Shifting on the couch, Jamie finally settled as he looked up at the high ceiling of Elias’ living room. Now that he thought about it, he must have been just laying there for a while now, letting his thoughts go back and forth. Back and forth between her big round eyes, her wavy black hair and her bright smile.

He let out a deep sigh, hugging one of the pillows his friend kept on the couch for comfort.

“Elly~” He sang out from the living room. “Can we go to Madame Moon tonight?”

“Don’t you have an event tonight?” Elias said from behind the kitchen’s bar.

“...”

“More like, shouldn’t you be getting ready for that?” Elias leaned over the bar, catching a glimpse of his friend’s pajamas.

“Not really. I’ll be inside the booth all night so I can just dress casually.” Jamie said, his voice slow and barely louder than a whisper.

“Want me to drop you off? I can pick you up too.”

“Is that okay with you? It’ll end kinda late.” Jamie finally sat up, allowing Elias to see the boy’s disheveled hair.

“Sure, I don’t mind. We can just go visit mom tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me.” Jamie giggled. “Thanks Elly.”

“Not at all.” Elias returned to the dishes in the sink. “Want me to ask Mia when they’ll have another live show?”

“Y-You don’t have to…” Said the boy, his voice being muffled half sentence as he covered his face with the pillow to hide his coloring cheeks.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Elias made sure his smirk was visible.

“S-Shut up!” Jamie shouted, his face red. “Then w-what about you and Mia?”

“What about us?” Asked Elias, his brow raised.

“Come on Elly, there’s definitely something between you two, right?”

Elias stared at his friend for a moment, his expression genuinely confused. His lips let out a restrained “pfft” before he burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Jamie pouted.

“Do you realize you sounded like every person who’s ever asked if WE’RE together?” Elias asked, wiping a tear from his eyes after his hearty laugh.

“I didn’t ask if you guys were together. I said there’s something between you two…”

“Same difference” He shrugged. “What would make you think there’s something between us?” 

“The way she looked at you? Or how she would touch your arm?”

“Says the guy that clings to me whenever we go out.” Elias stuck out his tongue.

“We’ve known each other for years! I have the right to do it!”

“Aah.” Elias grinned, walking up to his friend, wiping his hands with a rag that he then left on a chair. “So you’re jealous.”

“So what if I am?” Jamie stood on the couch, his hands on his hips.

“You’re my best friend, bud.” Elias rearrused, opening his arms.

Jamie kneeled on the armrest of the couch, making him have the perfect height to hug his tall friend’s neck. Elias wrapped his arms around Jamie, patting his head softly.

“Besides, the one in love here is you, not me.” Elias laughed quietly.

“I’m not in love.” Jamie grumbled.

“I think I know you well enough to know when you are.” He laughed once more, a little more loudly this time. “How about we invite the girls out on their day off? The fair is coming soon.” Elias suggested.

Pushing himself away from Elias’ shoulders, Jamie smiled widely.

“That sounds like fun!”

***

The weekend had passed by rather quickly. Thanks to Jamie going with him to visit the family, Elias was feeling in good spirits, even when his little sister’s attention had mostly gone to her prince and not her knight.

Maybe it was because he was in such a good mood, but even his day at work had been quite peaceful. Adam would disagree, but he was always complaining no matter what.

The curly haired boy now sat on one of the outside tables of a small cafe. It was a bit ways off from his usual path home but apparently it was close to where Mia passed by on the bus. The place was actually very nice, and the weather also made him feel relaxed. He’d have to thank Mia for suggesting they meet here.

Just as he tugged his phone inside his pocket, he saw Mia getting closer, waving at him when their eyes locked.

He smiled gently, standing up to greet her.

“I’m sorry, did I make you wait long?” She asked, giving him a loose hug as a greeting.

“Not really. Did you just get out of work?” Elias asked after helping with her chair.

“What a gentleman.” She giggled. “Something like that? Last night after closing, me and some of the girls kinda went a little crazy and after waking up today we had to clean up our mess.” She scratched her cheek embarrassed.

“Your boss lets you stay after hours?” Elias asked, raising a brow.

“Oh, yeah! As long as we don’t break anything or mess things up, she’ll let us stay there for as long as we want.”

“Your own private party hall. Isn’t that nice?” Elias laughed.

After a waiter took their orders and they waited for their food, Elias and Mia indulged in idle chatter. From what he could gather, Mia spent a lot of time at work, even when she wasn’t supposed to. She told him about how she didn’t like alcohol, but she would have a drink once in a while. She loved going to the movie theater, but didn’t really care about what she'd watch as long as it wasn’t horror. 

It was nice talking to her, she talked so much he didn’t really have to talk himself. She’d apologize for that once in a while, but he would allow her to continue by saying “Don’t worry, I don’t mind”, which she would blink as if confused by his declaration, but then smile brightly, the edges of her lips reaching her eyes.

They were almost done with their dessert, when Mia finally asked.

“That’s right, you said there was something you wanted to talk about.” She sipped from her cappuccino.

“Ah, yeah.” He settled his fork back on the plate. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Jamie took a liking to your coworker, Citara.”

“Honestly, he could have been a little more subtle about it.” Mia laughed, covering her mouth and shaking her shoulders.

“Do you know if she’s seeing someone?”

“Actually… You know how she said that one song wasn’t because of personal experience?” Elias nodded at her comment. “She actually broke up with her boyfriend about a month ago. I wanted to kick the guy in the nuts after I found out.” She glared at the table. “But well… It was for the best. She deserves better.”

“Is Jamie… Better?”

Mia shrugged. “Can’t say I know you guys that well. You're good guys but that’s all I can say about the both of you. Hope I don’t offend you with that.”

“No offense taken.” Elias shook his head. “To be honest, now that you're telling me she went through a break up not long ago, I’m not too sure about this any more.” He sighed. “Jamie also had a break up recently, and for that reason I know he won’t act on his new feelings right away. But if she’s in the same boat…”

“I think it’ll be fine.” Mia said casually, reaching her fork to his apple pie, taking a bite out of it. “She’s been down since then, and I would actually like it if she slowly opened up again. You said we should all go out right?”

“Yeah, I was thinking maybe we could all go to the fair. It’ll be opening this weekend and we can go when you both have a day off.” Elias also reached for her chocolate cake, laughing when she gasped at his daring move.

“I like that idea.” She pulled her plate closer. “It’d be a nice way to distract her.”

“That’s great then!” Elias exclaimed, surprising the girl in front of him with his unusually loud voice. “Jamie will be very excited. Just let me know when you girls both have a day off.”

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Mia giggled, once again reaching for his apple pie, claiming the last bite.