Mio stood, awkward and quiet, doing her best to look anywhere but Lily. The line progressed far too slowly. Lily seemed to pay no mind, inspecting their nails, then fiddling with their skirt. Mio was tempted to reach for her phone, but felt it would be too rude. Just when Mio was about to ask Lily why they even wanted to get lunch with her, they unexpectedly rushed forward, picking up a silver and deep blue pen, decorated with iridescent blue feathers.

“Oh my god, look at this,” they said, completely dispassionately. They held it out to her like an olive branch. “It’s totally your style. Get it.”

“W..hy?”

“You still write poetry, right? And look, it has feathers like Daemoux’s.”

Mio reached a hand through the thick air to take the pen, wondering how the hell Lily remembered the name of her pet raven. It was a beautiful pen, truly, the kind that could be refilled with new ink. The type of pen you held onto, instead of losing or trashing when it ran dry. Mio twirled it in her fingers for a moment. Maybe she wouldn’t go home empty handed after all. She gripped it firm in her palm, feeling a slight smile pull at her lips.

“I don’t do poetry anymore, actually,” Mio corrected quietly, checking the price tag.

“That’s a shame. You should. You were good at it.” Lily was scanning ahead in line for an opening.

“All I did was write stuff about like, stardust. It was so edgy.”

“Yeah. I liked it.”

Lily’s head turned, and again Mio was faced with their intense gaze. However, where before she saw it as accusatory, Mio saw a new light of sincerity behind Lily’s eyes. They weren’t hiding anything from her. It was a quiet difference, like the line between curious and suspicious. Mio chanced a smile at them, and like a breeze in mid June, they relaxed all at once, and smiled back.

The Panera was hopping. Mio grimaced as she held the door open for Lily and had to keep holding the door open for the three people that came after. They waited an agonizing time for their orders, leaning against a wall and staring at random places in the room. It was almost exciting, despite how boring it was. How long had it been since Mio had just gone out to get food and spend time in public? Something about having Lily beside her made it all the more exciting. It was a chance to perform, to gain the other’s approval. Unhealthy? Maybe. But invigorating, all the same.

They managed to find a table to sit and eat, and eat they did. There was nothing like some good bread, crisp apple slices, and smoked meat to make you feel like being a 13th century peasant and traipsing through the woods with nothing but your own wits to guide you. The silence began to be a little uncomfortable, but Lily came to Mio’s rescue. In the worst way possible (as was their fashion.)

“Why have you been so distant from everyone.” It was sharp, to the point, like an executioner’s blade.

Mio struggled to swallow her mouthful, reaching to spin the cap off her lemonade and take a swig to wash it down. “W-why have you.” She raised an eyebrow in challenge to Lily.

Sure, Mio wasn’t a saint. She hadn’t sent birthday gifts or kept up with important events. She hadn’t made time for her friends, and as a result, they were leaving her behind. That was fine. She wasn’t going to dance around for their attention and try to prolong something that was bound to happen one way or another. She certainly wouldn’t lie and say she was a good friend.

But Lily had no place to talk down to her, either. They weren’t even close to everyone in high school. They always had some excuse to miss out on plans, or a general disinterest in everyone’s lives. Mio was the same, but at least she wasn’t lying to anyone about it and pretending she was the authority on community togetherness.

Lily relented at that, looking down at their sandwich and idly picking at a flattened grain of oat. They popped the tidbit into their mouth, working it between their perfectly straight teeth like it was their next sentence. They finally crunched it between their molars, and propped their elbows up on the table, lacing their fingers together, and resting their chin on the pale white arch.

“How’s work been going,” they asked, trying to inflect a note of interest in their voice.

“Oh! Good,” Mio said, looking aside, distracted. It was hard to focus her mind on Lily with all of the people, sounds, and smells around. Mio’s mind demanded she keep track of every person as they moved around the room, which proved an impossible task. Nevertheless, her mind persisted. On being an asshole.