Lilac was tired.
She'd just come out of a four-hour computer science exam, one of the most brutal she'd ever undertaken. She was fully confident that she had passed, so that wasn't the issue. It was just one of those exams that seemed to have more questions than possible answers. Her brain felt like it had jumped out of her skull and fried itself on the floor of the hot exam room when she finally turned it in. The GTA who was accepting the tests gave her a knowing, apologetic smile as he checked her ID, and as soon as she was cleared to go, Lilac slung her backpack over one shoulder and dragged herself to the outdoors.
She stretched as she walked out of the building into the 6 p.m. sunset, standing still as she stepped outside. She wrapped herself a little tighter in her coat as she pulled her phone from her pocket to call Andi; it wasn't too cold, but it definitely wasn't warm, either.
"Report?" Andi asked as soon as she answered the phone. It had barely even rung once before she'd picked up.
"Ugh," Was Lilac's response, and Andi hummed appreciatively.
"Brain off?" She asked understandingly. Andi had had an exam just yesterday, and she reported to Lilac with a nearly identical answer after a three-hour test.
"Brain gone, on the floor, fried with paprika and olive oil," Lilac sighed, her mind in shambles from even having to think of that sentence at all.
"Are you okay, though? For real," Andi said, a bit worried. She could hear the tiredness in her roommate's voice.
"I am. I just need a hug and a milkshake," Lilac said, heading as she spoke to the famous shake shop on campus.
"You headed to Amoses?" Andi asked. "Ooh, lucky." Everybody at school knew about Amoses. It was one of those family-style places that only had two locations, and one of them somehow ended up on a college campus. Anyone who came to visit or tour the grounds assumed that it was a lesser version of its off-campus partner, but students always set them straight. The quality of the milkshakes and the interesting variety of flavors made Amoses the most well-known dessert shop in about a fifty mile radius.
"I feel like I deserve it after that exam," Lilac said, and Andi had to agree. "I'll grab you an Apple-Pieberry?" Lilac asked, offering Andi her favorite specialty shake.
"I would die for a Pieberry right now," Andi gushed, "I already love you forever but I will love you for forever and an extra day for one." Lilac grinned, tiredly chuckling into the phone.
"Done," Lilac promised. "I'm getting a Mint Cookie Crush, coming home, and then I'm getting into bed and not getting out unless the fire alarm goes off." Andi chuckled, keeping Lilac company for a few more minutes until she arrived at the shop. Once Lilac hung up the phone she greeted Logan, a friend of hers and a graduate student who had TAed about six of her classes.
"Hey Logan," Lilac said as she walked into the shop.
"Ello, shortstop," He greeted her cheerfully, "Fancy seeing you here."
"Fancy indeed, it's been a little bit," Lilac said, not even acknowledging the nickname. He'd been calling her 'shortstop' as a joke since her sophomore year, since he managed to be over a foot taller than her despite her rather tall stature (he was also a baseball kid, so it made sense). "Andi says hi, by the way." Logan grinned a lopsided grin.
"Tell her I said hey," He asked, and Lilac promised she would. "D'you want the usual?"
"Yes please," Lilac confirmed, "And a Pieberry for Andi." Logan nodded, heading back to make their shakes. In the meantime, Lilac sat down at one of the tables in the otherwise empty shop. She'd completely forgotten that it was nearing half-past 6 during exam week at the end of November- it shouldn't have surprised her that no one else was here.
"Mint Cookie Crush for the lady in blue," Logan said as he finished her shake, pretending to call out to a bustling store. Lilac shook her head, depositing her backpack on the diner-style booth before standing up to get her shake from the counter. Hard at work, it wasn't long before Logan had Andi's shake done, and he set it on the counter as Lilac took a spoonful of hers, nearly melting in delight.
"You are magical," Lilac hummed as she took another bite. "There's no reason for it to be this good."
"Gotta practice," Logan said, tipping his work hat. "I've been getting into cooking and baking more recently, too." Lilac cocked her head.
"Why's that? I thought you said Sam actually preferred to cook for you," Lilac said, recalling one of the many stories Logan loved to tell about his wife (who had gone to culinary school).
"She does, but I want to make sure I can free her hands in the coming months," Logan said, his entire face lighting up. "We're going to have little feet running about in our house, soon. I need to be able to cook for more than just us two." Lilac nearly dropped her spoon.
"What! Logan, that's awesome!" Lilac cheered. "That's so exciting! What's happening with that?"
"Well, Sam is pregnant, but we're also adopting a child," Logan informed her, grin only growing as he talked about their plans for their future family. Lilac listened to him talk with a smile on her face, glad to see how much his eyes sparkled as he spoke. Logan and Sam had been dating for a year when she met him, and even then, he'd talked about marrying her. It was incredible to hear that they were ready to start a family, and cool that Logan was filling her in on that part of his story.
"I have a feeling we're going to be here a minute," Logan chuckled as Lilac leaned against the counter. "Sorry, I didn't even ask-" Lilac waved her hand, shaking her head.
"Don't even start with me, Logan Foster," She said. "Of course I want to know. I'm honored that you want to share it with me."
"I'll be sure to send you pictures of both kids, then," Logan promised with a grin. "But now I have some questions for you. Before that, though, should I freeze Andi's shake so it'll still taste the same when you give it to her?"
"Yeah, please," Lilac said, sliding the shake across the counter toward him. "I'll shoot her a text, too." Logan went to put Andi's shake to freeze, and Lilac pulled her phone out.
ANDERSONNY WITH A CHANCE
Lilakitu
Andiiiiiii
Im talking to logan and he's asking me The Questions
Andersonny with a chance
You're gonna be there awhile
Good luck lol I love logan
Lilakitu
Yeah and ur milkshake is gonna be here awhile
It's freezing rn but idk if you want it frozen
Andersonny with a chance
I honestly prefer it that way
It's cool
Ty for checking
Lilakitu
Of course
Glad it's not an issue
Andersonny with a chance
Not at all, have fun b
Tell logan he's free to pester you all he wants
Lilakitu
-_-
Andersonny with a chance
>:D
"What's the good word?" Logan asked, returning from the back of the store.
"Andi says you're free to pester me all you want," Lilac reported with a raised eyebrow. Logan clapped his hands, sitting on the counter, swinging his legs over, and dangling them off the front. Lilac sat on one of the diner stools, spinning slightly as she kept eating her shake.
"Okay, so," Logan said, and his eyes went from sparkling about his future dad-ness to sparkling with nothing but boyish mischief. "As you know, I am an avid Andiocracy fan. A pretty big fan of creators like Sapnap, GeorgeNotFound, and Dream, too." Lilac nodded- she did know. Logan and Lilac had first started chatting by virtue of being in the same class, but they bonded over their love of video games. Logan had asked if she liked Twitch, Lilac had mentioned some of the streamers she watched, and he'd lost his mind when she told him she watched them, too. Eventually, she told him that she knew them, and he was really cool about it, too, which is part of the reason Lilac liked Logan so much. She never had to worry with him.
"You are," Lilac confirmed.
"I also follow all four of those creators on Twitter, and I've been seeing them tweet more often at someone by the username of QueenofSpades." Lilac pressed her lips together to bite back a smile. She knew where this was going.
"QueenofSpades, I discovered, has a Twitch account and has a bunch of excellent streams that I loved every second of. QueenofSpades is extremely hilarious, like someone I know. QueenofSpades also happens to be your Steam username, Lilac, why didn't you tell me you started streaming?" Lilac laughed as Logan threw his hands into the air, shaking his fists like a cartoon character.
"I genuinely just forgot," Lilac said, shrugging as Logan gave her a 'seriously' look.
"You just 'forgot' to tell me that you've been flirting with GeorgeNotFound on the internet," Logan repeated, and Lilac choked on the last spoonful of her shake.
"I-!" She began to dispute him, but then she realized he was right. "-Am."
"Lilac, are you kidding me?" Logan said, his entire face dropping. "It's so adorable, every time you compliment George he blushes so hard. It's exactly what Sam used to do to me. I just cannot believe I had to find out over Twitch. And I had to text Andi." Lilac giggled.
"I've been kinda busy flirting with a Minecraft man on the internet," She laughed, "I forgot to tell you."
"So? Are you dating?" Logan asked, turning into a teenager as he asked that question.
"No," Lilac said, "But Andi actually got me to admit how I feel about him like two weeks ago, so that's a big step." Logan nodded, turning to slide back over to the employee side of the counter. He started making another milkshake as they chatted, which Lilac assumed was for himself, and he also pulled Andi's shake from the freezer, both of them aware that their conversation was wrapping up.
"This one's on the house," Logan hummed, hopping back over the counter and handing her both shakes, "And invite me to the wedding. I invited you to mine."
"Make sure you wear blue," Lilac said in response, not entirely sure if she were joking as she accepted the shake (another Mint Cookie Crush) with a grin. "It's both of our favorite colors."
-
Once Lilac had made it home, it occurred to her just how tired she was. Catching up with Logan was a blast, but the unexpected social interaction made her tiredness practically double. By the time she got home, she only had the energy to greet Andi and hand off the Pieberry before changing her clothes and collapsing into her desk chair.
"Still tired?" Andi asked from the comfort of her own desk, grinning. Lilac nodded, nearly delirious.
"Yeah," She said, pulling up Twitch on her computer.
"So why are you not in bed?"
"George is streaming," Lilac answered simply, rubbing her eyes. Andi hummed; that was answer enough. She returned to watching YouTube on her phone, and Lilac put on her headphones and pulled up George's stream as it was beginning.
QueenofSpades: hi george! Hi chat :)
Lilac grinned sleepily as George's voice flooded through her ears, greeting her. She laughed as she settled into her chair, sipping on the last of that second milkshake as she chatted back and forth with everyone in George's stream. The whole thing was only about an hour long- George had put in the title that it would be a short stream, as he had to go make dinner. Chat was floored that he was actually cooking for himself instead of ordering food, and he tried to wave them off. Lilac smiled, not able to help but think she was the reason for that.
Halfway through the stream, it occurred to Lilac that her idea of relaxing was ice cream and getting to see George. Her cheeks warmed at the very thought, and she had to remind herself that she'd already admitted her feelings for George to herself. She didn't have to hide from herself anymore, and that brought her an unexpected comfort.
Once the stream had ended, Lilac turned off her computer and slipped into bed. She had absolutely no intention of staying up any later, but she'd gotten a notification about 7 hours ago that George had posted something on Instagram and she wanted to check it out. Lilac seriously only intended to just like the picture and then leave, but then she saw the picture.
ACTINGNOTFOUND
Violet
oi
I gotta question for you
ActingNotFound
Yeah wht's up
*whats
Violet
**what's
ActingNotFound
-_-
I remember you being the queen of spades and not the queen of grammar
Violet
Proper lexicon is important George
ActingNotFound
Ask your question
Violet
What's it like waking up and being hot every day
ActingNotFound
?
Wouldn't you know?
Violet
Nah
I mean I put confidence on as an accessory when I'm feeling it
So i'll walk out of the house feeling cute
But to wake up and be an 11/10 every day???
crazy tbh
ActingNotFound
Can't believe you're flirting with me over text tbh
Violet
Sometimes it's brain off and make those decisions hours
ActingNotFound
Feeling alright? lol
Violet
Feeling veeeery honest
I think I'd be an honest drunk but i don't drink
ActingNotFound
It's okay, keep sipping on that tea, the british respect you
And you're honest when you're tired
That's nearly the same as being drunk
Violet
True
Accept the compliment please
ActingNotFound
What if i don't
Violet
I will be sad
ActingNotFound
Well we can't have that can we
Thank you
Violet
You are most welcome
ActingNotFound
So like are you drunk fr or
Violet
No sir i do not drink
ActingNotFound
you're actually just tired
Violet
ye
ActingNotFound
So tiredness makes you brave enough to flirt w me
Duly noted
Violet
Yeah ig it does
What would make you flirt w me though?? The people wanna know
ActingNotFound
Hmmm
Not sure if I'm drunk/tired enough to tell you
Violet
What if i say I'll be sad if you don't tell me
ActingNotFound
I would be sad if you said that
Violet
Well we can't have that
ActingNotFound
Certainly not
Violet
So now what
Do we stand at the crossroads of destiny forever?
Must we lie in pause for eternity, waiting for the question to be answered?
Shall we always live shackled to the chains of emotion?
Are we okay with being commanded by the unruly beasts of melancholy?
ActingNotFound
Lilac go to bed
Violet
okay goodnight :)
ActingNotFound
Goodnight :)