The next time, when Elise arrived at band practice, Jen wasn't there yet.

"She'll be there soon," Felix remarked upon seeing her questioning glance, unfazed as he continued adjusting his drum set. "Jen's late a lot. Not as often as Zahir, though."

Elise gave a stiff nod, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room. She should probably strike up a conversation with Felix, she mused—get along with the other band members too—but as usual when she was pressed to start a conversation, she couldn't think of a single solitary thing to say.

Finished with his setup, Felix checked his watch and sat backwards on one of the chairs. "Shine should show up soon," he said. "Heh—Shine should show up soon. Say that quickly ten times in a row."

He was the only one who laughed at his comment, though Elise gave a snort. "It's not that hard," she remarked.

"Have you tried it?"

"Why should I have tried it? It's not like it's an everyday sentence or anything," Elise replied. "I know harder tongue-twisters, though."

Felix raised his eyebrows. "Gimme one."

Elise thought for a moment, then she said, "She sells seashells by the seashore. You really have to focus on that one."

"I'll do you one better," said Felix. "Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines." He cackled at the look of shock on Elise's face. "It's funnier if you get it wrong, though."

Elise made a face. "Let me guess—"

"Yep," he said, grinning from ear to ear. "If you mess it up, you end up saying she shi—"

"What's going on?" a voice from the door interrupted him, and a second later Shine stepped into the room, his bass strapped to his back in a case.

"Tongue-twisters," Felix answered. "Susie works in a shoeshine shop. Where she shines she sits, and where she sits she shines. Can you say that quickly?"

Elise was about to warn him, but there was no need. Letting out a laugh, Shine put down his instrument and pulled over a chair. "Dude, you're not gonna trick me!" he exclaimed. "Go try it on Z, he's fallen for updog before!"

Felix and Elise both gaped at him. "He did?"

"I know, right? This guy falls for everything!" Shine replied, still laughing. He had a very loud, somewhat high-pitched laugh that toed the line between contagious and annoying. "Try what you want, dude, it all works on him."

A devious grin spread over Felix' good-natured face. "I'm so trying something on him."

Laughing again, Shine turned to Elise, sizing her up and down. "And you?" he asked, trying to look innocent and failing miserably. "Have you heard from Joe already?"

"Joe mama," Elise replied without missing a beat.

Shine cursed loudly and emphatically. "Goddammit!"

Elise laughed out loud. "Good luck getting me to fall for any of that," she said. "My friends have tried already, I know all the tricks."

"Bet."

"Now that you've warned me, it's not gonna work anymore!"

The door creaked open. A figure lingered in the doorframe, hidden in the shadow, hesitating to come in. Felix looked up, then waved and smiled.

"Zahir, you're on time!" he said. "We thought you'd be late again today. You know," he added, a mischievous glint in his eyes, "because of the matter baby."

Zahir frowned, clearly suspecting a trap of some kind. But he didn't seem to figure it out, because at length he said, "What's the matter baby?"

A devious grin spread all over Felix' face, just as the guffawing sound of Shine's laughter echoed through the room and the realization dawned on Zahir's face that he had walked face-first into a trap.

"Not again!" he exclaimed. "Why do you always do this to me?"

"It's way too easy!" Shine replied. "Bring up your guard a bit, man!"

"Hey!"

"Stop pouting, we're trying to help you," Felix said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a bag of M&Ms. "Want some?"

Elise shook her head at all of them. "You'll give him trust issues, you will," she said.

"He can handle it," said Shine, helping himself to a fistful of M&Ms without asking. "Hm," he said, chewing, "Skittles are better."

He looked around like he waited for someone to dispute him, then snatched another handful with a smug look on his face. "So you agree, they're better," he said.

"You're still eating the M&Ms though," Elise remarked.

"It's free chocolate! You think I'm stupid?"

Glancing at her phone, Elise wondered if she should give Jen a text. She was almost ten minutes late already; surely she hadn't forgotten again, had she?

But at that very moment the door opened, and Jen came stumbling in. She had obviously been running to get here, and in addition to the flush of stress and hurry there was an obvious distress in her narrow face and wide eyes.

"There you are!" Elise greeted her, putting on a smile because she was too chicken to ask her if she was okay. "I was wondering when you were gonna arrive just a moment ago."

Flinging her bag to the ground, Jen unceremoniously dropped into a chair and caught her breath. "Sorry," she said. "I got held up."

"What happened?" Felix asked.

"Work," Jen said curtly. "Whatever." She put on her signature grin, lifting her fist in the air. "Let's make some music, guys!"

~ ~ ~

Singing with Jen was fun. Band practice was fun in general. Elise was getting along better and better with Felix and Shine; they were a fun bunch, and interaction with them came to her naturally. Zahir was still reserved and never spoke to her unless he had to. But Elise found that he also rarely spoke to the other band members unless directly spoken to first, so maybe this was simply his personality.

Jen's singing was as fierce as always, but today there was a definite edge to it. Like she was still stressed, or maybe irritated, Elise couldn't tell. None of the others pressed the matter, so she didn't either. Even if she couldn't stand the thought that her friend wasn't doing well and she had no way of knowing what was wrong or how to help.

Then practice was over, and they all began to part ways. Shine and Felix were recounting some event the others hadn't taken part in. Jen was still singing the difficult part of Ground Breaker under her breath. Zahir was the first to leave, turning back in the doorframe like he was waiting for an invitation to walk with one of the others; but when that didn't come, he sighed and quietly vanished into the hallway.

Looking up, Jen turned to Elise as she picked up her bag. "I have to get to the subway," she said. "You too?"

Elise smiled and nodded, then she paused to look her up and down. "Shouldn't you put on a jacket?" she asked.

Jen turned right and left, but there was no trace of a jacket. "Guys," she said, "was I wearing a jacket when I came in?"

Elise tried to remember but failed. Felix shrugged too; Shine pursed his lips, then shook his head. "Don't think so," he said. "You ran in here in just a T-shirt."

Her face fell. More than it probably should over a minor inconvenience like this.

"Oh, whatever," she said, forcing a smile that couldn't hide her distress. "Guess I'll just walk home without my jacket, it's not that cold."

A thought shot through Elise's head. Taking off her coat, she held it out towards Jen with an encouraging smile. "Here, borrow mine," she said. "We should wear the same size anyway."

Jen's eyes went round. For a moment they glistened with a soft, quiet emotion—gratitude, but also something else, something sadder that Elise couldn't name. "I can't," she said weakly. "This is—"

"Come on, you can't go all the way home in just a T-shirt. You've been sweating, you'll catch pneumonia or something." Elise didn't pull back her coat. "Just take it. At least to the station."

Very carefully, like she was afraid of damaging the fabric, Jen took the coat from Elise's hands and slipped it on.

It did fit her. Perhaps the sleeves were a bit long—they had been a little long on Elise already, and Jen was shorter still—but otherwise the tailored coat sat well on her narrow shoulders. She looked strange in it; it wasn't her style at all, though Elise couldn't help thinking that it suited her very well.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "Sorry for the trouble…"

"Don't be. You're in just a T-shirt, and I've got a bunch of layers on me anyway." Elise motioned to her long-sleeved shirt and inevitable blazer. "Also, I can handle cold weather."

Jen still looked unsure, but she smiled.

Side by side the two began their walk towards the subway station. It was quite a distance, and it was already dark; and while it was mild for March, there was a chilly breeze. For some time they walked in silence. That in itself was already strange. Jen could always think of something to say.

Finally Elise broke the silence. "Hey," she said, "is everything okay?"

Jen stopped walking. She wasn't looking at her. "Why?"

"I don't know…maybe I'm overthinking again," Elise admitted. "But you seem…a bit out of it today? Did something happen at work or something?"

Jen let out a shaky sigh.

"My manager yelled at me," she admitted, her voice choked up. "I'm a server at a restaurant, and I messed up a really simple order because too much was happening at once and I got in trouble and he said that if I…if I…" She swallowed audibly, sniffling. "If that happens again…I'm fired…"

Elise's heart softened, even as anger at the manager flared up inside her. "Oh," she said.

"Yeah," Jen continued. "And I have bills to pay and I already don't know how, I don't always get a tip and…and…and…"

"Hey, it's okay."

Hoping she wasn't overstepping any boundaries, Elise placed a hand on Jen's arm. "Your manager sounds like a jerk," she said. "The customers who don't tip, too. And hey, worst case, you can find a better job where you don't get treated like that."

Jen sniffled. "I know," she said stuffily. "It's all so dumb. Sorry, this is such a dumb thing to cry about, and—"

"I've seen people cry about stupider stuff," Elise replied. "You've had a stressful day, and you're worried about your future. I'd say that's one hell of a valid reason to cry."

Jen looked up.

Her eyes were wide, glistening wet in the yellow street lights. Very small did she look at that moment, very frightened, and very, very human.

"You don't mind?" she asked quietly. "When I get all weird and emotional over that stuff?"

Elise smiled. "Why should I?"

Without warning Jen leaped forward and tackled her with a hug. "Thank you," she said into her shoulder. "Sorry for dumping all this on you. But…thank you, Ellie."

Still smiling, Elise relaxed into the welcome touch, soaking in the warmth that seeped from Jen's small but strong body. "Always happy to help."

"Hey, that actually makes me think of a song idea," Jen said as they resumed walking. "It feels like…you know that shaky thing where you're bottling your emotions up and everything just…"

"…just feels like it could set you off and make you break down in front of everyone?" Elise completed the thought.

"Yeah! Yeah!"

"Tell me more."

When they parted ways later that evening, they already had half a song written. It was, strangely enough, not a dark tune; it felt more humorous, tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating. Maybe fittingly, she mused. Talking about feelings genuinely was a lot harder than making fun of them. Crack! was still relatable enough.

Elise's coat smelled faintly of perfume when Jen gave it back. Stuck to it was a single pink hair with a dark root, shimmering faintly in the dim light.

She decided to keep it there for the moment.