Candice stepped into her apartment, freezing when she almost tripped over a mound of red fur. "Dammit Eilís, not in front of the door!"

The red-furred wolf stared up at her, light blue eyes wide, she let out a soft whine. Paint matted her fur. "Don't look at me like that. You're too old to be so cute."

The red wolf stuck her tongue out at Candice, got up to her feet and trotted away. Candice shook her head with a grin then walked towards her room.

Time to study. Yay!

Three and a half hours later Candice put her booksaway and left her room because she's simply tired of learning about the disaster that was the Hellenistic world.

No wonder none of their empires lasted that long. They were way to busy partying.

"Candice?" She looked up glancing at Eilís who had a phone up to her ear. "I'm getting Chinese food, want some?"

"Of course." Candice flopped down on the couch. "Two portions of orange chicken and spare ribs."

"My, my someone's starving."

"I have a big test soon, cut me some slack."

"Relax, I'm just kidding. I'll go see if Lukas wants something."

"I'll do it."

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Candice doesn't bother knocking when she walked into Lukas' workshop. Even when the workshop it's quiet, like it is now, he's sometimes too focused to acknowledge a knock. Even now Lukas had no idea she entered, too busy fiddling with bits of wire and gears. Candice had no idea what he was making.

"Lukas!"

Finally, he noticed her and looked up from his project. "Is something wrong?"

"Nah, I just wanted to see if you wanted anything. Eilís and I are getting Chinese food."

"Not hungry. Thanks though."

"What did you eat for breakfast?"

"Toast. I think? Where is this go-"

"And lunch?"

"Nothing. I-"

"I'm ordering you some sweet and sour pork and chow mein noodles then you're going to tell me what's bothering you." Lukas opened his mouth to respond, but she silenced him quickly. "And if you say it's nothing I'll change that order to something with tofu and force feed you."

That shut him up.

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Ethan is mildly puzzled when he sees Ashley duck under the checkout counter. He looks around the store, seeing nothing out of place to cause him to act so frantically.

"Is something wrong?" Ethan asked. Ashley nodded quickly, curls bouncing as he did so. Ethan sighed as he sat down next to him, neck crooked awkwardly. "What is it?"

"I can't let her see me. She'd hate me!" Ashley cried out, wrapping his arms around Ethan's waist and pressing his face into Ethan's chest as tears ran down his.

"Who is she? And how could she possibly hate you?" Ethan asked, hand rubbing circles into Ashley's back as he tries to calm the shorter boy down.

"The girl within the sundress and the flowers in her hair." Ethan peaked over the counter and saw her. She had wavy brown hair with roses weaved between them. "I-I did something bad. But I didn't mean to! I was just trying to defend myself."

"Did she do something to hurt you? I can make her leave if you want."

"Don't. She didn't do anything wrong. I did."

"What exactly happened?"

"I-I... I'll tell you when she leaves. I promise."

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"So?" Lukas teared his attention away from his food, and looked up at Candice. He's definitely much hungrier than he thought.

"You know for someone so small you're very pushy." Lukas ducked as a throw pillow came flying in the direction of his face.

"Shut up and tell me what's wrong."

"I can't do both." Grinning, Lukas dodged another pillow.

"Spill."

"Fine." The playful atmosphere suddenly dissipates as his smile morphed into a frown. "It's Alma. She's stopping her chemo."

"Oh." Of all the things that could possibly have happened Candice wasn't expecting that. "Lukas-"

"I just don't understand how she can be so calm about this! She'll be de-gone in three months, and all she does in response is make Jasmine tea and take care of her plants all day." And just like that, it was as if Candice opened a floodgate of emotions. "It's ridiculous too. Of all the things that could have finished her of it had to be that. Something so... mundane. Why couldn't it be magical? Then I'd know how to fix her. Or at least someone else would! I feel so useless. She practically saved my life and I can't even..."

Candice listened to him rant, glad he interrupted her since she wasn't really sure what she was supposed to say in response to that. It wasn't very often Lukas talked about his feelings, and she wasn't about to interrupt. She just wished there was something she could do.

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What do you think Ashley could have done to the girl in the sundress?
- I. Tamilore Onkọwe
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