never be the same.

“Good morning!” Emily greeted a sing songy tone as she skipped to her friend before wrapping an arm around her happily. Maybe a sleepover on a weekday, knowing that the both of them had work the next morning wasn’t the greatest of ideas, but she’d sacrifice her sleep for Juliet’s company any day. “You’re up early.” she noticed, moving towards the kettle and turning it on, leaning against the counter. “Please tell me you woke up naturally and not by the sound of my ten alarms... All that I’ve snoozed the past hour.” she chuckled.

Emily had been sitting at her table, completely ignoring the plate of food that was in front of her, and was far more interested in the contents of her phone. Scrolling through a Buzzfeed article to keep herself distracted, she had almost forgotten about it and at this point, she wasn’t sure if she even had an appetite anymore. “Huh?” she ushered incoherently, turning to the source of the voice next to her before flashing a small smile. Brown hues turned to the plate of food and without having to think of an answer, Emily shook her head and pushed it towards the female. “Oh, please, be my guest. It’s just going to waste if it continues to sit in front of me.”

"Good morning to you too.” she said, grin spread throughout her features as she made herself comfortable on the empty space next to him, lifting her feet though she made sure her shoes were hanging off the side of the bed - not wanting to dirty his sheets. “Big night or something? It’s almost noon.” she commented. “Lunch, since we haven’t done that in a while. Just wanted to make sure my cousin was still alive and well.” Emily chuckled.

“Rise and shine!” Emily announced, barging through the doors of her cousins bed room. The female spent a lot of her time in Silas’ house if not her own, so it was safe to say that she knew how to get in on her own. Going strait for his curtains, she swung them open, welcoming the morning sunlight in Silas’ once dim-lit bedroom. “Did you forget about our plans?”

“Oh, so you’re a regular now?” Asher pursed his lips, cocking his head some to the side. “Guess that’s a testament to my amazing bartending skills,” he teased, his naturally arrogant tendencies always easing it’s way into conversation, even jokingly. “But yeah, we do like them except for the fact that I’m not actually working today.. just can’t seem to stay away.” 

“I come here to drink, obviously, why else would I be here? Don’t you guys know that you have the best tap water that this town has to offer?” she jokingly bluffed, trying her best to maintain the expression on her features, though the corners of her lips forcing itself into an upward smile. She let out a light chuckle and leaned against the countertop herself, eyeballing him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, I thought you guys like regular customers.”

“Is it the same girl that you’ve been telling me all week about?” Emily asked, placing the glass she had been nursing in her hands on the table before peeking at his screen, then to the female he was gesturing at. Maybe her judgement was wrong, but to her, there was no doubt that this was the same person that Tyler was showing her on his phone. “That’s definitely the same person, Ty. That, or she has a twin, but what are the likelier chances?” she said, lips pursing together as she took a good look at her finger. “Why not just walk up to her and find out for yourself? If things go south, then just pretend I’m your date. And if they don’t, then pretend I’m your sister.”

“Come on, Wren. I’m already a fan of you, so you know I’m going to say something biased which will be probably not helpful at all.” Emily chuckled, leaning back comfortably on her chair. Cafe du Monde was one of her favourite places in town, just because she could sit back, relax and enjoy company with people like Wren. Listening to the story she had been working on felt like Emily was getting an inside scoop of secret information and that alone made her chuckle to herself. “Honestly, I think it’s okay the way it is. There’s always something painfully heartbreaking but beautiful about sacrificing your happiness for someone else’s, so I think it’s perfect.”

Fleeing town on her very own best friends birthday wasn’t one of the smartest ideas, but no matter how far Emily ran from her parents, they would still find a way to out-do her. Trying to find a way to rekindle their relationship, it hadn’t gotten off on the right start by forcing her to see them on the one day she needed to be in town the most. So here she was, standing in front of her friends door, nursing her favourite flavour of cake in her hands and a million apologies she had been practicing. Once the door swung open, she breathed out on the party blower that was in her mouth, leaving an echo sound down the hallway. “Happy late birthday?”

“You again.” Emily voiced out, recognising the blonde from behind the bar. Truth be told, she had started spending a lot more time in this particular bar, but her sober self kept ordering nothing more than just a glass of water. Even though she gained a lot of confused looks and raised brows every time she did, she wasn’t about to relapse. Plus, the last encounter she had with a particular bartender didn’t answer all the questions she had left and it still bothered her that she couldn’t figure out who he was. “Do you ever take a day off, or do you really just love working?” she chuckled, making herself comfortable on the bar stool.