Another Lifetime

Chapter 19

DeAnna Kastell

We went to the diner for lunch, Harry and Jessie going home to change first. "Is it wrong to say I miss the animal onesies?" X asked me as Jessie got out of X's car.

"No, it was amazing and I totally filmed Harry pretending to be an actual dinosaur and chasing Jessie around the garden," I said and waved to my best friend over to us.

"So I love you," X said randomly as they walked over to us.

"I know," I said and wrapped my arms around myself. "I love you too," I told him and he kissed my temple.

"Awh look, it's our big city love birds," Jessie declared dramatically and I laughed a little.

"Come on, let's just have lunch," Harry said, "rich kid is paying," he added with a smirk.

"I'm limiting you or your stomach might explode," I warned Harry before walking in, pulling my hood up as I did. I'd taken the zip up hoodie X had brought with him to wear when he was showering; he should have learned by now that I steal his clothes.

"Please, Harry's got a stomach of steel," X told me and we headed towards our usual booth of six for four of us.

"Think any of the others are going to come in?" Jessie asked as she leaned her back against the window.

"Probably but I think Brian will be too busy clearing up his social media accounts for the next week," I said and Hettie spotted us and came over to us.

"What can I get you all on this fine morning?" She asked us.

"I'll have my Sunday night usual," I told her and pulled out a sketchbook; it was the one with all my hyper idealised super universe sketches in, all the characters and the settings as well as story line ideas for pieces and different attempts to find the right stylised font to write in.

"I'll have the biggest burger you got and a soda float," Harry declared dramatically, and I could tell that he was standing up with pride in his head.

"I'll have my usual," Jessie said and she was clearly checking Brian trying to clear up the mess that the onesie twins had made on his social media.

"And I'll have whatever's good," X said and Hettie scribbled down all the orders before walking off.

"Listen to this - 'Haha my accounts got hacked. None of this happened and I don't have STDs and I've never cheated on Dee'," Jessie read from Brian's twitter, "then Sarah and several other girls have tweeted back and retweeted him," Jessie said and showed her phone to Harry.

"Sarah's response sort of slays," Harry said and took Jessie's phone from her to read it aloud. "'Such a liar, can't believe I slept with you and cost myself an incredible friend - hope the hack was Dee getting revenge'" Harry read and she was right about me getting revenge.

"Are you going to tell Sarah she was the inspiration for your Man-Slayer vs Slutshamer piece?" Jessie asked me and I didn't know.

"Sarah was sort of an inspiration to me when I expanded my hyper idealised reality to include superheroes not just super villains and the occasional anti-hero in the X-King," I said and looked down at my drawing of her with my new version of Brian, who was now a member of the forces of evil; I hadn't come up with a new name for him yet.