Despite knowing there was nothing much Eirine could actually do to help with her petite frame, it was a great comfort to Amelia just knowing that she wasn’t alone, similarly to how one might feel when home with a cat or a small dog– it was just an extra sense of comfort, a security blanket, really. Sleep came easily because of that, and Amelia was able to doze off soundly through the night, and so it passed without a hitch, not a bump in the night or any stalkers to speak of.

She stretched awake, her muscles adjusting and popping into place as she let loose a big yawn. In doing so, it felt like she was releasing every last ounce of that reserved stress from yesterday. A truly relieving feeling.

“Guess that means you’re awake.” Eirine leaned into the doorway to the bedroom with a soft chuckle. Amelia supposed her yawns and stretches were quite loud, in that case.

“Yup! I slept like a rock!” Amelia laughed. “What about you? Were you able to rest okay on the couch?” She stood up from the bed, then stretched a bit more.

“Well, the couch wasn’t so much of a problem. It was difficult for me to rest after hearing your story last night. I mostly kept an eye on things… watched a little TV.”

Well that caught Amelia’s attention.

“Really?! Wait, so you didn’t sleep at all? Not even a quick nap?”

“Nope. I was concerned about what might happen if I did.” It was always interesting to Amelia how despite her seemingly big emotions, Eirine could still hold such a nonchalant tone of voice and expression. She was self aware enough to know that she was the complete opposite, an open book from front to back, so she just couldn’t easily imagine how it must feel to react in such a way.

“Oh… Well, hey, I’m awake now… plus it's daylight outside, so why don’t you rest for a couple of hours? You can even use my bed, I wouldn’t mind.” Amelia offered. She didn’t want to be the reason her friend was so sleep deprived and exhausted. 

“Sure, that sounds nice.” Eirine barely hesitated. 

Amelia smiled, walking past the other and giving her a gentle pat on the shoulder before passing her by on the way to the kitchen. “Good! Get some sleep.”

“I will.” Eirine returned the smile right back at her, then closed the door behind her.

With that, Amelia let forth a gentle sigh, laughed ever so quietly to herself, and began to prepare herself a small plate of scrambled eggs, making an extra effort not to clank the dishes for her sleeping friend.

Just then, her phone buzzed. It was only at that moment that she remembered Ian was supposed to text her last night when he got home, yet he never had. She hoped he’d just messaged her after she’d already fallen asleep, or that this was him now.

From Ian:

“Sorry I forgot to text last night, I crashed the minute I hit the bed.”

Amelia’s lips pulled upward while reading the text. Thankfully, it was just as she’d expected.

To Ian: “It’s okay, I did the same thing. Last night was fun but exhausting. Thanks for taking me out!”

From Ian: “Haha, you think you’ll wanna do karaoke again sometime? More fun than you thought, right?”

To Ian: “Maybe! I did have a good time, before that weird guy showed up, anyway.”

From Ian: “Yeah. That was pretty weird, wasn’t it? 

To Ian: “Really weird.”

From Ian: “Don’t worry, if we see him again on our next date, then we’ll know for sure he’s following one of us. In that case, I’ll make sure I beat his ass.”

Amelia couldn’t hold back her laugh at that comment and quickly replied back.

To Ian: “One of us?”

From Ian: “You said you didn’t see him until we got on the train– and I was with you then. You never know.”

His text ended with a laughing emoji, and Amelia sent one back while smirking and shaking her head. At that point, she finally placed her phone down on the counter and continued making breakfast, both for herself and a little extra in case Eirine got hungry.

…

It didn’t take very long for Eirine to wake up, with barely two hours of sleep under her belt before she cracked open the bedroom door. She was a writer, after all, maybe little to no sleep was just part of the process. Nonetheless, Amelia greeted her with a wave of her hand from the couch.

“Morning! You didn’t sleep very long, are you sure you’re okay?” She wondered aloud, slender fingers dropping atop her lap.

“Yeah.” Eirine gave a nod. “I feel rested enough. In fact, I was kind of craving coffee. Maybe we could go out for a bit?” 

Amelia’s eyes lit up at the idea, never having liked just sitting around the house all day. Whereas EIrine’s craving was for coffee, Amelia’s craving really was just getting up and walking the town with a friend– but of course coffee was an added bonus she couldn’t refuse.

“I’m so down! Let’s both make sure we have our pepper spray, just in case!” Amelia blurted out excitedly and ran to her room to get dressed and grab her purse, giving Eirine just enough time to send a quick, discreet text just before she returned.

“Are you all ready? Got your pepper spray?” Amelia nudged her again.

“Yup. Always.” Eirine tucked her phone away in her pocket, grabbing her own purse off the coat rack by the door.

“Good! Just  had to be sure!” Amelia chuckled, grabbing Eirine’s hand to gesture her out the door. The very moment that morning air hit their skin, it was cold and crisp, refreshingly so. It was just the kind of temperature Eirine favored, because it was the perfect weather for cozying up with a blanket and writing or reading with a hot coffee, or maybe a tea. To her, it was more enjoyable than the nice, warm days others tended to prefer.

“So, coffee first, then what? Shopping? Food?” Amelia beamed, letting go of Eirine’s hand just as quickly as she’d grabbed it. The movement was nothing more than a friendly gesture from Amelia, something mundane, something she nonchalantly did with anyone she was close to— yet it was a strange feeling for Eirine every time. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to it… Not while Amelia was still so ignorant about it all.

“Might as well decide over coffee.” Eirine suggested with a shrug that gave the illusion of nonchalance. 

Amelia hummed before giving an answer of her own.

“You’re right, I could use a little caffeine in my system before I think about anything.”

And so to their usual spot they walked, the very same cafe at which Amelia worked and Eirine considered a third place for herself. It was a small, cozy shop, complete with a relaxing, homey atmosphere and kind workers who genuinely cared for their customers, so returning on a day off was never an unpleasant experience for Amelia. It was why she’d settled on that job in the first place. So long as she continued working a basic nine to five, this was where she planned to stay. Besides, there weren’t many jobs that had a perk better than free coffee! 

“Good morning Sharon!” Amelia pushed open the glass doors, waving excitedly to the worker on shift as Eirine followed closely in tow. 

“Amelia!” The woman immediately perked up, her red dyed hair stopping just short at her shoulders, decorated with tattoos of red spider lilies and other arrangements of red and black flowers.

“What’s up, girl? What can I get started for you and Reeree?” She leaned over the counter with a big grin.

“I’ll take the usual! Aaand… Eirine?” Amelia slowly turned to point over at her dark-haired friend.

“I’ll just take a large caramel cold brew. Thanks.”

“Consider it made! Yours will be on the house, Reeree, so don’t even worry about it.” Sharon waved a hand, moving to grab a couple of cups as Eirine uttered out her thanks.

“Sooo Amelia, you said you were going on a date last night, yeah? My man Ian again? How’d it go, huh?” Sharon prodded, well versed in conversing while brewing, especially if the conversation contained drama.

“It was great! We went out to karaoke, and–” Amelia started, but was interrupted by the opening of the cafe doors as it triggered the bell atop to ring.

“Oh, hey, if it ain’t ol’ Jasper! Waddup bud?!” Sharon greeted as energetically as she would to the two of them, but when Amelia turned to glance at this supposed friend of hers, she instead took a measured step back. Amelia knew this man. His skin was dark and covered in tattoos that started all the way up at his neck. It would be difficult to forget someone like that, with symbols so noticeable plastered all over him, from the (dragon) tattoos on his neck and 

“Wasn’t expecting to see you here.” The man replied in a similarly familiar manner. It worried Amelia, and Eirine became wary of her change in demeanor quite quickly.

“Amie? What’s wrong?” Eirine tried to get a good look at her, placing a comforting hand at her back, but–

“Your name's Jasper?” Amelia suddenly spoke up, taking a step forward after whipping out her pepper spray, holding it out just far enough to threaten the man.

“Alright, Jasper, why don’t you explain to me and your friend Sharon why you’ve been following me across town?!”