Twice Two

The event went successfully, and the performances that followed brought Plane back to her old life. Sort of. Every evening, when they collapsed onto the bed from exhaustion, bad memories began to haunt her again, and seeing Nymphia’s happy face only made it hurt more. At first, Nymphia hadn’t noticed any changes in Plane’s behavior, but now something in her words and looks seemed strange. ‘Well, it hasn’t been long since the argument,’ Nymphia thought. ‘We just need time.’ But no one spoke of the unfortunate conflict, hoping its consequences would somehow dissolve on their own.   A day remained until the next performance, and Morphine, who also shone in the sixteenth season and was now supposed to appear on stage with them, had to drop everything and finish learning the choreography. Mirage wasn’t with them, and Nymphia watched in confusion as Plane continued to mend relationships and get closer to others, including Morphine.   ‘Look what I’ve got!’ Plane exclaimed, shaking her phone in her hand.   They were near the rehearsal hall, waiting for Morphine to finish so they could get ready for the performance together.   ‘What is it?’ Nymphia raised an eyebrow in confusion.   ‘Morphine went to rehearsal and left her phone behind. Silly girl.’   Nymphia continued to stare at her, puzzled.   ‘We’re going live right now from this phone!’ Plane said cheerfully.   ‘And why?’ Nymphia couldn’t understand what she wanted.   ‘Why are you so absent-minded today? You wanted to show off next to me yourself.’   Before Nymphia could protest, Plane unlocked the phone in an instant and logged into Instagram.   ‘How do you even know her password?’ Nymphia asked suspiciously.   Plane rolled her eyes without answering and pulled her into a tight hug, almost suffocating her with her enormous chest.   ‘Come on. You want it,’ she whispered into Nymphia’s ear and pinched her butt.   Nymphia couldn’t stay long in such suffocating embraces and gave in. She sighed and spread her arms.   ‘Alright. But when are you going to change?’ she asked, glancing at the jeans and short top, under which her familiar little belly was visible.   It seemed Plane had finally stopped being shy. This was another significant change that made Nymphia proud, but recently Plane had been changing too much, and Nymphia couldn’t understand how to react. Plane waved her hand and started the live broadcast.   Nymphia immediately forgot her recent worries for Plane — she, as usual, shone in front of the camera, showing off her super outfit. Nymphia looked at it skeptically — ridiculous flared jeans with holes, as if someone had chewed them, a top with a bare chest print that looked absurd on huge pads, and the worst — a short wig, which she definitely hadn’t expected to see on Plane.   Despite this, Nymphia decided to stay silent this time. Plane’s liberties, on one hand, aroused her, but on the other, they were beginning to cross a permissible line, and Nymphia blushed when Plane hugged her tightly and kissed her on the crown of her head after indecent comments. It was unclear whether Plane planned this or acted out of habit, but it threw Nymphia off balance, and she forced herself to pretend it was not to her taste. Plane didn’t seem to notice, and Nymphia decided to discuss it later.   ‘Well, satisfied, baby?’ Plane smirked, landing on the couch. Morphine’s phone was already lying on the table.   Nymphia frowned and shook her head helplessly. Plane, watching her closely, raised an eyebrow in surprise.   ‘What’s wrong?’ she asked without any reproach, trying to understand what she had done wrong this time.   ‘I think you went too far,’ Nymphia answered carefully.   Plane sighed sadly and, getting up, approached Nymphia, taking her hands.   ‘Sorry, Nymphia. I got so carried away playing with you that I forgot hundreds of people were watching us, who don’t need to know everything. I guess I have a strong desire to share us with others.’   It was obvious Nymphia couldn’t stay mad at Plane for long, especially in this situation, and she couldn’t hold back a smile. Seeing her smile, Plane also smiled and hugged her tightly.   ‘You’re not mad at me anymore, Nymphia?’   ‘You know you’re impossible to stay mad at, even when you do something stupid.’   Plane shivered and opened her eyes wide. What would happen when she told the truth about London? If Nymphia couldn’t stay mad at her, how would she feel after hearing that? Plane would surely break her heart. And now what? Pretend nothing happened, stay silent, and suffer from guilt? No way.  

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Nymphia fell onto the bed, spreading her arms wide, trying to relax after a hectic night of work. She always did this after performances, which always made Plane smile and look at the person she adored most.   But today Plane couldn’t smile — it was time for an important conversation. She had long prepared her speech and calculated possible reactions from Nymphia, but at this moment all words flew out of her head.   ‘Nymphia,’ she began.   Nymphia raised her head and looked at Plane with interest, squinting playfully — was she finally ready for fun? Her serious look momentarily confused Nymphia — completely unexpected, but she patted the bed, inviting Plane over.   ‘Finally, Plane. I thought you’d never grow up. Nothing has happened since you ran away,’ Nymphia babbled. ‘Even though I’m damn tired, I’m still ready to crawl into your panties. Too bad we already changed — I never got to untuck you. Come on, come here.’   Plane unexpectedly shook her head and held out her hand. Nymphia obediently took it and found herself in front of her face. Puzzled, she looked into Plane’s eyes.   ‘I need to talk to you. It’s very important,’ Plane said with effort.   ‘What?’ Nymphia continued to look at her with wide eyes, and Plane had to turn her face away to hide her shame.   ‘You’re so good, Nymphia — better than anyone I’ve ever known. And I’m a real bastard,’ Plane began, still not daring to look Nymphia in the eyes. ‘You took me back without asking questions. And I gladly took advantage of it and continue to do so, enjoying my luck.’   ‘Did something happen in London?’ Nymphia touched Plane’s face with her palms and turned it toward her, looking into her eyes. It seemed she had long guessed, but preferred not to stir the past and cause pain.   ‘I slept with her,’ Plane finally admitted, and her breath caught.   Nymphia’s hands slipped down, she recoiled, and her beautiful face twisted in pain. She looked around in confusion, seemingly seeing nothing, and sank to the edge of the bed. Seeing tears on her lifeless face, Plane approached her.   ‘Nymphia…’   Nymphia looked at her with despair. Plane desperately wanted to hold her and whisper for forgiveness, but knowing Plane better than anyone else and understanding what she was about to do, Nymphia shook her head and extended her hand, not letting Plane touch her.   ‘I can’t see you anymore and I don’t want you in my life,’ Nymphia spat out, gathering all her strength, and ran out of the room.   Plane wanted to follow, but her feet felt glued to the floor, and no matter how she tried to move or shout after her, all she could do was cover her face with her hands, trying to hold back tears. A dizzying feeling forced Plane to unclench her hands, and she opened her eyes…  

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Plane saw a white ceiling and felt something land beside her. She turned her head and saw Nymphia sitting on the bed, thoughtfully looking at her.   ‘You really overslept, baby,’ Nymphia smiled. ‘Had a bad dream?’   ‘What makes you think that?’ Plane sat up sharply.   ‘You started mumbling something and then twitching. I was afraid you’d fall off the bed.’   Nymphia gently hugged her, laying her back on the bed. The tender touch reminded Plane of the nightmare’s beginning, which would now inevitably come true. Nymphia’s behavior in the dream was a likely outcome of her confession — unwilling to see Plane ever again, she would try to escape reality. And who knows what she might do in such an attempt? But lying and pretending, looking Nymphia in the eyes, touching her after all the dirt — it couldn’t continue, and Plane unexpectedly found another way out.  

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A week ago, Plane received a message from her father that amused her slightly, which she decided to share on Twitter — he didn’t want to come across videos on Instagram where ‘Wind’ jokingly crawled on her knees showing her love for work with her mouth.   She hadn’t replied then, ignoring her father’s serious tone, but now, with no one around but Nymphia, whose relationship with her was getting more complicated, she decided to contact him and ask how he and her mother were doing. Separately, of course.   ‘Hello, son. What an unexpected call!’ her father said in English, as usual.   ‘I decided to reach out after your unusual message,’ Plane smirked. ‘Why are you following my Instagram?’   Her father cleared his throat, taking time to think.   ‘I wanted to know,’ he finally said, ‘what my son is up to while he’s away.’   Plane croaked.   ‘Strangely, you didn’t care before.’   ‘I misspoke,’ her father blurted out unexpectedly. ‘I wanted to know how Plane is doing, now that she’s such a big celebrity.’   ‘Found out?’ Plane smirked. ‘And what do you think?’   ‘I think she’s exactly how I imagined her when Lena told me about her. So nothing supernatural, except those videos with…’   Her father pretended not to remember the name.   ‘With Nymphia,’ Plane finished for him. ‘Yes, we had a good time and didn’t hesitate to share it with everyone. If it was uncomfortable for you to watch, no one forced you. Or did your colleagues somehow sniff out your connection with naughty Plane Jane?’   ‘Andy, enough,’ there was little irritation in his voice. ‘Even if someone finds out, I won’t deny it. I think you’re doing what you should. If this is your path — walk it proudly. As parents, we should only support you, and if the world turns against you, you know who to turn to: we’ll never turn away from you.’   Her father’s fiery speech stunned Plane. When he finished, she couldn’t utter a word, and he had to call her a few times to bring back her speech.   ‘Then why did you write about Nymphia?’ Plane finally asked.   ‘I was emotional — I wrote immediately when I saw it. It seemed wrong to me that you show this to everyone, but then I remembered it’s your job…’   ‘Wait, stop,’ Plane interrupted. ‘Nymphia isn’t my job. We didn’t do it to entertain fans. Or not just for that…’   Plane realized she was confused.   ‘In short, the way she crawled at my feet and then jumped on me — that’s what we do in our normal life. Oops.’   Plane didn’t understand why she even said that to her father.   ‘Of course, it’s nice to hear it was ‘her’. I immediately start thinking my son has a relationship, but then I realize who Nymphia is and come back to reality. But honestly, it would be hard for me to imagine you with a girl.’   ‘Unusual remark,’ Plane noted.   ‘In short, Andy, I want you to come home. To Boston,’ her father added. ‘Mom misses you a lot. We’ve started calling each other often, talking about Plane, and every time she says how much she misses you.’   Plane didn’t understand what surprised her more — that her father and mother were regularly communicating or that they were talking about Plane.   ‘She even said Nymphia could stay with you if it’s too hard to part with her.’   So here was the opportunity to solve everything. Nymphia should return to New York, and Plane should return to her place — she had performances scheduled anyway. Nymphia didn’t have time to rest either — each had her own tasks, and later it would be clear. And although it wasn’t a complete solution, Plane saw no other option.   When Nymphia entered the room, she was already prepared for the conversation, knowing nothing ever goes as planned. Nymphia was tired, couldn’t get further than the bed, and collapsed face-first into the pillow.   ‘Last performance?’ Plane tried to ask calmly, but a nervous chuckle ruined it. Nymphia didn’t notice.   ‘Yes,’ she mumbled. ‘Finally, a long-awaited rest…’   ‘I’m flying home tomorrow,’ Plane continued uncertainly.   ‘Why tomorrow?’ Nymphia turned onto her side, looking at her with surprise. ‘We planned to rest here one day before returning to New York.’   ‘I’m going back to Boston,’ Plane exhaled.   ‘Did something happen?’ Nymphia frowned worriedly and sat on the bed.   Plane looked away, feeling Nymphia drilling into her with her gaze.   ‘No. I’m just going home,’ Plane said firmly, looking at Nymphia.   Nymphia frowned even more, got up, approached Plane, and took her hands. They both stayed silent, looking into each other’s eyes until Plane finally let go and turned toward the window.   ‘The performances are over; it’s time to split up,’ she said.   ‘Split up? Why? What’s happening? Why did you distance yourself from me and now want to run away completely?’ Nymphia exclaimed.   ‘Nothing is happening,’ Plane replied sharply, turning away.   Nymphia froze at this terrible phrase from Plane, and she left the room, leaving Nymphia in complete confusion.