Shyness isn’t among the many failings—or virtues—

Thea usually headed to James’s when she couldn’t sleep. She knew he was similar, his mind was always racing so he would likely be awake. And when he wasn’t, she simply let herself into the apartment and climbed into bed next to him. He was her best friend, someone she felt relaxed with and she felt nothing but completely comfortable around him. That was why the next morning, after she’d showered, she hadn’t bothered putting any clothes on straight away. Nudity didn’t bother her and if it bothered James, he hadn’t said anything - Thea had a suspicion it didn’t though, considering he always seemed to be naked. 

What she hadn’t expected when she wandered into the kitchen, eyes fixed on her phone as she replied to a text, was to hear someone screaming. Thea couldn’t help but scream too and in her panic, reached for the closest thing to her - a frying pan - and held it up as though it was a weapon. She used her other hand to grab a jacket thrown over the back of a nearby chair, covering her boy as best as she could. 

“What the fuck?” She snapped, taking in the stranger’s appearance. She’d never seen her before and didn’t know how she got in. “Who the fuck are you? Why are you in James’s apartment, what the fuck? You need to leave.”

Bella mirrored her position, though her weapon was smaller and a lot more breakable — her phone. “Who am I? Who are you? And why are you pulling a Frozen, no wait, sorry, a Tangled in the middle of my apartment?” Here it was. The other shoe had just dropped. Everything had been going way too perfectly, even for her standards. James was the cutest person she had ever met, and she knew deep down in her gut they would be great friends. He had even saved her bag! Made sure she didn’t forget it in the middle of the street and brought it up to the apartment!

Sure, the place was a little messy, but it didn’t bother her. She was used to it, her bedroom always looked like the aftermath of a hurricane. Her dad had joked once — someone could hide in her bedroom and they would never know. Maybe he had been right. Look at this: a naked woman in the middle of her new apartment. God, maybe she had been living here for years, only sneaking out when James was out so she could eat his food and use his water. Devious, terrible, monstrous (kind of hot, to be honest) creature!

“Oh sweetie, someone took your Chanel boots?” Eleanor looked at the woman, her expression was not in mockery, the brunette knew far too well what meant for someone to take something so valuable. Turning pensive and chewing on the straw of her drink, she wondered where someone would have taken someone’s purse, but it didn’t take long for her to notice that she would never have the same mindset as a thief▬ if that was even the case. “I have to say though, that unless we go about with pictures of the bag, asking to people if they’ve seen it, you might have to consider it completely lost and I’m deeply sorry for it, nobody should lose their chanel boots.”

Maybe teasing his new roommate in the first hour of them knowing each other was a little bit mean but he couldn’t help that it was just in his nature to tease people all the time. If she could take him teasing then she was definitely a keeper because having somebody around who didn’t get him wasn’t going to work at all. He laughed loudly as the joke finally clicked his eyes scrunching up as he did. Really, he was a terrible comedian but somebody had to find him funny. He grinned happily as he was hugged and threw his own arms around her. “Well, that’s a first. Usually I get pain in the ass or annoying when I do shit like this. I guess you’ve already passed the first test.” 

He clapped his hands together, decisively happy that things were going to go well. Maybe it was too early to say but he was definitely optimistic about this. “Can I joke about the Gucci boots instead?” he quipped back as he moved to go back into the elevator now that all her bags had been collected. His apartment was definitely chaotic now that it was covered in her bags but it wasn’t really anything new. “I could give you a tour around Somerton once you’re settled in? Show you all the best places to get drunk. 

“No, no. It was sweet and well, we needed something to break the ice, didn’t we? I just hope you are ready for payback.” Kissing both of his cheeks, Bella stepped away, still laughing nervously, trying to expunge all the of the remaining panic from her veins.  Following him into the building, she shot him a dirty look. “Only if I’m allowed to steal your fireman’s hat one of these days. Do fireman still wear those cute little white hats?”

Marie was truly touched by this wonderful story, reminded of a cherished pair of boots she once owned before she had worn them out. “Aw, I’m gonna cry, for real. We have to find them.” She pouted, looking around the place to see if anyone might be carrying a large bag, or dressed in overly fancy boots. “Don’t worry, you’ll find it- maybe you left it somewhere? Happens to the best of us, it happens to me like all the time so I ain’t judging.”

“Oh, you know what you are?” On a good day, she might have smiled. Except, this wasn’t a good day, it was a terrible, dreadful, end of the world day so the expression that crossed her features was slightly terrifying, a terrible mixture between a smile and pure panic. “An angel, an angel sent to help me!” clapping her hands together, Bella twirled around trying to figure out where we they should start.

Today was supposed to be Sebastian’s day off. Life at the station had returned to normal with the mess of the storm entirely behind them finally. But with so many other things temporarily put on hold until his mountainous pile of work had been chipped away at, a day off meant spending a majority of his time running belated errands. 

So far he’d completed about a quarter of his list. However, the rest of his plans for the afternoon were immediately put on hold when Bella approached him. “No.” Sebastian’s attention turned to scan the people walking on the sidewalk for a sign of a bag large enough to be carrying boots. “How long has it been since you last saw it?”

Charlotte nodded her head seriously, hearing out the woman, “Okay, sorry.” She apologized for doubting the stranger, “Want me to help you look for the thief? Maybe they’re around here somewhere? They couldn’t have gotten far, right?” She tried her luck now feeling bad for not being courteous enough.

When the other girl stood up, Bella jumped from her chair, her coffee and biscuits abandoned as she chased her down. “Hi, sorry. Just, I was watching you inside — and I know, I know, that sounds creepy, but your sweater is beautiful. You are beautiful!” she gushed, enchanted by the outfit and the girl wearing it. “I’m dying to know where you got your earrings.”

So, she did what any sensible person would do. 

She started screaming.

Bear beamed at the attention - he loved it, especially from pretty girls who just moved to town. He continued to prance around, but Stella just clucked her tongue, offering to hold a bag up - “Why don’t we start with getting these inside, so the chances of something else getting taken goes down?” she suggested, grabbing one in each hand - surprisingly heavy, considering how many there were. “I assume we’re going inside? Please tell me there’s an elevator if you don’t live on the first floor.” She worked out, sure, but that didn’t mean she was ready for the marathon they were about to run in her new boots.

Kellan was just wrapping up a run, using the steps of the apartment building to stretch a calf muscle that was giving him trouble as he flips through his phone.  If he was any more observant he would have noticed the slew of bags strewn across the sidewalk signaling the woman was moving in.  

“Huh?”  He speaks as it takes a moment for her question to really settle in his mind.  Kel looks down the block as if trying to catch the person taking off running like a super villain.  “I’m going to be real honest I don’t think I’d recognize a pair of Chanel boots if they kicked me in the shin,” he chuckles as he puts his phone in a zipped pocket of his shorts.  

“Oh shi– do you think somebody took your stuff?”

“Minnie, I do not have time for you to stop and piss on every single tree in bridgeport, baby. I need you to pick one and just make it happen.” She sighed down at her dog, a hand on her hip as the beagle stopped to pee again on their walk. Teagan looked up at the woman asking her about a bag and then turned her head over her shoulder to see exactly one other person on the street, a woman who looked to be about ninety. “Unless Mrs. Corcoran suddenly has the ability to do a hundred yard sprint at an olympic pace…I don’t think so.” She looked the woman over once, not so subtly, before meeting her eyes again. “You should probably keep better track of your Chanel though, pretty sure if someone stole them you’re not getting them back.”

Not even trying to hide what she was doing, Bella looked at Mrs. Corcoran from head to toe. “Have you seen Jane Fonda recently? She could do a hundred yard sprint on a — whatever you just said, that was awesome.” but she was probably right. After all, Mrs. Corcoran did not have the ankles to pull the boots off. She would look ridiculous!