polaroid pictures that were tucked neatly in the envelope.

After letting them out, she took a glance at each one of the pictures, her face twisting in shock.

"He swears on his life they're not photoshopped."

She glanced at her friends, suspicion filling her insides.

"A-Are you guys pulling a prank on me? What the hell is t-this?"

They shook their heads.

"No, we're not, babe. I swear."

She frowned and continued to stare at the pictures, her mouth hanging open in shock and confusion.

The picture that they had took in her old, elementary school with the rest of their classmates that had agreed to help with the posters. The very same pictures she had hired the photographer to take. The very same pictures that she had wanted to post online for the whole world to see, as she was very proud of their achievements together.

Those very same pictures.

She stared at the polaroids with pure confusion, unsure what was going on.

The polaroids had their figures standing and posing confidently to the camera. All of the six friends in the room with giant spaces between them, and one more girl. Arabsima, sending the camera a nervous, terrified smile.

But that was it.

There was no one else.

No sign of the classmates that had agreed to help her, no signs of her former friends.

No sign of life.

Only seven girls that were in the picture frame, and she didn't know if her memory was playing tricks on her, but she remembered around twenty girls posing for the exact picture.

What was going on?

The sound of soft, almost inaudible footsteps headed down the stairs. Her ears perked up at the noise and she looked up from the polaroids, her head spinning with thoughts.

"Hey, Rajwan," she greeted her brother with a neutral expression. The boy, who had noticed the commotion in the living room, stood by the door frame for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Hey," he squeaked out, "you girls okay?"

Mal glanced at the picture for a brief moment, her eyes scanning the faces in it to make sure she wasn't going crazy before turning to her brother, a strange, unreadable smile on her face.

"Everything is fine."

THE END

____________________