One Man Band System

In the middle of the night, inside Jade and Mike’s apartment, Jade woke up in her room. She turned to look at Mike sleeping beside her, then froze for a moment to gather her senses, even if just a little. She pulled off her blanket and got out of bed, still wearing her lingerie. Since the air was a bit chilly, she grabbed a robe, put it on, and then walked over to the bedroom door to head out.

"Click."

She opened the door and, still drowsy and half-asleep, walked over to the kitchen. She opened the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water, and took a sip. Afterward, she turned around intending to head back to her room, but as she looked toward the living room,

"Whoaaa!"

"Thud."

Jade’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest. She jumped back slightly, dropping her water bottle onto the floor, instantly fully awake. There on the living room sofa sat Ruby, completely still and lost in thought, her legs pulled up close to her chest, hugging them in total darkness with the TV turned off. Seeing this, Jade, her heart still pounding wildly from the jump scare, snatched her water bottle off the floor and walked over to Ruby. She switched on the light.

"Hey... what on earth are you doing sitting here in the dark? Can’t sleep?" Jade asked as she walked over and sat down next to Ruby.

"Um... sorry Jade. Yeah... I can’t sleep," Ruby replied softly, her eyes glued to the coffee table without turning to look at Jade beside her.

"Don’t you have school tomorrow? You’re gonna be late, it’s not the weekend yet," Jade said.

"I know, I’ll go to sleep in a bit," Ruby replied slowly.

The two went silent once again. Jade took another gulp of her water, having fully settled back down to normal. She kept staring at Ruby, who looked visibly confused or weighed down by something heavy on her mind.

"What are you even thinking about?" Jade asked.

Ruby didn’t answer right away. Instead, she raised her head, turned to look at Jade beside her, and stared at her.

"Eric’s offer from earlier... I can’t get it out of my head," Ruby said briefly, bringing her legs back down and leaning back against the sofa.

"Oh... so that’s what’s on your mind," Jade replied, leaning back as well.

"That’s not it. I’m just confused as to why Eric made me that offer. Doesn’t he hate me? Ever since I got to the building earlier, he just seemed completely neutral... He wasn’t warm like he used to be... but he wasn’t cold like he’s been lately either," Ruby said.

"Isn’t that a good thing?" Jade asked, turning to look at Ruby.

"It is... I’m really glad Eric isn’t mad at me anymore... but... for some reason... I feel like he doesn’t see me as a sister anymore... not even as a friend... I feel like he treats me like some total stranger he just met, a stranger who doesn’t matter to him at all," Ruby answered.

Jade opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She wanted to step in to defend Eric and break things down for Ruby, but the words wouldn’t come out. After all, she herself had only just gotten back on good terms with Eric a few days ago, and before that, Eric had treated her the exact same way he was treating Ruby now. All Jade could do was reach over, place a hand on Ruby’s shoulder, and gently pat it.

"He wouldn’t go making an offer like that to a younger sister he hates, right? But to a stranger, sure," Ruby added.

"You’re overthinking this. Look at it this way, think about how you used to act around him, even if the reason was that you fell for him as more than just a big brother. Now you promised you want to change, but it’s only been a few days and Eric hasn’t seen that change yet. So isn’t it completely natural that even if he’s forgiven you, he might not be ready to take you back as his sister just yet?" Jade asked.

"But... the problem is my feelings for him are coming right back... especially after seeing him together with Emma earlier... My jealousy flared up all over again. When we were at his building with everyone around, I didn’t feel like this at all," Ruby said frankly.

"Good grief, girl, just let those feelings go. No matter how hard you push for it, even if Eric is only your half-brother, blood is still blood. You can’t go any further than being his sister, do you get that or not?" Jade snapped in frustration.

"But... didn’t you love Eric too back then?" Ruby asked, turning to look at Jade.

Jade went quiet for a moment, carefully pondering Ruby’s question before coming up with an answer. Once she had her thoughts in order, she turned to face Ruby.

"That’s true. Back then I did say I loved him, but... after meeting Mike, I finally learned what love actually is. What I felt for Eric wasn’t love, it was possessiveness and a feeling that Eric belonged to me... that definitely wasn’t love," Jade said calmly, looking Ruby in the eye.

"I see," Ruby muttered, falling back into reflection.

"We grew up together, we were together since we were kids, Eric is my age, and we even went to school together. I was with him every single day, so it was only natural for me to get possessive over him. And that almost destroyed my relationship with Mike, the person who was supposed to be my partner in everything. So you really need to look deep inside yourself and figure out if what you feel for Eric is actually love, or just an obsession with a big brother, before you end up regretting it one day," Jade explained further.

Hearing Jade’s explanation, Ruby fell silent. She went back to staring at the coffee table in front of her, hoping it might somehow offer an answer to the questions weighing on her heart. But out of nowhere, Jade pulled Ruby into a hug.

"Alright, you need to go to sleep now. If you really want to accept Eric’s offer, you can tell him yourself tomorrow. Your workplace is close to his building anyway, so just drop by," Jade said.

"Yeah... thanks, Jade," Ruby replied.

Jade pulled back from the hug and stood up, saying goodnight to Ruby once more before heading back into her room. "Sigh," she let out a breath and leaned against the doorframe after shutting the door from the inside. She then placed her water bottle on the nightstand beside her bed and took off her robe. She pulled back the covers and climbed into bed, but suddenly, Mike turned over and smiled.

"Whoaaah... you scared me," Jade said.

"Sorry, I woke up and panicked when I didn’t see you next to me. Then when I was about to step out for some water, I heard you talking to Ruby, so I stayed put," Mike said.

"Oh... here," Jade said, turning back to grab her water bottle and handing it to Mike, who drank it right down.

After taking a drink, the two lied back down, wrapping their arms around each other as they faced one another.

"Go back to sleep now, sorry I woke you up," Jade said.

"It’s fine. Did Ruby get what you were trying to explain to her?" Mike asked, holding Jade close.

"Hopefully... wait a second, you heard us?" Jade asked, surprised.

"Oh... I only heard a bit of it, because I chose to pretend to be asleep rather than eavesdrop, unless you guys were talking about legal stuff, then I definitely would’ve jumped in," Mike answered.

"You’re unbelievable," Jade replied with a smile, tapping Mike’s nose with her finger.

"Relax, if you want to accept Eric’s offer, I don’t have a problem with it. In fact, I’ll support you and be your fan, I’ll even invite my friends to watch your concert," Mike said with a smile.

"I’m still thinking it over, but thanks," Jade said, smiling.

Then Mike leaned in and kissed Jade passionately. Right after that, he turned onto his back and let go of her.

"Alright... let me sleep," Mike said.

Mike didn’t realize that Jade’s face had instantly flushed red right beside him. She slid closer and held onto his arm tightly until Mike turned to look at her.

"Hey," Jade said.

"Huh... what’s up?" Mike asked, confused.

"It’s been a while, hasn’t it? What do you say?" Jade asked with a teasing smile.

"Oh... how about tomorrow instead? I have to head to the office early in the morning," Mike replied.

"Uh-uh... you started this, and now you want to back out? Not letting you off the hook," Jade said.

With a fast and unexpected movement, Jade climbed on top of Mike’s chest, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him passionately on the lips. Her hand pulled the blanket over the both of them, and naturally, one thing led to another.

Meanwhile, outside, Ruby was still lost in thought. She picked up her phone and popped in her earbuds. Her fingers danced across her screen as she opened Eric’s profile, and then she started playing every single song by Eric and The Empress from the very beginning.

A subtle smile appeared on her lips, and when the playlist reached the latest released song by The Empress, it clicked after she listened closely to the lyrics.

"She’s right... right now I’m not really sure what my feelings for Eric actually are... but one thing’s for sure, it’s definitely past being just siblings, but not quite lovers yet," Ruby thought to herself, pondering deeply.