I took a poll among some of the HetaSquad on what Drabble I should write today... Most of them voted for one thing, but this needs to be finished before I start that particular Drabble (it might be more than one though, I haven't decided on a solid plot line yet).
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"It's really coming down out there." Lance commented as rain pounded against the window of the eatery. Shelby nodded, but otherwise remained silent as the two waited for their food.

The waitress brought out the deep dish pizza and made sure their drinks were filled, before leaving them alone again. Lance smiled widely as he served each of them a slice. "Ever had Chicago-style from Chicago?"

"Nah, never even been to Illinois." Shelby answered. "You?"

"Oh yeah, I go down to Chicago all the time for business meetings." Lance answered. "Plus I got a really good friend who lives there."

Hearing that he had friends outside Michigan instantly made Shelby think of the HetaSquad, and she glanced up in interest. "How'd you meet?"

Lance shrugged. "I don't actually remember, we've known each other... For a long, long time. Practically our whole lives. She's like family to me."

"Aw, that's sounds nice." Shelby smiled. Thunder rolled outside as the storm continued to pick up.

"It is." Lance nodded, a small smile on his face. Then, it fell quickly, and his eyes found the table. "She's been really helping me out lately through a rough patch."

Shelby frowned, looking at her drink as she swirled the ice around in the pop with the straw. "I wish I had someone like that."

Lance's head snapped up. Suddenly, the whole conversation he had overheard between Shelby and that other girl seemed to connect. "You... Wanna talk about it?"

Shelby raised a brow. "You wanna listen to me talk about my issues?" She asked doubtfully.

"It's a lot more tolerable with pizza." Lance stated, taking a fork and knife and cutting a bite.

Shelby pursed her lips. "My boyfriend broke up with me back in February." She muttered, her eyes miserable as she reached forward and grabbed the pepper flakes, sprinkling them all over her slice.

Lance frowned, "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay." Shelby shifted awkwardly. "It was my fault. I hid something from him, and when he found out by himself, he didn't understand."

Lance's brows furrowed. "That... Sounds like it isn't just you're fault though. He should have let you explain whatever it was at least, right?"

Shelby shrugged. "If I hadn't hid it in the first place, it wouldn't have happened."

Lance sat back in his seat, crossing his arms. "Kinda sounds to me like you're blaming the whole thing on yourself. For a boy that broke up with you." When Shelby gave no response, he pressed further. "Why?"

Shelby turned her head away slightly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Because I'm still in love with him." She muttered in a defeated voice. "Isn't that awful? He's gone, and he's the only thing I think about. It's like he's died, but it's worse because I know he's still here... Just not here with me." She sighed. "It's the first time I've ever missed somebody this much."

Lance glanced out the window sadly. Lightning cracked across the sky, and thunder shook the building. "I hear that."

Shelby looked up. "Yeah? With who?"

Lance shook his head. "You don't wanna hear it."

"Oh no, this isn't how that works." Shelby argued. "I can't share my issues and you not share your's. We're having a spill session, so spill."

"Fine, fine." Lance stated. "I recently stopped talking to my best friend. We had an argument about the election back in November, and we haven't spoken since."

Shelby stared at him in shock. "Dude I hardly call November recent. You haven't talked in 8 months?"

"I mean, he reached out on Thanksgiving, but I shut him down." Lance crossed his arms. "I know he's only doing it because he thinks it will boost his economy or whatever. He's so freaking pig-headed, it's sickening." Lance grumbled to himself.

Shelby's eyes widened as Lance stated something about his friend only wanting to boost his economy. It sounded like something she'd hear at a world meeting. She decided to play it cool. "How long have you two known each other?"

"Around 205 years. He took me under his wing after the War of 18-" Lance froze instantly as he realized what he was saying, and who he was saying it to, "wait-"

"So, you're a country." Shelby said defiantly, leaning forward and looking over his face. "That's strange. I can't recall ever seeing you at the world meetings before...but you do look weirdly familiar."

"Wait, you've been to a world meeting?" Lance's eyes widened. "Are you a country?"

"What? Oh, no, I'm a state. I'm Michigan." She explained.

"Oh, that's really interesting." Lance smiled. "Nice to meet you, Michigan, I'm Lance. But I guess I failed to mention that Lance is only my nickname." Shelby raised an eyebrow in confusion. "My full name is Lansing D. Huron. But most of the time it's Lance or, you know, Michigan."

Shelby stared at him. "Well, that's awkward."

Michigan nodded. "Yeah. So how do you know the countries then? And why do you tell people you're me?"

"Well... I sorta fell in love with one." Shelby explained. She pulled out her phone and opened photos, before passing it to Lance.

Lance took the phone and stared at the photo in disbelief. "That's my brother. That's America."

"Yep. Alfred F. Jones. My ex-boyfriend." Shelby stated, her voice defeated. "He had me tell the other countries that I was Michigan. He never told me why I had to lie, but countries like England and Lithuania have no idea I'm mortal, and it has to stay that way."

"Fair enough I suppose." Lance shrugged. "Just don't ever tell Oliver that you're Michigan, or he'll instantly know you're lying and rat you out to England."

"I'm guessing Oliver is your friend that you don't speak to anymore?" Shelby pressed.

"Yep. Canadian province of Ontario." Michigan stated.

"205 years of history sure is a lot to just drop over a stupid election that happens again in 4 years." Shelby observed. "What was the problem? He was mad that Trump was voted in?"

"It was more that Michigan's electoral votes went to Trump." Lance explained, rubbing the back of his head. "He got pissed because my population helped push him to win. He seemed to forget that I didn't personally chose to do that, and wouldn't listen to me after that. Things escalated a bit after that..." Tears built up around Michigan's dark eyes. "I miss him a lot. He's basically my brother, but I don't even know what to say..."

Shelby frowned. "Personally, I'd start with I'm sorry. Everything usually comes pretty easily after that."

"And what if he doesn't want my apology?" Michigan wondered miserably.

"Dude, if you two are as close as you say, I'm sure he will. He probably misses you just as much as you miss him." Shelby stated.

Michigan nodded slowly. "You're right." He looked up. "And I think you should talk to Alfred."

"No." Shelby shook her head. "He doesn't want to see me."

"Yeah? Let me tell you a secret. America can be a dumbass because he's such a young country, but he gets attached very easily. I don't know what you hid from him to make him so upset, but he's only upset because you mean so much to him. I bet if you talk to him about it, and explain everything really, reealllllyyyy well, so he understands everything, he'll forgive you and it'll be like water under a bridge. I know he's impulsive and brute a lot of the time, but a lot of people tend to disregard how quickly he can forget and forgive." Michigan finished.

Shelby smiled nervously. "You're right. I'll... See what I can do. Thanks Lance."

"Nah, thank you bud. You give good advice." Michigan smiled back. "Now, let's finish this pizza and get out of here. The storm's finally clearing up out there."

"Sounds like a plan." Shelby nodded. Now that she was a lot more comfortable, she was also a lot more hungry.

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And that's how fake Michigan and real Michigan met. They'll probably be together again in the future. I wanna do a chapter where Shelby meets Ohio.