Cloud Chasers

thirteen | softly spoken magic spells [pt. one]

Joyce woke up late in the morning. It was, in fact, almost lunch time. She unplugged the phone, still yawning.

Happy birthday again, Blackbird. Can't wait to be with you.

A smile appeared on her face as she rubbed her eyes. She decided to skip breakfast and have lunch.

"Did you just wake up?" Kuni asked, already in the kitchen.

"Yep," Joyce said, pressing her lips together.

"Any plans for today?" Kuni asked.

"Just hanging out with Chase. It's my birthday," the words slipped out of her mouth and she soon regretted it.

"Oh, really? Happy birthday, Joyce. What are you two loveblackbirds going to do? Something romantic?" she began to pry.

"I don't know— wait, what," she shook her head, "Kuni, we're not romantically involved. He told you already."

"Well, why not?"

"Because," Joyce sighed, "who would ever want to be with me? With the new Joyce, I mean. The new Joyce belongs in a large house, alone. With a cat, maybe."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kuni said with a half-shrug. "For what it's worth, I think I've been seeing a lot more of the old Joyce than the new one lately."

Joyce knew that sentence was supposed to cheer her up or something, but it worried her for a minute. She couldn't allow to let her defenses all the way down. Not now, probably not ever. Too much risk of hurting and getting hurt.

As she ate lunch, she multitasked between chatting with Kuni and texting with Chase, who kept hyping up the day. When she was done, she put on her usual high waisted black jeans and plain white tee and attempted to brush her hair. Oversleeping had made them uncontrollably wavy, but she kind of liked the look. She checked outside's temperature through the window and decided to wear her favorite gray longline cardigan, and then she left the apartment.

~

The sun was hidden behind either the skyscrapers or the clouds looming in the sky. Either way, shades of gray followed her along with a chilly breeze. But Joyce barely noticed. Knowing the road to the vape shop by heart, her head was down through most of it, typing on her phone. Chase had been texting her since the moment she woke up and somehow the conversation never managed to die.

That, until Joyce crashed face first into the shoulder of a guy about her age. Confused, she looked up and saw him staring down at her with a disgruntled expression. "Watch where you're going," he mumbled and walked away.

She stared after him before realizing she had reached her destination. Chase was waiting for her by the entrance of the vape shop, wearing a floral gray shirt that matched the weather and vaping like a chimney.

When he saw her, he approached her with his arms spread out. "Blackbird, here you are. Happy birthday, girl," he said, trapping her in a hug.

Joyce, however, was still overwhelmed by what'd just happened and barely hugged him back. "Jesus, Chase," she said, her eyes wide and fixed on an unspecific spot.

"What happened?" Chase wondered.

She gulped. "I've become everything I hate."

Chase raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"

Joyce snapped out of the trance and looked at him. "It's your fault," she said, shoving him against the wall, "I was texting and walking just now."

He shrugged. "And what's wrong with that?"

"I hate it," she said with a long sigh. "I hate when people do it, and I shouldn't be doing it. No more texting."