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Koffee, Kris, and Kanoodling - Chapter 2

Kris walked into the campus coffee shop, noticing the dull buzz of people talking around her. As usual, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that they were all talking about her. Looking around, she realized that her friends hadn't arrived and went to find a table. She took a seat and pulled out her phone, trying to bide her time. She scrolled through furbook for a few minutes before she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

“KRIS!" Lumina's voice came through sing-songy and overdramatic.

“Hi Lumina," Kris smiled.

“This is Evelynn, Evelynn this is Kris!"

Evelynn smiled, “Hey girl!" her customer service facade sneaking through her tone.

“Nice to meet you, Evelynn." Kris looked down into her lap, slightly uncomfortable with the feline's energy.

“Well. I'm going to get some coffee, you guys want anything?" Lumina added.

“Pumpkin spice latte!" Evelyn licked her lips, already imagining the sweet warmth of the drink.

Lumina rolled her eyes and then looked to Kris, raising an eyebrow.

“Um.. just a caramel frappuccino please." Kris bounced her leg, nerves quickly getting the better of her.

Noticing her discomfort, she asked “You sure you don't want decaf?" the raccoon tilted her head and giggled.

Kris shook her head, dismissing the sad attempt at humor. Lumina shrugged and did a quick turn towards the counter and walked away.

The dingo and lynx sat quietly, both unsure of what to do or say. It took the whole 6 and a half minutes for Lumina to get the coffees before either of them said anything at all.

“So you go to school here?" Eve choked out as she saw Lumina approaching.

Kris nodded, scratching her arm to keep her hands busy.

“What for?"

“I have a major in music education."

“Well that's cool." Eve glanced around the room, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she thought about what to say next.

Lumina placed the three drinks on the table and glanced between her two friends, “Are you guys gushing all of your inner thoughts? Are we all besties yet?"

Kris bit her lip, not sure what to say. She kept thinking If I say nothing it feels like I hate her…If I speak up and say that we aren't besties yet then she'll hate me…. And if I speak up and say that we are besties it'll be super awkward and possibly ruin the possibility of ever having a really good friendship. It's a lose, lose, lose situation.

“Kris…? Are you alright?" Evelyn touched Kris' arm gently, trying to shake her from her lost state.

Kris jumped, “Umm… Yeah. Great." she rubbed her legs, trying to wipe the sweat from her hands, “I'm great." it came out in a whisper but both other girls heard it and exchanged awkward glances.

“Well here's your drink." Lumina slid the frozen goodness across the table.

“Thanks."

Evelyn reached across the table, grabbing the cup she presumed to be hers and took a large sip, “Gahh" she gasped after swallowing, “For one, that's extremely hot, and for two, that is not my drink" she pushed the cup back across the table, making a disgusted face at Lumina.

“That's what you get for getting a hot drink when it's still 90 degrees outside." Kris found herself having confidence to speak, “I'm sorry. That was mean." If only for a second.

Evelynn and Lumina chuckled as they both gripped their toasty warm drinks, “Don't judge us, this is the way the true coffee drinkers enjoy their coffee."

“Yeah, I hope your cold drink does you well in a few weeks when fall hits full-force." Evelynn chimed in, sipping on her correct drink.

“That's what they make furnace's for." Kris smirked, “And my drink never hurts me." She took a huge sip out of her straw and instantly regretted it, a brain freeze hitting her hard.

“Oh yeah, never hurts you" Lumina raised her eyebrows.

“Shhhh…." Kris laughed, still clutching her head.

The shared teasing seemed to have broken the ice between the girls and they used that momentum to truly begin to get to know one another. Lumina being the buffer, of course. The conversation seemed to roll continuously from one subject to the next, and the laughter rolled with it. They seemed completely oblivious to the stares they were receiving from those around them. But, they were even less aware of the time that was passing. For them, it felt like minutes, but in reality it was closer to a couple hours. It wasn't long before the breakfast time rush had ended, and the lunchtime one had begun.

“Oh my goodness." Kris finally glanced at the clock, “Have you seen the time?"

“Huh?" Evelynn sat up, peering around to find a clock.

Lumina pulled out her phone and saw 13:05 light up on her screen, “Shit. Do you have classes today?"

Kris shook her head, “No, they don't start until next week."

Evelynn sighed, “Damn, I wanted to be a bad influence."

“What!? No!" Lumina laughed, slapping the cat on the shoulder.

Just as Evelynn was about to respond, though, Kris spoke up, “Lumina….umm...would you mind going to the bathroom with me?"

There was no hesitation to Lumina, she set down her drink, already moving towards the bathroom, “That's not a problem at all."

Kris smiled shyly, her face flushed red, and stood up. The two girls made their way down the hall, leaving a very confused Eve in their absence.

The decor to the shop was very rustic, lots of browns and blacks with small pops of color. Miscellaneous household items hung from the walls in an attempt to make it feel more homey to all the students. When Lumina reached the door to the girls restroom she glanced at the venus symbol on the door and rolled her eyes. She peeked into the restroom, walking towards one of the sinks to check her make-up and took a look around. When she made sure she was alone in the restroom, she went back to grab Kris, “You're all good."

“Thank you." The young girl's face was still a very bright red, embarrassed that she had to ask for this specific favor.

“I'll stand outside and keep anyone from coming in if you want."

“Yes please." Kris closed the door to the stall and waited to hear the outside bathroom door close.

--

Evelynn sat alone at the table, glancing around at the random people that walked in. Fuckable. She thought as an artsy looking man walked into the shop. It was a bit of a game she and Lumina had come up with years ago. Wherever they were, no matter what was going on, they always scoped out the room. Was it a bit weird? Yeah, but not only did it give them something to do during boring times, it also supplied opportunities later on.

Does she hate me? Eve thought about Kris, Why would she specifically ask Lumina and not me? Eve's insecurities raged as she waited for her two friends to return. She even contemplated if she could call them both friends. She thought about how much she wanted this friendship to work out, how much easier it would be for her and Lumina as roommates. Then her mind went to how awkward things would be if Kris came to the apartment while Eve was still living there, and if Lumina would even let her live there if Kris hated her. She was spiralling in her own thoughts when Lumina and Kris came back and jolted her out of it.

“Have a nice pee?" She spoke without thinking, unable to clear her head.

Kris hesitated, not sure what the proper response was to such a strange question.

“Don't answer that." Eve said once her brain finally caught up with her mouth.

The girls laughed awkwardly, “Well…" Kris spoke softly, “I should get going."

“Oh.. Okay." Eve sighed, great I scared her off, “It was nice to finally meet you."

“Yeah! Likewise." Kris genuinely meant the words, but her voice betrayed her, “See ya, Lumina." She waved and walked towards the exit of the shop.

“Bye!"

Lumina and Eve sat in silence for a moment as they watched Kris walk down the sidewalk, presumably towards her dorm.

“So what's your plan for the rest of the day?"

“I have to work tonight, but otherwise...nothing."

“Wanna head back to the apartment for a bit and then see a movie or something?"

Eve shrugged, “Sure."

“You alright?"

“Not really." Eve stood up, leading the way out of the shop and to the car.

“Well, what's going on? Talk to me."

Eve's frustration showed on her face, “Why didn't Kris invite me to go to the bathroom with you?" Eve sighed, realizing how pathetic she sounded. “I just felt like we were all getting along and vibing and I was really excited to have a new friend, especially with Eric…" her eyes filled with tears, “But then she made it a point to specifically invite you and only you to the bathroom and excluded me, and now all I can think about is how she was probably talking shit about me."

“Evelynn." Lumina grabbed her friend by the arm and pulled her to a stop, “Take a breath."

Eve paused and took a deep breath.

“I promise you, with all of my heart that that is not the reason she asked me to go to the bathroom with her."

“Than what was it?" Eve wiped her eyes, not willing to let them spill down her face.

Lumina shook her head, “That's where this gets complicated… you have to ask Kris. It's not my place to tell you."

“What do you mean? What could she have possibly said that you can't tell your best friend?"

Lumina reached out and squeezed her friends' hands, “Please, trust me when I say this. It has 100% nothing to do with you. But I cannot say anything else about it."

Eve's brow furrowed, wanting to trust her friend, but not sure how.

“Okay?"

“Alright."