The Shadows of the Universe | ✔️

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JOL CLIMBED OUT OF her window when the clock hit midnight. After a long day of being yelled at by her parents, it was time to go to the park. First, she traveled to the bakery downtown—if you could call it a downtown with how small their city was—which was only a five-minute walk away. There, she picked up a box of day-old donuts from the nice baker who worked the night shift. The donuts were warmed up by the nice man, and tasted delicious; Jol had a few on the walk back to the park.

She should've gotten two boxes.

When she got to the park, she didn't expect to see Aafia there. Only, she was, sitting in their spot and humming along to the playlist Jol had made for her. Jol smiled.

She sat down next to the girl, the wind whispering in her ears. She didn't say anything for a long time. Neither did Aafia. Jol shivered; she should've brought a coat.

She was still thinking when Aafia spoke. "What's wrong, Stardust?" She looked sad. Jol hated it.

There was another long period of silence, in which Jol finished the last of the donuts. Then, she stood. Aafia looked up at her.

"Well, are you coming?" She turned and started walking. She could hear Aafia scrambling to get up behind her. Jasper wanted to turn back and help the girl, but she knew she was supposed to be mad at her. She was good at being angry, good at holding grudges, so why was it so different with Aafia? Why was this one strange girl affecting her so much? She didn't know. Jol hated not knowing things.

Then again, Jol hated a lot of things.

"Where are we going? What's in that box? I didn't notice it before—" Aafia, as usual, was beginning to ramble. She sounded out of breath, like she was talking and jogging, which was something she'd do. Jol held back a smile.

"Aafia," she said, sounding more serious than she'd intended. Aafia stopped talking. Jol felt bad.

Aafia's steps grew closer. Jol slowed down a fraction, barely noticeable. Aafia finally caught up, her breathing heavy and her hair falling in her face from its ponytail. They continued walking, side by side, until they reached the bakery on the edge of downtown. It was a quiet place, decorated like it was the 50s, and was colorful.

They went inside, and Jol waved to Dan, the night shift baker that gave her the day-old pastries.

Dan raised his eyebrows and said, "Back for more already? Oh, and you brought a friend!" He looked at Aafia with a mischievous smile. "Is she the—?" he added towards Jol in a whisper that Aafia probably heard. Jol laughed and nodded.

"Dan, this is Aafia. Aafia, this is, well, Dan." Jol introduced them awkwardly. She didn't know why she was feeling awkward all of a sudden. Jol Nwani wasn't awkward, Jol Nwani was intimidating and mean and got angry at random inanimate objects that she bumped into. However, right now, she was feeling awkward.

Dan smirked at her, as if saying 'ooh Jolly's got a crush' in that childishly teasing voice he had. Jol rolled her eyes at him. Then, she looked over at Aafia.

Aafia looked even better in the brightly lit bakery, surrounded by color. Jol couldn't help but stare. Aafia stared back, as if drinking her in. Jol was doing the same thing. She couldn't help but drink in the thick curls falling in her face, loose and frizzy and everywhere. Aafia's curls were long and plentiful, though not kinky like Jol's. Jol let her gaze wander to Aafia's skin, let herself stare at the dark freckles and blemishes covering the girl's face. Then, she let herself look at Aafia's clothes, at the green sweater—a lime-green tank-top underneath—and vintage jeans she was wearing. Jol met Aafia's eyes, and she was a goner. The moment she looked into the honey-brown pools, Jol was found—and she hadn't even known she'd been lost. Aafia exhaled. Somewhere, Jol registered that Dan was leaving the room, but she was too caught up in the girl in front of her to care.

It could've been moments, it could've been minutes, but a crash from the back room finally brought them back to reality. Jol looked over, eyes wide and feeling like she'd been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. Dan came out of the swinging doors while holding two empty trays.

"Sorry, guys, just dropped some pans I was washing. You can... go back to whatever you were doing—" As if realizing what he'd insinuated, Dan blushed and ran out of the room.

Aafia looked at Jol. Jol looked at Aafia. They both laughed.

Dan came out a few minutes later with a white box that had the bakery's logo on it. Jol smiled at him. In the box sat many pastries that Dan said were all too old to sell but still good to eat. The left with smiles on their faces and sweets in their mouths. Jol called back a 'thank you' with jelly-donut-covered-lips.

They walked the streets of downtown, their box of goodies dwindling down as they ate up all the treats Dan had given them. They walked slowly, sometimes stopping at benches to look up at the clouded stars. They shared secret smiles and giggled as they continued along. When the box was abandoned in a trash can, they ventured back the way they came. Jol's hand brushed Aafia's. It kept brushing hers as they walked. Aafia finally grasped Jol's hand in her own, and Jol smiled.

They walked back to the park with their hands held tightly together. They were reluctant to leave for their respective homes once they got there. Instead, they walked around the park, hands still clasped and swinging back and forth. Jol looked over at the other girl and smiled.

Aafia smiled back.

She broke the silence by saying, "So, I have this really cute cat, and he's pretty grumpy—ya know, kinda like you?—anyways, grumpy cat likes to lay on my neck and hiss every time I move, it's so cute—" Jol laughed, more of a huff of air, and swung their hands. She listened to Aafia talk with a smile on her face, nodding along and paying attention to the elaborate and drawn out story about the girl's cat.

When they'd circled the walkways probably five times—with plenty of breaks to laugh and stumble and sit—Jol could see the sky getting lighter. She had to get home.

They hugged goodbye and promised to meet at the bakery the next night for more pastries. Jol walked home happy.