Supine 'til Aurora • Dan Howell

• Chapter 8 •

• October 14th •

"Daniel Howell?" Lis shreiked, alerting half the cafe's eyes to our table.

I tested my cheek on my hand, rolling my eyes at her. "Yes. But be quiet about it. This means a lot to me, so please don't tell anyone."

"I won't. I promise. You know I wouldn't do that, Ava."

That was true. I trusted Lis with all my secrets, and for as long as I'd known her, to my knowledge, she'd never let one slip. She was indeed very good at keeping my secrets.

"It's crazy to think about." She continued, taking a sip of her peach tea, "That you're friends with this person, who had achieved more by the age of 21, than we both have up 'til now, combined."

"Way to make us sound bad." Chuckling, I took a sip of my cherry and chili hot chocolate, feeling my insides warm immediately.

It was so lovely to be sitting in the warmth of this cafe with Lis, because although we lived quite close, we never seemed to have the time to chat and meet up. I technically saw Oliver more often than I saw Lis, due to Oliver's uncle being a travel agent; or atleast, according to him that's how he flew out here so often and got me the cheapest flights imaginable.

Thousands of delicate flakes of ice were still falling from the grey sky when we exited the cafe, and the snow on the ground had gotten significantly deeper, and now was way past our ankles. The roads had yet to be cleared, and so an eerie silence drifted over the surroundings. The crisp air heavy with the cold.

Usually, I'd have work on Sunday, but Addi was employing another staff member to take Saturdays, Fridays and Mondays, and so I was free today. She had let me know a few weeks in advance, and surprisingly, Lis was also free today. It had worked miraculously well for two people who's schedules always seemed to clash.

Due to the tram stations being inactive because of the snow, we had to walk back to my apartment. We had agreed Lis would stay for dinner; and we were going to make some spinach omlettes, because they were an obsession of Lis' and I had the ingredients to do so.

Eventhough the walk was only 15 minutes, we were rigid and numb from the cold by the time we arrived back, and Lis' ears had turned bright red. My hands felt completely raw, as I had forgotten to wear gloves, and so unlocking the apartment door took longer than it should have.
After fumbling with the keys, we bustled inside, warmth lapping over our tender skin.

Letting out a contented sigh as I flopped down onto the sofa, I picked up my laptop and logged onto Skype.

Danielllll

Would you like to
meet Lis?

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long before I got a reply , and soon, Dan's icon had popped up onto the screen, and I clicked on the green button for video call.

"Ava! How was lunch?"

"It was lovely. Lis is just making some tea."

Dan nodded, as Phil peaked his head round the side of Dan's laptop.
"Hello Ava!" Phil bubbled, grinning cheerfully at me.

"You're both probably getting sick of my voice, huh?" I hummed sheepishly, checking behind me to see into the kitchen to clock where Lis was.

"Not at all." Phil smiled, "You're awesome to talk to, Ava."

"Yeah. I'd ignore you if I didn't want to speak to you." Dan smirked, his dimple pronounced on his cheek.

"Thanks." I laughed.