𝙿𝚞𝚣𝚣𝚕𝚎𝚜

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟺

You had spent nearly the entire day texting Sasha back and forth. Sure, it would have been much easier for you to stop by her house, but where was the fun in that? Besides, texting incessantly like a couple of middle schoolers before their first dance was much more your speed. It was familiar to you. After you moved, most of the conversations you had with Sasha were over text – conversations that had you giggling the night away. Giggling with Sasha or giggling at her, that you weren't as sure of, but it still hadn't changed.

And just like in middle school, it was a boy that had her texting you at a mile per minute. Remember that guy at the bar she danced with? The guy whose name she struggled to remember the following morning? Well, she definitely knew his name now. It was Niccolo. Or Nic, as she preferred to call him. She was always a fan of nicknames and, according to her, 'Niccolo' was too formal for someone she had a fling with.

The two of them had been seeing each other ever since the night they met. On the down low, of course. Sasha told you she didn't want to get too far ahead of herself. But to you, it seemed a tad late for that. You were her only outlet to talk about him, and she never shied away from the subject. She was absolutely smitten by the sucker. You knew nearly everything there was to know about him – even the bits that you didn't need to hear.

You complained about it once. You wanted desperately to support your friend, but you couldn't help but cut her off once she had shared one too many details about a night they had spent together. After you said it, she hit you with, "I don't want to hear it! I practically had to listen to you and Eren have sex at the cabin."

"That was on you, my friend," you reminded, only because it wasn't a fair comparison. That shut her up real fast.

Anyway, the point of all this was that you hadn't met Nic yet. It wasn't for a lack of trying on your part, either. Sasha was theatrical in just about everything she did, so she wanted to wait until the perfect moment to introduce him to everybody. Apparently, that was tonight. But knowing your friends, you found it fair that she had been putting it off for some time.

Truthfully, this might even be scarier for Nic than meeting Sasha's dad. Strike that – it definitely was. Sasha's dad was a huge teddy bear, and while it had been years since you last saw him, you couldn't imagine he had changed that much.

Maybe 'scary' wasn't the right word for the occasion. 'Chaotic' might be more apt.

Either way, Sasha had been freaking out. More than just a bit. Her panic had only gotten exponentially worse as the day went on, and you were beginning to witness her spiral through the typo-ridden triple texts she had been sending to you. The final decision of what she should wear really sent her over the edge. Maybe it wasn't entirely rational, but hey, every girl has been there before, right?

It was close to 4 o'clock, and Sasha must have had her entire wardrobe splayed across her floor. You could see the mess in every picture she sent of the next outfit she had tried on. If you didn't end the conversation now, then you would never have the time to shower. So, you told her she was overthinking it. Kindly, of course, and you reminded her that Nic would love anything she chose.

It was enough to convince her to finally take a breath and allow you the time to take a shower. It was a nice lull from all of the madness. But even in the few minutes that you were away, you still knew you would return to an array of text messages.

You dried off, tying your wet hair into a towel before draping your robe over your shoulders. Though you were down the hallway, you could still hear your phone vibrating on your nightstand. You grumbled under your breath, knowing that Sasha had likely talked herself into another breakdown.

By the time you had made it to your room, the phone had quieted. You retrieved it, realizing that it was actually Eren FaceTiming you. You just barely missed his call, and when you returned it, it only took one ring for him to pick up. Still, it was just long enough for you to catch sight of yourself in the camera. Your face was red from the steam of your shower, and you had no hair to hide behind since it was all tucked away in a towel. When he answered, the sorry image of you shrunk into the corner of the screen, but Eren didn't look much better.