nothing like the rain in outer space

“Yeah, I think so. The bakery I work at is selling pumpkin and apple pies for half off if you’re interested!”

“Seriously? Oh my god, this made my day just so much better,” he beamed. “But I have no idea how you could handle working at a bakery, I don’t have the self control for that.”

“No way! People love pie year round. Plus not all of the pie has Thanksgiving on it like the chocolate does.”

“You eat pie year round?” his nose crinkling at the thought. “But like, bakeries must make too many pies around Thanksgiving, there has to be a discount.”

“How many have you eaten? It probably isn’t very healthy to be eating that much pie.”

“Maybe two...today?” he tried, his shoulders raising up as he smiled sheepishly. “Eating a ton of pie is better than eating nothing.”

“Maybe on pumpkin pies? I think Black Friday officially marks the change from pumpkin spice to peppermint.”

“I’m hoping that it’s on pumpkin, because I only like pumpkin and apple, I think. Unless tarts count as pies... but peppermint is great though, its season is too short though.”

Cora hadn’t expected any company, her robe and bunny slippers were a testament to that, but she was a patient woman who always had time for friends and the boy in front of her looked too nervous for her liking.  A slow cheerful grin made it’s way to her lips as she watched the boy in front of her. ‘‘It’s fine. I’ve got brownies in the oven if you’re interested?’‘ Michael was a year younger than her own brother Shiloh and she had never really spent as much time with Michael as she did with his sister, Daisy. She felt like she knew him from all the information Daisy had shared on their many outings. ‘‘Do you like movies? We can totally watch some movies. Or we can play some board games or whatever.’‘

It wasn’t that Michael was afraid of Cora per se, he was more scared of the idea that she could just not like him. Just because she and Daisy were friends didn’t necessarily mean that they could be friends, but Michael just really hoped it did, because well, he needed friends. “Brownies?” he echoed, smiling eventually as he started to relax in her presence finally. “That sounds great,” he beamed before awkwardly stepping into her apartment finally. “And I, uh, I love watching movies or tv shows or like youtube videos or just like anything,” he rambled on, not quite sure what to say. “And I ended up ordering Thai food, I think,” and peeked into the bag just to make sure that was in fact correct. “If that’s okay.”

“Well they probably wont be in the food section right? Like all the crazy people go for all of the electronic stuff right? So maybe you might get out with four pies and like a broken rib.”

“I mean, but it is America, they could be going for food too, you never know... But I’ll trade four pies for a broken rib, it’s sort of worth it. I just.. I really like pie, I discovered how good it really is rather late into the game.”

He stared at the other, opening his mouth to reply– only to suck in a breath instead. “It’s like saying you have no bandages for a bullet wound, so you stuff it with salt instead ‘cause it sort of soaks up the blood,” Jamie snorted, “I shouldn’t be the judge of things that are disgusting– I eat my Mac and Cheese with sour cream.”

Michael tried to follow what the other guy was saying, he really did, but instead he just sort of stood there in silence, staring at him. “Um, as poetic as that was, I’m gonna say no..?” because he’s pretty sure that wasn’t the same thing as having more pie than actual food in his apartment. But he could be wrong. He pulled a face at the next food combination he offered, “Mac and Cheese is.. is also strange. And so is sour cream. But if you like it, go ahead, I guess.”

“You’re too damn nice.” she shook her head slowly while pressing her lips together. “Maybe something along the lines of, I don’t know, ‘the foreplay was absolute shit, but i was hoping there’d be a saving grace because it was too late to ditch at this point. I felt fucking betrayed when I needed a goddamn magnifying glass to see this asshole’s dick. I’ve never seen a dude with an ego that much bigger than his dick.’ Rough cut, I guess. I’ve gotta revise it and shit.”

Michael was about to defend himself about not being too nice, but he just gave up quickly because he wasn’t exactly mean either. So, he just shrugged, and let the obvious fly by. He listened to her though, his eyes widening. “Oh wow,” was all he got out at first. “Yeah, okay, that’s definitely out for blood. But like, if he doesn’t have a Yelp page, how are you gonna make sure everyone sees it?”

“Yes. Trust me it’s like Halloween candy. You can get like four pies for like five bucks it’s beautiful. But good luck getting them because you’re a dead man if you go to the store on black Friday.” 

“Four pies for five bucks?” Michael repeated before laughing. “That sounds worth it, honestly. I mean, I still have pies from yesterday, but like.. I could always buy more pie. And it’s been ages since I’ve had a proper Black Friday experience. I just hope that they don’t only have cherry pies left.”

“If you can eat your weight in it to cover up how lonely and pathetic your life is, then yes. I’m sure they’ll sprinkle the pumpkin pies with peppermint bark to make it more festive and pleasing to the eye, too.”

“Pathetic life?” Michael echoed, his nose crinkling, before shrugging. “I mean, I don’t even have eggs in my fridge so if I just only eat pies then.. then that’s sort of nutritious, right? But pumpkin pie and peppermint bark sounds disgusting, I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s too nice.” she huffed,  twisting her lips to the side in thought. “I’d want to wreck his ass. Make it hurt so bad that his dick suffers as well.” 

“Too nice? What about... a half star?” he tried this time, because he was no expert at being mean. “Oh wow, out for blood, I got it,” Michael breathed out, just sort of thinking. “Do you, uh, have any ideas to achieve any of that?”

“I’m sure there is, it’d only make sense. You should tell me if you find out, I love pie.”

“If you love pie, we can share. I have some leftover from yesterday, I uh.. I bought like five. And I’m considering going to see if they’re on sale to get more.”

“No, I don’t. I know that bitch probably tried to though.” she rolled her eyes out of frustration for the man in question. “Rude as hell, I know.”

“Does he have a Yelp page...? Maybe you should give him a bad review. Just be like, ‘1 star, piece of shit human being.’” Michael thought aloud and giving a small nod at the end. “Maybe he just doesn’t... I don’t know. I really don’t know what to say.”

“Mason,” Sawyer groaned, quickly bending to scoop up her crying son. “I said no.” There was no reason her four year old child needed a box of fried rice. “I’m so sorry,” She apologized to the shopper next to them, realizing that he must be bothering the other customers. Shopping was never quite as fun with a toddler. That was for damn sure. 

Michael stared at the child on the ground just crying with slightly wide eyes, blinking in a confused manner when she apologized to him. “No, no, you’re fine,” Michael reassured her rapidly, bending down to pick up the boxes that were on the ground, putting them back on the shelf, and mindlessly throwing one into his own box because he had no idea how to do grocery shopping. “Do you need any help? Like an extra hand or something?”

“Some douche bag literally had the nerve to tell me that my lap dance game is weak. Like, who the hell is this guy? I’m a motherfucking goddess at them. What’s next, are him and his small dick going to give me a bad review on Yelp?”

“Oh wow, that’s um, rude?” Michael was honestly at a loss for words, blinking in confusion as he listened to her rant about it. “Do you have a page on Yelp? Is that even possible?”

Oksana patted Michael’s knee and nodded solemnly, “Those are good choices. You will do well in your juries. They’re always the worst part of the semester, da? And when they’re over you come to me and we will go to the restaurant and celebrate.” In many ways, Michael was already so accomplished. He had the resume, and didn’t necessarily need the degree. In the performance world, it wasn’t about where you learned, it was how good you were, and they both knew Michael was very good. But Oksana also knew what it was like to want to please one’s parents. She’d still had a lot to learn when she first went to Julliard, but Michael was wonderful already. At least in her eyes. “Accompanying others for juries is always a good way to make some extra money,” Oksana nodded solemnly. She’d casually dated a pianist while she was there and he always made pretty good money throughout the semester between juries and accompanying recitals. 

The idea of just being able to relax when the juries were over visibly calmed Michael, his shoulders no longer tense and he let out a steady breath. “I would really like that,” he said slowly, smiling at her in the end. Attending school, or even this type of school, was never a choice made by Michael but it was made for him. The only incentive for him was the fact that he could live near his sister, the rest bored him. He did like seeing everyone else’s talents and helping them, liked it more than he liked ‘learning’ whatever he was taught. “It is,” he agreed. He set his charge rather low, it being something he saw as an opportunity to have fun rather than a job. “It will be good money for Christmas presents,” he thought aloud before breaking out into a grin and leaning against her more, “What would you like for Christmas, мать медведь? Anything in particular?” He was personally awful at shopping for gifts, but he loved giving them. He has trouble making decisions on what to get, and he was also personally grateful for the shift in his thoughts from juries to something less trivial and less stressful.