Never You Again

I couldn’t sleep. My mind was a chaotic loop, my head throbbed, and my body ached. My heart was doing the bare minimum; just performing its primary function to remind me I was alive and miserable.

I used to think things were bound to change eventually. I’ve been an old guest to such twists many times, but not like this—not with every single breath feeling heavier than the last.

The laptop screen glowed: 3:17 AM. The movie Flipped was playing to an empty room while the rain sheeted against the glass. On screen, the actress’s cries were entirely drowned out by the thumping bass bleeding through my apartment walls.

The partygoers next door clearly loved ‘Chase Atlantic’.

The playlist was decent, sure, but blasting ‘Heaven and Back’ for the seventh consecutive time? Well, that was their choice.

If I were to march over there and ask them to turn it down, what would it make me look like? Boring? A party-pooper? Blah, blah, blah.

I gave up on sleep entirely. I couldn’t even watch my movie in peace, even with my earbuds turned up to maximum volume.

What else was I supposed to do?

I snapped the laptop shut, rerouted my earbuds to my phone, and scrolled past a friend’s playlist recommendation; ‘Never You Again’.

I randomly pressed on one of the song and landed on something entirely new: ‘Colourblind’. I tossed on my raincoat, humming quietly as I zipped it up.

Catchy tune, I’ll give it that. I’d have to look up the translation for the rest of the lyrics later.

I stepped out into the hall, wanting to get down to the lobby ASAP.

God, it was even louder out here. Not that I wanted to look nosy, but as I passed the wide-ajar apartment door, I couldn’t help catching a stray glimpse of the chaos inside. Dozens of eyes flicked toward me in the doorway, making my skin prickle. I walked past with a calm facade making my way to the elevator. The music started to fade but this pumping heart knew how creepy that brief second of eye contact really was. Phew.

As I pushed through the main building doors, the cool rain pitter-pattered accompanied by the clean smell of damp earth and grass. Normally, I loved the rain, but only when it was calm.

Even the song shifted, fading into a foreign track anchored by a catchy ‘Lai Lai.’ It weirdly fit the atmosphere.

The surrounding streets were dark and gloomy, illuminated only by a few flickering amber streetlights. From the outside, the apartment looked like an aging, run-down relic, but the inside was surprisingly pristine. A new aesthetic trend to not judge a book by it’s cover? Who knows.

I took a slow stroll around the perimeter. Expensive-looking cars lined the curbs. Trust fund babies? I shook my head at my own thoughts. I just needed peace of mind. Truly, desperately needed it.

The wind picked up, prompting me to pull my hood down tighter. Suddenly, I craved ice cream. Even though the store was miles away, I didn’t mind a long walk. Subconsciously, my hand dipped into my back pocket.

Right, no wallet, no card. I sighed. Next time.

I dropped onto a nearby bench, trying to soak in the midnight air as a few straggling party guests filtered out to their Ubers, casting curious glances in my direction. I diverted my attention to the rain-slicked plants nearby. A sleek luxury car revved its engine and pulled away fashionably.

I pulled out my phone: 4:29 AM. Great.

There were no important classes offered tomorrow—just mandatory swimming practice and maybe I'll help out the photography club.

The lyrics of the next song caught my attention. It was dark and oddly... melancholic.

Suddenly, a hand clamped around my arm, yanking me violently to my feet before my brain could even process the motion.

“Please, just go along with it,” a velvet-deep voice muttered. It was the kind of voice that makes you loop a TikTok edit.

What? Go along with what? My heart spiked.

Before I could formulate a single coherent response, a pair of lips crashed onto mine.

The stranger towered over me, forcing my chin up, angled more than an acute one. My hands instinctively clawed at his jacket. The heavy taste of wine and rain hit my mouth.

The background music changed to the next song, as if mocking me which wasn’t helpful at all! Everything seemed to slow down. My mind short-circuited. It was sudden, hot, and my heartbeat spiked into a frantic rhythm.

He started slow, but the kiss quickly escalated, his tongue trying to pry past my teeth.

I am kissing someone. The person is kissing me. Oh, hell no.

A stranger is kissing me. Aaaaah.

With my left hand, I grabbed his neck and squeezed hard, hoping to choke some sense into him. Instead, the persistent jerk just pressed in closer and more aggressively.

The next playing song was even more dramatic for the current situation.

What kind of unholy timing was this playlist on?

Mphh.

I bit his lower lip hard enough to draw a sharp gasp and a faint metallic tang of blood. But this persistent little sh*t.

My hand was still gripping his neck, I even tried to pull his head back with my fingers firmly grasping his hair. Well what now?

I loosened my grip just a fraction, I tilted my chin, slid my lips apart, and matched his rhythm.

He tensed instantly, entirely caught off guard. Seizing the opening, I bit down on his tongue—hard enough to draw a genuine grunt of pain and force him out of my personal space.

Mmm... why did that somehow feel satisfying?

Even though he pulled back, he didn’t let go entirely. He stared down at me with an unreadable, intense look in his eyes—something weird and distinctly unsettling. I’m not a small person in anyway, but his single hand easily locked around my waist while his free hand absently rubbed his bleeding lip.

It was hot. My cheeks burned. My neck felt like a rush of boiling water. This whole situation was humiliatingly cinematic.

“Well, I told you I was in the wrong. I am sorry. Come on, don't be mad at me anymore. Please try to understand, pretty please,” he drawled, batting his eyelashes with absurd, theatrical playfulness.

Right. A sorry lover.

I decided to play along with the absurdism. I rolled my eyes, clamped my hand flat across his face, and shoved his head back.

“You’ve been throwing my feelings away! Every week! For all these months!” I improvised, pulling straight from the movie I’d just been watching.

In the distance, the sharp click of high heels cut through the rain. Someone was approaching. I tried to wrench myself away, but his grip on my waist tightened, spinning us both around to face the newcomers.

Two people—a man and a woman—stood under the dim lights with expressions so chillingly blank it was impossible to read them.

So now... whose the one this jerk is avoiding.

“I told you not to fool around, didn't I?” the woman said, her eyes locking straight onto me. “And he's the new guy now?”

“Ugh, Kyzeq, this is absurd. You want to make a show? I'll give you a real one,” the man growled, furious yet terrifyingly calm.

Too much fuss. Way too much. And this guy next to me was just standing there like an idiot. I turned my fierce gaze away from the newcomers and fixed it back on the man holding my waist.

“Your partners are here for you, Kyzeq. Can you not see how worried they look?” I snapped, letting my voice ring clear and loud through the quiet street. “I never want to speak to you again. Not now, not ever.”

With one final shove, I ripped myself out of his grip, turned my back on the little audience, and bolted back toward the building entrance.

I made it to the elevator and up to the seventh floor.

It was edgy avoiding the onlookers, who had a gist of what went on. The balcony view probably provided a good display of what happened.

I quickly made way to my room, practically slamming my apartment door shut behind me.

If I had any sort of magical foresight to see where this night was heading, I would have gladly altered my current circumstance by never stepping foot through this building's gate two weeks back.

I ripped off my raincoat, tossed it onto the table, and sprinted for the kitchen. I needed water. A huge amount. Worse than the kind of thirst you get after an extra-punishing swim practice.

God, please let this jerk not be the new neighbor I’d been warned about a week ago.

All I wanted was peace and quiet.