Trigger warning: Mention of Eating Disorders

No new Draugr attacks occurred in the following few weeks. Quiet tranquillity surrounded the two girls as they navigated their daily lives. So, what did Val and Maya do during that time? 

They spent time together, as much as they could. 

Because of the recent attacks, Val stayed by Maya’s side as much as possible. She accompanied her to university, joined on grocery runs, and occasionally followed Maya to the bathroom. 

The latter was where Maya drew the line. With a firm shove, she pushed Val back out the door. "I enjoy your company, Val," she said with a pointed look, "but the bathroom is sacred territory."

In the evenings, the two often strolled around the lake together. And while Maya would take a break on a nearby bench, watching Val as she did her laps. She observed her intently, paying close attention whenever she ran by. However, worry gnawed on Maya when Val didn’t return. Maya searched frantically and found her collapsed on the muddy ground, struggling through a heavy asthma attack. 

Val’s deteriorating lung capacity was a growing concern, and Maya couldn’t stop thinking of an answer for the problem.

While rummaging through her drawer one day, Maya stumbled upon the perfect solution. Her old gym membership card—a relic of a long-abandoned New Year’s resolution. She promptly upgraded it, ensuring it included a rehabilitation program with a personalised workout regime, knowing it could aid her recovery.

Maya hesitated with the wrapped gift card in hand, pressing it nervously to her lips before finally gathering the courage to offer it to Val.

Since then, Val’s health improved steadily. And so did their amount of casual touches. An unconscious hand on an arm, a brush against a cheek, or even a momentary squeeze on the thigh. 

Each touch lasted just a moment too long, leaving both flustered and retreating awkwardly. Maya had lost count of how many times her cheeks burned from the subtle yet electric moments.

And yet, they had yet to share a kiss. 

Neither could bring themselves to admit just how much they enjoyed those fleeting touches. They would accidentally stay too close to one another, gaze into the eyes of the other, but never jump to go for the kiss. 

For any outsider, their emotions were as clear as day, but lacked the courage. 

Regardless, Maya would not change those past few weeks of happiness for anything else. Living with Val gave her a much needed distraction from how stressful the past few months and years of school and life were. 

“Someone seems happy,” remarked Austin, raising an eyebrow at how giddy Maya whipped with her legs.

“I am!” Maya responded with unrestrained enthusiasm, flailing with her arms serving to deepen Austin’s irritation.

“...could you not? I’m walking right next to you.” 

“Never!” Maya replied as she and Austin exited the lecture. She was pumped with so much energy, she almost tripped over the stairs. Austin pulled her back for the third time this morning. “I’m just happy! You’ll never guess what happened this morning!” 

“You finally slept together?” 

Maya sputtered, tripped, and held onto the railing to keep herself from falling. “What!? No, we didn’t! Why would you say that!?” 

“Please.” Austin rolled his eyes and leaned against the railing opposite of Maya. “You practically overheat whenever you talk about her. Your face is red a lot these days. I swear, I won’t mop the floor when you wet your pants from all that excitement—OWW!” 

Maya kicked him against the shin, hard.

“Would you stop kicking me already!?” Austin complained, jumping up and down on one foot. 

“What did I say about crass comments?” 

“Oh please, I am not even interested in you, you know that– OWW!” 

Maya punched him against the shoulder, harder than before. 

“What was that for!?” 

“Pain for inappropriate behaviour.”

Austin hesitated. “...are you done?” 

Pause. 

Maya punched him one last time. 

“Third time’s the charm.” 

“Whatever!” grumbled Austin, rubbing his arm. “Geez, that hurts! Can we please go to the cafeteria before it gets swarmed, or you punch my arm off!?”

“Ah, sorry,” said Maya. “Not today.” 

“Why? Are you on another diet?” Austin squinted at her. “I’ve noticed your face looks rounder. You’re developing a double chin.” 

“I am what!?” Maya panicked, pulling out her phone to check her face. “Where is it? Where is it!?” 

Austin laughed. “HA! You fell for it!” he jumped out of the way before Maya could hit him again. “Sorry, I was kidding. You don’t have one, though I noticed you’re talking a lot about that woman’s food. Be careful with your disorder–” 

“Shut!” Maya clapped her hand over his mouth, shushing him up. “Don’t talk about it in public.” 

Austin narrowed his eyes. Maya nervously glanced from one student to the other while covering his mouth. He bit lightly into her palm so she would remove it. 

“OW!” Maya squeaked, rubbing her hand. “You bit me!?” 

“Don’t tell me you didn’t tell her yet?” he asked. When Maya looked away, he knew he was right. “Girl, you two are living together. She should know.” 

“I- I’m not comfortable telling her about it,” Maya confessed, anxiously rubbing her knuckles and inching away from Austin. “There’s no easy way to say it.”

How do I tell her I have an eating disorder?

Maya’s thoughts churned as she avoided Austin’s gaze. There was far more to her eating habits than she liked to admit.

Ever since she was a child, Maya had an unhealthy relationship with food. She liked to eat and snack, finding comfort in that. But that came with a price. She was always slightly overweight, which made her feel out of place, especially how bad she was at sports.

She would grow out of it eventually. Her parents always told her.

But I didn’t. Maya frowned at the thought. 

Her self-consciousness about her own body was at a constant low, always looming in the background. And it only got worse when she developed a Binge-Eating Disorder and became overweight. And the bullying only worsened her condition.

Diets after diets dictated her life, but nothing worked. They only made her tired and lethargic throughout the day—or in the worst cases, stressed her out during her exam periods, leading to her least favourite thing—burnout. 

Which subsequently led to her gaining even more weight rather than losing any. The growth spourt during puberty eventually balanced things out somewhat. 

She regulated her diet and eventually lost weight but Maya was prone to rebounds. Her episodes remained, and at worst, returned at least once every other week.

During those episodes she would eat through her entire snack cabinet, or a large family pizza in one setting—leaving her sickeningly full, ashamed, embarrassed, and, worst of all, feeling ugly and unattractive.

Maya wasn’t overweight anymore—at least, not as much as she used to be—but the mental scars and stretch marks remained, etched into her poor self-image.

Glancing down, Maya’s fingers unconsciously pinched at the soft folds of her belly and the curve of her thighs. Her expression darkened as her thoughts spiralled. What would Val think of her when she saw what was hidden beneath the clothes? Would she find her body unappealing? Chubby? 

So far, Maya had managed to hide her insecurities from Val, but the nagging thought lingered. Had she gained weight from overindulging? She couldn’t deny how much she enjoyed Val’s cooking or how happy it made Val to prepare meals for her.

The fear gnawed at her, twisting her stomach into knots.

“She’s out of my league anyway.” Maya balled her fists at what she just said. “I enjoy being with her, and that’s all I can ask. There’s no way someone like her will like someone like me anyway, right?” 

Austin ran a hand down his face, peering at Maya through his fingers. He was at a loss for words. He knew about her eating disorder and childhood, and the way she looked at herself—as if no one would appreciate her.

Maya’s beauty was undeniable—everyone knew that except Maya herself.

Deep, ebony skin radiated with effortless elegance, while her afro, a crown of regal curls, floated and defied gravity itself, turning heads wherever she went. Striking blue eyes shimmered like the North Sea, vivid against her rich complexion, and a magnetic personality drew people in, brightening their lives when they met her.

The striped long-sleeved shirt and jeans she wore framed her soft, curvy figure in ways that Austin could never hope to describe. To him, she embodied confidence and warmth, even if Maya disagreed and denounced her appearance.

If Austin were interested in women, he would have been unable to look away from her.

Anger bubbled inside him for how little Maya could appreciate her innate beauty. 

Anybody would be lucky to have someone like her and she should value herself more. Austin’s grip on his face tightened, and veins bulged on his fingers. The whites of his scleras darkened as his jaw clenched.  I swear, if this Valkyrie ever breaks her heart, I’ll crush her.