THIS LOVE | shayne topp

1.05

   ELEANORE STOOD IN FRONT of the floor length mirror in the corner of her bedroom, making sure her outfit looked good. Wasn't too much, but not too dressed down either. Her hair was pulled back into a mid ponytail with a middle part, and her curtain bangs styled, framing her face perfectly with a light curl.

   She adjusted her white fitted long sleeve shirt before sitting on her bed and lacing up her white converse, letting her patchwork pants fall over them when she was done. Eleanore grabbed her bag, and walked out of her bedroom making sure to close the door behind her.

   Alyssa was sitting at the kitchen island scrolling through her phone while eating a bagel with cream cheese on it. She looked over at the brunette who was dressed and ready to leave the house, confused.

   "Where are you going?" Alyssa asked, putting her phone down on the counter while Sadie ran over to Eleanore and jumping up on her leg.

   Eleanore smiled down at the puppy while petting her head. "I'm getting coffee with Aaliyah." Her smile faded a little bit while putting the dogs front legs back on the floor and looking up at her roommate.

   "Aaliyah? The blonde girl from that show you were in, right? So Random?" Asked Alyssa. Eleanore nodded her head in response. She checked her phone for the time, which read '9:42'.

   "I better get going or I'm gonna be late. Well, I wanna get there early. We're going to that new place where your girlfriend just started at. I'll make sure to say hi if she's working." Eleanore said, grabbing her keys off the holder right by the front door.

   Alyssa nodded, "Ok, don't die and be safe! I'll text Mauve and let her know."

   "Bye!" Eleanore said, walking out the front door and locking it behind her. The drive there wasn't too bad as it was literally right down the road from their apartment building.

   It was a cute new place right on the corner of a neighborhood, being silent and away from the busy parts of the city. It was an exposed brick building with an outdoor hall of greenery leading to the front door.

   Inside of the coffee shop, the exposed brick was painted white and the ceiling was exposed as well with vines and plants hanging from it along with string lights crossing over above. There was a full bar, people sitting with their laptops working against the window, showing the main roads on the other side of the building.

   Eleanore caught sight of Mauve behind the counter, making a drink before she had caught sight of Eleanore. She waved at the darker haired girl with a smile, before turning back to the drink she was making.

   She was wearing a black jean jumpsuit with the olive green apron draped over it, tied in the back. Her short, red hair was half up half down, held with a small gold claw clip, matching the gold jewelry she had been wearing.

   Mauve called a name out while setting a coffee on the counter while a girl with short, brown hair, came up and grabbed it before walking outside. "Hey, Ella. What can I get you today?"

   "Um, can I please just get an iced vanilla latte?" Eleanore asked, grabbing her debit card out of her wallet.

   Mauve took a cup and started writing on it. "Is regular whole milk okay? Or you use skim, right?"

   "Yeah, I do. Thanks." Eleanore smiled at her. "Honestly, I'm glad you remember that because I completely spaced and forgot." The two girls chuckled together.

   Mauve shrugged her shoulders. "I always see it in the fridge at the apartment, but I know Alyssa doesn't really use milk often, and even then she uses oat."

   "I've never seen someone be so 'LA' before." Eleanore uses air quotes while laughing. "But she's also so humble, I literally love her so much."

   "I know. But yeah, she's great. And I'm also glad you're friends now. She's been kind of lonely in that apartment by herself. Your total today is $5.27." Mauve says while setting the coffee cup on the other side of the counter while her coworker grabs it.

   Eleanore sighs, "Really? Well, she's really enjoyed having the company of Loki and Sadie." She taps her debit card on the left bottom corner of the card reader, then put her pin into it.

   "Yeah, she loves that dog." Mauve laughs. "Alright, I have more costumers behind you but I'm coming over tonight so we can talk more."

   "Oh, yeah. Thanks. I'll see you later."

   Eleanore went and sat on a small couch in the corner of the cafe, setting her back next to her and taking her phone out of her pocket. She set the coffee down on the table, and waited for Aaliyah.

   It wasn't long of waiting though. Aaliyah cleared her throat while walking over which made Eleanore snap her head up. The blonde was smiling at her while Eleanore stood up. "Hey."

   Aaliyah pulled her into a short hug, before sitting down and Eleanore following her lead. She grabbed the clear, plastic coffee cup and took a sip from the straw. Aaliyah had a hot drink, taking the lid off and pouring a sugar packet into it before stirring it with one of the sticks.

   "You know, you don't have to talk about what happened if you don't want to. We ran into your friend, Laurie, during Vidcon and she didn't tell me much of what happened, just the basics which we already knew." Aaliyah said.

   They're just jumping right into it. Eleanore sighed and her face dropped. "She told you? I asked her to just leave it between the three of us." She started biting at her cuticles.

   "No! Well, I mean, kind of? When we ran into her, she more or less just asked us to be patient and give you time because you've been through a lot. We asked her if what we thought was right, and she just confirmed it. I'm so sorry."

   Aaliyah reached over and grabbed her hand that was sitting on her knee with a sympathetic look while Eleanore looked down at her lap. "We're not upset with you. We're just happy that you're communicating, you know?"

   Eleanore nodded her head, looking back up. "I almost didn't, but after I ran into Shayne first, I knew I needed to. I'm gonna talk to Damien soon, I promise. I promised him."

   "I know."

   They spent the next thirty minutes just catching up on what they've been doing work wise the past couple of years, avoiding the conversation of Sam and Eleanore. Aaliyah was dying to ask about it, but knew better than to ask.

   The two girls finished their coffees a little bit ago, just comfortably sitting in each others presence. The anxiety of talking to Damien was slowly slipping away the more Eleanore and Aaliyah reconnected, almost as if nothing ever happened to them.

   "Ok, unfortunately I do have to go. I have to pick up my dog from the vet." Aaliyah said, standing up. "But we need to hang out again soon."

   "Of course." Eleanore also stood up, hugging Aaliyah briefly. "I'll see you at some point. Just text me and let me know."

   "Yeah, definitely. Bye Ella!" Aaliyah put her bag over her shoulder and walked out. Eleanore noticed that she was standing with the same girl from earlier with short, brunette hair. The two intertwined hands and walked off together.

   She didn't think too much about it though, and walked back to her apartment after giving a brief goodbye to Mauve. Eleanore got back to her apartment, Alyssa not being their. She hung her keys up on the holder, and kicked off her shoes and put them on the show rack next to the door.

   Immediately, she plopped down on her bed, checking for any notifications she had, which there weren't many that were too important. Her day wasn't too bad. Now she had the confidence to text her brother finally, earlier confirming that she still had the right phone number, which she did.

   So, tomorrow is another day, and another person to reconnect with.