“Mikayla?” the voice called, making her look up. Just inside the doorway made of swirling colors that looked like those long lollipops that amusement parks sold stood Mikayla’s only ex-boyfriend, his hair bleached blonde and his hazel eyes wide with surprise. “Oh my god, hey!” 

Mikayla straightened, her face becoming stony as she appraised the man in front of her. He looked the same as ever, except for the new hair color. Same clothes, same demeanor, same smile. 

“Michael,” she greeted with a nod, placing her hands into the front pocket of her red hoodie. Out of his sight, she gripped her phone tightly to hide her awkwardness. “What a coincidence.” 

As she gave him a smile as naturally as possible, he beamed. “Yeah! It’s crazy because I was just thinking about you! And about… the breakup…” 

He trailed off, his smile shrinking as a blush came over his cheeks. Mikayla raised an eyebrow as the painful memory resurfaced. 

“I remember,” she said, unable to hide the bitterness in her tone. 

A year ago, around the middle of October, they had first gotten together, after some encouragement from their mutual friends. They hung out nearly every other day, studying together, eating together, and sometimes just walking around and talking. 

But after half a year, things started getting weird between them. Michael became increasingly clingy and jealous—or perhaps this was when Mikayla first began to notice. He would have angry outbursts when Mikayla hung out with other people or talked to other men or didn’t reply within two minutes to his texts. 

Mikayla really tried to make things work between them because she thought that he loved her and that she loved him. 

It was all for naught, however, because after he ‘caught her laughing with another boy,’ he made the rash decision to break up. With glistening tears in his eyes, he claimed she never had and never would love him, rushing away and leaving Mikayla utterly confused behind him. 

And now, after over six months of being unable to get her out of his head, he was positively ecstatic at the opportunity given to him to restore their previous relationship. 

“Mikayla, I’m so sorry,” Michael said, those same tears making his eyes shimmer like a soap opera actor. “I was wrong to break things off with you like that. I was blinded by my own jealousy, unable to see that your love for me was true. And I hope you can find it in your gorgeous heart to forgive me.” 

Mikayla blinked at the dramatic man in front of her, unable to believe she had once thought she was in love with him. His words were so flowery, she wondered if he had taken poetry classes in the time they’d been separated. 

“Well, uh, sure, I guess,” Mikayla said, shrugging. “I forgive you.” 

Instantly, Michael brightened once more. “Great! Th-that’s great!” He gave a cough, clearing his throat as his cheeks reddened. “I-I mean, well… it is great, isn’t it? I-I’ve felt so lost without you these past seven months, Mikayla. I was so stupid to break up with you, I know that now. And now that we’re here, we can just pick things up where we left off! It’s like fate! And–!” 

His words made Mikayla’s mind whirl. She was growing dizzy at his spiel, the words sounding like mindless humming when the words ‘just pick things up!’ registered in her brain. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” she said, bringing a hand out of her hoodie pocket and holding it up in a ‘stop’ motion. But Michael just plowed over her, either unable to hear her over his own excitement or willing to ignore her. “Michael,” she tried calling sternly, but it was useless. 

She hardly registered the change in music in the store around them as she grew concerned. He was still rambling on and on about all the things they could do together, all the things he missed about her, the fact that she was probably just so happy to be with him again! 

And as Mikayla had been about to call out his name again, both frustrated and concerned with his behavior, someone else called her name first. 

“Mikayla!” Beau called, bouncing up with a green and pink paper box with a clear plastic film over the center. He pointed at one particular piece of chocolate amongst the assortment, a dark chocolate mixed with milk chocolate in a swirl of rich browns. “Your eyes look just like this chocolate!” 

His eyes were sparkling with pride at remembering the words she had told him the afternoon before, comparing his eyes to the ocean. Mikayla smiled as she took in Beau’s excitement. 

“Did you find something you liked?” she asked. 

Beau lowered the box of chocolates, blushing slightly. “N-not really… I mean, I don’t really know…” 

Mikayla giggled. “Want me to come with you?” she offered, linking their hands together again. 

“Yeah, that’d be–” that was when Beau saw Michael, who was blushing slightly from embarrassment and anger. “Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt!” 

“No, no, it’s fine,” Mikayla reassured him before turning to Michael. “Beau, this is Michael, my ex. And Michael, this is Beau, my boyfriend.” 

Michael’s pink face brightened into a bright tomato red as he bit his lip. He shoved his hands into his khaki pants pockets, his shoulders scrunching up by his ears. 

“Hey,” he said, averting his gaze from the couple. The two terms Mikayla used to describe him and that man holding on to her, looking at her like she was his entire reason for living, knocked around in his head like sharp rocks. That used to be him, but he just had to go fuck it up. “Nice to meet you.” 

“Nice to meet you, too,” Beau greeted cheerfully. 

Michael was finally silent, something Mikayla marvelled at because he never used to shut up! 

She gave him a smile as she asked him, “You wouldn’t mind, would you?” as she gestured behind her and Beau at the rows and rows of candy. 

“No, not at all,” he mumbled, slowly stumbling back towards the door. “Have fun, I guess. I’ll… see you around?” 

A flicker of desperate hope lit up his eyes as he glanced at Mikayla, who grimaced. 

“I don’t think that’s the best idea, but…” She hesitated at his sad, drooping shoulders. As much as she loathed to give him false hope (she wanted nothing more to do with him), she didn’t want to crush his heart completely. So, begrudgingly, she told him, “Sure, I guess.” 

And with that, Mikayla and Beau both raised their hands that weren’t joined to each other to wave goodbye. The chocolates lightly rattled in the little paper box that was still in Beau’s hand. 

“Bye,” Michael said, lifting his own hand in goodbye; he had never been as humiliated as he felt right then. 

Once Michael was out of view, Beau turned to Mikayla. “What’s an ‘ex’?” he asked with a tilt of his head. 

Oop-! Mikayla bit her lip, wondering how she would explain this to him. 

“It’s sorta like… you know how we hang out and go on dates and… ‘court’?” To use his terms, Mikayla thought with a smile. Beau nodded his understanding, so she continued. “Well, here in the human world, we call that ‘dating,’ and when two people are dating, they’re referred to as ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’.” 

“Ah,” Beau said with a nod as Mikayla answered his second, unasked question. 

“And basically, an ‘ex’ is just what people describe their boyfriends and girlfriends that are no longer their boyfriends and girlfriends,” Mikayla finished. 

Beau nodded again as he filed this information away for later. Then he turned a smile down at Mikayla’s waiting face, taking a small step towards the sweets displays and gesturing a hand out at the sugary rainbow, offering, “Shall we?” 

Mikayla couldn’t help but think that he suited this store perfectly—he was just as delightful as the confections that filled the room. With the same smile that never seemed to leave her lips whenever Beau was near, she replied, “We shall.” 

The two approached the wall, hand in hand as Mikayla took the lead. She pulled two of the purple bags from a hook, handing one to Beau who had replaced the box of chocolates back on its designated shelf. 

“You can put whatever you like in the bag from what’s on the wall,” she explained, pointing to one of the kids who was dictating over what his father should put in their own little bag. “And the little labels tell you what they are.” 

Beau nodded, his blue eyes dancing over all the boxes and reading some of the closer labels with interest. But when he didn’t move from where he stood, Mikayla decided to lead by example. So she neared the side of the wall that wasn’t quite as overwhelmingly crowded with kids and adults alike and appraised her choices. 

Once she began to scoop chocolates and sour gummies and caramels into her bag, Beau found the courage to do the same. He started timidly, lingering within touching distance of Mikayla as he followed in her movements, but he eventually grew comfortable enough to traverse farther and farther away. 

In the end, the two ended up with a hearty bag of sweets each. Mikayla favored the brightly colored, sour, fruit flavored gummies and such while Beau seemed inclined towards the chocolates. 

Mikayla pulled out her wallet as they approached the counter where the girl behind the register weighed the bags and charged the appropriate amount. Usually, she wasn’t this carefree with her spending, but something about showing Beau all the greatest things of the human world melted her resolve. 

They walked out of the colorful candy store with their own personal little pieces of heaven, deciding to walk around and nibble away at their gathered pieces of sweets. Neither of them led as they leisurely made their way through the streets lined with stores and restaurants. That was how they found themselves in a wide park, the grass a luscious green as the scattered trees provided bits of shade around the benches and tables. Other couples walked down the soft dirt path and little kids ran around with their puppies, birds and butterflies flitting from flowers and trees above them. 

Mikayla and Beau found a shaded patch of grass far enough from the other people in the park. But just as they had veered off the path and made their way towards the spot, another familiar voice called out. 

“Mikayla?” 

The couple turned to see–