"There's only so many times I can put my heart back together"
"Why are you so sure I'll break it again?"
🖤🤍🖤
Andrew had a perfect life. Or so others would think.
Living under his father's control was a nightmare. Having his dreams ignored and bei...
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The steamy mug of hot chocolate warmed Giovanni's hand, defrosting his stiff fingers. He had rushed from his dorm room to the cafe per Jaime's request, even though the cold air bit his skin and made him tremble. It didn't bother him that his roommate wanted him out to be with his boyfriend, because now he had an excuse to meet Alice at The Bookmark, where eternal summer lived and the smell of coffee and books filled his nostrils.
"Thank you, Nicole," he told the waitress when she brought him a stack of pancakes to go along with his hot chocolate. She flashed him a sweet smile that came easier than it usually did. There was something different about her, as if life had just got brighter. "I love your new haircut. It really suits you."
"Oh, thank you, honey. Can I help you with anything else?"
He shook his head, wondering why she had cut her hair like her sister's. There had been no time for him to ask her about the girl who came into the cafe a couple days before, though it was obvious it was her twin sister. He wasn't a close friend, maybe not even considered an acquaintance, but he still wanted to ask about it.
"I'm waiting for Alice... I don't know if she saw my text, though."
"Don't worry, she'll show up. I wouldn't dare leave a sweetheart like you waiting."
His cheeks turned bright red, and he averted his eyes to the mug. It got too hot, too fast. Maybe the AC was broken. Or maybe his thick jacket was only meant to be worn outside. It must've been that, it must've been the jacket.
"Y-You're being really nice today. D-Did something happen?" he stuttered, peeling his jacket off and folding it on his lap.
"Nope," she said, popping the P. "Can't I just be happy because my friend is here?"
Friend. That he wasn't expecting. There was no way Nicole, the girl Alice always portrayed as a bitter person who only cared about herself, would call a friend to a person he only talked to twice. It made little sense that she would act like that, much less with him.
"I didn't know we were friends..."
"We're not? We should be!" She slid into the chair in front of him, relying on Jenny to take care of any clients missing. "Why are we not?"
He blinked, looking around. Maybe it was all a prank. His cousins were always pranking him by telling him awful lies and recording it from a hiding spot.
"Because... umm, we don't hang out? We don't know each other?"
"We should. You tell me something about you, and I tell you something about me."
Giovanni took a long sip of his mug, reassessing the situation. He shouldn't be doubting her so much. She wouldn't gain anything from fooling him. But the image Alice had painted of her in his mind surfaced and he couldn't believe she was trying to get to know him.
"Something about me... I have a parakeet named Pavarotti at home. I wanted to bring him with me, but they don't allow animals in the dorm rooms."
"That's so cute," the girl beamed before sulking in, supporting her head in her hands. "I always wanted a pet, but dad never let us. My sisters and I once kidnapped our neighbour's cat when we were 9. His name was Garfield but he was white so we dyed his fur orange. Or tried at least. Mum caught us."
