The day started well. It proceeded well. And it would have ended well, too, if Annika hadn't crashed the afterparty at Castle Mirabelle.

"Emery!" Annika shouts from behind Emerynne as she flees to her room. "Please, wait!"

Emerynne does wait, only to say, "that invite was for Aunt Erika. I don't know why you came."

"How much longer will you keep doing this?" asks Annika, pleading.

"Until you realize that you're endangering not only yourself, but also me and Aunty," retaliates Emerynne, hating how her voice quivers by the end of it.

Just as she expects, Annika doesn't have any response to that. So, she heads into her room, slamming the door shut. Her eyes prickle, although the tears do not come. Emerynne changes into her pajamas, crawls into her covers, and waits as the house quietens for the night. When all is still, she sneaks out to use the washroom and freshen up.

Annika is right about one thing though; Emerynne cannot keep this up anymore. The toxicity is beginning to get to her. As thankful as she is to Annika for raising her and being the best parent, it really waters down to no value if she's going to chase after somebody like Johann Becker. And even if Johann has changed, that doesn't absolve him of everything he put the mother and daughter through – at least not in Emerynne's eyes. She will never forgive him. She will never forget his abuse.

By the time she finishes brushing her teeth, she has come to a decision. Annika is a capable adult and Emerynne has no say in her choices and life. However, Emerynne is an adult, too. An adult who has enough saved by now for a small apartment. She will move out first thing as soon as she receives the AFCC event bonus, which shouldn't be long.

Back in her room, Emerynne switches on her laptop and starts the Spotify playlist that Matthias shared – 'Porcupine Tree Fanboys'. On the browser, her search is 'apartments for rent in Hallstatt', and for more results, she searches the same in Obertraun.

The larger, more expensive spaces are immediately eliminated as options. That leaves Emerynne two places in Hallstatt and one in Obertraun where she can make the down-payment and move in. She copies the addresses in her phone and tomorrow being Sunday, she opts to go around and examine them in person. Quickly sending Noemi a message about it, she drifts off to sleep while awaiting her reply.

❧

The following morning, Emerynne walks to Noemi's, has breakfast kindly offered by Anne, and then the pair head over to the first address. It is a cozy duplex having four apartments – two below and two more upstairs – on Gosamuhl Strasse. The kindly landlady Josefine, lives in one of the apartments on the ground floor. She takes them to the to-let on the second floor, explaining that the structure has been in the family for three generations and is named after her late grandmother Franziska.

A single bedroom attached to a washroom, a compact drawing room, an open kitchen, and a sweet little balcony that looks out to the Hallstatt Lake, the bright and airy space is instantly Emerynne's dream. Noemi has to remind her that they have a couple more places to see and compare before making the final choice. After discussing the payments and terms of renting with Josefine, they move on to the next address.

Also on Gosamuhl Strasse, also lake facing, but cheaper, and the girls discover why. The seepage and fungus stains push it off the options. Thanking the nice owner, Emerynne and Noemi make their way to Obertraun. Fynn greets them at the docks; he and Noemi kiss. A brief flash of kissing Matthias last night crosses Emerynne's thoughts.

Fynn leads them to the Obertraun address. A block away from the Flow State building, it is in the more crowded part of the city. Containing a hall-type space that doubles as a drawing room and bedroom, an open kitchen, and a washroom through a narrow passage, it's enough for Emerynne's needs and quite affordable. Post a discussion with the landlord, the three friends head on to the bistro on Central Street to have lunch.

"Okay, guys," says Emerynne, "which one?"

"I liked Haus Franziska," Noemi voices, "I mean, it checks all the boxes – lighted, maintained, sweet landlady, cheap."

Fynn puts in, "I haven't seen the others, so I can't help you pick."

"The one here would make transit to and from work easier," Emerynne muses.

"It would," agrees Noemi. "But you'd be farther from me. And Matthias."

Emerynne considers it; Noemi made a good point.

"Matthias? The guy who took you home after the show yesterday?" asks Fynn.

"What the heck?" Noemi wears betrayal on her face. "How come you didn't tell me that? And that he went to your show?"

Sheepishly, Emerynne tries, "well, we haven't spent a lot of time together..."

"What the fuck is a phone for?"

"I need it to be personal," Emerynne reasons, "and I was going to tell you next week, when you come over on Saturday."

"Ugh, fine..." relents Noemi, relaxing in her chair. "You're right though. We haven't spent quality time together in a while..."

"Yeah. Oh, Fynn told me he invited you to the AFCC event. Why didn't you come?"

Groaning, Noemi massages her temples. "College things... I'm kinda swamped. Sorry I didn't make it to your show, guys. I really wanted to."

"It's alright," says Fynn.

"Hey, it's fine," concurs Emerynne, swiping a scone from Noemi's plate. "You still made time to help me today. So, thank you."

"Ah, I'm merely getting better at managing my schedule."

The trio wait a bit for the food to settle in their bellies, then Fynn walks them back to the boat station and with a kiss for Noemi, a hug for Emerynne, he bids them farewell. At Hallstatt, on their way to the Marketplace, Emerynne turns to Noemi, excited. "You know what, I can't wait until next weekend to tell you about this."

Noemi raises her eyebrows. "About what?"

"Matthias and I kissed."

"Ooooh!" squeals Noemi. "How was it? Wait, how'd it get to that?!"

"Okay, so, we've been together a lot, working on The Heartsease Effect and stuff," Emerynne begins, the reminiscence warming her, "and he's such an incredible person. Kind, sweet, and... perfect! I had a feeling that he liked me... like I liked him, and Amelie confirmed it."

And an exuberant Emerynne recounts to an enraptured Noemi the tale of how she invited Matthias to the event, how he brought a handmade bouquet of carnations, how she requested to be dropped home and he accepted, and ultimately, of how she built up the courage to ask for a kiss. At the end of it, Noemi asks, "so is it official? You two?"

"Um, I haven't thought much on that," Emerynne replies honestly. "I don't wanna pressure Matthias into anything... like, I'm good with whatever we have. I'm happy just... being with him, you know."

"That's the cutest shit I've ever heard. I'm really happy for you," Noemi says, drawing Emerynne into a sideways hug. "We can finally do that double date thing you'd planned. You, and me, and Fynn, and Matt."

Already looking froward to it, Emerynne exclaims, "a picnic! We should do a double date picnic!"

They plan the outing up until Emerynne sees Noemi off at the gate of her house. After exchanging a parting embrace, Emerynne sets off on the route to the Franke house. Sunset stains the horizon in vermillions and violets by the time she opens the gate and lets herself into the garden. Out of habit, she first checks the backyard, finding Matthias crouched in the vegetable patch, plucking tomatoes.

She calls to him, "Matthias. Hi!" His head peeks above the tomato plants, his face cracking the beautiful smile that Emerynne so loves. He waves at her, and she carefully picks a path to his side. "I can tell, these will be tasty," she comments. "Let me help."

They harvest all the red tomatoes together, leaving behind the firm yellows and little greens to ripen. Following that, Matthias ushers her indoors. As planned, they unpack and take stock of the prints and sticker sheets that came in from the printing company they'd sent their designs to. Emerynne dictates the details, which Matthias then feeds into the listings section of their Etsy and website's products page. Precisely when the clock strikes six, he launches the website and lets her click the button which sends their shop online. The two forward the links to their family and friends. Matthias inhales deeply and setting the laptop aside, he signs: The Heartsease Effect is now in business.

Emerynne claps, releasing the breath she was holding. "Yes! Oh gosh, oh gosh!" Full of nervous energy, a bodily furore that sets her dancing on the balls of her feet, she spews, "I'm super happy. But a tiny bit scared, too. And weirdly buzzy. Oh my gosh. I can't believe it! I co-own an art shop with you!"

Matthias's wispy laugh effervesces out, coaxing brittle cachinnation from Emerynne. She reaches for him, his hands grasp hers, fingers intertwining. A metallic ping! silences the duo. Heads turn to the laptop in unison; Emerynne bends closer to the screen. "It's our first order!" she announces, motioning to Matthias to come and see. "It's Noemi."

Another ping.

His fingers fly in his ebullience. Greenfaery95.

Yet another ping. Studying the notification over Matthias's shoulder, Emerynne cries, "that's Fynn! God, I love him!"

They watch the screen for a few more minutes, then Emerynne concludes, "three orders on the first day. Not bad." Straightening, Matthias faces her and nods in agreement. She wraps her arms around him, affirming, "not bad at all."

Delivering a celebratory peck on his mouth, she loosens her embrace. Matthias's cloudy brows bow higher in mild surprise, nevertheless, he recovers soon as Emerynne takes a step away from him. Between one heartbeat and the next, his hands grab her by the hips, and all she can do is gasp as he reels her into a kiss.

Emerynne gets past her initial daze; her fingers thread into his satiny mane, her body curves into his. Her heart is a more spirited dancer in her chest than she herself is in the studio. Her lips define his and the kiss is like a song so lovely that it brings her somewhere new. A paradisiacal sliver of space shared solely by them. An earthly morsel of ambrosia tasted only by them.

The kiss ends with them standing still in the moment, enfolded around each other, their foreheads pressed together. Emerynne's gaze holds Matthias's under the curl of his ivory lashes, and she murmurs, "you should kiss me more often."

In return, his lips capture hers once more.