#honcydaze

considering that the weather had been nothing but beautiful all day, there was an inkling in the woman that the bookstore wouldn't be very busy today. anytime the weather was above the 60s there was a slim chance that they'd have many customers. because of this, she hoped to surprise her boss with their favorite drink on her way in, even if the condensation almost had the beverage slipping from her hands by the time she got to the store. "i have a present for you," she spoke in a singsong voice while stepping behind the counter.

the thickness at the table was almost so tangible that one could probably cut it with a knife. nyla had felt bad, truly she did, as it wasn't her intention to sneak out on the other. but the morning had just brought her a clarity that was too difficult to find the night before, and she felt the best place to think it over would be in the confines of her own home. she never knew that they had mutual friends with her, and better yet that they would be in attendance at breakfast with those friends. "so, how have you been?" she asked with a sweet tone, trying to offset the tension.

the morning had started off in a whirlwind, well truthfully saturday mornings usually always did at the bakery, but olivia wondered if there may have been a full moon or something the night before to cause everyone to be so out of sorts. so when the morning rush finally seemed to die down a little, the femme leaned her elbows on the countertop for an extended moment, taking in the moment she finally had to breathe. her short moment of piece was just long enough to let her recollect herself before hearing the ring of the bell on the front door again, standing up fully before a wide smile spread across her features. "long time no see!" she teased with the tilt of her head, "and here i thought you were just going to abandon me today."

"whoops, my bad." that was the sound of the songwriter and producer accidentally bumping shoulders with someone. it had been a while since had been back, both her and her family becoming a little bit too big for a small town like this (and she thinks this way humbly). as she turned to look at who she had accidentally bumped into, a small smile formed on her face almost immediately. "oh, it's you!" there was obvious excitement, but also a little bit of guilt that besides the occasional postcards, the two of them had sort of fallen out of contact. "i'd, uh, say 'fancy seeing you here', but this town is small as hell. it's great to see you! you look great."

eyes were wide in disbelief, the softness of the nickname flows through her lips, causing her heart to melt. "i . . well, i've moved back into town," she states, wasn't entirely sure if she should go hug her or not. "me? girl, you're still gorgeous as ever."

"You know, you have a really bad habit of lying... Ain't anybody ever tell you it's not nice to lie?" Valencia let out an annoyed huff, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the nearest wall. "I mean, it's ridiculous, really. We could have gotten home sooner and yet, here we are... Not home and completely lost. I'm too drunk for this shit."

"well, it's not like i lied. i told you i had a fun job." the thing is, veronica is very honest, sometimes to a fault. but she is also very good at keeping things close to her chest, not lying but not revealing the truth either. of course, the fact of her position and who her family was should've been communicated earlier on but... "you also never cared to ask."

the soft chuckle that escapes her lips is so close to being sweet, one might be convinced that she was laughing at something genuinely funny. but no, elara wasn't so easily amused. "oh, that's... you thought i was serious?" hand reaches forward, fingers holding their hair aside as if she wanted to ensure that they could see her face. "i didn't think you were that stupid."