Setro is slightly smelling of sawdust after a day at the construction site. He decides to pay a visit to Prishe at the thrift store--a much needed break from his distracted mind . . .

~*'.~*.'~

From the thrift store's entrance to a little checkout counter, Setro and Prishe locked gazes. Even though Prishe was busy drinking a takeout soda, her eyes widened upon Setro mid-sip.

She really is cute, Setro smiled, then let himself glide over to his bright-eyed friend.

"Why hello, sir!" beamed Prishe, twinkling with jest. "How can I help you today?"

Already, Setro felt himself relax. Her glow transferred onto him, stretching his smile as he leaned on the counter. "Ah, yes. I was wondering if you had a good friend in stock?"

"Oh, yeah! Let's see, let's see . . ." Prishe looked behind her and ducked under the checkout before grandly gesturing to herself. "Here she is!"

"Wonderful," Setro laughed. He let the gleeful noise melt in his mouth as he flung out his wallet. "And how much is she?"

"Well for you, she's on the house," Prishe winked. The short space between them was filled with a candle-lit warmth. It was subtle yet bright; gentle yet powerful. After a moment of cheeky grins, Prishe leaned on the counter as well. "What's going on?"

Setro scratched his sand-colored scalp. Usually he wouldn't hesitate over such simple things, but somehow this time was different. Maybe because he felt different ever since . . .

No. I cannot allow myself to dwell on it.

"Honestly, I just wanted someone to talk to tonight." The words almost felt lukewarm on his tongue. He knew what he truly wanted, but was an impossible, selfish wish. "So, if you're free after work, perhaps we could go somewhere and grab dinner or--"

"Mm. Wait, wait." All of a sudden, there was a finger flying out in front of Prishe. "I have a weird feeling this is more than you just wanting some company."

Her pointed finger became a needle to Setro's calm. His smile sank to halfway. "Okay, well, what else could it be?"

"You're still shaken up, aren't you?" Prishe said, low and sympathetic. "About Kain popping the question."

It was quicker than a fly, how fast Setro's expression went from holding-it-together to heart-break-on-a-silver-platter. His mind made zig-zags on how he could reply without sounding like a pitifully, lovesick man (though that's exactly what he was). While Setro's sight was busy sweeping the counter, there came a well-timed distraction.

"Ms. Tavnazia!" screeched a lady's voice from somewhere behind Setro. "What have I told you about flirting with the customers?"

Tan skin glowing pink, Prishe mastered a facepalm. "Boss, it's fine. He's a friend."

"Well tell your friend he's hogging up the line, please and thank you!"

Like a torch scorched his rear, Setro flung around to see three people cued up behind him, feet tapping and eyelids low. "Oh, no, I'm so very sorry." He turned back to Prishe with burning cheeks. "It's all right, we'll talk later."

"Wait!" Prishe whisper-screamed. She leaned awkwardly across the counter to pull his sleeve, right before he could bolt away and leave a cloud of smoke in her face. "See you at your place? Say . . . five-ish?"

Prishe's brown eyes were pleading diamonds. They were certainly impossible to turn down.

"I'll be waiting." Setro's smile returned. And as he finally swayed himself to the exit, there was a tiny sparkle in his core. Maybe everything would be okay, so long as he focused on his adorable friend--the one who always faced him toward the future.

🎶 ᴺᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ🎶

The moment Prishe stepped into Setro's copper tinted apartment, she put a hand on her hip.

"What, no homemade dinner?" she asked.

At this, Setro slumped in his posture. "Oh. I-I thought we'd go get something and bring it back." He angled himself so he closed the door without looking, and the squeak it made mimicked his embarrassment.

Already, Prishe was abandoning her purse on the couch and marching a straight path toward to the little kitchen. "No, no," she yapped. Soon her hands were throwing the pantry door open, then making a calamity of Setro's food. "I mean, I'm already here, so let's just stay in and make dinner ourselves. It's more ro--"

There was an abrupt stop in Prishe's voice, as well as her food-searching frenzy.

"Prishe?" Careful footsteps creaked the floor. Setro touched Prishe's shoulder, which was quite cold and almost static.

"Robust!" Prishe exploded, raising Setro's pulse rate. She gracefully twirled around his frame so she slammed a random food can on the counter. Though her actions were graceful, her face was anything but. It had a panicked sheen and saucepan eyes. "Yeah. Making our own meal is totally robust because . . . takeout is for weenies."

Though a little confused about her quick change in demeanor, Setro couldn't swallow his breath-coated chuckles. "If I recall correctly, did you not have a Wendy's soda when we spoke earlier today?"

Prishe flipped the can, forced a laugh. "Touché, my overly observant friend. Hey, what are you doing with a can of baby peas?"

"I . . . like them on my mashed potatoes. Why?"

A single snort was her reply. She whirled her attention back to the pantry, her brown curls shining in the kitchen lights, waterfalling over her shoulder. Setro realized that just the sight of her in his lonely home made his evening shine pink.

More quirky than usual tonight, are we? Maybe that's exactly what my heavy heart needs.

. . . .

. . .

. .

.

Setro was instructed to sit on the couch and wait for Prishe to work her magic. But Setro was a restless man; the entire time he bounced his leg, and after a hot day at work, too. Sometimes his own energy frightened him, but perhaps it was just something he put upon himself. Energy and more energy, so his mind wouldn't wander to the place he tried so hard to escape from . . . The past.

It's a daily battle I have yet to truly win. I feel I'm merely surviving at times.

"Alrighty . . ." Prishe's beautiful, high-note voice lit the room just then. "So, for a side-dish, would you like some honest questions, or a continuation of our talk at the shop?"

Clever as the ice-breaker was, Setro felt himself frown. "What?"

"Kain's proposal. It shook you up more than you're letting on, so we need to talk about it." A few clock ticks went by. "Did you really think I was gonna forget?"

"I didn't think you would, but I was hoping."

A sigh seeped out of Prishe, dry but not angry. More like an impatient amount of care that wanted to latch on before Setro was ready. "You don't have to feel ashamed of what you're feeling, okay?" she said, letting her hip fall next to his. "Come on. Let it all out. If you gotta cry or scream or whatever, I'm here to take the raft."

Mouth quivering, Setro was a hair-length away from giving in. His face started to swell, his lashes got tickled moist. Prishe was the goofiest friend he ever had, yet she always knew exactly what to say to break his dam.

But do I really want to talk about it? Won't that make it more real? More painful than it already is?

Images flashed in front of him; of Claire and how she used to wrap her legs around his waist, then of the moment she became engaged--how it got sealed with a deep kiss.

Knock knock!

A knock at the door. What an unexpected relief. How was he landing these lucky distractions lately?

Prishe, however, looked exasperated. The caramel lighting only brought out her pencil-straight mouth. "Uh, expecting someone else? Or did you order takeout to spite me?"

Setro shook his head, but he wasted no time moving to answer the door.

The golden knob felt strange in his hand when he turned it; slightly tighter than normal, a little too cold. It was a warning sign for his heart, but he didn't catch on before the open door revealed its secret guest.

Blonde hair. Baby blues. Sharp cheeks.

"Claire . . ."

Well.

Setro certainly didn't plan on having his past and future in the same place.

🎶 ᴺᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ🎶

The second Claire knocked, she thought about making a run for it. But the door opened quicker than she expected. And now she was standing face to face with a shiny-eyed, caught-off-guard Setro.

"Claire, I . . ." He stumbled all over his tongue. Claire wouldn't be surprised if he wanted to slam the door right back at her; it had honestly been too long since they talked like this, and it didn't help that she avoided coming within six feet of him at the pool party. But tonight must've had a lucky full-moon coming. Soon his posture drifted to the doorframe, and his lips offered a loose-threaded smile. "Hi."

"Sorry," Claire found herself spitting. Her vision scattered dots across his body, from his low-neck t-shirt to his paint-stained jeans. Even on a work day, he still radiated with glossy charm. "I know this is random timing," she went on, "but it's just been awhile since we've really caught up, one on one. So, I figured I'd come and--Oh God."

Behind a clearly bewildered Setro, there was another person in his apartment. And it was the absolute last person Claire would've wanted to see there.

What the hell? Prishe is here?

Now the air turned a color Claire didn't think was possible. She felt heavy in the throat, and the feeling traveled down to churn in her stomach. This just got incredibly embarrassing.

"Crap," Claire licked her dry lips. "I didn't know you were . . . busy."

After whipping a quick look behind himself, Setro broke out in a sweat. "Oh. No. No, no, no, no, no! It's not like that at all." His voice went from a jumpy caterpillar to a nervous laugh. Drowned in the apartment's background, however, Prishe seemed to disagree with him.

"It's fine," Claire choked through the awkward fog. "Clearly it's not a good time. We can do this over the phone someday instead--"

Then there was a tug on Claire's wrist, despite her body turned to blaze a trail to the exit.

Dammit. This moment was all too nostalgic. It reminded her of the nights she'd try to leave Setro's room, but ended up getting pulled back inside--hot and breathless underneath him.

"Please, come in," Setro gently assured her. "There's plenty of room for the both of you. I promise."

~*'.~*.'~

🎶 ᴺᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ, ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ʰᵉᵃᵈ
ᴺᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ, ⁱⁿ ᵐʸ ᵇᵉᵈ
ᴺᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ⁻ⁿᵃʰ . . .
ᴹᵃᵏⁱⁿ' ᵇᵉᵃᵘᵗⁱᶠᵘˡ ᵐⁱˢᵗᵃᵏᵉˢ 🎶