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If I had learned anything from this experience, it was to never involve Sera with anything to do with buying shit. Sure, I could put my foot down. Of course, I was well within my rights to say ‘no’ at any time. But lemme ask you smartasses happily condescending me in the back-would you?

Okay, maybe a few of you would. But me, I ain’t risking growing a spine here just so she can go and pull it out of me right in the next second, alright? I’ll just run out her appetite for the time being... if it even has an end that is.

“Bathroom,” I muttered while getting up from my seat, feeling my foam cup of coffee making its grand resurgence within me. “Don’t wanna risk a misdemeanor bringing you along, so listen, alright? Don’t move anywhere, don’t talk to anybody. I’ll burn your tree down myself if you do.”

Once I had stressed the stakes of her actions, I then promptly left her all by her lonesome as I headed off, glancing back briefly to see her lone violet figure be engulfed by a scene of wandering customers before I found myself in a bleach-scented world of all things porcelain and white.

After I was done with my business, I found myself hunched over by the sink, running the water bill way up to the roof and pruning my fingers as I stared deeply at myself in the mirror, and man-why the hell did no one tell me I look like a brooding brooder worse than Batman?

Try as I might, it seems I just can’t get over what I played sleeping witness to all night long. It was kinda difficult for me to grasp that the Ash I know and the Ash I saw were one and the same. Knowing her the way I do, I just couldn’t imagine that this was exactly what she had to live with every day... what harbored beneath every one of her smiles.

.....

I know I promised myself that no matter what I saw in her memories, I’ll never see her any different-and I don’t. Even if I wanted to, tried my hardest to, I just couldn’t, yet at the same time, I couldn’t help but think that there had to be more to it than that.

Still staring at my reflection, I spotted my mirrored myself delving into his pocket, pulling out his phone, and all of a sudden, her last message to me was staring at me dead in the eye.

<> she told me... so many times, she’s said to me.

Yet the Ash I saw last night was the furthest thing away from loving anything else anymore. So, what changed between now and then? What happened next? The thought just wouldn’t leave me alone.

And that wasn’t the only gray cloud drenching me with gloom either...

Every time I fish out my wallet, pluck out dollars that were alarmingly growing thinner, off to the side I’d see it-the glossy shimmer of folded tickets. And every time I’d be zoomed right back to that exact moment: Amanda presenting them to me, doing her darndest to keep up a cheery expression.

There’s gotta be something I can do to make it up to her. A gift, a gesture, something that’ll even out, or perhaps even outshine her grand act of kindness. But what, dude? Just what the hell can I-?

The exasperated man in the mirror flinched, his rumbling phone snapping him out of his stupor and nearly slipping from his grasp. I quickly recovered, flashing a glimpse at the screen, blinking back my surprise, and pressed my phone firmly against my ear.

“Funny thing,” I said, hearing my own voice echo all around. “I was just thinking about you, y’know?”

From the otherside, I heard the loudest, longest yawn that could have easily attracted whales followed by the soft smack of lips. “That so? Well, I’m flattered, I guess...”

The man in the mirror frowned. “You sound like a zombie. D’you stay up all night or something?”

“I mean, an hour of sleep doesn’t really count as staying up all night, right? Or does it?” She pondered the question herself for a few seconds before continuing on. “Anyway, yeah... I was kinda helping out a friend with her romantic affairs. She kinda just barged in here in the middle of the night... couldn’t just leave her like that.”

“Yikes, she sounds like a handful.”

“Hey, if you say so,” She said, letting out a faint snort. “Anyway, catch me up to speed first, huh? Did you get Ash to open up to you yet?”

“Mmm, I guess you could say that.”

“That so?” She pressed on. “And?”

“It’s a pretty long story...”

“Two novels worth, matter of fact,” She let out another long weary yawn. “Anyway, I won’t pry. That’s hers and your romantic affair to sort, not mine... but before I collapsed back into bed, wallowing over my dire lack of one...”

“Amanda...”

“I’m kidding,” She said so overtly sweetly. “Right, so, I got a call that woke me up five minutes ago, figured I should let you know about it.”

Something about her tone of voice was setting off alarm bells in my head. Normally it would imply that she was up to one of her schemes as always to rope me in on some bizarre escapade or another, but this was different, she sounded... apprehensive?

“Let me know about what?” I urged her on.

“Well...” She took in a deep breath. “My parents called... they want to drop by and visit me over the holidays.”

“Oh, that’s nice of them.”

“And they want me to introduce them to my lovely new boyfriend over dinner tomorrow evening.”

“Oh...” I paused here. “That’s nice of them...”

“And, um, my dad can be quite begrudging when it comes to his only daughter,” Amanda went on. “I mean, you know how dads can be... precious little sweet pea... that’s me. He doesn’t exactly take too kindly knowing that there might be a few other guys in my life other than him...”

“I see,” I said slowly. “Should I be concerned?”

“I mean, I might have kinda forgotten to mention you to them ever since we started going out... and uh... catching your precious daughter fawn over this new boyfriend outta nowhere in a stream one day wasn’t exactly the best way for my dad to find out. Like-I wasn’t even aware my parents watch my streams. Just when and how did they figure out the internet?”

“Very concerned, then,” I answered myself. “Sounds like I’ve made a good first impression already. Secret boyfriend? Always a good indication of a healthy relationship. Just wait until he finds out what I work as.”

“Hey, you should be proud-I’m proud! A cafe barista is a very legit, very respectful job, you know.”

I snorted now. “Is it to him though?”

“I like you for you, alright?” She said, entirely dodgeball the question. “Let’s not get hung up on the logistics here.”

“Well, let’s hope he sees me the same way you do. One can hope... like father, like daughter, right?”

“He’s met my other friends too,” Amanda said, musing entirely to herself now. “Leon, Hayley... He’s not very fond of Tyler however. I think he really likes Nick though. ”

“Ah, well...” I cleared my throat, caught blindsided by that piece of info. “Well, I like Nick too. See? Common interest! That’s important, right? I’m sure we’ll hit it off just fine.”

“Actually, you don’t really have to come...” Amanda said, getting a little quiet now. “I told them you might not be able to make it, that you always have your hands full. Which isn’t a lie, to be fair. You got work, you have things to sort with Ash. Adalia might butt in, maybe... there’s still the shooting for the movie to prepare for on top of that. But yeah, I just thought that you should know, is all... you know, just in case you...”

She trailed away there, and even I, Nobel prize winner for idiocy, understood why. Of course, she wants me to come... of course, she’d love nothing more but to let this romantic comedy of a dilemma unfold. To present me to her parents-I mean it’s pretty much the baby steps to marriage, right?

So what else can I say except...

“I’ll be there,” spoke the man in the reflection, displaying a wide smirk for all to see. “Haven’t visited your place in a while anyway. No better time than now.”

“Really?” In her voice, shock, complete utter bafflement. “You’ll-? You mean it? You’ll come? You’re not just saying that are you?”

I very nearly laughed. “Amanda, just how do you expect me to say no to you?”

“But it’s my parents, you know!” Her incredulity continued to echo. “You’ll know you’ll be hounded, right? Interrogated! Like, great many awkwardness guaranteed, you know that right? You-! Wait, please tell me you’re not just doing this because you feel like you owe me or something. Because you don’t, alright? You don’t owe me anything.”

“Amanda, breathe,” I began to calm her down. “I’ll be there. We’ll have dinner. I’ll meet your parents. We’ll have a great time. And yes, I am doing this for you, but more importantly, I’m doing this because I want to.”

“Yeah... but... then... you...”

“But if you insist that it’ll just be a waste of time,” I trailed my voice. “Then I suppose I’ll just...”

“No, no, no, alright! Alright! You’ll be there. I-I’ll see you there,” She quickly sputtered, and I could almost see the warmth of her blush through my phone. “It’s at eight, alright? Eight on the dot. Try to arrive a little early. They like early people. Make a good impression, okay?”

“Eight on the dot, a little early,” I affirmed. “Right, I’ll put on my best cologne.”

“Don’t,” She advised, giggling, a little flustered. “And um, yeah... I guess, thanks for doing this. I know this is a little out of nowhere, but really... this means the world to me, you coming...”

“The world, huh?”

“Exaggerating a little, perhaps, but...” She let out a long sigh, and I could almost hear the smile in her breath. “You know, even if you couldn’t come... I would have completely understood.”

“And I would never ever forgive myself if I didn’t show,” I rebutted. “Now, we don’t want that on your conscience, do you?”

She giggled again. “No, I suppose not.”

“And y’know, you can be a little bit more demanding of me, Amanda,” I told her. “A little assertiveness goes a long way, and you always look your most arousing when you’re forcing my hand. Quite sexy, if you don’t mind my saying.”

“Oh-ho? Is that so?” Like a flick of a switch, her meekness instantly changed to mischief. “Then you better be here at seven on the dot, or else I’m breaking up with you. How’s that for sexy?”

I spat out a lungful of amusement. “Not that assertive. No, too sexy, too sexy, Amanda. Abort! ”

“Too late!” She loudly smacked her lips again in what I assumed was an attempt at a virtual kiss. “Seven o’clock. Love you. See you. Be-Sure-To-Come-Or-I’ll-Hate-You-Forever-Bye!”

The dial tone then came humming into the call, robbing me blind of my final word. Well, I suppose that kinda did the trick, getting that ultimatum... now I’m really raring to please her.

Just gonna add that to the ever-mounting pile of things I have to do. Y’know, I don’t recall my other Christmases being as eventful as this one. Usually, I’d just wake up, unwrap some socks, call it a wrap – Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Never thought I’d see the day where I’d find myself actually using the event planner on my phone, rifling and adding through planned occasions... but alas, I suppose stranger things have happened.

After wondering for a bit as to why I was still dawdling around in the bathroom, I entered back into the main area, spotting Sera exactly where I left her, and promptly began awkwardly waddling through an even busier surge of customers all the way back to my seat.

Only to realize rather too late about ten feet away, as the crowd thinned away, that there was already somebody else in it.

A stranger.

A total stranger.

Sitting just right across the violet necromancer.

Naturally, I felt more than just urgency, more than just confusion seeing such an alarming sight... that was until a single step further, a single look closer, and shortly after having a single thought pop into my mind.

‘Hey, haven’t I seen her somewhere before?’

Gradually, as I closed in on them, it became apparent that it was not just my imagination acting up on me. This stranger wasn’t a stranger – she was familiar.

Too familiar.

Sitting there, wearing a blue cardigan.

Balancing a box of donuts in her hands, flashing gleaming blue nails.

Getting closer, the stranger whirled suddenly, looking at me, and I looked at her – then it hit me, seeing the glint of bright blue eyes.

.....

“Blue?” I said out loud, directly staring down at her now, bewildered.

Then that smile. That crafting, scheming, mischievous blue-lipped smile.

“It’s Jill, actually,” Blue said, stretching out a free hand. “And Hey to you too! A pleasure to see you again, Boyfriend!”

What the hell is going on here?

Suddenly from outta nowhere, she dragged a vacant chair towards me with her foot. Again, I could only stare, only think, my brain struggling to work the inner kinks, flicking my eyes to an indifferent Sera, to the smiling Blue, then back to the empty seat before me.

I blinked.

“Am I in trouble?” I asked.

“Trouble? No, no, of course not!” She assured me, yet there was no hiding the quick glance she gave to my purple companion. The way her expression seemed to shift. “Know what? No. Actually, that depends. You know, infidelity isn’t exactly an illegal crime. Did you know that? Yeah, it’s not exactly punishable by law.”

“That so?” I nodded blankly at her. “Well, good to know.”

“But in my opinion, it really should be,” She continued, gesturing again at the seat... her polite tone feeling all the more colder all of a sudden. “Like, ten years maybe... in my opinion. Twenty, perhaps? Thirty? A lifetime? The noose? Electric chair? Needles? I don’t know, man. What do you think, Boyfriend?”

She widened her eyes at me, and it was like I saw death itself staring back at me.

“What are your views on the matter?”