"It's no biggie, can we let it go now?" Veronica asks fiddling with the hood of her windbreaker.

"Can we let it go?" Odeta's dramatics carry on, ignoring Veronica's small, quiet request. "You come here, telling me you have a date! Out of the fucking blue! With new fucking hair! Without even updating the group chat!"

Veronica reaches down and pulls her feet out of the white chunky sneakers. Her hands find relaxation in combing the fuzzy white carpet in Odeta's room.

"I didn't think it was that important." Her brows furrow and she purposefully doesn't meet Odeta's eyes.

"An emoji would have been sufficient Veronica! That's all I'm asking." This is mostly Odeta trying to lift her friend's spirit since she could tell the latina wasn't exactly the most comfortable with the recent changes she'd decided to make.

"I'm iffy about it. I've never been one to suddenly feel weird after a haircut or something." Her hand simultaneously smooths back the new buttery highlights. "But I don't know, I don't exactly feel like me with this hair."

She would never in a million years even think to admit it, but it undeniably consciously had something to do with a certain someone who'd always preferred her dark long locks.

"I think you rock it. It goes fantastically well with your skin tone Ver. Imagine how hot you'd look with a dark lip." Odeta's eyebrows move up and down in an attempt at hyping her ridiculous hot best friend.

"Thanks sweets, you're a doll." Veronica bops her nose and her eyes move to the wall covered with pictures ceiling to floor.

Odeta Shaqiri was the most family-friendship oriented person Veronica knew. The people who surrounded her meant everything. It was a no brainer that photos of the most important ones, decorated her room.

"But you should really stop with the maraschino cherries. They're not meant to be snacked on, you know." Veronica's sing song tone makes Odeta drop the last stem on the carpet.

"I was going to make us Popped Cherries but you showed up here with so much new information that I cannot process without giving myself a sugar induced stomach ache." The jar in her hand was still filled with syrup to the brim and suddenly Odeta understood why these were so terrible.

"I think I saw some hummus in your pantry, come on, let's ease you down."

Spending time with Odeta always calmed Veronica down. She was the least judgmental person with anyone, especially Veronica who at this point felt like she could tell her everything without a second of doubt.

So when she'd agreed to go out Saturday night with one of the guys on her group project, she knew the first person to tell would be Odeta. Being honest, she didn't even know why her response was of the affirmative kind.

Jordan was cute but also actively aware of being the life of the party and however much she loved a confident man, a part of her wanted him to be a bit more laidback.

They'd eagerly agreed to catch a drive in movie, but Veronica never preferred movie dates. There wasn't much talking involved and she was the kind who was first to crowbar into someone's brain, heart and soul and converse about everything.

If they were up for it of course.

"Really? That kind of date?" Odeta's face scrunches up before she chomps down on her carrot. "Veronica, seriozisht I don't know if me eating more will help." Odeta had a habit of switching to Albanian whenever she was struggling.

"Shut up, have some water too." Veronica's celery is covered in hummus as she stares at it. "And right? Isn't it like weird? Totally not my cup of tea."

"Maybe I should have some tea." Odeta mutters conspiratorially, feeling sicker by the second. "But yeah, I mean I'm all for this Jordan kid though, don't get me wrong. Who knows, maybe you'll end up making charming comments during the movie and that'll only raise the sexual tension levels."

That only makes Veronica tense up. The whole purpose of agreeing to the date was to learn to take things slow. To not head dive to the deep end as much as she naturally wanted to.

She should be crystal clear about that with Jordan.

"Shit, I haven't even thought about that. I think I wanna test the waters first."

"Dip a big toe Ver, come on you're not getting any younger let's face it." Odeta whines, chugging down her second glass of water. Who knew she was this dehydrated?

"Shut up." Veronica smiles before rummaging throw the pantry for some crackers. Pita chips would go great with this dip, but Odeta had a rule about no sort of chips ever entering her apartment.

"Have I told you I'm proud of you yet?" Odeta feigns a false smile to humor her friend. "Cause I am. I know it's the thing we don't openly talk about, but going on a date is a huge step. You're actually freeing yourself from Ace."

Veronica's dimple pops out. "Going cold turkey." She agrees.

"Damn it Ver," Odeta slaps the counter top dramatically. "Now I want cold turkey!"

Laughs spill from Veronica's chapped lips and she doesn't offer Odeta any crackers, knowing the Albanian already mixed enough food. "Sorry mama."

She doesn't sound the slightest apologetic though.

"Bushtër." Odeta mutters. "So, what are you wearing? I could totally see him drooling over you in that yellow sundress we got together last week."

Veronica's eyes cloud with nostalgia and her smile wavers the slightest bit. "Yeah but," She hoarsely speaks before coughing. "I really wanna wear jeans. It's getting colder at night and you know I'm a sucker for a fun top!" She cheerily offers.

Sundresses on a first date were overrated anyway.