My crush invited me to a café.

The café smelled of coffee and melted chocolate, the warm air a sharp contrast to the October chill outside. Asha squeezed her fingers around her cup, more for something to do than for warmth. Across from her, Lucille sat with her chin resting on her hand, watching her.

Asha tried not to squirm under the attention. It wasn’t that she didn’t like it—she liked it too much. Her heart did that stupid skipping thing again. She took a sip of her drink to cover her nerves. It didn’t help. Lucille was still looking at her.

“What?” Asha finally asked, her voice just shy of cracking.

Lucille blinked, then shrugged. “I’m just trying to figure something out.”

Asha’s grip tightened around her cup. The back of her neck was sweating

“Figure what out?”

Lucille curled her lips, considering. “If you’re a vampire.”

Asha choked. “W-what?”

Lucille took a bite of her pastry, completely unfazed. “Well, you’ve got the ears. The teeth. And your whole vibe is very ‘creature of the night.'’”

Asha swallowed hard, resisting the urge to cover her mouth. “Maybe it’s just a really good costume.”

Lucille hummed. “Hm..Maybe.”

Silence stretched between them, and Asha could feel the heat creeping up her neck. She needed to change the subject fast. “S-so, Luci—wait, can I call you Luci?”

Lucille tilted her head, eyes sharp, like she was taking note of every tiny reaction Asha had. “Sure.”

Asha nodded, trying to pretend that being watched by her didn’t make her want to combust. “Cool. Cool, cool… So, uh, what do you like to do? Any hobbies?”

Lucille leaned back, stretching her arms over her head. “I like making weird playlists. And watching really bad horror movies. Like, the ones where the monster is just a guy in a rubber suit.”

Asha laughed before she could stop herself. “That’s… oddly specific.”

Lucille smirked. “Yeah, well. I contain multitudes.”

Asha rolled her eyes but couldn’t fight her smile. “Alright, mystery girl. What’s the worst horror movie you’ve ever seen?”

Lucille thought for a moment, then grinned. “Oh, there’s this one where the vampire sparkles in the sunlight.”

Asha groaned. “Okay, yeah, that one’s bad.”

Lucille pointed at her. “Aha..Knew it. You are a vampire.”

Asha sputtered, face going red. “That—! That wasn’t—!”

Lucille’s laughter was quiet but warm, and Asha found herself laughing too, despite her embarrassment.

Asha took another sip of her drink, hoping it would settle the warmth in her face. It didn’t. Lucille leaned forward suddenly, resting her arms on the table, closer than before.

“So,” she said, eyes glinting with mischief, “if you were a vampire, would you tell me?”

Asha’s breath hitched. Lucille was too close. Or maybe not close enough. Her brain short-circuited somewhere between the teasing smirk and the way the light caught in Lucille’s hazel eyes.

“Uh..,” she managed eloquently.

Lucille grinned. “That’s what I thought.”

Asha groaned, burying her face in her hands. This was going to be a lot.

The bell above the café door chimed, and Asha barely paid it any attention—until she noticed the way Lucille’s expression shifted. Her usual sharp, observant gaze dulled, her shoulders tensed, and she suddenly looked very, very small.

Asha followed her line of sight and saw a girl walking toward them, tall, effortlessly confident, the kind of person who moved like the world bent around her. She had dark lipstick, a sleek ponytail, and an unsettlingly smug look in her eyes as she approached their table.

“Cille?” The girl grinned, stopping just beside them. “Wow. Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Lucille didn’t respond. Asha glanced at her, noticing the way her hands curled into fists against her lap.

The girl laughed, flipping her hair over one shoulder. “You look good. Guess you’ve been doing well since… y’know.” She sighed dramatically, as if reminiscing. “We had some good times, huh?”

Asha saw the way Lucille’s breathing changed—shallow, controlled. The way her lips parted like she wanted to say something but couldn’t.

The ex didn’t notice. Or maybe she didn’t care. “I was actually just thinking about you the other day,” she continued, voice syrupy sweet. “All those late nights, those long talks... Man, we really had something special, didn’t we? Too bad..”

Asha didn’t know the full story, but she knew enough. She knew Lucille, at least the little she’d seen so far, and she knew what someone wilting in front of her looked like.

She sat up straighter, tilting her head as she regarded the ex. “Huh,” she mused, her voice light but pointed. “That’s funny. You say ‘good times’ like they were mutual.”

The ex’s eyes snapped to Asha, as if just now noticing she was even there. “And you are…?”

Asha gave an easy smile, despite the slight tension in her chest. “Asha.” She took a slow sip of her drink. “You know, the person Luci actually chose to hang out with today.”

Lucille still hadn’t spoken, but Asha felt her shift just slightly—like she was breathing again.

The ex let out a bried laugh, though there was something forced behind it. “Right. Well. I was just being friendly.” Her gaze flicked back to Lucille. “No hard feelings, right Cille?”

Lucille blinked at her, expression unreadable. Then, finally, she moved. A small, deliberate shake of her head.

The ex sighed, as if disappointed, but she clearly wasn’t getting whatever reaction she wanted.

Then the batista called out an order,

"Mocha Frappe to go for.. Saera?"

“Hm. That's me, see you around, then.” She turned and strolled off with her coffee, her presence leaving behind an invisible weight.

The café felt quieter once she was gone. Asha looked back at Lucille, who was staring at her hands, still silent.

“Hey,” Asha said softly.

Lucille’s eyes flicked up.

Asha hesitated, not wanting to push. “You okay?”

Lucille was still for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.

Asha nodded with her, as if sealing the answer between them. Then, after a beat, she smirked. “So. Cille, huh?”

Lucille exhaled sharply through her nose. A laugh, just barely there. She rolled her eyes, but there was something grateful in the way she looked at Asha.

She was okay. Maybe not great. Maybe not even good. But she was okay.

"Well, for your information, I am not a vampire, I can go out into the sun." Asha changed the topic back to overcome the awkwardness.

"Whatever you say vampire.. I have my eyes on you.." she pointed at her eyes and then at me.

..Cute..

Lucille POV:

The café smelled like coffee and melted chocolate, the warmth seeping into Lucille’s hoodie as she sat across from Asha. She rested her chin on her hand, watching as the girl fidgeted with her cup, fingers curling and uncurling around it like she wasn’t sure what to do with her hands.

Cute.

Lucille had been watching her since they met, not in a creepy way—at least, she hoped not—but because something about Asha intrigued her. She was jittery in a way that made Lucille’s brain short-circuit, like she wanted to figure her out but didn’t have the right words to ask. So she settled for watching, observing the way Asha’s face flushed over the smallest things. Like right now.

Asha caught her staring and squirmed. “What?”

Lucille blinked. “I’m just trying to figure something out.”

Asha stiffened. “Figure what out?”

Lucille tilted her head. “If you’re a vampire.”

Asha choked on her drink. Interesting.

“W-what?”

Lucille picked at her pastry, completely unfazed. “Well, you’ve got the ears. The teeth. And your whole vibe is very ‘creature of the night.’”

Asha looked ready to either bolt or spontaneously combust. “Maybe it’s just a really good costume.”

Lucille hummed, unconvinced. “Maybe.”

A beat of silence passed. Asha was blushing again, and Lucille had the sudden, overwhelming urge to poke her cheek just to see if it got redder.

Instead, Asha spoke up. “S-so, Luci—wait, can I call you Luci?”

Lucille raised a brow. No one called her that anymore. She considered it for a second, then shrugged. “Sure.”

Asha nodded, visibly relieved. Cute. Again. “Cool. Cool, cool… So, uh, what do you like to do? Any hobbies?”

Lucille leaned back, stretching her arms over her head. “I like making weird playlists. And watching really bad horror movies. Like, the ones where the monster is just a guy in a rubber suit.”

Asha laughed, and Lucille felt something settle in her chest. She liked that sound.

“That’s… oddly specific.”

Lucille smirked. “Yeah, well. I contain multitudes.”

Asha rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “Alright, mystery girl. What’s the worst horror movie you’ve ever seen?”

Lucille barely had to think. “Oh, there’s this one where the vampire sparkles in the sunlight.”

Asha groaned. “Okay, yeah, that one’s bad.”

Lucille pointed at her, grinning. “Knew it. You are a vampire.”

Asha sputtered, turning an even darker shade of red. “That—! That wasn’t—!”

Lucille laughed, a quiet thing, warm and real. She liked this. She liked her. She wasn’t sure how to say it, though, so she settled for teasing her instead.

She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table, closer now. “So,” she said, eyes glinting, “if you were a vampire, would you tell me?”

Asha’s breath hitched. Lucille caught the way her fingers twitched against her cup, how her pupils dilated just a little.

“Uh,” Asha managed.

Lucille grinned. “That’s what I thought.”

Before Asha could combust completely, the bell above the café door chimed. Lucille didn’t think much of it—until a voice, sickeningly familiar, cut through the air.

“Cille?”

Lucille went completely still.

She didn’t need to look up to know who it was. The voice alone was enough to make her stomach twist, to send her mind back to late nights where she felt like she was screaming into a void, like her thoughts weren’t her own.

But she looked up anyway.

Her ex stood beside them, smiling like she belonged there, like Lucille hadn’t spent months trying to untangle herself from the weight of her presence.

“Wow,” she said, like she was pleasantly surprised. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Lucille couldn’t speak. Her throat felt tight, her body locked in place. She wanted to say something—anything—but the words weren’t coming.

Her ex, of course, kept talking. “You look good. Guess you’ve been doing well since… y’know.” She sighed, all wistful, as if remembering something fond. “We had some good times, huh?”

Lucille stared at her hands.

She could feel Asha glancing at her, like she was waiting for a response. But there was nothing. Just static in Lucille’s head, a quiet kind of exhaustion that settled in her bones.

Her ex kept going. “I was actually just thinking about you the other day. All those late nights, those long talks… Man, we really had something special, didn’t we?”

Lucille swallowed, but still, no words came.

Then, suddenly, Asha spoke.

“Huh,” she said, voice light but pointed. “You say ‘good times’ like they were mutual.”

Lucille blinked.

Her ex’s attention snapped to Asha, as if just now noticing her for the first time. “And you are…?”

Asha smiled, easy but sharp. “Asha.” She took a sip of her drink, slow and deliberate. “You know, the person Luci actually chose to hang out with today.”

Lucille felt something shift inside her. Asha wasn’t getting in the middle of it—wasn’t speaking for her—but she was nudging the weight off, just enough to make it bearable.

Her ex let out a short laugh, but it was thinner now. Forced. “Right. Well. I was just being friendly.” She looked back at Lucille. “No hard feelings, right Cille?”

Lucille met her gaze, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she didn’t shrink under it. She let out a slow breath, then gave the smallest shake of her head.

No words. Just that.

Her ex hesitated for a fraction of a second—just long enough for Lucille to know that, for once, she had control of the moment.

And as if saving her, the batista called out an order.

"Mocha Frappe to go for..Saera?

Then, with a huff, the girl turned and walked away.

The café settled back into its usual hum of quiet conversations and clinking cups. Lucille exhaled, finally feeling like she could breathe again.

Asha’s voice was soft when she spoke. “Hey.”

Lucille looked at her.

“You okay?”

Lucille was quiet for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.

Asha nodded too, like that was enough of an answer for now. A beat passed. Then—

“So. Cille, huh?”

Lucille exhaled sharply, a quiet laugh escaping before she could stop it. She rolled her eyes, but Asha was grinning, and somehow, she felt lighter.

After we hung out at the café, we exchanged numbers and went our separate ways.

The moment I got home, I threw myself onto my bed with a sigh. It had been a long day—long, but not in a bad way. My mind was still spinning from everything that had happened, from every glance, every accidental touch. From her.

I barely had time to let it all settle before my phone buzzed.

》Cillicule - Wyd?

A simple abbreviation. My lips twitched as I typed back.

》Ashanty - Nothing much, just laying down. You?

The response was instant.

》Cillicule - I'm watching a scary movie. It's about vampires, and for some reason, I thought of you. I wonder why that is.. Do you know?

I rolled my eyes, a warm flush creeping onto my face as I bit my lips and smiled.

》Ashanty - Oh, get out of here with that… Is that really why you texted me?

》Cillicule - Well… I actually texted you for something else.

That caught my attention. What could she possibly want to talk about?

》Ashanty - What is it? Are you good?

A pause. I could see the little typing bubble flicker, disappear, then return. Finally—

》Cillicule - I'm fine- it's just that my friends and I are going to a skating rink this Saturday. Are you up for it? I kinda… talked to them about you. We want you to come.

I stared at the message, heart skipping a beat.

She talked to them about me?

A strange mix of excitement and nerves twisted in my stomach. I barely knew Lucille, and now she wanted me to meet her friends? Was that normal? Did she talk about everyone this way, or was I overthinking?

The thought of being in public, in a crowd, in a place where I had to hide myself—it sent a pang of unease through me. But the idea of saying no? That felt worse. Of course I wanted to hang out with her, I'm nervous about meeting her friends, though.

》Ashanty - Sounds fun. Count me in.

I held my breath as I waited.

》Cillicule - Cool :) Can’t wait. It’s at ■■■■ ■■ ■■■ at 8 PM.

I exhaled, staring at the screen for a moment longer.

Tomorrow. It’s already happening tomorrow.

That realization made my stomach flip. I quickly glanced at the mirror across the room, groaning at my reflection. My hair was a mess, my eyes looked tired, and my mind was already racing with worst-case scenarios.

Would I be able to keep up the act? Would they notice something off about me? Would Lucille? What happens if she does? I wouldn't be able to handle her looking at me the way my parents did, even the thought is sickening.

I groaned again, burying my face into my pillow. I’ll think about it tomorrow.

For now, I just let myself enjoy the fact that Lucille had texted me first and let tomorrow me handle tomorrow's work..