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Danny couldn’t remember how he used to do this.
But some things, he supposed, would never change. Because April offered him a smirk and said, “Chel’s down by the beach. So if we want to go back to my room, we can.”
She always did that. She would always use the word we . He used to really like it, because he was under the impression she chose the word intentionally, hoping to let him know that they were a we .
But they weren’t we anymore. They hadn’t been for a long time.
When she looked at him, awaiting his answer, Danny nodded, sort of clumsily and the next thing he knew he was following her up the stairs.
And this sinking feeling started to grow in his stomach. He’d convinced himself it was anxiety. He hadn’t done this with her, with anyone in a long time. There was a type of intimacy to this he wasn’t sure he was ready to experience again.
April sure seemed ready though. Because he blinked and suddenly the door to her room swung open and she stood inside as she looked back at him expectantly.
She misinterpreted his hesitation to enter. “It’s not bugged. I’d say I checked but then I’d be lying.”
Danny blinked at her.
“We don’t have all night! Come on!” She shifted her weight to one side as she placed her hand on her hip.
He frowned slightly as he stepped through the threshold, his brows pinching together.
It felt strangely symbolic in a way.
Crossing through a door he didn’t trust, to a person who wasn’t sure he knew anymore, into a room he didn’t feel comfortable in.
He felt like he was nineteen again, preparing himself for something he wasn’t sure he wanted.
She turned away from him as she took off her earrings and he desperately tried to avoid the mirror. He very awkwardly sat down on the nearest bed and watched her as she adjusted her lipstick, which he felt might have been a little pointless but it was her prerogative.
She looked the same. Like exactly the same. Maybe even better. Perfect edges. Glowing skin. Vibrant eyes. A dress that perfectly complimented her figure and exposed her collarbone, which Danny used to always find exciting for some reason.
He knew for a fact he looked like a different person, like a broken person.
Saying his hair was unkempt was an understatement. And the mullet had not been intentional but it had happened nonetheless. At least he’d actually shaved before she’d picked him up. Nerves had forced him to actually look at his face when the razor was in his hand. He suddenly became very aware of the fact that his button up shirt wasn’t tucked in right and it didn’t fit him the way it used to.
“Did you know you haven’t blinked in like thirty seconds?”
He jumped. He’d been too lost in thought to realize she’d sat next to him.
“God, you’re so jittery. Take a breath. We’re just gonna makeout and then you know. We’ll go from there.” She smiled at him with a glint in her eye.
He offered her a crooked grin back but it was forced. His leg bounced up and down.
She placed her hand on his knee and his movement stilled. “Don’t be nervous. I mean, I get being nervous because, who wouldn’t? Look at me. But it’s like riding a bike. You don’t forget this kind of stuff. It comes back to you.”
“It’s different now.” He managed.
“Not that different. Here. I’ll prove it to you.” She leaned in and Danny’s adrenaline spiked. He knew he had a split second to make a decision. But usually, in these split seconds, these scarily familiar split seconds, he didn’t always feel like he could.
Not to mention, her lips were right there.
And he wondered if his memory of her matched reality. If her lips were just as soft and delicious as he remembered them being.
He met her halfway.
In a fraction of a second he came to the conclusion she was right. It did come back to him.
His hands found her face. Her hands drifted up his legs, his thighs, to his shirt and then up to his neck.
He experimented for a moment, willing his lips to mold against hers as he pulsed slowly.
It was nice. It was really nice actually.
Between the adrenaline and the pleasant sensation of their mouths pressed against each other Danny very quickly remembered why this was so fun.
And he also remembered how to make it more fun.
It was like she’d been waiting for it specifically. Patiently indulging him until he showed the initiative. And then as soon as he parted his lips and tried to force his tongue into her mouth, she beat him to it.
He made a noise of surprise and then another as she tugged at him forcefully, maneuvering him to angle more towards her.
He grabbed at her, lost in the pleasing feelings she brought. Her hands cupped his face and the kiss escalated to a tempo they both had to fight to keep up with.
And then for a moment, he imagined more calloused hands on his cheeks. Yet somehow these calloused hands were more gentle. If he let his mind wander further, he could taste the ghosts of a strawberry chapstick. And his hand darted upwards, away from her middle to her freckled cheek-wait.
Wait .
He pulled away and had to own up to the disappointment when he realized April was underneath his hands and not-
Hands were unbuttoning his shirt. And then lips were on his again.
“I-I can’t-“ he choked out.
Immediately, April backed away and Danny almost thanked her, because finding the courage to stop her had actually been scarily hard.
“Oh god,“ she looked upset, but not at him. “I’m sorry. I thought-“
“No it’s-it’s fine. I mean I-“ Danny faltered and stood, needing to get away from her. “I came up here.”
“But if you didn’t want to-“
“I wanted to,” he interrupted. “At least, I thought I did.”
It was quiet for a moment.
“I’m sorry.” He exhaled.
“No. Don’t apologize. We-we can just talk. Or if you want to go-?” She faltered.
He swallowed thickly, because if he was honest with himself he did want to talk.
But with someone else.
He wanted to see June more than anything. Because he felt like he was moments away from crying. And he just wanted to hear her voice. He wanted to see her comforting smile and feel her hand on his arm and-
“Danny? Are you okay?” She was keeping her distance, thankfully, but she did take a hesitant step towards him.
He nodded even as he fiddled with his watch.
“Not just like, right now. Are you okay? In general.”
He didn’t say anything.
“I haven’t seen you since you left. In fact I haven’t talked to you since you left. And yeah, we wanted to staycation in a small town but part of the reason I chose Haven was because I thought maybe I’d run into you.”
Danny raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t misinterpret that. I don’t want to get back together,” she said quickly. “But I do like you. And I was worried when you dropped off the face of the earth. I thought maybe you were doing okay, because you’re here with your mom and your sister and you actually have friends, which is cool because back at school you pretty much only had me. But you look like everything is falling apart around you again.“
“I’m confused.”
“Confused?”
“No, that’s not it.” He shook his head. “I’m trying.”
“Okay. Trying is good.”
“I just can’t do this.” He gestured to her. “I’m not-I don’t want to. And I got scared. Because I think this is the first time I’ve ever stopped anyone from-“ he faltered, not wanting April to know the rest of what he’d been about to admit.
She nodded, understanding even without the rest of his sentence.
There was another moment of silence.
“Do you want me to drive you home?”
“No,” He said immediately.
That would be too embarrassing. He was already embarrassed enough.
“You’re gonna walk? Oh, right. You’re a man. You can walk at night without fear for your life.”
Danny didn’t have the heart to chuckle, but he offered her a small smile.
“You still have my number right?”
He made a face. He’d deleted it in what he refused to admit had probably been a manic breakdown.
“Give it.” She held out her hand and waited.
“I don’t have a cell phone.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That's hard to believe. What if your sister needs you? Or your mom? Or Juniper Jones ?”
Danny’s heart skipped several beats at just the name alone.
April looked at him as though she knew something he didn’t. Or rather, something he was currently in the process of discovering.
He wasn’t happy about it, but reluctantly, he handed her his stupid little flip phone. He didn’t really have much choice. Arguing with April never ended well for him.
“Oh my god,” she muttered to herself as she examined it.
“It’s a burner,” Was all he said.
“Mmmhmm.” She typed on the tiny buttons with distaste evident all over her face. She handed it back to him. “Text me when you get home.”
He nodded.
She looked at him, really taking him in. Danny squirmed under her gaze.
Her sharp eyes displayed a rare glimpse of softness. Maybe it was sympathy. Or affection.
Whatever it was, Danny didn’t think he liked it.
“Take care of yourself, okay?” She kissed his cheek very sweetly, her lips lingering for a moment.
He tried not to blush. “You too.”
“Oh, I will.” She assured him immediately, her moment of vulnerability already frozen over.
She offered him one last smirk before she closed her door and that was the last he saw of her.
It was a cruel irony.
There was no way that the girl Danny had gone out on a date with last night, was currently sitting in a booth in her mother’s restaurant.
June had done a significant amount of online stalking. She had no doubts. It was her. With the same dazzling smile, the same dark and perfectly smooth skin, the same voluminous curly hair that was braided back and the edges that perfectly framed her face.
She watched as April laughed with the girl across from her, blonde and tan, and tall.
June didn’t used to think she was a jealous person. She didn’t have reason to be jealous of anyone else.
She had great parents, great friends, a good job, a nice place to live, not to mention the fact that she had an extremely magical, extremely dangerous replica of the Master Sword.
She couldn’t think of anyone else she knew that had a magic sword. But she found that, at that moment, she didn’t care about her sword.
She cared that this beautiful, sword-less girl had gone out with Danny. And she had no idea why it made her so angry. Because just the thought of it really did make her furious.
So furious that she was one second away from grabbing her sword and taking her frustration out on the nearest tree.
“Hey, bug? You fall asleep standing up?” Her mom appeared from behind, and squeezed June’s arms. “I don’t think those girls have been waited on yet.”
“Can-can you do it?”
“What’s wrong?” Naomi asked, immediately sensing something off about June’s demeanor.
“It’s just-they’re-I mean look at them!” June’s shoulders slumped. “They’re really pretty.”
Naomi put a hand over June’s. And June realized she’d been about to snap the pencil in her grip. “And so are you. Listen, if you’re worried about them being catty, pretty girls aren’t always mean. Look at Cassie!”
“Cassie can be mean sometimes.”
“Yes but only to people who are mean first!” Naomi argued.
June kept her mouth shut.
“If they’re snippy to you, come get me and I’ll take care of ‘em. But my eggs are burning, so just get their orders and go from there?”
June sighed. Her mom didn’t really leave her a choice. She ran into the kitchen. June fidgeted with the string of her apron as she slowly trudged towards the booth.
With every step, she noticed some other gorgeous feature on both of them. With every step, June found herself wishing she was walking in quicksand.
June was disgusted at herself and disgusted at the way the beginnings of hatred were boiling up in her insides.
She didn’t even know this girl. It was ridiculous to hate someone she didn’t even know.
Also, June wasn’t sure if she’d ever hated anyone in her whole entire life. And she really didn’t want to start now. Especially for reasons as stupid as this.
And so suddenly, with every step, she swallowed those feelings down and prepared to make the first move.
“Hi. I’m June and I’ll be your server this morning. We’ve got a special on pancakes. I don’t know what it is off the top of my head but I’m pretty sure the board right there has all the details. Also, your edges are really beautiful and you both have really nice smiles.”
April blinked and for a split second June imagined a snarl spreading across her beautiful features, but instead she smiled.
“Thanks! By any chance, are you Juniper Jones?”
“I-uh-yeah.”
“Wow, you really do look just like your mom.”
“Oh. Well, I-I didn’t used to. I used to be blonde-“
“I know.”
“You-you know? I’m sorry-we haven’t-we haven’t met, right?
“We might as well have. I feel like I know you already.”
“How-?
“You know Daniel Torres, right?”
June nodded, not trusting herself to speak at the current moment.
“We went out last night and he could not stop talking about you.”
“About me?” June tried to gesture to herself but almost stabbed herself with the pencil.
“No joke, I think he spent about ninety percent of the evening talking about you.”
June had no idea how to respond to this.
Her first thought was that she was a topic that wasn’t risky for him. Talking about his mom and his sister were too personal. Monster hunting was a secret. And work was the same thing every day. So naturally, June was something he could discuss without much risk involved.
June realized she had been quiet for too long.
“Sorry,” she managed, not quite sure if that was the right thing to say but also not quite sure what there was to say.
April waved her hand. “Eh, it’s fine! I’d rather hear about you than cold cases.”
June remembered what Danny had said about getting his number blocked by a date in college because he’d talked about murders the whole time. She chuckled without really meaning to.
“He likes you a lot.” April commented, neutrally.
“Really?” June scrunched her nose up at that. She knew that he considered them actual friends now, but this was still somewhat hard for June to believe. “That’s nice to know. Sometimes I worry that I’m a little too much for him. I-I can be a lot.”
“Yeah, and I think that’s what the man needs.”
June shrugged. In all honesty, she just thought Danny needed more friends. And he sort of had that now. Between her and Amara and Vera and Ezra, June was sure the guy had more company that he wanted.
“What can I get for you both?” June brought her pencil up to her pad, ready for this conversation to end.
April narrowed her eyes at June.
“Do you not like him too?” She asked.
“Of course, I like him! He’s one of my best friends.”
“I guess I just felt like this would be bigger news to the girl Daniel Torres couldn’t shut up about. Unless it’s a one sided thing. I just didn’t think he’d be so head over heels if he was the only one simping.”
June blinked, and for a second, she could have sworn Cassie was sitting in front of her. This girl had the same energy. Blunt and wise and always speaking like she knew something June didn’t. In this case, June actually didn’t know what she was saying. “Sorry?”
“I mean the man wouldn’t even let me kiss him.”
June felt something swell up inside her at that. Some kind of relief mixed with confusion mixed with horror at the thought of Danny and this beautiful, perfect, dazzling girl swapping spit.
“Well, Danny’s pretty awkward about those kinds of things and he’s not really-“
“Okay, that’s a lie.” April interrupted. “We kissed but it was short lived and he didn’t seem all that into it.”
June got the urge to curl into a ball and sob a puddle around herself.
“And last time we went out, we made out. In fact, that was how we spent a majority of our time together. He was much more palatable when he wasn’t talking,” April remembered.
“Oh my god,” June squeaked out, feeling like she was either going to throw up or punch a wall. Or both, one right after the other.
The other girl, who had been silently watching, noticed this and must have kicked April from under the table because April spared a glance at June and then immediately recognized what she was saying and who she was saying it to.
“All that to say! The guy’s down bad.”
June blinked.
April blinked back. “Like-he’s whipped, if you know what I mean?”
“I-I don’t.” June admitted, somewhat nervously. Admitting to Danny that she didn’t understand something wasn’t embarrassing. Or admitting to Amara or Vera or Ezra or Cassie or even Althea. But asking this incredibly accomplished and beautiful woman what things meant was downright humiliating.
“The guy’s got it for you.”
“You’re speaking in riddles to me. You might as well be speaking another language.”
“I do speak three languages.” April smiled, and it was a dazzling one.
“Three?” June exclaimed, much louder than she intended to.
“English, Spanish, and French. Well, I’m not fluent in French but I can hold a conversation. I want to study abroad there but the French are so mean. They can spot an American speaking French just from the first syllable.”
“You’re being kinda braggy,” her friend murmured.
“Oh! Sorry. Chel here speaks four!”
“That’s not what I-“ Chel began.
“English. Spanish. Portuguese. And French. We learned French together.”
June’s self esteem, which was already so low, dipped deeper and buried itself into the ground.
“So, your orders?” June asked, her voice much higher than normal.
“June,” Chel began, refusing to let her change the subject. “What April is failing to articulate is that this Danny guy wasn't interested in her, because he’s interested in someone else.”
“And you’re trying to say that the someone else is me?” June could feel a laugh bubbling in her throat.
April nodded, seriously, even though there was a glint in her eyes.
“No. That’s not-no.” June shook her head and she could feel her hair tickle the back of her neck as she did so. “People don’t look at me like that.“
Both April and Chel made faces at this. Faces, June couldn’t interpret.
“What do you mean?” April asked, one eyebrow raised.
“Well,” June’s toes curled in a little. She twisted the eraser top on her pencil. “I mean, look at me.”
She spread her arms and looked down. Underneath her apron, which was double tied around her waist, she wore a plain t-shirt, and denim shorts that used to be high waisted until she grew. She was too stubborn to throw them out, because they still sort of fit so why would she?
Her, too thin to do anything special with, hair was pulled back into a messy braid that hung limply down her back.
She hadn’t filled in her brows today, so they were blonde and barely visible and she hadn’t even bothered with foundation so all her current blemishes were out in the open for all to see.
April and Chel both gave her a once over, their eyes slowly trailing from her face to her feet. June tried not to squirm under their gaze.
Figuring she’d just blurt out what she knew they were thinking, June opened her mouth. “I’m not very pretty.“
“Woah!”
“Hey!”
“And I’m not that smart.” June added.
“Don’t say that!”
“No!”
“And I-“ June was ready with loads more when April held up a hand and interrupted her.
“What is with all the negative self-talk?”
June just shrugged.
“That’s it. Sit down.”
June did not sit down.
“Sit!”
June jumped and then immediately sat across from her, next to Chel.
“Why don’t you think you’re smart?”
“I’m talking to two girls who know five languages between them. You’re both working on your Masters! You’re like geniuses! And I just learned what the word incapacitated meant like five weeks ago!”
“Comparison is killer.” April said, immediately.
“Not to mention, there’s nine different types of intelligence.” Chel added, matter of factly.
“Just the fact that you know that and I don’t proves-“ June began.
“I refuse to believe that you don’t excel at multiple of those nine!”
June pulled on her braid and avoided Chel’s gaze. “Well that’s sweet but-“
“Okay. I didn’t sit through an hour of speeches about Juniper Jones just to hear her say she’s not smart. You wanna know what Daniel said?”
June’s eyes snapped up to April at that, her fingers still tightly gripped on the end of her braid. She didn’t react or respond.
April took that as her cue to go on.
“He said you see the things others don’t pick up on. He said that you find the not so obvious solutions. That you approach things head on, which means you usually have to think on your feet. When you first try to solve a problem and it doesn’t work, you try again, undeterred. That sounds like one real smart gal if you ask me. Like a girl who finds the road not taken and sprints down it.”
June was rarely ever speechless, but her jaw fell open a little.
Had Danny really said those things about her? Obviously April was embellishing some. She had to be. But-but still, she had no idea that Danny-
“And what’s this about you not being pretty?” Chel’s voice snapped June out of her thoughts. “You’re gorgeous! Your hair perfectly compliments your complexion. Not to mention makes your eyes pop!”
“And look at your freckles! Do you know how many girls would kill to have those freckles? I’m one of them. I’d kill to have your freckles!” April gestured to the spattering of freckles across June’s nose and cheeks. “And, god, you’re like the perfect little size!”
“And look at your arms! You look like you could crush a watermelon in between your bicep and your tricep!” Chel commented.
“And I’m not gonna peep because that’s gross but I have a feeling you could crush a watermelon with your legs too.” April winked at her and June couldn’t help but frown a little, confused as to why that was a good thing.
“Thank…you?”
“I hate that you see yourself in such a negative light.” April’s tone was sincere and she looked at June in a way she knew wasn’t pity, but it sort of felt like it. Except, it didn’t make her feel bad. It made her feel seen. So, maybe it wasn’t pity. Maybe it was empathy.
“I just know what my strengths and weaknesses are, that’s all.”
“No, girls don’t have weaknesses.” April said without missing a beat.
June laughed at that, which made April smile. Chel rolled her eyes.
“It seems like you don’t have an accurate perception of yourself,” Chel commented.
“I-I mean there’s things I think I’m good at! And other things I know I’m bad at.” June argued.
“It’s not about being good and bad at things. It’s your sense of self. I mean, do you like yourself?”
“Woah, that’s-that’s a tough question.” June said instead of answering.
Chel and April exchanged a look.
“What are you doing after your shift?”
June’s plan had been to change into pajamas the second she got home, put on Hello Dolly, and cry. But she couldn’t say that.
Instead she just shook her head, wordlessly and shrugged.
“What’s it gonna take to convince you to spend the day with us?” April smirked in a way that suddenly made June feel like this was exactly the kind of girl she wanted to be friends with.
“You-you-you want me to spend the day with you? Aren’t you here on vacation?”
“One of the many joys of going on vacation is the people you meet. Chel and I met on a trip to Barcelona.”
“Barcelona?” June asked, before she thought better of it.
“Found out we were getting our Masters at the same school and next thing you know, we’re roommates,” April explained.
“Huh.” She and April were way more alike than June realized. Because even though June had no idea where Barcelona was, that definitely sounded like something June would do.
“When do you get off?” Chel asked.
“After breakfast. I was just filling in for someone. I don’t really work here. I just kinda sub to help out my mom. I work at the bookstore.”
“Oh my god! We were gonna go there tomorrow! One of the touristy things to do, you know?” April winked at June.
“I’m working tomorrow.”
“Then we’ll have to come visit!” Chel smiled, warmly.
June smiled back at both of them.
“We were planning on going thrifting after we eat. We’ll wait for you so you can come too! I think you’re in dire need of some self-confidence, and one of the best ways to start is an outfit that makes you feel killer.”
“Okay,” June nodded, her chest feeling warm. “I’d really like that.”
“Now what is up with the service here? We’re freaking starving. You have any idea where the waiter is?” April teased, her eyes sparkling kindly.
June laughed and stood up as she wrote on her notepad. “Pancakes coming right up.”
“I see why he likes you.”
That was the first thing April had said to her since they’d stepped inside their room. Chel was already asleep, sprawled out on top of the fully made bed.
June had just draped a blanket over Chel, her back currently to April. June felt a little uncomfortable with her tone. She sounded sad.
And June suddenly wondered how fair it was that she didn’t want April to date him, but she couldn’t even begin to handle the thought of dating Danny herself.
She was just like all those annoying girls on those popular dramas with the mindset of ‘ I don’t want him, but I don’t want anyone else to want him either .’
“He doesn’t like me in that way.” June said, matter of factly.
“He does. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
June turned to her. She was sitting up, slouched back against the pillows as she took off her shoes.
“If you asked him out again, I’m sure he’d say yes.” June dug her nails into her palm.
“Yeah, he might. But he wouldn’t really want that. And I wouldn’t either. Listen June, Danny’s a great guy. And I see the appeal. Any girl with control issues takes one look at him and can’t help but fall prey to the I Can Fix Him mentality.”
June couldn’t help but frown. What did that mean? And what was there to fix? Danny was Danny. Awkward and weird and sometimes a little rough around the edges but he was a good son, a good brother, a good teammate, and a really good friend. She didn’t see what was so wrong with him?
“Not to mention he’s so tall. You could climb him like a tree. What am I forgetting? Oh! His hair. That’s a full head of hair. There’s no way he’s gonna go bald, that hairline is the opposite of receding.”
June controlled her breathing. She hated every second of this conversation. It felt weird to talk about Danny like this, with a girl that June knew openly liked him.
“Then why won’t you-?”
“Well, for one thing, I live in a different state. And I don’t want to jump into a long distance relationship with a guy who refuses to own a cell phone. Plus, we’ve already established he’s a cutie, but he’s not the same guy he was at school. I’m starting to think maybe he never really was that guy. We wouldn’t be good fits for each other. I’d make him feel bad and he’d make me insane. And I’m not gonna chase after a guy who clearly has the opportunity to be with someone better suited for him.”
April gave June a knowing look. One that made June’s cheeks flush. It was too dark in the room for April to see that though, something June was grateful for.
June kept her mouth shut. She didn’t see how she was better for Danny than April.
“Don’t look at me like that.” April scolded, fondly.
“And don’t look at me like that! Everybody keeps saying things about me and Danny and it’s all very confusing! And I don’t understand why it’s so confusing.” June’s eyes felt wet. She cursed herself. She knew she should just stop talking but suddenly it was all spilling out. Now that she’d been stupid enough to open the gate, the flood was rolling in.
“Because I don’t look at people that way. Everybody always talks about kissing and boyfriends and girlfriends and it doesn’t make any sense to me. A relationship is just a friendship with other gross stuff added in! And I’ve got a lot of really great friends. Danny is one of them. But it’s different with Danny. I-I want him to like me more than anyone else. And I want him to want to hang out with me more than he wants to hang out with other people. I want him to think of me when he sees something pink or buys lemonade. I want him to laugh when I say something stupid so I say a lot of stupid things. I want to wear his hoodies and I have one of his hoodies but it doesn’t smell like him anymore and it’s not the same. And I want him to hold my hand with his freakishly large one when we walk next to each other. But-but I do those kinds of things with my friends and I don’t know why Danny makes it different but he does! And I kind of hate it. Because-because I don’t get it.”
There was a hand on her wrist. April pulled her down and next thing June knew, she was sitting in the bed, next to April, while she rubbed comforting circles against June’s back.
June blinked furiously and willed her eyes to dry as she and April sat in a vulnerable but comforting silence.
“I have been kind of presumptuous, huh?”
“I dunno what that word means,” June mumbled, wiping her nose with her fingers in an undignified way.
“I’ve been making a lot of assumptions. About you and Danny.”
June didn’t say anything. She could see April thinking out of the corner of her eye.
“You know, it’s okay to have a crush. And it’s okay if it feels a little bit scary.”
“I’m not scared. I don’t get scared. I’m mad. I’m mad because I don’t understand it.”
“It’s also okay if you don’t understand it. It’s not something that makes sense, in here.” April tapped June’s forehead with her pointer finger. “What matters is how it feels, here.” She placed a hand over June’s heart.
“It feels confusing.”
“That sounds about right.” April brought her hand down and wrapped her fingers around June’s knuckles. “Okay, June. Forget everything. Does spending time with Danny make you happy?”
June nodded.
“Then follow that. Literally that’s all you should be doing right now. Following that feeling. Don’t make it into something it’s not. Don’t overthink it. And don’t worry about it. Understand?”
June hesitated for a moment, wanting to make sure she really did understand before she confirmed. “Understood.”
“Just do one thing for me?”
“What?”
“If things don’t work out between you and Captain Conspiracy, do me a favor and let me know so I can slide into your DM’s.”
“April!” June laughed. She shoved her away, playfully.
“Mmm, I’m only half-kidding. You’re a catch Juniper Jones! I’d be lucky to get left on read by you!” April winked at her and June rolled her eyes. “Oh, wait do me one more favor. Bring me that trash can and leave it by my bed? I’m gonna throw up in it later.”
When June placed the small bin by the head of the bed, April was already out and June was alone with her thoughts.
It had been stupid to think the walk from the inn to the coffee shop was short enough that she’d be fine. She was not fine.
She’d woken up at the foot on April’s bed in everything she’d worn last night. Boots, coat, hair clips and all.
Her jacket was better than nothing, but she shivered violently as she trudged through the snow. She was sort of grateful she only had her pink boots with her because they were doing a pretty good job of protecting her feet from the slush.
She tried to distract herself as each of her limbs went numb, thinking about last night and how fun it had been to be that version of herself.
When she strolled up to the Coffee Shop, she glanced in the window and the first thing she noticed was that she had been smiling widely, despite the fact that her lips were sort of blue.
Then, she actually saw herself. Really saw herself.
Her foundation was somehow still clinging on, but she looked a little oily. Her cheeks were ridiculously red, partly because of the leftover blush but mostly because of the temperature outside. Her eyeliner was a little smudged and without the false eyelashes to compliment it, it looked a little crazy. The mascara on her bottom lashes had also smudged and so she had black circles under her eyes. Her lips were still stained red, but were dry and chapped and not at all pleasing to look at. Her hair had lost its curl and instead had vague waves that definitely needed to be brushed out. And her bangs, actually no, her eyes darted right over bangs, not willing to even glance at them.
She shuddered and swung the door open. This was why she didn’t look in the mirror. Or any reflective surfaces.
The familiar bell rang out through the air, and she was met with Danny, standing behind the counter, staring at her. Which meant he had been staring at her as she’d been staring at herself.
June blinked, now thankful that her cheeks were so red because it covered her blush.
Danny blinked back.
She held up a shaking hand and wiggled her frozen fingers in greeting. “Hey. Sorry about that I just-I hadn’t seen what I looked like today. And, needless to say, it’s rough.”
“What-?” Danny faltered, as his eyes trailed from her blue lips, to her ridiculously furry pink coat, and her silly pink go-go boots. “What are you wearing?”
“What I had on me when I passed out last night.” June answered. “Let’s get right down to business, Daniel. Can I have two black coffees?”
Danny narrowed his eyes with the hint of a smile gracing his lips. “Are you hungover?”
“Actually, I’m not!” June answered, loudly and cheerily, which was proof enough that she wasn’t. “I went out with April and Chel last night. I was their Designated Driver! The coffees are for them! They’re still at the inn. I crashed with them last night.”
“You-you went out with April?” Danny looked disgruntled, and more so than usual.
June nodded as she eyed the bakery pastries.
“How do you even know her?”
“She had breakfast at my mom’s place and we started talking and next thing you know-“
“You’re best friends. Should have known.” Danny finished.
“I wouldn’t say best friends. Chel is her best friend.” June corrected, innocently. She shrunk a little when she saw the frown on Danny’s face. “Oh sorry. I didn’t think-I didn’t think it would be an issue if we hung out.”
“It’s not.” Danny answered quickly, almost sharply. “Why would it be?”
June shrugged.
“See. No issue.” Danny turned away from her and started making her drinks.
June hopped up on the counter and pulled out her phone. She scrolled through the photos from last night. She’d posted her favorite of the hundreds that they’d taken on her instagram, one of her and April outside the bar. April had tugged June’s coat half off her shoulders so it hung around her, in a way that sort of reminded June of Cruella Deville. But it did look good in the picture, so June had to admit she understood the vision.
And as she stared at the girl who stood next to April, with a beveled foot, a popped out hip, she almost didn’t recognize herself. But at the same time, she did.
April had brought out a part of June she didn’t even know she had. It was a version of her that was different, yet unchanged. Freer and looser and ready for new kinds of challenges. Not the types of challenges that could be won with a sword, but the kind that could be won with heart.
This was why she liked strangers so much. Who she became around strangers helped her discover who she was when she found that sometimes she still didn’t know.
And she couldn’t very well like someone she didn’t know.
But this girl June stared down at, with brown curly hair, and pink boots, and a wide smile, well, June really liked her.
And April was the one who’d started to help her realize that.
“Well, well, well.”
June snapped out of her thoughts when Demi’s voice rang out throughout the shop.
“June’s here. That’s a surprise.”
They appeared from the kitchen, in the process of tying on their apron.
“I wonder who she could be here to see.” Demi sauntered past Danny, their dreads swing against their back as they offered Danny a knowing look.
“Shut up.” Was all Danny said.
“Ooh. Someone’s in a sour mood today. Somehow more so than usual.”
“Hi, Demi.” June waved, ignoring whatever the heck was going on between the two co-workers. She was used to it at this point.
“Jones! Your fit from last night,” They made their way in front of the counter and suddenly saw how she was dressed. “And I guess the fit right now. Impeccable. Who dressed you? Because I love you so much but there’s no way you chose that outfit on your own.”
“My friends April and Chel.” June answered, kicking her pink go-go boots from where they hung off the counter.
“I don’t know them. Why don’t I know them? They have a fashion sense like that and I don’t know them?”
“They’re not from here. They’re visiting Haven before starting the spring semester of their Masters programs. April used to go to school with Danny!”
Danny looked up sharply at that, and glared at June.
“Okay oops. Sorry, I didn’t know that was sensitive information,” June mumbled.
“Everything is sensitive information around them.” Danny jerked his head towards Demi. Demi just rolled their eyes.
“Take your jacket off for one second,” Demi ordered, ignoring Danny.
June did what they said and was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t feel any kind of chill. It was warm in the shop and as her jacket slipped off her shoulders she remembered how much she liked this outfit.
It was not something she would’ve picked for herself, but April and Chel did a good job finding something that felt like her.
A long sleeved, form fitting, black turtleneck, and a black mini faux leather skirt, paired with pink tights to go with the pink boots she already had, and the long fluffy pink coat she also already had.
She held her arms out sort of awkwardly as Demi brought a hand to their chin. They were deep in thought as they took in the sight of her.
“You’ve got to wear more skirts,” Demi began. “The fact that you have legs like that and don’t know how to show them off is baffling to me.”
“April said that too! I don’t get what the deal is with legs.”
“Daniel does.” Demi turned to smirk at Danny. “Isn’t that right, Danny?”
June followed their gaze.
Still behind the counter, with a cup in his hand, Danny stood and stared at her lower half, with an expression she couldn’t read.
When Danny realized he’d been caught, he shoved his head downwards, bringing his attention back to his task, and tried to hide the flush spreading across his cheeks.
“Haven’t you already clocked in?” Danny snapped. “Shouldn’t you be stocking something? Or doing literally anything, anywhere else?”
“Be nice, Danny,” June scolded.
Danny huffed out a breath and June could tell he had to actively restrain himself from grumbling at her.
“We’re going out again tonight. I just invited Cassie. Wanna come with us?” June asked Demi, as they walked back behind the counter.
“Hmm let me think about it, yes! Give me the time, the place, the dress code and I’m there.”
“Yay!” June threw her hands up in the air and jumped excitedly.
“I’ll see you tonight,” Demi winked at her, before slipping back into the kitchen.
June sat back up on the counter and rested her jacket on her lap.
“I don’t understand how you walked here in that,” Danny muttered, glancing at June quickly before averting his gaze again.
“Just from the Inn!” June defended.
“Still.”
A silence fell between them.
Danny worked. June hummed to herself.
She thought about what April had said last night, about following her feelings, and not worrying about anything else.
Right now, she felt comfortable being alone with him, even when they weren’t saying anything. But June wasn’t very good at not saying anything. So, before she could stop herself she jumped up and started running her mouth again.
“Oh! Oh! I wanna show you something! Listen to this!” June positioned herself directly in front of him and stood as straight as she possibly could. “Soy una mujer fuerte, segura y hermosa.”
Danny blinked. “Do you even know what you just said?”
“Do you think I would say something if I didn’t know what it meant? Don’t answer that,” She added quickly. “April and Chel taught me.”
“Oh.”
“And I taught them how to throw a punch!”
“ Oh .”
Silence overtook then again, and suddenly June didn’t feel as comfortable as she had before. She had thought Danny was going to smile at that or chuckle and shake his head fondly, but he hadn’t really reacted at all.
“Here,” He interrupted her thoughts as he slid three cups across the counter. “Two black coffees and a hot chocolate.”
“I didn’t order a hot chocolate.”
“I know.”
June tried to meet his eyes but he was wiping some other part of the counter with a towel, his focus on his task.
“Thanks, Danny.”
He shrugged.
June slipped her coat on and reached to grab the drinks.
“Don’t try to carry all of those without a holder.” Danny said, plopping a drink holder down next to the cups.
“I wasn’t going to.”
Danny’s eyes snapped up to hers. He was smirking, one eyebrow raised.
That had been a lie.
“Well, now I’m not going to.”
Danny chuckled, softly. And June smiled, pleased with herself for finally getting him to laugh. She really liked it when he laughed.
As soon as she opened the door, the cold assaulted her. She groaned as she immediately started shivering. She tightened her grip on the cardboard holder, willing the warmth from the drinks to spread to her fingers.
She opened her mouth to tell Danny goodbye, when she saw his eyebrows pinched together. He looked concerned. June didn’t like that. She liked when Danny’s features were loose and gentle and just on the edge of a smile.
“Alright, well, if I freeze to death on the way back to the Inn, I want you to remember me as I was.”
She paused for dramatic effect.
“Loud.”
Danny laughed, one of his actual genuine laughs, and June’s heart burst. With the warmth that was now spreading throughout her, she found she wasn’t worried about the cold.