When Jonas walked out, he was greeted by two pairs of eyes that locked onto him. He met their stare as the two realized Jonas was much cheerier than they had expected him to be. Sure, one could practically see a dark cloud hang over him but his steps had gained some confidence, he was no longer walking with his head down in the ground. Getting slightly annoyed by their confused stares he broke their train of thought. “If you guys want me to help with the mess hand me a broom or something.”

Confused, the two averted their eyes from Jonas and chose to stare questioningly at each other. The two had talked a bit while cleaning, and managed to come to an agreement about one thing: They would try to not open any conversations regarding Vali. Jonas was sure to be touchy about the subject as even before their little private talk he looked more than a bit miserable. Yet, witnessing his current demeanor made the two reconsider.

The one to ask the first question was Alex. “Did the two lovers make up?” Denny frowned at Alex, a rare negative expression showing on his face. Alex just snickered and spoke once again. “Come on, just look at him, I can practically see it written all over his face. I bet my fluffiest pillow that Vali is going to come out and ask for forgiveness from us in a few seconds.” She grinned at the annoyed pharmacist.

Not willing to participate in her tomfoolery he turned back to Jonas. “I’m glad Jonas. You look much better, that’s for sure.” His usual, sparkling smile returned as he spoke. “I don’t blame Val for what he did, I was too aggressive with my approach. I should be the one to apologize.” It was Alex’s turn to frown now, her opinion on the subject was evident but she kept her mouth closed.

Jonas had observed them without a sound until now, but it was time to break the news to his friends before they made any more pointless assumptions. “If you are going to forgive him for what he did, good for you. But I decided I won’t.” He turned to Alex with a slight smile before continuing. “So no, we broke up. When should I be expecting that pillow?” The following seconds consisted of awkward gazes drifting around, Alex and Denny were not sure of what to say. “Don’t go into the back room until he gets out. And when he comes out don’t bother him about the repair costs, I will cover them. Actually, if you don’t want another fight to break out, just don’t bother him at all.” Jonas walked and picked up the broom Denny was holding and walked to an area littered with glass in silence and started sweeping.

Denny didn’t move from where he stood as he stared at the closed door. What do I do then? Can I… handle him without Jonas? Alex was saying something to him, but he didn’t hear it. No, I can’t give up on him. I’m not going to do the same mistake again. He pulled himself together, if he wanted to befriend Vali, he had to be in his best mindset. I won’t…

His concentration broke as the door creaked as if to announce Vali’s entrance. He walked out with heavy steps, one step at a time approaching Denny. He wanted to say something to him, anything. But no word came out. Denny barely managed to open his mouth, only to close it a second later. Vali had taken another step. It seemed to him as if time ground to a halt, giving him the time to think.

In front of him stood a man who could fold him in half if he so wished. The worst part was that he had had that intention in the not-so-distant past, and had acted accordingly. The feeling of getting punched in the face was still mint fresh. If Alex wasn’t here… What would’ve happened to me? Vali took another step, now they were separated by a feet or so. They were so close now that Denny had to look up to meet his gaze if he wanted to, but he didn’t. He shivered as he diverted his gaze downwards, only to be met with Vali’s shadow. Right now, even that seemed threatening. Look up. Please. I shouldn’t stay silent. I can’t cover. He begged to himself, yet his body ignored all his pleas.

Then the shadow passed. He felt all his muscles relax as if a gun pointed at him had been lowered, he now felt safer. A hand was on his shoulder and had been there for a while. It just dawned on him that Alex was right next to him this whole time. He looked back to where Vali had gone and saw him walk out of the pharmacy. Only then he realized Vali hadn’t even looked directly at him even once. I haven’t changed a bit. I’m sorry, Erika…

“Answer me already!” He was caught off guard by Alex’s shout, causing him to snap back to reality. He jumped back and closed his ringing ears with his palms but couldn’t protest when he saw her face. She looked more concerned than angry; it was obvious that she had an inkling as to why he had frozen.

“Sorry! What was the question?” He looked at her with an embarrassed smile. It wasn’t the time to make his friends worry as someone in the group was already in a bad spot. He glanced at Jonas’s back as he dumped the glass he collected into a bin. Chances were, he hadn’t even turned to look at Vali’s departing form. However, it didn’t mean he wasn’t affected by it.

Alex rubbed the bridge of her nose; she had already repeated herself numerous times. Every syllable was emphasized as she said it once again. “Can we eat the cake?”

Denny raised a brow as he looked questioningly at Alex. It wasn’t long before his face lit up in realization, his expression clear evidence of his forgetfulness. “Ohh!” He facepalmed with one hand while waving her away with the other. “I can’t believe how insensitive you can be sometimes. Do whatever.”

The rest of their time was spent by all the carrying they had to do. Since the glass wall was broken, everything in the pharmacy had to be locked behind the door of the backroom. Sure, they could lower the shuttlers but that wouldn’t fix the wall. If the wall wasn’t fixed the store wouldn’t open. If the store didn’t open for a few days it would make leaving the shelves as-is a bad idea. There was also the risk of rain.

So, they worked. The broken desk was carried inside as a temporary solution before they trashed it, the glass shards were taken care of, the messy shelves were emptied, the shuttlers were lowered. Now all they had to do was lock the door and head home.

Alex and Denny didn’t want to leave Jonas alone for the day, though. Both of them knew he couldn’t handle alone time after losing a dear friend; his decision or not. That’s why Denny called out to him before Jonas could even say goodbye. “Hey Jonas, how long has it been since you ate my chicken and mushrooms dish? You know, your favorite?”

The words caused him to perk up. “I actually found a restaurant that has something similar! Turns out a friend of mine has a family-run place a few blocks away, and they gave me a good discount.” He was almost salivating at this point. “It didn’t taste as good as yours, sure, but it was still good.” He pointed an angry finger at Denny. “Just give me the damn recipe already, what you are doing is torture!”

Denny beamed with pride at his friend’s words as he disregarded the finger. “That’s one thing I won’t’ sway about. Even if you got my recipe, though…” His face soured as memories resurfaced. “Yuck. Please don’t sully my recipe like that. You couldn’t cook even if your life depended on it.” Jonas looked annoyed as the two laughed at him. “Well, anyways. Let’s go to my house, I will cook whatever you want.”

Hearing his words caused a little commotion to break out between the trio. “What about me? Can I make a request too? Some stew in this weather would be heavenly!” Alex was almost shouting in his ear; the offer was too good to be offered only to Jonas.

Jonas didn’t want to waste this opportunity. “I remember how you told us of that mean curry you made a few weeks ago, even listening to it made my tongue burn.” Seeing the hunger in his eyes made Denny shiver.

Denny was starting to regret his decision, and if he didn’t say anything he would be living in the kitchen for the foreseeable future. “Only one dish per person! I’m not a restaurant chef!” He cried out in terror. Even though he liked cooking for his friends, being shackled to the kitchen was less than enjoyable. Do they even know how hard it is to cook for three people? He shed a silent tear as the others protested.

Alex gasped, she looked more shocked than the situation would suggest. “After hyping us like that? I didn’t know you were such a tease.” Jonas was nodding in agreement. It wasn’t long before their conversation changed from words to giggles and friendly pushes. Their kids in a playground act was cut off when Alex checked the time. “We have to move if we want to find an open market after getting off the train. Also, I’m not carrying anything this time you lazy bastard.” She slapped Jonas’s shoulder, gaining a not-so-serious glare from him.

Jonas’s last thoughts before the trio started heading towards a feast were happy ones. With friends like these… It doesn’t matter how bad my day is.

Little did he know the day was about to get bad enough to put that claim to test.