As we chatted over our disgustingly overpriced lunch that, to be fair, wasn't disgusting at all, Lark filled me in on everything that was going on at uni; about her criminology course, the weird guy that keeps hitting on her during lectures, and how she's been loving living on campus surrounded by friends. 

She also filled me in on some (possibly confidential) interesting cases her mum was investigating, like mutilated bodies dumped in the river, and a string of incidents of homeless people going missing. Despite holding lukewarm feelings for her mother, Lark had inherited her mother's interest in crime and solving them, though that wasn't enough for her to want to follow her mother's footsteps.

Even after breaking up, we messaged basically daily, and called sometimes. But ever since I had the wing incident, I had been otherwise preoccupied. Plus, Lark and I had an arrangement.

Okay, 'arrangement' made it sound like we were using each other for sex whenever we were lonely. Maybe that was what we used to do, until things became unhealthy, but now we were purely platonic friends who understood each other; our 'arrangement' was that if either of us were lonely, or having a hard time, we would drop anything to help each other out. That's what friends did, sure, but Lark and I just got each other.

Sure, we were very different people, at least on the outside. Lark was pretty, gentle and smart, and I was... pretty, loud and scatterbrained. I had seen beyond all of that though, behind the skin of a popular high schooler, to the girl that was just like me. Lark saw something in me as well, that day on the balcony. A kindred spirit.

Like mine, Lark's parents were rich. Her father was a doctor and hospital director, and her mother high up in the police force. Their jobs gave them very little time to be at home, and Lark was popular and mature and collected enough to be fine with that. Right? And I was fine, in my mansion with everything I could want, always smiling and without a care in the world. Right?

The truth of it was, we were just a slobby prince and an eloquent princess wandering around in their lonely castles; no one expected the prince to be much, and everyone expected too much from the princess.

But when we were together, our castles weren't as lonely, not when we had each other to hold on to. We forgot all about how cold our houses were when we were tangled up in each other's arms, our blanket blocking out the chill. Our loneliness cancelled out the other's loneliness. That's why we had gotten along so well together, much to everyone's surprise. Lark's high school friends thought I wasn't her type (or good enough to be her type), and my friends were shocked that I was actually somewhat serious about someone. But that was the crux of the problem.

We were serious. Too serious. To the point where it wasn't healthy any more.

Somewhere along the way, we had become co-dependent; we had melded into one, and I couldn't tell where I ended and the other began. We were a warm amalgam of loneliness and desperation, and we couldn't see anything beyond each other. It wasn't a relationship any more, but a weird desperate need to be with each other to make ourselves feel less lonely. It wasn't until we were lying in bed one night, spines touching, that we realised we had to stop.

So we did. We started to untangle ourselves, trying to keep each other afloat instead of deciding to drown together. Lark decided to move into on campus accomodation at the beginning of second semester, and I found solace in my friends, who had always been there for me even when I couldn't see it. Especially Milo. Always Milo.

And we were fine, now. We found that our dynamic as friends - pure friends - was far more comfortable than as a couple. But, like now, if one of us was feeling a little down, we'd be there.

"So, some of the girls on my floor keep trying to get me to date this guy, but I've got standards, Culver," Lark said, sipping her cappuccino. "Yeah, he's hot, but there isn't much else to him. Chatting with him was like talking to a brick wall with abs."

"That's why you don't chat with guys like that," I said, winking. 

"I never said all I did was chat with him," Lark said, grinning cheekily, making me choke on my iced coffee.

"Attagirl," I said, bumping her fist as she laughed. 

"What about you?" Lark then said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin after finishing the rest of her coffee. My ex-girlfriend fiddled with the numerous dainty gold rings on her fingers, looking at me curiously. 

"Uh, well, I got drugged and almost raped by this guy at the club a week or two ago," I said, Lark stilling, frowning. "That was a wild time."

"I'm sorry, but what the hell?" Lark said, taking my hand that rested on the table. "You sound awfully casual about it. Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," I said, laughing as I pat her hand reassuringly. "He didn't end up even seeing my butt, Geoff, Gia and Milo were there." I also scared him shitless by pretending to be a messenger of God because I have wings, but that might be hard to explain.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay, but that's terrifying," Lark said, chewing on her lip. "But apart from the rapist, any other people?"

"Not really," I said, Lark giving me a surprised look. "Wow, you must think I'm reaaal liberal with who I give my dick to, huh? Well, I've been pretty busy with some... things lately." Like becoming a budget superhero. Just normal things.

"Hey, how liberal or not liberal you are with your dick isn't any of my business. You do you, Dovey. I'm a supporter, not a shamer," Lark said, raising her hands.

"And that's why I adore you," I cooed, Lark fending off my fingers as I tried to pinch her supple cheeks. 

"Okay, hands off the face," Lark said, rummaging through her bag. "Let's get outta here. You promised movies and popcorn on the air mattress."

"Yeah, but I'll pay, don't bother looking for your wallet in that massive bag of yours," I said, Lark narrowing her eyes at me, hands still buried in her bag.

"Fight for it?" Lark said slowly, and I nodded, rolling up my sleeps. Lark grinned, also pushing up the sleeve of her tight cream turtleneck, flexing her wrist a few times.

"Okay... paper, scissors, rock!" I said, groaning when I played paper and Lark played scissors. Lark made a victorious snipping motion, whistling to herself as she pulled out her wallet.

"I'm paying next time," I grumbled, Lark just making the scissors motion again.

"You wish. You gotta fight me for it first, Dovey."

***

Grumpy Baby 🤱👼 - 3:45pm
Hey C
I'm gonna head over and pick up my books now
Is that ok?

Pea-cock 🐔 - 3:46pm
Yeah!! Come over whenever!! 😘😘

Lark skipped into the kitchen to microwave our popcorn after throwing her coat over the back of the couch. Answering Milo quickly, laughing at the stupid gif he sent back to me, I pushed the coffee table across the room to make space for the air mattress. I could hear Lark humming a self-made song about what snacks she wants to eat, clearly rummaging through my pantry for more snacks as I made myself busy blowing up the air mattress.

I had just about finished preparing the air mattress by the time Lark came waddling back with two large bowls, one full of buttery popcorn and another with chips. Tucked under her armpit were some bags of lollies and chocolate, and a 2L bottle of coke wedged between her thighs, the reason for her shuffled walk. 

"Gimme your Coke dick," I said, making grabby hands at the beverage between her legs, Lark snorting as she dropped it into my hands. Raising it up into the air, I yelled triumphantly. "It's a boy!"

"You're an idiot," Lark said, putting the snacks on the ground next to the air mattress as I lay down blankets and pillows. "Hey, can I borrow a pair of trackies or something? My jeans are pinching my stomach because I'm hella bloated right now," Lark said, slapping her belly. 

"Yeah, go ahead. Obviously, the clean ones are the ones that aren't on the floor," I said, Lark rolling her eyes. 

"Obviously," she said, disappearing up the stairs to change into more comfortable pants. As I scrolled through Netflix trying to find something good to watch, I heard the front door open. My heart clenched a little at the noise, but I pushed away the discomfort as I flipped over the back of the couch, greeting Milo at the door.

"Hi baby," I sang loudly, Milo sighing at my exuberant greeting. "Long time no see."

"Mm, hey, C," Milo said softly, giving me an appraising look that lingered on my face. "Are you... okay?"

"Yeah?" I asked, confused. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Nothing, just wondering," Milo said, eyes searching mine before deciding that there was nothing there, averting his gaze behind me. "What did you get up to today?"

"Well, I studied," I said, Milo's mouth curving upwards. "Hey, hey, don't give me that mocking smile! I did study! For a whole thirty minutes!"

"I'm so proud," Milo said, words dripping with sarcasm that made me grin, shoving his broad chest.

"You should be! It was thirty minutes, but a very productive thirty minutes! I colour coded all of my revision notes," I said, Milo letting out a gruff laugh. "And then I rewarded myself with a snack break, and then I went out for lunch with Lark and-"

"You what?" Milo interrupted, eyes wide. I was surprised when he grabbed my arm, fingers tight but not painful. Milo only seemed to notice that his fingers were digging into my arm when his gaze followed mine to them, dropping my arm like it was lava. "I mean, you ate out with... Lark. Right. Uh, I know that you're still... friends but... Good... Good for you."

"Hey, I know that you never really... liked her, but we're really just-" I started, interrupted by the sound of Lark walking back down the stairs with my loose pants hanging low on her hips and her jeans slung over her arm. Milo's eyes immediately moved to her and darkened, growing cold. His mouth snapped together, lips tight and jaw locked, and his hands by his sides were clenched into fists. 

"Oh, hey, Milo," Lark said, smooth voice having a little lilt at the end as her mouth quirked up. "Haven't seen you in ages."

"Hi," Milo forced out, Lark's shoulders shaking as she visibly tried not to laugh out loud, but clearly failing. Milo's face glowered further, his body stiff.

"Nice to see that some things don't change," Lark said, coming to stand beside me, hopping onto her toes to prop her elbow on my shoulder. "Lovely to know that you still hate me."

"I don't hate you," Milo muttered bitterly, not sounding sincere in the slightest. "If... If C wants to be friends or... get back together with you, that's his decision. Even if... Even if I don't think it's a good idea, because..."

"Oh, so you don't not like me, you just don't like me dating Dovey," Lark said, Milo's face spasming as Lark giggled. "Well, that's good! Because we're not getting back together."

"Definitely not," I said, shaking my head, Milo's eyes snapping back towards me, questioning. Surprised. Maybe a little relieved and... something else? "We're definitely not getting back together, Jesus. Why does everyone assume that we can't just be friends?"

"Ugh, tell me about it," Lark said, flicking her hair over her shoulder with a huff. Giving Milo an amused look, Lark pat his shoulder. "But don't worry, grump! I'm not here to steal your man again. Relax."

"He's not my-" Milo exclaimed, face growing red before he shut himself up. "It's not like that. I'm just worried because you two were... serious."

"Yeah, and we already had all our serious talk, and now we're seriously just friends," I stressed, not sure why I was so desperate to make sure that Milo got it through his head that Lark and I were over as a couple. It was likely because Milo had always been very protective and worried, especially when I started drowning in my relationship with Lark. I didn't want to worry him, or disappoint him; he had other things, like school, to worry about anyhow.

"You get it, right?" I asked, voice a little breathy as I tugged on Milo's arm. "We're seriously not getting together. Serious serious. I don't want you to worry, because we're really not getting back together."

"Okay, ouch," Lark said, snorting. "Don't need to keep repeating it. You're making it sound like I'm the devil or something. I'm not out here trying to hurt any one, least of all Dovey. I think you know that well, Milo."

Milo regarded Lark for a second, before looking at me again, ruffling my long hair. 

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Milo said, managing a small smile at me, which made the tight feeling squeezing my heart relax.

"Well, that's good," I said, looping my arm around Milo's, dragging him towards the loungeroom where some Netflix previews were playing. "You don't have to leave right away, right? Stay for a movie at least. We have snacks."

Milo was silent as he let me drag him further inside, pushing him onto the air mattress. Lark just shook her head, saying something quietly under her breath, before taking a seat on the other side. I slotted myself between them, pulling the blanket over the three of us. It was warm, their shoulders brushing mine, and I couldn't pull the smile off my face as I grabbed the remote.

"Now, what do ya guys wanna watch?"

A/N: Hitting you with some speedy updates now :)