Her head was spinning and everything was fuzzy, "where am I?" is what she tried to say, yet nothing came out of her throat, a stinging pain replacing her voice instead as she clawed at her neck, trying to yell for help. Still nothing.

Stop fighting, you're too weak, you're going to die nonetheless.

what was that voice? Citrus didn't have time to question it and gave up, her body going limp as she still struggled to let out a last gasp for help, she felt like there was water in her lungs, she felt as if.... she was in the ocean, drowning.

"Wake up!!" Is... is Citrus being violently shaken? "Wake uuuuuupppp!!!"

maybe... just maybe, Citrus will see the light of day again and never hear the voice again, but that day clearly isn't today.

"Mm.." She groaned, lightly hitting her roommate on the arm and mumbling a quiet 'sorry' afterwards. "What the hell Flora." she signed, glaring at her roommate, Flora...

"I'm sorry missy, but YOU were the one who was.... was.. you were.. uh, crying, and you usually don't cry so I got really worried.." Flora seemed to have dropped her happy mood and had a sad one instead. Citrus could've sworn she saw a slight bit of betrayal in her roommate's eyes, but she shook it off.

"Sorry.." Citrus mumbled it again, a little louder this time, hoping her roommate had heard her. Not even a second after that, she was quickly embraced into a warm hug.

"You're my best friend, Citrus, don't scare me like that..."

Best friend.

best.

friend.

Best friend, you're her best friend, out of all the millions of friends she has, but why you? You of all people. Citrus doesn't even deserve Flora, she's too kind, and for her to say she's her best friend? That's breaking the hospitality meter, no, more than the hospitality meter.

Flora had to leave and go to work, or what Citrus likes to call, "Flora's Social Hour Tour" which seems like an overstatement to most people, but it's very accurate. In Citrus' eyes, of course. When Flora goes away, the whole apartment goes silent, Citrus likes to draw pictures of her dreams usually around this time in her Sea Land Dreams notebook that Flora got her on Citrus' last birthday, when she turned 20. No one has ever seen inside the notebook, not just for personal reasons, but because they'd be traumatized by the things they'd see in the notebook, horrifying drawings of shadows looming over Citrus as she spins down an endless hole of the same nightmares over, and over, and over, and over. One time, she had a nightmare where Flora had gotten mad at her and... she doesn't like to think about it.

~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~

Ahh, Flora is greeted with the fresh smell of cookies at the bakery as she quickly walks past it. She plans to get some cookies for her and Citrus since she knows her amazing roommate looooves cookies! Flora doesn't like to seem creepy, and she isn't creepy, at least she hopes she isn't.. especially when she plans to tell Citrus this soon.. But basically, Flora has a.. a book written on what Citrus does on a daily basis, what she wears to sleep, if she snores or not, things like that. Flora isn't sure why she made it, but she calls it 'The Citrus Fact Book' because it's filled with such scary detail on each page about each thing it's talking about. It is kind of creepy now that Flora thinks about it..

"God why am I like this.." She sighs under her breath, cursing a few seconds after when she realizes that she went past her workplace, the café right next to the bakery. Man, how did she do that? Citrus has been one the only things Flora could think about ever since they officially became roommates when Citrus' bitchy mother kicked her out for saying she might be lesbian, what a horrible mother. Maybe that's why Flora has been feeling uneasy, does Citrus' mother know that her daughter has been her roommate ever since that day? Does she think they are.. a thing? Flora has never really felt any sort of way towards, well anyone, but if she had to be with someone, it'd probably be Citrus, probably.

"Yo, you good Flo-roll? Somethin on your mind?"

"Hm? Ah, no, sorry Sar, it's nothing-" Flora smiled, that was close.

"...Aight, talk to ya later, gotta finish up these few orders left."

"Alright." Flora didn't have a shift today, why'd she say she was going to work? Why is she here? Ugh, this is what she meant by Citrus literally being the end of her thoughts and brain's functional side. Speaking of Citrus, Flora wonders, what is she doing, all by herself at the apartment? Is she thinking about her? Wait-- no, why would she be thinking of her? It's Citrus though, you never know.. Oh, what the..

bzzt bzzt

Flora's phone got a few new messages from Citrus, god, speak of the devil. Flora can't check the messages right now upon noticing that Sar was coming back, probably to ask why Flora was even here.

"Soo, flo-roll, how's the girl? Do you both sleep in the same bed? ARE YOU BOTH SECRETELY DATING?!?!" Woah, Sar what on EARTH are those questions. Flora's face heats up, dusting pink across her entire face and tips of her ears.

"W-what?! Also keep it down!! N-no we don't sleep in the same bed, I sleep on the couch and I know how much Citrus loves her personal space when sleeping so--" she was cut off by quiet laughter, Sar's laughter to be exact.

"Jeez Flora, nothing to get defensive about, I'm just teasin ya, unless there is something between you two!" He laughed and rubbed Flora's head, knowing she hates that.

"There's nothing going on between me and Citrus, we're friends, nothing else Sar."

"I wonder how Citrus would feel if you said that and she was just.. standing right behind ya, about to confess to you or something." Okay, now Sar seems to have thought a bit about these scenarios in his head, what the fuck? Who thinks of that?

".....Hey, Sar, that's a bit much."

"I know, I know, don't worry."

"I'm going to leave now, see you tomorrow Sar."

"Aw, you didn't even stay that loooonggg..."

"..For reasons, now goodbye." Without letting him say anything else like 'goodbye', she walked away.

"Ah shit! I have to get those cookies for me and Citrus... maybe tomorrow would be better actually, I heard their cookies are more melty and warm on Sunday's, that being tomorrow.."She sighed, just when did weekends get so stressful?.. Oh right, Flora needs to check Citrus' messages...

Hey Flora, I might not be okay when you get home. ( )

But uh, yeah I'll be fine though, promise ( )

oh shit how do I delete texts this will worry you fuck fuck fuck ( )

...What? Flora stares at her phone, worry being all you can see on her face.

"Fuck.." she swore under her breath as she began to speed walk back to the apartment, careful to not run into anyone on the streets.

~-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------~

Rushing into the apartment, Flora looks around worriedly and frantically looking for Citrus. She stopped, eyes wide, and stared at Citrus sitting on the one bed they have, her arm covered in bloody scratches from her shoulder to her wrist.

"H-holy hell Citrus, what the fuck happened, are you okay!?"

.

.

.

No answer.

"...Citrus?"

.

.

.

Citrus' eyes are open, yet she clearly had been to.. injured, to reply to her worried friend.

"Citrus, c'mon.. answer me please? Give me a sign, a word... anything..?"

Flora connected her fingers with Citrus', their fingers now intertwined as Flora looked like she was about to have a breakdown right there and then.

"..You clearly aren't okay, here l-let me help you up and ge--"

Everything else was a blur. Her face, her words, her voice... that beautiful... beautiful voice of hers, a blur.