Aurora’s POV

We both lay there trying to regulate our breathing.
“Please never not be sad,” they laugh.
“Yannie?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Nevermind.”
“AHT AHT AHT. Okay, I know what I said, but I meant the sexy side of it.”
“Hey, YOU asked for me to never not be sad. I just aim to please.”
“That you did, babygirl. That. You. Did.” They grab my chin, turning my head to kiss me gently.
“Better stop before you get us started again and we end up eating Chinese food from that awful spot down the block.”
I pull away, disgust painted over my face remembering the nasty half-cooked food we got last time. The look on Yannie’s face tells me they remember just how bad it was, too.
“You right.” They nod aggressively.
“I REFUSE to endure such pain again.” They extend their arm, signaling me to lay on their chest.

We scroll through Grubhub, putting our carts together.
“Okay, all orders are on the way and they’ll all be here roughly around the same time.”
“Fingers crossed we get no delays.”
“Now why would you speak that into existence, woman?”
“My fingers are crossed; it doesn’t count.”
“I’m not entirely sure how, but I know that is not how it works.”
I spread my legs wide.
“HEY. You see this?” I point to my kewchie.
“I have the kewchie. I am a creator. I understand how the world works.”

Yannie bites their lips before kneeling between my legs.
“You do indeed have a kewchie.” They check their phone once more before throwing it aside.
“Perfect.” Yannie smiles as they descend, mouth first into our happy place.
“What about the foo—moan—”

Two Weeks Later

Still Aurora’s POV (At Hidden Chapter)

“Did you start reading it yet?”
“No, I’m still on the first book; I just got to the birthday dinner party.”
“Ahhhh, where he meets the family—”
“HEY! NO SPOILERS!”
“Girl, —___— he went to her house for a BIRTHDAY DINNER. Her family being in attendance is not a spoiler.”
“Y-you have a point.” eyeroll

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the prodigal daughter. Come to return another stolen passage?”
“Oh, shut up. Just say you missed me.”
“Well, duh. I missed you, bitch. Are you done humping away the hurt? Ready to talk to something other than Yannie’s piece?”
My mouth widens.
“WELL, I NEVER… But, yes. Yes, I am.”
She smirks.
“Mhmmm. Bella is off today and my new hire never showed up, soooo…”
“Yes, yes, I’ll help you.”
“Why, you shouldn’t have.”
“GIRL, shut yo ass up. Which aisle?” I ask, playfully rolling my eyes.
“There’s a cart in aisle 11, 13, and 1. I’ll handle this and the other two by the desk.”
“Three carts you say? Sounds rather… expensive.”
I grin deviously.
“Like all those books you never pay for?”
“Touche.”

I sit behind the front desk, scrolling through TikTok as I wait for Z to finish her last cart. Giggle, giggle, swipe, giggle, swipe—cheerful smile, giggle, swipe, giggle, giggle—suggested search rabbit hole.

“I’ve worked here for how many years and yet you’re still faster than me.”
Z squints as she sits on the desk facing me.
“You’re lacing your weed with roids, aren’t you?”
I shake my head.
“I question your sanity, you know? A little too often if you ask me.”
“As do I,” she replies, doing one of those ‘eh, what can you do’ shrugs.
“Front desk? Back room? Where you wanna do this?”
I look around.
“As much as the privacy of the backroom intrigues me, you’re still working. Right here is fine.”

She moves from the desk, pulling up a chair and sitting next to me.
“Talk to me, momma.”

I sigh dramatically as I place my head on her shoulder.
“Where’s a girl to begin?… Well, the dreams are back again but they’re so intense now. The last one I had felt so—so real, like I was physically there. Surprisingly, that’s not even the worst part. I saw her—Zah. She was there at Yannie’s dispensary. I—I froze. I don’t even know if anyone noticed my reaction or if Car—if she saw me too. I feel terrible and weirdly optimistic at the same time. UGHHH, I’m a terrible partner.”

I pull my legs to my chest, burying my face in my thighs.

Zah consoles me, rubbing my back.
“Firstly, you’re not a terrible partner. You experienced emotional trauma in that relationship—trauma you still have yet to acknowledge—without making yourself feel bad. Yeah, it’s a shit situation, but it’s not like you pursued Yannie as a rebound or at all, actually. You didn’t throw yourself into a relationship with the intention of forgetting her. You genuinely fell for them. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

She pauses; I look up.
“Secondly?”
“Promise me you won’t be mad.”

Legs still to my chest, I raise my head.
“Be mad about what?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“You didn’t promise.”

She folds her arms.
“Zaniyah Patrice R—”
“Okay, okay!” she exclaims, hands thrown in the air.
“I knscnskjmks.”
“Huh?”
“I knscnskjmks.”
“Zaniyah, I STG.”

“I knew Carys moved back to town… I’ve known for like a month or so…”
She flinches, blurting it out as she hides behind her arms.

“MOVED??? EXCUSE M—”
“Hey, dickhead, stop yelling. People come here to read.” someone yells from across the store.
“Sorry.”

I turn back to Z.
“MOVED?!? Hold up… A MONTH!?!?!?!? Why on earth haven’t you said anything?” I whisper-yell, smacking her.
“You were doing so well—you were happier, going out more, no dreams, no anxiety attacks, you started socializing with people, you even befriended Bell. Not only was I happy for you, I was proud of you. You deserve the happiness you worked so hard to cultivate. I didn’t want to mess it up.”

Wrapping my arms around her, I sigh.
“You’re an amazing person and friend.”
She squeezes me back.
“So are you, Ro. Stop being so hard on yourself.”

“Soooo? What do you know? Spill it.”
“Not much, honestly. I saw someone moving into that big-ass house—you know, the one a couple blocks from the vet. I was on my way to pick up BeBe; it was nice out so I decided to walk rather than Uber.”
“Not our dream house!” I pout.
“I know, right!? The nerve of some people. How are we to fantasize now? I’ll ask realtor bae if he has any other empty places we can play pretend in.”

Her phone rings.
“Ooop, that he who shall not be named.”
“I knowww you’re not messing with him again.”
“HEYYYY. We listen, and we don’t judge. You’ve been gone for almost two months; we shall reconvene after this call.”
“Just go.” I roll my eyes.

So she’s back… Why am I more excited than nervous? Am I happy? Who cares if we run into each other, who cares if she notices me and smiles showing that lil dimple by her—
AURORA, BE FOREAL. She hates you. She made that VERY CLEAR that day.

I throw my head back, spinning myself around on the desk chair.

A girl approaches the desk with a handful of books.
“Uh… Excuse me, I’m here to check out these books.”
“Oh, sorry. Do you already have an account with the store?”
“I think so, but I got locked out of my previous email. Is it possible for me to update it, or would I have to make a new one?”

I peer in Z’s direction.
“Uhhhhh… I think you can update it. Just let me check something real quick.”

I move the mouse, hoping that Z is still logged into her work portal. The computer lights up and I celebrate internally—she changes her password way too frequently for me to guess… anymore.
Wait, am I the drama?

“What was the previous email?”
“...Um.”
“Is it embarrassing?”
“A tad bit… TBH, I made it my freshman year of HS for those literary sites where you can make your own stories. I was a fanfic girly.”
“OMGGG me too! What site did you use?”

She smiles as the tension visibly leaves her body.
“My favorite was Miss Literati. It wasn’t as popular as QuatPad, but they had some great stories and creators on there.”
“I love you.”

Her eyes widen.
“Uh—” I giggle at the sight.
“PLEASEEEE, I’m not a psycho. I just didn’t expect to run into another fanfic lover, let alone a fellow Miss Literati-er. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED that site. I even had a story myself.”

I playfully flip my hair, which is in an updo.
“No wayyyy. What was the name? Maybe I was a fan.”
“Like I even remember. I do remember starting with one member and ending up with another one, getting pregnant, my daughter getting kidnapped by the new girlfriend of my ex-boyfriend, who wanted my baby father because she was obsessed and jealous of me.”
“What a literate masterpiece.” We laugh together.
“So not only are you stealing my job, but you’re making friends while you do so. TREACHERY.”

Z speaks, emerging from the back.
“The BEST of friends. Jealous.”

I smirk, head slightly turned so I can side-eye her.

The girl puts her books down on the desk, grabbing my hand.
“Yeah, we’re even planning on living together.”

I interlock my fingers with hers, shocked she went along with my ploy but enjoying the teasing of Z even more.
“Is that so?”

Z smirks deviously, brow cocked. She turns to the patron.
“What’s her name?”

Her eyes widen slightly, darting around the room.
“You don’t need to prove anything to her, bestie.” I say, attempting to cover our tracks.

“Shannon?”
We both look confused. She gently squeezes my hand.
“You know her?” I ask.

“Shannon?” She shakes her head in a fit of laughter as she palms her face.
“Of course I know her, idiot. I ACTUALLY work here.”

I roll my eyes.
“Wait, you don’t work here? Were you pretending to help me?”

“Shannon?” she asks skeptically.
“No—”
“No, she actually knows what she’s doing, but she’d rather scare people for profit.”
Z interrupts me before I can answer.
“You are making me sound like some sadistic stalker. I work at a tattoo shop, but I’m here just about all the time.” She chuckles.
“You must be the infamous book-stealing best friend.”

I gasp, turning to Zaniyah.
“You tell people that!?”

Shannon? and Z both burst out laughing.
“My name is Anycia, not Shannon. That’s why I squeezed your hand—I was trying to signal you.”
“OHHHHHHHH. I definitely knew that.”
“Uhuh, sure you did.”
“Oh, shut up. You’re telling people I steal!”
“Actually, I only told Any. She consoled me when you went MIA.”
“Oh, so who is the one making friends, huh?”

I stand, placing my hands on my hips.
“Laydees, laydees, there’s no need to fight typeshift.”

I chuckle a bit before catching myself. Squinting at them both, I turn to Z.
“You’re lucky she’s funny.”
I turn to Anycia, squinting at her before turning my gaze back to Z.
“And cute.”

“Blushhh, you think I’m cute?” She gleams playfully, twirling her braid around her finger.

Zaniyah’s mouth wide, sticking her tongue out, hovers her finger over it to signal throwing up.
“Imagine she cheated first but yet she has the audacity to be jealous.”
“What a shame.” Anycia chimes in.
“Oh, why don’t y’all go scissor off into the sunset?”
“Maybe. We. Will.” Anycia says firmly.

“As fun as that sounds, my partner wouldn’t be very happy, unless they could watch.” I smirk.
“You whore!” Z swats at me.
“I’m so telling Yannie!”
“Snitch!”

We all burst out in laughter.
“ZANIYAH!” the same voice from earlier yells.
“Sorry, Mya.” She makes a face at us as we whisper-laugh.

“So you just be cackling and chatting it up to the point where the regulars just know you’re the one making noise?”
“I plead the fifth. Now move so I can check Any out.”

I move from the computer.
“She wants to update her email first.”
“Ahhh, finally tired of Chres’sFunBucket.”
My mouth drops.
“If you want this friendship to flourish, you will say nothing.”

I close my mouth, doing a zipper motion, then go back to spinning around in the desk chair.
“Thank you, Ny. Bye… Shannon… pretty sure that’s not your name either, but… yeah. I’ll catch you ladies later. Text me.”
“Later, Any baby. I’ll make us a group chat.”
“Byeeee, bestiee.” I wave as Anycia walks out.

“So are we leaving together or are you being a whore tonight?” I turn to Z.

My phone dings and I look at a newly made group chat titled InPussyWeTrust. Before I can comment, Anycia sends a message:
“But you like dick.”

I react to her message with a haha, and Z types away:
“SO DO YOU.”

I send a vomit emoji.
“EWWWWWW. You’re a STRAIGHT. BLASPHEMY.”

“Actually, I am pan.”

I send a sticker followed by an “acceptable.”

I look back at Z as she gets up, grabbing the carts she brought from the back earlier.
“Bitch, are you going to answer my question?”
“Yes, I will be whoring tonight, but we can leave together. He’s working late so he’ll most likely pick me up. We going to your place or—”

My phone rings, cutting Z off. I answer, putting my phone on speaker.
“Hey babe, I’m at the bookstore with Z. You’re on speaker.”
“Wassup, whore.”
“Not much, you miss me yet?”
“Do I miss having half a stash and missing snacks? Hmmmm.”
“So yes? I knew it.”
“What time should I send the Uber?”
“Uber? Are you summoning my presence?”
“NO. I’m summoning my lover. You’re just dead weight.”
“The prettiest dead weight you’ll ever encounter.”
“Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”
“In another universe, you two are most definitely siblings.”
“I could only be so lucky,” Yannie replies sarcastically. I chuckle.
“I’ll text you when we’re done, babe—gonna help Z close up shop.”
“Alrighty. I’ll be waiting.”
“So cypher at Yannie’s it is.”
“Yes, ma’am. Now hand me a cart.” I say motioning to Z

I text Yannie while Z checks out the last few patrons.
“Hey Dada, you can call the Uber in like 5–10 minutes.”