life after love

“Not usually, but I know the owner so just tell them you know me,” she winked before getting up from her seat. “Come on, lunch is on me,’“ the brunette walked up to the counter ordering a few things before returning to the other. “Why not try it now?” the brunette grinned as the cashier brought out her order. several burgers, late’s, shakes, and other desserts where laid out. “I want your review to be the best,”

Laurel smiled at the girl, shaking her head. “You don’t have to do that, Loni,” she said simply, closing her notebook. Suddenly, their table was covered in food, and Laurel had to admit she was quite hungry. “Wow, thank you.”

          mickey shrugged , somewhat ignoring what she was saying .  “i’d ask you to skip , but …”  he knew she wouldn’t .  it was out of her comfort zone and laurel was prone to staying inside her comfy little box .  sometimes it irritated mickey , but bringing that up would start an argument he was not ready to have .  “you don’t need any , but you buy it like it’s a necessity .  believe me when i say you’re smokin’ either way , babe .  okay , picking you up at five — dressed to kill — get drunk at date party, and bring a pretty girl home with me .”  he planted a small kiss on her forehead after the fact .

Laurel paused for a second, contemplating his words. She could feel the slight tension between them and wanted more than anything to fix it. So she decided to do something she had never (intentionally) done before. “What if I stay?” she asked softly. “We can take a nap, cuddle, talk,” she wanted this more than anything.

                    ❛ WELL , YALE HAS NEVER  been known for their coffee , ❜ tripp offered in a pointed tone , yet his stale latte was lifted to his lips for a sip , all the same .

Laurel rolled her eyes at her boyfriend’s cousin, shaking her head. “It’s not that bad, is it?” she asked, eyebrows raised.

mitchell went back to doing his homework and then when he got the next notification he opened up the app and responded, “oh, sweet. i love pi phi” he replied truthfully. then he nodded to himself as he typed, “yeah, i love gwen - she’s the best. why?”

“She’s my big,” Laurel replied, a smile on her face. She paused, thinking of a response. “I find it very hard to believe a guy like you doesn’t have a girlfriend.” Laurel decided to be a bit flirty, because why not?

“Then just take your time” she said, “No need to rush it just yet” the girl said sincerely to her friend. It sucked having that feeling about your relationship, and seeing her friend feel like that made her upset. “Oh, I don’t care it is like three dollars” Gwen said before ordering her drink then ordering Laurel’s normal drink. 

“Thanks, Gwen,” Laurel offered her a smile. She knew that Gwen was just trying to help, and while the complexities of their relationship were hard to convey, Laurel knew her big gave her the best advice she could. “How about tea?” She smiled at her, nodding.

“i mean, that’s true but is it really true?” the male inquired, an agitated look on his face as he dropped his head onto the floor once more, “imagine being as smart as him? or as handsome.” dylan jokingly uttered, amusing himself.

“Yes, it’s true,” Laurel said simply, shaking her head and chuckling. “You’re just as handsome, Dylan. More handsome, because you’re not old.”

Grinning she returned to her sketch. As her fingers continued to work she heard the blonde speak again. “Try the bacon cheese burger with a cookies n’ cream shake. Best damn thing here,” she mused before looking up. “If you get one bring me one as well. Oh, and grab some cheese fries. Those are really good to!”

“Burgers and shakes at a coffee shop?” Laurel raised her eyebrows, a smile on her face. She didn’t really drink coffee, but milkshakes? She could get behind that. “Alright, I’ll have to try it. Thanks.”

After passing out on the floor, Dominic quickly jumped up. “I’m up, I’m up!” he said, slightly hungover. “partying and then trying to do homework is never the answer.”

@yalestarters​

“I told you that,” Laurel said simply. “Get up, we’re supposed to meet for a group project in ten minutes.”

Gwen started walking to the coffee shop, “Did I say too much?” she asked the girl, sometimes Gwen just talked and didn’t think how it would harm the other person. “Whatever you decide to do with Mickey I am here for you, I just don’t want you to get hurt” she said giving her a light smile. “What do you want? It’s on me?” she asked as she stood in line.

“No no, it’s not your fault,” Laurel shook her head, not wanting Gwen to blame herself for the look on the girls face. “I just... I don’t want things to change just yet. I don’t know.” She was too far into this to just fuck it up. Plus, if she was right and it was something on his end, she’d be heartbroken. “You don’t have to do that, Gwen.”

mitchell picked up his phone a little while later and checked his notifications to find that he had a new message on tinder. “yes, i’m pi tau” he confirmed, wondering why she was asking. “what about you? are you an independent?” he asked before setting down his phone to focus on something else.

When Laurel heard her phone buzz she paused, thinking for a second before grabbing it. She smiled, licking her lips as she wrote her response: “I’m in Pi Phi,” she replied, thinking for a second. “Do you know Gwen?”

Loni realized she wasn’t about to get out of whatever this is. With a grin she pushed her sketch aside before thinking of a response. “I mean why not open in the middle of the semester? Sometimes the same old spots get tiring. Also, if everyone already has their own spot. Then this place will be quiet enough for the ones who like a not so busy spot to study,” her shoulders shrugged as her fingers wrapped around her hot chocolate. “Anything else?”

Laurel nodded. “Fair answer,” she said. Truthfully, she had been getting mixed reviews about this place, but she liked that. It helped make for a more interesting story. “Yeah, one more thing,” she smiled. “What’s the best thing to order here?” she asked. “I figure if I’m writing a review, I should try some things.”

Gwen grabbed her hand and gave her a small smile, “Listen if it is meant to be he won’t get man nor will it mess things up. If he gets mad then you can find someone better” she shrugged, “Do you want to get a coffee?” she asked as she kept walking down the path. 

“Yeah.” The more they talked about it, the less Laurel wanted to talk to Mickey. She loved him, and had confidence in their relationship. She didn’t want to mess that up by getting all in her head. “Honestly, coffee sounds great right now.”

Gwen nodded, “No I get it… I just think you should be honest with him. I know it sucks, but I feel like it would be easiest” she said with a shrug. Gwen was a pretty curt person and never had a problem telling them what was going on. “I don’t think you’ll sound crazy and if he does then maybe he isn’t for you” she said bluntly. She didn’t know if she was being too harsh about this and didn’t want to upset Laurel at all.

“I know, I know,” Laurel knew that Gwen was just telling her this for her own good, and that deep down she knew all of these things to be true. But it scared her to to think that this relationship, one that she loved, could come crashing down. “I just don’t want to mess things up. He’s too important to me.”

mickey: sold

mickey: izzie and loni

laurel: done deal

laurel: locked and loaded

mickey: amen

mickey: can i get away with a black shirt and red jeans? or are you holding me to a much higher standard

mickey: i'll get the ears ofc

mickey: yeah, stop by

laurel: hmmmmmm

laurel: if you get a yellow bow tie too then i can let it slide

laurel: i get out of class in 15 so ill be by in 20

mickey: i'd vote for the first one if you let me

mickey: but it's supposed to be chilly on halloween

mickey: so order whichever you think you'll be more comfortable in — i'll look for mickey costumes in a sec, caught up w something

laurel: yeah im leaning towards the first one too

laurel: hopefully ill be drunk enough that i wont be cold at all