Deja Vu (countryhumans)

"...The Ants,"

"Buddy? What's wrong?" Rose asked. I chuckle and wipe my eyes.

"My son sure has a sense of humor...," I say... god, why can't I stop crying? It's just... this quote brings up so many emotions, but I can't remember why. Soon, we get to our stop, and I walk Rose to Romans house. We knock, and Romans dad answers.

"Hello?" He says.

"Hello sir... If it's alright with you... my friend needs somewhere to stay where her ex can't find her...," I say. He nods.

"Ok... we have a spare bedroom. My name is Earl Grey... if it isn't obvious, I woke up in a tea shop," Earl said. Rose chuckled.

"I love earl grey tea! I.... I have no clue how I know that... I never had it before," I said. Earl and Rose stare at me wide eyed.

"By god, you remembered something from before the awakening?!" Earl exclaimed.

"Yeah... h-hold on...," I say... I see it now... a teacup in my right hand.... I look up and see....

"Rose...," I mumble.

"What is it?" Rose asks. I try to picture the memory more clearly, but it begins to fade...

"Are you alright?" Earl asks. I close my eyes and put myself back into the memory... Rose was there... and so was that boy... they were both holding teacups... however, I knew despite only seeing Rose and the boy, that there had to be other people with us... and then I hear a familiar voice....

It's nice to finally be together again

"Buddy?" Rose says, snapping me out of my memory. I take a deep breath.

"Rose, I believe I must've known you before the awakening... we had tea together, with my son... or... I think it was my son...and others were there too," I say. Earl smiles.

"It's impressive... I didn't think anyone was capable of remembering life before the Awakening... tell us if you have any more memories!" Earl says. I nod, and leave. I feel slightly nervous leaving Rose with Earl, but I made it clear to her that if she felt unsafe, there was an emergency fire escape on every second story window.

When I get back home, I find Miller talking to Lucky.

"Hey Bud! Lucky here says he was looking for you," Miller said.

"Hey Lucky! How's life?" I ask.

"Good! I bought a lotto ticket with a bit of the money you gave me, and I won! I'm just kinda at a loss on what to do with the cash," Lucky said. I chuckle.

"Well, first of all I see why you're named 'Lucky'. Second, uh, duh, rent an apartment," I say.

"But I also need a stable job so I can continue to pay rent even after my fortune is spent!" Lucky exclaimed. Miller smiled.

"Perfect, Rose was wanting more employees," Miller said. Lucky smiled.

"Well sh*t! I am lucky!" He exclaimed. We laughed, and Lucky went off to a nearby apartment complex to check out what to aim for. Meanwhile, Miller lets me hang out in the kitchen while he prepares the baked goods for the day.

"Ohhhh can I steal a cookie?" I ask. Miller roles his eyes.

"Okay, just one," He says.

"Yes!" I exclaim, taking a cookie.

"So, where were you this morning?" Miller asks.

"Oh, Rose wasn't feeling safe at home because of her jerk of a boyfriend, so I asked one of my friends to let her hang out at his place," I say, before taking a big bite of the cookie. Miller nods.

"Rose... you don't... like her... do you?" Miller asks.

"What do you mean? She's my friend, of course I like her" I say.

"No, I'm asking if you love her," Miller asks.

"Nah, we're just friends!" I exclaim. Miller nods again, silently. "Why do you care?" I ask.

"I dunno, I guess you gotta be careful who you fall in love with. I mean, she could be your sister or something," Miller said. I shuffle up beside him and he pretends not to notice.

"I don't think that's the reason you don't want me to like her," I say.

"Mhm, what's the reason then?" Miller asks.

"You want a piece of this," I say, nudging him. This gets him to laugh.

"Pft, as if," he exclaims. I laugh along with him. A little while later, I'm back to begging outside. I look in my mostly empty hat. I missed Star this morning, so I didn't get my twenty bucks. I wonder if me and Star are related somehow? Or me and Lucky? Heck, even Miller....

Miller...

Was he really jealous of Rose? Or did he just have the common sense of not falling in love with someone you aren't sure you're related to?

I'd like to think the former, it makes me feel special.

I just hope this whole 'romance-crushy-googoo eyed-lovey dovey-UwU-ness' doesn't cause conflict...

But, as stated by the mighty Anonymous, it just wouldn't be a picnic without the ants