Page 45 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love
Nori walked over to the couch, and soon enough, Billie was there swatting at the jar, then blinking in a slow, seductive fashion towards her. A true master of emotional manipulation. Nori tore a few larger chunks into smaller pieces and offered them to the fluffy purring machine in front of her.
Vir chuckled, looking up from the chopping board where he was now cutting the mushrooms into thin slices. She glanced at him, in time to catch him squinting at the cat, and when she looked at Billie again, she caught her slow-blinking at him in return.
What in the…
She stared from cat to man to cat, her jaw hanging open. They were slow-blinking at each other. And her chest was wobbling again. No, it was melting. The jelly had become soup.
Nori didn’t know where it had come from, but the abrupt rush of adoration threatened to overwhelm her. And she wasn’t even looking at the cat anymore. She was looking at him , smiling like a clown, while her cheeks burned hot enough to resemble glossy red tomatoes.
Vir’s head jerked in her direction, his eyes widening in surprise before he quickly looked away. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he could read her mind.
What was wrong with her?
Had she been this weird around him four years ago, too? She rubbed her temples as a fresh headache stirred inside her skull, and with a quiet groan, she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Nori?” Vir was at her side in an instant. “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”
“Just a headache,” she replied before excusing herself.
When she stepped out of the bathroom, moments later, he was waiting right outside the door.
“Do you need something? Aspirin? Coffee?”
He looked so deeply concerned, her hand shot up to smooth the crease between his brow. But halfway there, she redirected its trajectory to swoop back to the side of her own head instead.
That’s right. Just scratching my head. Not being weird or anything.
“Nori? Are you okay?” Vir asked again, his frown deepening.
“I’m fine,” she said. “I was just trying to remember… stuff from before. Sometimes I get these flashes of random memories. They rarely make sense. Bu t if I force myself to remember, I get these headaches. You look so worried, Vir. I’m okay. It’s not that bad.”
He kept frowning at her.
“Really, I’m fine.” She grinned before motioning towards the kitchen. “What can I do to help?”
“Nothing.” Vir shook his head. “Just sit with Billie and wait for fifteen more minutes.”
“I can—”
“No. Go sit.”
She gave up and joined Billie at the couch again, glad she wasn’t at the cottage feasting on instant ramen alone like she’d originally intended.
“This is really good,” she commented a while later, taking a bite of the creamy mushroom pasta.
Vir gave her a lopsided grin. “There’s more in the kitchen.”
Her eyes darted towards the pan sitting beside the stove before she dug back into her bowl with renewed enthusiasm.
He chuckled.
She glanced towards him and the whole place went dark.
Vir turned his phone’s flashlight on and motioned for her to remain seated, while he shuffled over to the window to peek outside.
“The hail damaged a transformer nearby,” a man’s voice floated up. “It was in the news just now. Do you have some candles?”
“A power cut is rare in this neighborhood,” Vir explained, walking back towards her, “so there’s no back-up. That was Sam. My landlord. I’ll go borrow some candles.”
Nori looked through the window as he left. A slick, white layer of icy chunks already covered the entire front yard below and the road beyond that. It was a hailstorm alright. The pattering was so loud. How hadn’t she noticed before?
“The car!” It was a rental she’d gotten for the semester.
She searched for the keys, but they weren’t at the table where she’d put them earlier.
She returned to the window in time to watch the car reversing into Sam’s covered driveway, while the old man stood a few feet away with an umbrella, motioning directions with his arm.
It was almost all the way in when the headlights flickered off, and it came to a halt.
Nori swore. The battery!
Vir stepped out of the car, and he and Sam together pushed it the rest of the way under the cover. Watching him sprint back into the building, Nori grabbed a towel from the bathroom and rushed to meet him at the front door.
“You’re soaking!” She threw it over his head. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to plug the car in today. And thank you.” She frantically rubbed the towel into his hair, apologizing and thanking him again.
“It’s okay, d—don’t worry,” Vir spoke through chattering teeth as he took the towel from her. “Give me a second. I’ll ch—change and come back.” His hand reached out to smooth her hair as he mouthed the words, “It’s okay,” again, before he walked away.
As Nori watched his receding back, her fingers brushing against the spot where his hand had just been, something alien, yet strangely familiar, swelled inside her chest. Flashes ran past her periphery, too bright, too rushed to follow.
Flickering lights, a cool touch, a hand smoothing her hair, and a progression of relieved sighs, each easier than the last.
It was all gone just as quickly as it had appeared, and when she blinked, something hot rolled down her face. She touched her cheek and her fingers came off wet. Wiping her eyes with a resigned sigh, she went back to the couch to wait for Vir.
Soon, with clothes changed, candles lit, and food reheated, they resumed their dinner with a chunky woolen throw draped over their legs.
Nori peeked sideways to catch the warm glow from the candles illuminating Vir’s features—the edges of his jaw, his nose, his soft, full mouth as it moved while he chewed… Had she really thought him plain only hours ago?
His dark hair wasn’t dripping anymore, but was still visibly damp. She had the sudden impulse to run her hands through them, to feel the texture between her fingers.
“STOP! ”
“Pardon?” Vir turned to her, and his eyes widened as they met hers. A tint of bright red seeped into his ears before it spread across his cheeks. He looked down, suddenly too engrossed in the contents of his bowl.
Did he just… blush?
Nori glared down at her own food while fighting another unhinged impulse that demanded she grab his face with both hands just to feel that delicious color on her fingertips. It looked so warm.
STOP IT! At least this time she yelled the words in her head and not out loud. When she glanced towards him again, he was pursing his lips as if trying not to laugh.
With an irritated huff, she took another forkful of pasta and crushed it aggressively between her teeth. And then her dumb mouth blurted out, “Do you have a girlfriend?”
For fuck’s sake, she had to stop embarrassing herself.
“I did.” Vir chewed slowly. “She… left.”
He looked sad. More than sad. He looked like he was grieving. Maybe it was a recent breakup.
“Don’t tell me she was your first love or something.” Nori stabbed her fork into a particularly large slice of mushroom and brought it up to her mouth, not expecting an actual reply from him this time.
Vir nodded.
Come onnnnn!
“I wonder when the power’s coming back.” She didn’t want to hear about his stupid first love anymore.