INTERACTIONS
〘 Ylva Ulven 〙
Frankly, he had no idea how to deal with this. It seemed like Ylva was having some sort of mental breakdown—something he was not at all equipped to handle. Once, twice, three times, Ziggy tries to think of something to say to help with the situation, something he could do even, but each time, his mind draws a blank. It was starting to get hard to think. The pounding music combined with the smoke fogging up his brain slows his thoughts to a sluggish crawl; and truth be told, Ylva’s ominous doomsaying wasn’t helping much either. What did she mean by that, anyway? That none of this is good?
“Come on, it’s just a party. What are you so worried about?” Ziggy tries to sound relaxed, though he can’t quite keep the unease out of his voice. Maybe I should just shut up, he thinks to himself, the girl clearly has it handled on her own. So, instead of trying to fumble his way through someone else’s problem, Ziggy resolves to take a step back for the time being. If things got really bad, he’d lend a hand, but from the looks of it, the worst was over. Ylva appeared to be settling down a bit, and he watches as her breathing slows to a more regular rate.
It’s only when Ylva points it out that Ziggy realises how many people had left during the commotion. At first looking to the right, then looking to the left, he does a quick headcount of those who are still present. It seemed Julius was gone, leaving Lou alone with Matilda, the blow-up doll. And then, Sasha is leaving too. Ziggy barely manages to say goodbye before she rounds the corner, presumably heading back to her room. Sighing, he reaches up to rub the glaze out of his eyes with the back of his hand, and slowly climbs back up to his feet.
“Hey, uh… Ylva, right? Do you need to like, lie down or something? I could walk you back to your room maybe.” Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he gestures vaguely towards the hallway, then realises how something like that might sound. Hurriedly, Ziggy holds his hands up, palms facing out to show that he held no ill intentions. “If you’re cool with that, I mean. You just don’t look too good, s’all. Wouldn’t want you collapsing on us.”
“Come on, it’s just a party. What are you so worried about?” Ziggy tries to sound relaxed, though he can’t quite keep the unease out of his voice. Maybe I should just shut up, he thinks to himself, the girl clearly has it handled on her own. So, instead of trying to fumble his way through someone else’s problem, Ziggy resolves to take a step back for the time being. If things got really bad, he’d lend a hand, but from the looks of it, the worst was over. Ylva appeared to be settling down a bit, and he watches as her breathing slows to a more regular rate.
It’s only when Ylva points it out that Ziggy realises how many people had left during the commotion. At first looking to the right, then looking to the left, he does a quick headcount of those who are still present. It seemed Julius was gone, leaving Lou alone with Matilda, the blow-up doll. And then, Sasha is leaving too. Ziggy barely manages to say goodbye before she rounds the corner, presumably heading back to her room. Sighing, he reaches up to rub the glaze out of his eyes with the back of his hand, and slowly climbs back up to his feet.
“Hey, uh… Ylva, right? Do you need to like, lie down or something? I could walk you back to your room maybe.” Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, he gestures vaguely towards the hallway, then realises how something like that might sound. Hurriedly, Ziggy holds his hands up, palms facing out to show that he held no ill intentions. “If you’re cool with that, I mean. You just don’t look too good, s’all. Wouldn’t want you collapsing on us.”