When Lily told the girls the bad news, they weren't shocked or surprised at all. After getting ditched almost every time by her boyfriend, they got used to it and had expected this to happen already.
Normally, girls would dwell on one topic due to it being an unpleasant experience. This group of girls was quite the opposite. Instead of focusing on whose fault it was, they immediately forwarded texts to their friends to see if they were interested in joining the Anime Convention.
Lily stood there feeling extremely guilty for the last second change of plans while the girls brushed it off since it wasn't her fault.
"Girl, we've heard enough sorry from you. The person who should be apologizing isn't even doing it, so why are you saying it? Don't feel bad. We got together as a group to attend the Conventions together and to do photoshoots together anyways. It's no biggie. Only thing that may go to waste would be the money you spent, outfit and ticket." Suzy said as she logically explained to Lily to make her feel less bad.
Zanilla spoke as she sucked on her raspberry flavored lollipop, "Yeah, yeah. Don't stress over it. We know that not many people would get into cosplay like that. The reason why we asked was that we felt like we've been taking up your time with him."
Another girl from the group spoke up as well, she said, "Eh, we don't hold grudges, but if you mind it so much every time this happens, you should really have a talk with him. Communication is the key to a relationship."
Although the girls are saying all these words, Lily still felt like she had really let them down. They weren't close friends. Rather, they are more like the meet and greet type of people who share a common interest and gather for events so that they wouldn't attend it alone.
These girls knew their own boundaries and wouldn't say things that are too personal, which was one of the reasons why Lily had decided to join them. They were more understanding compared to other girls these days who rants about the tiniest things that happens.
"Thanks. I'll ask my best friend to see if she is free to cover for his role. She told me before that she was free on that date and her figure is pretty fit as well." Once she confirmed that everything was alright and nobody held any hard feelings.
After discussing about their roles and trying on their outfits, the girls called it a day and went home separately. Luckily, Lily's best friend, Ginny was free that day to join the event. She could finally relax and go home for a hot bath.
On her way home, she spaced out on the train and almost missed her stop. Since she had entered college, Lily moved out of her parent's house and supported herself independently. She chose to work two part time jobs to pay for rent and other expenses.
Throughout the one-hour train ride, she started to think back to the high school days when she and Hawk were sweet to each other. They spent a lot of time together, but once college began, their schedules forced them to cancel many planned dates. Eventually, it became a hassle for him to change his courses, and it would be her who takes classes at odd hours that would tire her out.
If one class didn't fit to accommodate with his, she would try to go for a different course or same course but at a different time. This lasted for two years before she picked her major. After that, she created schedules that best suited her availability, making the chances of meeting up even less.
Tired of keeping her eyes opened, she shut her eyes for a bit. Her thoughts wandered to the number of times that were countable with her fingers of the times that they've met in the past year. It really wasn't that many.
'We went from meeting once a week to barely once a month. Every time I tried to ask him out, he always said that he was tired and avoided me. Text messaging and sometimes face timing would be considered a date to him...Is it really because I have more expectations or did we just change? Why do I feel like our distance only increases?'
When she opened her eyes again, she realized that it was her stop and rushed out to the platform. "Phew, that was close. Almost missed my stop." She put her phone back on regular functioning mode and pressed into the Starbucks app to see if there were any deals for today.
Her smile reached her eyes, and she cupped her face as she exited the station. 'Buy one get one free~~ Here I come~~~ There are too many negative things to think about in life, so let's get something sweet to bright up the mood~ what should I get? Hehe~ Strawberry Frappe? Pink drink? Dragon fruit sounds good too~ Ahhh, what should I do?~'
-Starbucks-
While standing in line, she had so many choices in mind that she didn't know what she should do. That was when she checked her texts and remembered that Ginny mentioned that she would stop by later in the evening to spend the weekend with her. Thinking about her friend's drink preferences, she quickly decided that one of the drinks must be Ginny's all-time favorite Green Tea Soy Latte!
She ordered a dragon fruit tea with extra scoops of strawberries as the topping and no ice. After she had successfully ordered, she waited for her drinks by the other side of the store. She frowned slightly when she saw that there weren't any missed calls or messages from Hawk.
"Oh wells.." she shrugged and went to retrieve the drinks when she heard the exact same order coming from the employee's mouth. When she got there, the staff smiled and said, "Sorry, miss. This isn't yours. Your order is next. This belongs to Alan."
"Oh, okay. Thank you!" she smiled and stepped aside to let Alan take the drinks from the counter. Just as he walked out of the door, Lily got a call from Ginny and quickly told her, "Someone ordered the exact same drinks as me. I almost took it. Imagine? Hehe~ You have the key to my apartment, so go in first. I'll bring you your favorite drink to you soon~ Mwah, see you soon."
Like the waiter had said, her order was the next in line. As soon as the drinks were handed to her, she stepped out. The moment she came out, Alan pointed at her direction, "Ah, the girl who ordered the same order as us. She has the same taste as you. Interesting..."
"What's so interesting about that? It's just a fruit drink and a latte. But what a coincidence that we had the same order." Lin Que couldn't see the girl's face and only saw her back when Alan pointed earlier.
"The drinks are fine itself, but it's the topping that matters! Normally, people order the same fruits as the drink and level of sugar. You mixed dragon fruit with strawberries. You and your no ice life with the three scoops of the strawberries! The waiter even said that the drinks were the same." He explained his logic behind calling it interesting.
"And that is interesting because?" He sipped his fruit drink as he walked towards the opposite way of the direction that Lily went.
"Because it's rare to have the exact order. Both drinks!" Alan tried to make a point, but Lin Que didn't see his point as much as he did.
It took less than fifteen minutes for Lily to arrive at her apartment. When she entered, Ginny gave her a huge hug and the girls laughed happily in each other's arms.
"Welcome home!!!" Ginny giggled.
"Thank you~~ Hehehe, here, here. Your latte delivery~" Lily handed her the drink with a straw.
"Hoh? It's rare for you to choose Starbucks since it is overpriced. Hmm? Three scoops of strawberries...did something happen today?" Ginny observed her expression and wrapped her arm around Lily's shoulder.
"Come on, let's have a girl's talk night. Tonight will be no technology night where we party with Starbucks and some takeout. Food heals everything." Lily hugged her back and felt grateful to have this best friend by her side. With just a drink and a small expression, Ginny could tell that something was wrong.