Neteyam is slapped across the face just as his session with Aonung ends. The act is abrupt, and without reason.
Kiri- What the fuck?
Lo'ak looks to his mate, who is standing tensely on the side.
Lo'ak- Rotxo, what did you say to her?
Rotxo- All I did was tell her Aonung and Neteyam are together. She just got mad.
Neteyam realizes then why he was hit, but it does nothing to calm him down. Aonung, who sees his anger rising rapidly, places a hand on his shoulder to calm him.
Neteyam- What is your problem, Arafima? Do I need to chase you off like you're a pest again?
Arafima- How could you take advantage of someone like him? I know you're still involved with Yuuki, you always are. Aonung doesn't deserve that.
Neteyam- Yuuki and I have nothing to do with each other, if you must know. Now go mind your own business.
Arafima- This is my business. As someone who has been hurt by you, I cannot let you do the same to someone else.
Neteyam- The person who hurt you was Yuuki. But instead of facing her head on and doing something about her, you just came to me, yapping your misplaced feelings.
Arafima- What?
Neteyam- If you hadn't blamed me for whatever the hell she did, I wouldn't have cut you off.
Arafima- Don't try to act like you were innocent.
Neteyam- Maybe I wasn't, but you, the closest childhood friend I had, snapped at me over something as stupid as seeing me kiss someone else when we weren't even together.
Arafima- We were together. You always gave me more attention than other girls, and everyone said we were like the perfect couple. I thought you had chosen me.
Neteyam- If it didn't come from my mouth, it was stupid of you to believe it!
She flinches a bit when he raises his voice, and Tsireya guides their younger siblings elsewhere, along with Kiri who desperately wants to slap Arafima back.
Neteyam- Now, you think I'm doing something to you again because you've taken an interest in Aonung, but did you ever think to ask him if there was someone else involved with him before you latched on?
Arafima- No, but-
Neteyam- Exactly, another mistake on your part.
Arafima- I'm not latched onto Aonung, I just thought he was charming and maybe I did catch a crush, but that's not why I'm doing this. I'm trying to stop you from hurting him like you hurt me.
Neteyam- Nobody hurt you before, and nobody is hurting you now. You're hurting yourself because you don't think.
Arafima- You expect me to just let you pretend like you've done nothing wrong? Like there's no reason for me to warn him about you?
Aonung- I already knew about Yuuki, and I trust Neteyam.
Aonung speaks up before Neteyam, surprising Arafima. She scoffs.
Arafima- Okay, I see how it is. I thought you were different but I guess you're just like everyone else who idolizes him and thinks he can do no wrong.
Korva- Don't play that shit, Ara, you were the leader of his fan club. That's why you got so mad when you found out about Yuuki.
Arafima- That is not true.
Korva- Yes it is. He wasn't the perfect boy you wanted him to be, to go along with your dream of being a "perfect couple".
Korva speaks in a mockingly light tone like she's a child, which makes Lo'ak snicker.
Korva- Whatever the hell that is.
Lo'ak's laugh breaks free at Korva's genuinely confused tone on what a perfect couple is.
Korva- Anyway, it wasn't just everyone else who praised him a lot, it was you too.
Arafima- I wouldn't have thought that if he didn't act that way.
Neteyam- No, you wouldn't have thought that if you weren't so wrapped up in everyone else's opinions. You were building a relationship with me in your mind, but it wasn't there. As far as I was aware, we were still just friends, and you had said nothing about wanting more.
Neteyam's tone is calmer, appreciating the help he's being offered to deal with this girl's make believe problems.
Arafima goes silent for a moment, delving into her memories and seeing how things looked when she wasn't consumed by the crush she had on her closest friend.
It was true. Everything was in her head. The only thing between them was their friendship, and her one sided feelings that Neteyam never knew existed.
Feeling embarrassed, she backs away from them, then runs off.
Lo'ak- You're such a heartbreaker, bro.
Neteyam rolls his eyes playfully at his brother's humor. He doesn't hate Arafima, but hates how she created a problem out of nothing. With that cleared up though, he isn't sure what she'll do, but he wouldn't mind having her as a friend again.
For now, he'll give her space, and focus on other things since another weight was lifted off of him.
Aonung- Are you alright?
Neteyam- Yeah. I mean, I really wanna kiss you, bu-
Aonung cuts him off with his lips, kissing him sweetly, and the others smirk at them. Neteyam smiles at him as he pulls away.
Neteyam- I thought you were gonna wait.
Aonung- Seemed like it was killing you, so I made an exception.
Neteyam- How did it feel?
Aonung- The same.
Aonung smiles at him, and Neteyam wraps his arms over his shoulders to kiss him again.
Korva- Damn it, I hate being single.
Lo'ak and the others laugh as they each leave together to let Neteyam and Aonung have their moment.