Blaire immediately grabbed a plate and started filling it with some of everything, she most likely ate more than everyone there combined, Amirah and Avery both served themselves but Nytin seemed to hesitate, and simply grabbed a muffin as it was the closest thing to him. 

Amirah took notice and smiled encouragingly at him, "Don't be shy, you can have as much as you want." She pushed some of the food towards him to try and reassure him further.

Nytin's ears turned a bit pink, "Alright, thank you." He said softly and began serving himself, he didn't get much but it was better than nothing. 

Avery hadn't gotten much either. Amirah saw this and looked like she wanted to say something but simply shook her head and focused on conversing instead. 

The group ate and chatted happily with each other, Blaire had already gone for seconds by the time anyone had finished their plate and Avery had finished first due to her small amount of food, Nytin was the one who brought it to attention as soon as he noticed Avery didn't move to grab anything else.

"Are you..not going to eat anymore?" 

Avery shook her head, "Uh..probably not." She laughed meekly, "I'm..still kinda full from last night." 

Nytin hummed and nodded, but still found it odd, Avery hadn't eaten much yesterday either, at least not anything that could hold her over until the morning, it made him wonder when the last time Avery had a proper meal was. He didn't have time to wonder much as a loud alarm went off. Amirah and Blaire froze and turned to Amirah's purse, where the noise came from.

"Oh shit," Blaire said, dropping her fork. Amirah abruptly stood up, and Blaire followed suit. 

Amirah fumbled around in her purse and grabbed her phone, "Oh my God, we were supposed to be at work ten minutes ago! Our boss is calling!"

Avery and Nytin exchanged glances at each other as Blaire and Amirah scrambled around the house, gathering their things, such as their shoes and coats. Blaire was struggling near the door, trying to get her boots on, and had ended up placing them on the wrong feet, so she had to start over.

Amirah scuttled over to Avery and hugged her, “I'm so sorry, we have to go, I totally forgot that we had work today.” She said quickly and let go turning to Nytin, “It was nice to meet you Nytin! I’ll see you guys later!” 

Blaire shouted a quick goodbye to both Avery and surprisingly Nytin after she got her boots on, and just like that the two ran out the front door and were gone, leaving a slightly awkward silence behind. 

Neither Avery or Nytin knew what to say, until Avery turned to Nytin with a small smile.

“I guess you could say that alarm really jogged their memory.” Her smile grew, and she ended up laughing a little at her own joke.

Nytin stared at her for a moment before the joke clicked in his brain causing a smile to spread across his lips, “Yeah, their reaction was pretty alarming to say the least.”

Avery ended up laughing a little harder, making Nytin rather proud of himself. The awkwardness dissipated quickly and Avery stood up and began picking up the dishes. There was quite a bit of breakfast left she had to put away, so she figured she'd start now rather than later. Nytin followed suit, standing up and picking up his plate, moving to go help Avery who looked up at him, confused.

“What are you doing?”

Nytin stared back, “...Helping?”

Avery shook her head and took his plate right out of his hands, “No...you’re a guest. I’ll put all this stuff away, go and sit down until I'm done cleaning.” She used a free hand to point towards the living room.

Nytin frowned, “But...at least let me do the dishes..or something, there’s a lot for you to do...”

Avery stood her ground, “I can handle this much, you shouldn’t be the one cleaning. I can't make you do that…now go, shoo.”

Nytin didn’t move for a few seconds before giving in, the last person he wanted to argue with was Avery. He could bicker with other people just fine, but he didn't want to upset Avery by continuously disagreeing with her. He let out a small sigh, “Alright..I’m gonna go on the balcony for a few minutes..” He reluctantly turned around and glanced back at Avery who was happily cleaning up. 

Nytin went back outside and took out another cigarette, he lit it and took a deep breath in, holding it for a few seconds before letting out a loud, long frustrated sigh. He wasn't frustrated with Avery, he was frustrated with himself, for being unable to help do anything, he was once again on the receiving end and had nothing to offer back. Once he finished his cigarette he didn’t immediately go back inside, airing himself off to rid the smell of smoke from his clothes, which he should have done earlier, but he simply forgot to. 

He suddenly heard the sliding glass door open and shut, and Avery joined him, moving to stand next to Nytin.

"See? It was easy, we used paper plates so there weren't that many dishes to do at all." She said, grinning up at Nytin. 

Nytin smiled back but still couldn't help feeling the guilt bubbling up inside him, "Are you positive you don’t need me to help with anything, Starshine? I feel a little bad, like I'm just leeching off of your kindness.”

Avery waved her hand dismissively, “Don’t worry about it, you’re honestly welcome to stay as long as you want and help yourself to whatever, I don’t mind the company.”

Nytin seemed taken aback, “You don’t mind me being here?”

"Of course not! We're friends after all." 

Nytin didn't respond for a few seconds, staring at the ground, he looked back up at Avery, his face was full of hope and happiness, "Really?" His voice gave away the fact he genuinely didn't think Avery thought of him as a friend, it carried an undertone of sorrow, mixed with hope. 

Avery caught this very quickly, "Of course we are! Why wouldn't we be?" She said with a reassuring smile, "Are..you okay? You sound…a little off…" 

"Well..It's just..you're my first friend in..I don't know..years? I don’t remember the last time I’ve ever had a companion." Nytin said softly, then he realized he may have sounded a bit pitiful, he cleared his throat rubbing the back of his neck, "What..I'm getting at is.. I'm just really glad you're my friend is all." He said looking down at the floor not knowing where to look.

Avery stared at Nytin, "I'm really glad you're my friend too, but..are you sure you're okay?" She tried to choose her words carefully, "You've seemed a bit…out of it all morning, actually. Do you maybe…want to talk about anything?" 

Nytin seemed surprised Avery had taken notice of his mood, and so early on, he averted his gaze from Avery and simply fiddled with his hands, "Ah..well..I..just felt as if I were being a bother, is all." He breathed in, "With… my temper I told you about, and I didn't ask before coming over, I just felt guilty...I apologize if I made you worry." 

Nytin sighed and noticed Avery wasn't talking, and instead, she was simply staring at him while he spoke. He figured Avery must've been weirded out or found it strange, "Sorry- is that weird? Am I..being weird?..I didn't mean to talk so much...sorry.." 

Avery shook her head, "No, I was just listening to you." Her voice was gentle and reassuring, "How about we keep talking inside…sound good?" 

Nytin didn't get to answer as Avery gently grabbed his sleeve and led him inside, "Do you like tea?" She suddenly asked, making Nytin sit down on the sofa. 

He looked up at Avery, just the simple thought that Avery wanted to listen to him made him feel better, "I love tea, haven't had it in a while though.." 

Avery smiled, "That's good. I'll make us both some green tea then." She grabbed an electric kettle, filled it to the top, and put it to a boil. She moved around the kitchen and opened a drawer, pulling out some tea packets. When the water finished boiling, she made the tea, bringing it over to Nytin, "Hopefully I made it right."

Nytin took the cup gratefully, "Thank you." He said blowing on it a little, before taking a small sip of the tea, all at once old memories replayed in his head and he moved the cup away from his lips, he took a breath in, "I..um..being like this reminded me of my family…" He exhaled, "I haven't seen them in a long…long time, so I just..felt...I..felt as if.." He looked up at Avery, who listened actively while sipping her tea.

He looked down at the cup in his hands, "As if it were too good to be true, I began to get worried...that I'd lose that happiness again..." His breathing wavered and his voice became small, then he felt something warm drop down from his face, and onto his hands, he was crying.

Nytin could hardly register what was happening. He flinched as he felt Avery's soft hand rest on his arm, with Avery's small gesture of comfort he gained enough confidence to continue speaking, "I understand…we just met...a little while ago, but you've already made my life so much brighter. I'm...forever thankful that I can call you my friend." 

Avery quietly put her cup down, gently removing Nytins from his hands and also placing that down before embracing him. She hadn't spoken a single word, but her simple gestures and body language comforted Nytin more than anything. Nytin hesitantly put his hands on Avery's back and accepted the hug, which prompted Avery to hold him a bit tighter.

Avery then began to speak, "I'm glad you're my friend too, and just remember that I'll be here for you…and you're always welcome here...okay?" Her voice was soft and low, but Nytin heard it perfectly.

Nytin teared up more and held Avery tighter, "Okay.." His voice was barely above a whisper, he felt that at any given moment he'd crack and be unable to stop the tears that were welling up in his eyes again, but he smiled. "Thank you Starshine..."