The Situationship

It Was You I Was Thinking Of

Five Years Later

... And done.

Marinette threaded her fingers together and stretched up to the ceiling, her back cracking from the uncomfortable but unavoidable position she'd been sitting in for the past two-and-a-half hours. She arched a little more, popping that last uncomfortable vertebra before relaxing down with a sigh.

She looked at the now joined material on her work surface and allowed the corner of her mouth to pull into a smile. Excellent! This month-long creation had worked out perfectly. Exactly how she wanted it to look, and hopefully worthy of its new home.

Standing up, she headed towards her newly erected stationery cupboard and pulled out a flattened cardboard box, moving it around and turning the once flat object three-dimensional. Next, she took the tissue paper from where it lay flat and neat in a drawer, folding it just right before placing it into the box.

Her monthly trips to IKEA really were a favourite part of her adulting life. Though she couldn't exactly afford to decorate the tiny one bedroom apartment how she wanted, she made sure she replaced at least one piece of furniture each month. She was starting to think maybe she should add 'must know their way around the IKEA aisles' as a statement on her Tinder profile.

Smiling to herself, and with a little hum, she headed back to the sewing machine for the garment and placed it into the box; wrapping it up carefully in the tissue paper, and placing her personalised sticker over the joint. She studied the new creation, making sure her logo was perfectly positioned on top and in prime position for all to see.

Another successful order was fulfilled and she couldn't have been prouder. She completed the shipping process — a packet of sweets, a personalised postcard and the printed address label — before turning back to her work station.

She closed her MacBook and headed over to her wardrobe. Tuesday night meant quiz night. Every Tuesday for the past three years, she and her close friends would meet at the local bar to participate in a pop quiz of random knowledge; one they epically failed time and time again.

She was lucky, really; she had managed to keep hold of many of her childhood friends, even with life pulling them apart and sending them off in different directions. She'd had the same group of friends since collège, she'd had the same crush on the same guy for the past five years...and she enjoyed croissants—who in France didn't?

Collecting the box containing her latest commission, she moved it to the side of her room and placed it into the baskets containing the other items she needed to ship. It had been a rather busy month. Late nights and coffee highs were the only things that had gotten her through it — that plus the desperate need for money.

She opened her personal app and noticed she had another couple of orders, so she added them to her calendar and made a note to order the specific materials. It was a slow process but, after relaxing off it for a few years, she was determined to finally bring MDC designs to the main stage and, eventually, open her own store. She just needed the backing of happy shoppers to keep it going, and luckily for her she still dealt with a lot of lucrative clients. Thank you Jagged Stone — rock icon and her ex-boyfriend's father.

With a quick look at her watch, her lips twisted. She placed her phone in her bag and scurried out of the apartment. She was running late — as usual!

The bar where the gang met was only a fifteen-minute walk from her apartment, and luckily both were set in the heart of a tourist trap. With people constantly roaming around, taking pictures and asking directions, it gave her a small sense of security to walk the short distance. After all, she was only young and this was one of the busiest cities in the world. Her father was rather vocal about such a young woman walking the streets of Paris... at night... alone. He didn't have a clue she could easily take someone down with a little bit of luck and a fork.