It didn't take long for them to get ready and head to the clinic. 

“Have you been to the clinic before?” Kassie asked Mel as they drove across town to the Planned Parenthood. 

“Yup.” Mel said, popping the ‘p’. 

“And what did you do there?” Kassie was curious. She and Mel had a worryingly close relationship, but Mel was pretty private about her sexual health. Kassie knew a little about what she got up to, but the whole situation made her uncomfortable. 

Mel shot her a completely flat look across the car. 

Kassie gave her the side eye. “I’m just curious! I don't know what happens there?”

“They scoop and dump babies all day,” Mel said deadpan.

Kassie’s jaw drops. “Melody!” 

Mel looked completely bored as she made a scooping gesture and mimed throwing something out the window. “You can get a stamp card. Buy 5, get the 6th free.”

She tried to keep the smile off her face. “You are a horrible person.” 

Mel was unrepentant. 

It turned out Planned Parenthood just looked like a doctor's office. Kassie was a little disappointed; all that hype for a clean and sterile waiting room. After Mel checked in, they settled in for the wait. The waiting room was done in all soft whites and blues. Kassie deliberately sat farther from Mel, stretching her legs out in the empty seats between them. She checked through her messages. Abe had written to her a few times with updates from the store. They seemed to have everything under control. She felt a little silly for doubting him this morning. 

She checked her messages from Derek. 

Kassie:  If Abe is being a dick to you, I would take it personally. Mel and I needed some time, no tea. 

Derek: Excuse me. I’m a freakin delight. 

Derek: You can tell me if something's not right. We’re friends or whatever. That's what you said yesterday. 

Kassie knew she was smiling like an idiot. Luckily, Mel seemed absorbed in her phone. Kassie didn't have many friends. Clarke was her brother and didn’t count. While she was friendly with many people, Abe and Mel were the only ones she was friendly with. And now she had Derek. 

Kassie: aww. I’m your whatever? I am overjoyed right now. 

Kassie: I'm going to make you a friendship bracelet. No takebacks. 

She killed some time and flipped through various apps. She was putting off checking her messenger app. She was avoiding looking at her messages from Aaron. A lot had happened in the last 24 hours. She had opened up to him about some of her insecurities, but she didn’t know much of herself to share. She was a chronic oversharer; it was one of the reasons she was so uncomfortable in social situations. Kassie never could tell how much was too much when talking to somebody. She tended to either say nothing and come off closed off or vomit out childhood trauma and come off crazy. 

She kissed an employee yesterday. Her best friend got blackout drunk and woke up in some guy's room with no memory of what happened. She was hanging out in a Planned Parenthood.  She was a mess. She had childhood trauma following her around. She was codependent and had an unhealthy relationship with her best friend. She has weeks where she can't be bothered to brush her hair or eat. Her intrusive thoughts were always pitted against her common sense, and Aaron is so well-adjusted. Well-spoken. Well-rounded. She didn’t want to ruin a wonderful opportunity she just got. She also didn’t want to have unrealistic expectations. 

Aaron Adams: Good morning, Kassandra. I hope you have a pleasant day. 

Huh. That was it. Completely reasonable. The message was from several hours ago. Kassie didn't know whether she was disappointed or not that he didn’t double-message her when she didn't respond.  Derek had triple-messaged her. Clarke had messaged her about 8 times before she answered. 

Kassie Harris: It’s been a pretty hectic morning. How’s your day been?

She flipped over to her conversation with Derek. 

Kassie: I'm going to make you a friendship bracelet. No takebacks. 

Derek: You better not be joking. I’ll wear the fuck out of that friendship bracelet. 

Kassie: What’s your fav color? I’m thinking it's pink

Still no message from Aaron. She wasn’t sure if double-texting would seem desperate. She checked on Mel. Mel was affected by silence and waiting like Kassie was. She had her headphones in and was watching something on her phone. 

Derek: Bitch it might be. I'm secure enough to rock it

Kassie: In touch with your feminine side?

Derek had no trouble messaging back. She checked back over to see if Aaron had responded. 

Derek: Its called having big dick energy

She snorted loudly in the quiet waiting room.