Voice in the Silence

“Hey, Alena, are you here?” Marina’s voice—their account manager—came through. “Yeah, just lost in thought,” Alena lied, prying her eyes open. Admitting that she’d nodded off right at her desk was out of the question. “What, the holidays weren’t long enough?” her colleague chuckled kindly. “Are they ever?” In truth, Alena was already tired of staying home and had even begun to miss work. This year, she had decided to skip the ‘January Heat’ club night. She loved that party—the music she adored, the glowing lights, the feeling that everyone could simply be themselves. But she would almost certainly run into someone she knew there, someone who would try, once again, to sleep with her. Her best friend, Sashka, had gone to Rostov for a few days with her parents to visit relatives. No matter how much she resisted or reminded them that she had her own life, plans, and responsibilities, her parents had once again managed to press on her guilt, and she gave in. For the second year in a row, Sasha had been trying to move out. Alena had even offered her place as a temporary solution. But Sanya had flatly refused, stubbornly insisting on her independence. In the end, she stayed where she was and continued falling for her parents’ tricks. Only faithful Iriska helped brighten Alena’s lonely days. Because of the poorly timed live broadcast, she had barely slept all night. A foolish idea had taken hold of her—to rewatch the key moments of the eighth season. She came to work looking exhausted, carrying with her a slightly unhinged plan to search for fanfiction about her favourite performers. She hadn’t felt emotions this intense since her teenage years. Back then, she and Sashka would obsess over musicians from their favourite bands, fantasise about them, and binge-read everything they could find on Ficbook. And now she was twenty-four—a grown, independent woman with a cat. Where was all this nonsense coming from? After a hurried lunch, Alena realised she wouldn’t make it through the day without something to read. To her great disappointment, the pairing wasn’t particularly popular on Ficbook. Until the end of her lunch break, she downloaded everything she could, saving it to read later at home. Curiosity won out, though, and while her colleagues were distracted by work, Alena opened the first story. She was greeted right away by explicit sex scenes. She quickly understood that getting aroused at work was a terrible idea—and still, she set her phone aside only with effort. At home, she finally relaxed and continued reading. The scenes were vividly written, the images forming instantly in her mind—yet something felt off. At first, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. But the reason soon became clear: Alena simply didn’t believe it was really them. They were just two random guys exchanging a handful of lines and having sex like rabbits. And for some reason, they were called Steven and Dave. But they weren’t those Steven and Dave—the ones who had met on The Merge and come to understand their feelings. Instead, they were a student and a teacher, an alpha and an omega, elves, aliens, even a zombie and its victim. By the end of the workweek, Sasha had finally returned from her trip, and Alena wasted no time heading over as soon as the weekend began. Until then, she had spared her friend’s feelings and hadn’t bombarded her with indignant messages after every disappointing fic. Now, though, she practically pounced on her the moment she stepped inside, desperate to unload her gloomy thoughts. “Can you imagine? Steven gets imprisoned for sexual coercion, and Dave turns out to be his guard. From day one, he hates Steven—calls him a bastard out loud, says people like him should be killed, and deep down, as the author hints, feels a twisted attraction toward him. Dave humiliates him at every opportunity, and when things escalate into outright threats, Steven suddenly realises he’s ready to die by his hands.” Sanya raised an eyebrow with interest. “So Steven starts provoking Dave on purpose, waiting for his shifts just to be humiliated even more. In the end, they realise they can’t live without each other, and Dave decides to help Steven escape.” “And then what?” her friend asked, puzzled, catching the unfinished note in Alena’s voice. “How would I know?” Alena snapped. “Do you really think I read that nonsense to the end?” “But you read a fair bit of it,” Sasha smirked. “I mean, seriously!” Alena ignored her. “Turning Steven into a convict! Sending Dave to work in a prison camp! What did they ever do to deserve being dumped into grim Russian realism?” Sanya looked at her cautiously. “I think you’re taking all of this way too personally.” “I just want to read something normal,” Alena protested. “I want to see them together. Did you see how they acted at the press conference? I sent it to you.” “Well, I saw it,” Sanya grimaced. “You’re reacting way too strongly. Like you’re fifteen again.” “Because they’re supposed to be together!” Alena yelled. “Don’t you think this is less about them and more about you?” her friend asked with a sly smile. Alena frowned, confused. “Maybe you want some grand love of your own,” Sasha drawled. “Oh, don’t start,” Alena muttered. “Get distracted. Find yourself a girl and have some fun. Just for one night, at least. No one’s telling you to dive back into a serious relationship.” “I’ve already told you,” Alena planted her hands on her hips. “No more girls. I’m tired.” “Guys?” her friend smirked. “Oh, just shut up already. That’s not funny at all,” Alena sulked. “You get involved with someone—and then you spend ages dealing with the fallout. I’d rather stay single.” “Your choice, Alena, but tell me…” Sanya slapped her lightly on the shoulder. “When was the last time you had sex?” Alena frowned. “I don’t want to talk about it.” “That long ago?” Sasha stared at her in shock. “I don’t even recognise you. And I’m genuinely worried.” “No need. Worry about yourself,” Alena snapped, hurt. “That won’t be necessary,” Sashka smiled. “I’m meeting someone tomorrow. Maybe he’ll turn out to be my one true love.” “Uh-huh,” her friend drawled. “Been there. Your one true love never lasts more than a month.” Sasha cast a gloomy look over her. Alena suddenly felt uncomfortable. She hadn’t said anything terrible—and Sanya herself had admitted as much before. “You know how it is,” she replied. “When your parents are right there, you can’t really go wild. I’m not a little girl anymore, and no one demands I be home by midnight, but they still start worrying if I don’t come back for the night. And having to warn them every single time is stupid—besides, it’s not always planned. On top of that, you get tired of hopping from one apartment to another. And I seriously doubt my parents would be thrilled to run into a guy in his underwear in the hallway in the morning. Especially since, ideally, he shouldn’t be wearing any.” “Sanya, but I did offer,” Alena protested. “I told you you could stay at my place for a while. And a guy in his underwear wouldn’t exactly shock me.” “And without it?” her friend laughed. “I don’t think a naked guy would shock me either,” Alena said, “but I’d still prefer not to run into him while he’s in that state.” “No, my dear,” Sanya said, getting up from the couch. “I won’t disturb your feline idyll. And you should stop reading nonsense and getting upset over trivial things.” “Heartless,” Alena muttered. And that was when a crazy plan began to take shape in her mind.