Grian stared at the door of the cafe, hesitating slightly before walking in after Scott and Jimmy.

Scott calmly walked up to the counter and was greeted by a woman with long brown hair tied back in a plait and blonde highlights.

She looked up with a smile as Jimmy and Grian joined him. "Hello, welcome to the Ebony Terrace Coffee Shop, my name is Pearl! How can I-" The brunette broke off, staring at Grian. "How-" She stopped again, closing her eyes briefly and clearing her throat. "How can I help you?" Pearl asked with a slightly uncomfortable smile.

Grian zoned out slightly as Scott ordered some drinks, his gaze drifting to a small table in the corner with three seats. I swear I've seen that- He could vaguely remember cheerful giggling echoing in his ears, and somebody awkwardly apologising for something. From his memories, he could piece together a somewhat awkward atmosphere that had changed into a comfortingly familiar and easy one.

He was dragged out of the somewhat comforting parts of his memories that he could piece together as Jimmy nudged him with his elbow. "Huh?"

"Do you want anything?" The dark blonde asked.

Grian shook his head hastily. "No, I'm good. I don't want anything." He reassured his friend. As soon as he spoke, Pearl's gaze flicked to him again, and she looked even more uncomfortable than before- slightly upset, even. In Grian's opinion, she looked a little traumatised, actually.

"Right. Well, I'll, um... I'll bring the drinks over. Just pick a table. Do you want to give me a name to write on the drinks or...?" Pearl's gaze lingered on Grian. Do I know her from somewhere?

He met her gaze calmly as Scott and Jimmy told her their names, and Pearl looked even more startled. "Right. Okay. Just... sit down. Somewhere." She turned away, walking into a room behind the counter and pulling her phone out of her pocket. Scott and Jimmy sat down at a table near the door whilst Grian lingered by the counter as he overheard some parts (only a few words at a time- she was clearly pacing up and down) of the woman's conversation on the phone. "BigB... customer... looks like Grian... freaking out..."

That's... odd. How did she know my- oh, did she know me before I died? He felt a hand on his shoulder that pulled him backwards and he glanced over his shoulder to see Scott dragging him to the table they were sat at. Grian sat down with an annoyed huff.

"Why were you spying on that nice lady?" Jimmy asked curiously.

"Because she kept staring at me and I heard her on the phone with someone and she SAID MY NAME!" Grian announced with a dramatic yelp. "I didn't tell her my name!"

Jimmy blinked. "Okay, I didn't expect that." He frowned. "I know! Ask her if she knows anyone called Grian."

"Terrible idea." Scott said with a roll of his eyes, and Jimmy scowled. "She looked traumatised enough."

"You make a fair point. But my idea is still better." Jimmy said stubbornly. "If she's a friend from before you died, she could help you recover your memories."

"Still a terrible idea." Scott muttered, laughing as Jimmy pulled his tongue at the cyan haired man. "You could try to start a conversation maybe, but don't mention your name... unless she mentions that she used to have a friend with your name or something."

"Yeah, fantastic idea." Grian said with a roll of his eyes.

"It could work." Jimmy said with a shrug.

"Oh, wow, you're agreeing with me?" Jimmy shot Scott a confused look, and the cyan haired man muttered something under his breath before glancing back at Grian. "What was her name again?"

"Um... something beginning with..." Jimmy frowned. "P?" He guessed.

Grian zoned out slightly as the other two started guessing names- clearly they both had a terrible memory. The dirty blonde glanced back at the conversation suddenly. "Pearlescent Moon." He jumped slightly as he heard a crash behind him, and blinked. How did I- where- Grian glanced over his shoulder to see Pearl staring at him with a shocked expression, and the brunette had clearly just dropped the tray with the drinks on.

"I'll just..." Pearl paused. "Can I speak to you for a second?" Her gaze flicked to the mess from the spilled drinks on the floor. "I'll... get someone to clean that up in a minute."

Me? He pointed at himself and the woman nodded, turning and walking outside. He cast his gaze to Scott, who shrugged, and Jimmy, who looked intrigued, before following the brunette outside.

The second the dirty blonde had stepped outside, Pearl spoke. "Who are you?"

Grian stared back at her as the door closed behind them. "What?"

"Who are you? Because first of all, you show up at the place I work looking almost identical to my dead friend, and then you sound exactly like him, and now you know my name! I- who are you?" Pearl repeated, her blue gaze glowing with confusion and uncertainty. "What is your name?"

This might be a mistake, but... "Grian Gotts." He winced slightly at her shocked (and slightly scared) expression.

"What? That's- no- you aren't..." She squinted at him, and Grian noticed that the brunette was shaking ever so slightly. "You can't be. I knew Grian Gotts. I saw his dead body." She said with a strained laugh. "He died. You died."

"Um..." He glanced at her with an awkward shrug. "Sorry...?"

"I- you know, what, I can't-" She pulled out her phone, calling somebody quickly. "Hey, can you come to the cafe real quick?" Pearl's gaze flicked back to Grian as she waited for the response of whoever she was calling. "I don't care if you're on a joint patrol with Scar, get here right now. You'll want to see this, trust me." She sighed as the other person responded. "Bring Scar as well then, just get here now!"

Who on earth is she speaking to?

WoW Pearl actually used her brain and figured some stuff out wooo 👏

Also Yeah hi (I just wanted to put something here tbh)

Also yes I used the name of the coffee shop from my Jizzie Ship Oneshot, I'm unoriginal, so what /lh