She's an absolute terror for absolute territory...~

Aria leaned back in her chair and hummed along to the music in her earbuds. Damn, this song was a banger. She might have to show it to Blyke or something.

Unfortunately, her jam session was interrupted by a notification. She leaned over and paused the song; her eyes lit up as she realized it was a text from Isen.

Wanna get some ice cream w/ me and the squad?

Aria stood up, phone in hand. It wouldn't take her long at all to get ready. meet in the courtyard?, she texted back, not bothering to check if she'd spelled anything right.

Her phone buzzed again as she put on a fresh shirt. She turned the screen on, amused to find that the conversation now went like this.

mee t n the vourtyatd.?

GOOD LORD
Yes, I think

youre so dramatic

Ari, I could barely read that

(She was not thrilled at the fact that he called her Ari, and she definitely did not have to take a moment to compose herself after she read it.)

but yo read it :)

She left the conversation there. Isen knew her typing well enough by now; she was sure that he'd understood it. She put on a jacket and some boots, and then she was off.

~

"If she takes any longer, I'm going without her," Blyke grumbled.

Remi nudged him with a huff. "Well, I'm not."

Isen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, c'mon, man. Just have a little patience."

His red-haired friend gave him an incredulous look. "You? Patient?"

Before Isen could respond to that, Aria came into view. She was jogging towards them, boots clicking on the ground. "Sorry! Had to change," she explained as she got closer.

Isen was a little distracted by her crop top. Specifically the way it highlighted her... six-pack abs?? He'd known she was buff, but damn.

Luckily, Remi saved him from saying anything dumb. "I don't think we've met," she said with a smile. "I'm Remi."

Aria's eyes flickered to her. "I'm Aria," she replied with a lopsided grin. "Isen's told me about you."

"Oh, really?" Remi gave him an amused look. "What has he told you?"

She contemplated that. Isen assumed that she was deciding what would be the most embarrassing, but she just said, "Not too much, honestly. A few stories here and there. You're a good friend."

Relief flooded through him. Ari could have said something much worse than that.

Blyke, apparently craving sweets, cut in, "Let's talk over ice cream."

Aria nodded fervently in agreement. "I'll drive."

"I don't see a problem with that," Remi shrugged. Isen agreed, and Blyke did the same. Aria led them to her car—a little red sedan that she kept surprisingly clean—and they were off.

~

Nobody saw a problem, but apparently, they should have.

See, Aria was just a tad bit risky with her driving. Especially when there was food involved.

In her defense, she toned it down a bit given the other people in the car. It wasn't her fault they weren't used to "bobbing and weaving through traffic like she was playing Frogger," as Isen had put it.

On the plus side, she shaved a whole minute off the trip, according to her GPS. That was one minute closer to ice cream.

Anyways, the ice cream place itself was uneventful. It was busy, but not packed; they didn't have to wait very long. Isen ordered mint chocolate chip, Blyke and Remi both got the cookie dough, and Aria decided on the rainbow sorbet.

The real fun was the conversation that came next.

"I heard you get stronger if you eat," Blyke started. "That true?"

Aria ignored him, digging into her sorbet instead. Food didn't ask awkward questions. Well, not usually.

Thankfully, Remi scowled at him. "Blyke! That doesn't matter."

"Oh! I just remembered-" Isen clapped his hands together, a grin spreading across his face. "I got my hands on some verrry interesting information."

Blyke shot him a suspicious look. "How'd you find it?"

"Not important!" He leaned forward and spoke in a lower voice. "I heard that they're bringing back the triple chocolate cake tomorrow."

Aria nearly spat out her ice cream. "They're what?!"

"If I find out you're lying-" Blyke threatened.

Isen gave him an offended look and hissed back, "I would never lie about something like that, dude. The cake is sacred."

Remi nodded solemnly. "That cake is divine," she agreed. "And I've still gotta get Arlo back for last time."

Ah, yes. The time they fought in the middle of lunch. Aria remembered thinking, "Really? You're fighting over a cake right in front of my salad?"

Instead of voicing that, she just asked, "Any chance you could save some for me?"

"No way," Remi replied. "I would say sorry, but you know how it is."

Aria sighed. "It was worth a try."

"I'll get you a slice," Isen offered. 

Blyke gave him a strange look, which Aria barely noticed. She leaned forward, excitement shooting through her veins. "Really?! Thank you!"

Isen averted his eyes, cheeks going a little pink. Blyke elbowed him and whispered something, which made him turn even redder.

Alright, that's it, Aria thought. I'm taking this boy on a date.