When I wake up in the morning, all the lights in the living room are still out, the sole source being the faint sunlight peeking through the not fully closed shutters. I search blindly for my phone and my shoes, but I only find my Samsung A30 sitting at the coffee table. The time is already seven-thirty.

I get up and go to the kitchen. Alex is there, sitting at one of the chairs and holding a spoonful of cereal with one hand and his phone with the other. I mumble a "good morning" but he doesn't respond. A discreet glance at his phone confirms that he's swiping through pictures of him and Sofia.

I open the fridge and fill a cup with water. Only when I close the fridge door does Alex take notice of my presence. He shudders, dropping his spoon on the table. He blindly reaches for it again, only to grab the bowl and tilt it to the side. Milk and soggy Lucky Charms scatter around the table and his clothes.

"I guess I'm not a morning person," he mutters.

"Why are you up so early?"

"Olivia was snoring, again. I told you we should share the bed and let her take the couch."

Yeah, as if it would be easy to sleep next to you when I'm spewing lies in every sentence I say.

"Will you wait for me? I was thinking we could go to Parfait together. You're working this morning, right?"

My jaw drops but I manage to talk. "Alex, are you sure?"

He nods. "Yeah, yeah. I have to talk to Kal. The sooner the better." His eyes fall at the table and his freckled nose wrinkles. "I should probably clean this."

"Go change, I got it."

Alex looks up at me. "Thanks, Summer."

I hold my breath until he's gone. Sighing, I cut some paper and wipe the cereal away from the table before going over the stains with Kleenex.

I go back to the living room and frantically look around for my shoes, until I remember I took them off in Alex's bedroom last night. Tip-toeing in the room so as not to wake Olivia up, I spot them beside the bed. My bottom hits the floor as I plop down to put them on.

"Are you ready?" Alex asks from the door. "Did you eat? Do you want any clothes?"

Glancing down at the shirt I've been wearing since yesterday morning, I nod. "I suppose I could use a clean shirt."

Alex skips to the drawers and pulls out a previously neatly folded graphic T-shirt. "Here you go."

After I change into it, we make our way to Parfait and I can't help but wish the road never ends. The sun is out, creating soft oranges and pinks in the light blue sky cut only by ash-grey clouds. Alex and I walk to the shop together without exchanging any words. Every few steps, I steal a glance at him, only to see him gazing at the pavement with his hands in his pockets. When we reach our destination, I come to a halt. Through the windows I can see Kal is already inside, wiping the tables.

"Are you sure about this?" I ask Alex, hoping he might regret it and go back to his house.

He's not one to confront people, and for once I don't want to see him do that. At the same time, though, I know he should.

"Yeah, I am," he mutters. "Are you going to come in, too?"

"I have to work so..."

"Right. Ugh...I won't raise a commotion, I don't want to cause you any trouble."

I give Alex a weak smile and I push the door open. Kal looks up from the table he's wiping, freezing when he sees Alex next to me.

"Al, I..."

Alex crosses his arms. "You kissed my girlfriend- I mean ex-girlfriend. Go on."

I wince. "Guys, can you go in the kitchen? The customers will start coming any minute now and...this is not the right place for you to..."

Kal's gaze shifts to me. "Are you going to be able to do all the work on your own?"

"Don't worry, I won't take much from your precious time," Alex says as he makes his way towards the kitchen with Kal following behind.

I hate seeing them like that, yet I know there's nothing I can do about it now, except give them the privacy they need.

Even if I wanted to eavesdrop, I'm not able to. Between sweeping the floor and making coffee, the only time I'm close to the kitchen is when I hand out change and receipts.

Alex lied when he said he wouldn't be long. They've been in there since eight, and as of now, it's nine twenty-two. I catch glimpses of their conversation, phrases like "I never thought you would do it", "Why didn't you ever tell me?", "Yeah it would have made a difference, of course, it would have!" and hushed "I'm sorry"s.

Alex comes out of the kitchen with a red face and tears streaming down his cheeks. Without saying a word, he storms out of the shop and I'm left staring at the door.

The smallest kid from the family I'm attending to pouts. "Why is he crying?"

Long story, kiddo.

Kal comes out wiping his eyes but wearing a smile. "Hi, how can I help you?"

The mother frowns at him before turning to me. "This isn't very professional."

The father nods. "Yes, I suggest you don't take nap breaks while at work, young man."

I let them ramble a little more until they finally pay for their ice creams and leave.

"You should take a break now, sorry for letting you do all the work," Kal mutters.

"It's okay." I wince. "How did it go?"

Kal falls on the stool behind him and shrugs. "It's safe to say we'll never talk again."

"At least you came clean about it."

The boy glances at me. "So that means you didn't tell him you knew?"

I nod. "I couldn't. I want to, but also wish I can avoid it forever and..."

Kal smiles momentarily. "I know." None of us speaks for a while. "You know, you could just never tell him you knew."

I don't have the chance to reply as a few people from school walk in and each wants another kind of coffee with a combination of syrups, and then that old mister who keeps hiding he's eating sweets from his wife comes by so Kal convinces him to try the stevia cake and after that a lady with her very indecisive little boy stop by to order his birthday cake, leaving me scribbling and crossing ideas for hours while Kal does all the work.

"Hi, what would you like?" I hear him say to a girl who's staring in the direction of the chocolate-based flavors.

"How about a picture of you on the cake, sweetie?" the lady asks the kid, who flares his nostrils and crosses his arms.

I refrain from shaking my head and throwing the page I'm writing on in the air. It's cake, all that matters is the taste, not what kind of silly design there is on top.

"Anything else?" Kal asks.

"I was wondering if you would like to go out with me."

Huh?

"Uh... I'm seeing someone, sorry."

From the corner of my eye, I see the girl staring at him wide-eyed. If she can't believe he could be seeing someone who's not an imaginary friend, same.

"That explains the hickey," she mumbles. "Well, they're lucky."

"I'm luckier."

Wait, is he actually seeing someone?

"Hey, young lady!" The woman says, snapping her fingers. "I said, Vincent, wants an oreo cake with Spongebob S-"

"I want The Lion King now."

"The Lion King is it is! Square, chocolate with caramel sauce and medium size. Just like we discussed. Perfect choice." I say in a chirpy voice before any of them can think of anything else. "Mrs. May will have made it by Saturday, don't worry!"

The lady hesitantly takes her son's hand in hers and walks away, glancing back at me as she makes her way out. I wait for her to step outside in agony, and when she does I'm ready to break out in Snoopy's happy dance.

Just as I'm about to pour some water for myself, I feel Kal's arm wrapping around my waist, pulling me to his side. I frown at him, but he ignores it.

"Yeah, that's her!" he says in a chirpy voice.

"Aw, you guys are cute!" says the girl who's still standing opposite the cash register, her lower lip jutting out as she bats her light brown eyelashes, bringing my attention to her baby blue eyes.

Is Kal blind? The girl is nowhere near ugly.

"No, she's the cute one," Kal replies with a chuckle.

What in the world...

"When did I miss that?"

My head turns to the door. Kate is walking to us, her blonde hair falling into perfect waves just where her crop top ends.

"Well, I should get going. Bye, cuties," the customer girl says and waves goodbye with her free hand, her other holding an ice cream cone with liquid dripping on her fingers.

Kate skips to the cash register with a smile. "Okay, I have to know. How long has this been going on? Don't tell me it's because I dared Summer to eat your neck. That's so cute!"

Kal lets go of me. "Oh, we're not dating. That girl asked me out and then wouldn't stop asking to see pictures of me with my girlfriend and since I don't have one..." He glances at me. "I recruited Summer." His teeth sink on his lower lip. "Sorry about that."

Kate squints. "So you're not seeing anyone?"

Kal nods.

"Okay, awesome!"

Excuse me?

The blonde girl walks behind the counters, where Kal and I are. "Is it okay if I hang out with you guys? I came here for ice cream but I could use some company if you're okay with that."

"Sure," Kal says. "What flavour did you want?"

Kate waves her hand. "Surprise me," she says, sitting on a stool. "Okay, I have to ask, since you said you like reading. Have you ever read anything by John Green? I tried making Sofia read The Fault In Our Stars but she only watched the movie."

Kal freezes. "I have read all his books!"

Turning back to Kate, I see her smiling from ear to ear. "Finally! I meet a true fanboy, I thought these didn't exist!"

Kla chuckles. "I finally meet a girl who doesn't think I read John Green to get girls."

Finally! I found the motivation to clean the floor!

I get up and go to the storage room, get the broom and get to work. Unluckily enough for me, it's two PM, meaning the work has died down. I'm done sweeping quickly and still, Kal and Kate are talking about someone who has a fetish for girls named Katherine. I grab the mop, hoping that by the time I'm done with that the conversation will be over.

No luck. Kate stays until our shift is over, and even then she isn't done talking about some kind of paper towns. I silently thank God when we take separate ways to go home, feeling for once grateful it's Kal with whom I'm stuck.

As we're walking under the scorching sun one thought comes to mind.

"Hey, you're not limping anymore," I notice. Kal doesn't say anything. I snap my fingers. "I said, you're not limping anymore."

He turns to look at me for a moment. "Yeah, I took out the bandages a few days ago."

I lightly slap my forehead. "Right, you were in the ocean." Peering down at his knee, I notice thin white jagged lines across it, contrasting his tanned skin. "It looks like a chicken clawed you."

Kal shrugs. "That's not far from what happened."

I want to ask him about it and why does he keep saying a different story every time, but we're outside his house and he bids me goodbye before running inside. Shrugging, I continue my way to mine, the thought of the cool air from the air conditioner bringing my temperature back to normal the only thing keeping me from not melting in a puddle on the pavement.

When I get back, though, I don't get the chance to relax. Alex is taking up one of the sofas and watching TV with Eliza.

His eyes fall on me as I close the door behind me and he cracks a smile. "I brought lasagna, are you ready for a movie marathon?"

Which could be rephrased as: Are you ready to lie to my face and pretend you're an amazing friend for seven hours straight?

I'm not, but I do it anyway.

.....

Thank you all so much for 1k reads :D