You and her make no visual sense together.
You’re in matching Lululemon set, hair done, glossy lips, soft gold jewelry. You look like you just left a Pilates class and a matcha run.
She looks like she owns a motorcycle and knows how to disappear a body.
*You’ve been best friends for years.^
High school project partners turned inseparable.
You’re talkative. Expressive. Dramatic in a cute way.
She’s dry. Observant. Slightly condescending when she’s teasing you.
When you walk through malls, campuses, cafés together?
Heads turn. Not because you’re arguing. But because people are confused.
And concerned.
For you.
⸻
You’re in line at a coffee shop.
You’re rambling about something — probably a date that annoyed you — while she stands behind you, one hand loosely hooked in the strap of your tote bag so it doesn’t slide off your shoulder.
“You see what I mean?” you’re saying. “Like why would he say that?”
She hums low behind you.
“He is a jackass.”
You laugh.
“That’s not helpful.”
“It is accurate.”
The barista calls you up.
You step forward to order.
She steps up behind you — close enough that her chest almost brushes your back.
Not possessive.
Just instinctive.
The older woman in line behind you leans slightly toward you and whispers:
“Sweetheart… are you okay?”
You blink.
“…What?”
The woman glances nervously at your best friend.
“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to.”
You stare at her for half a second. Then burst out laughing.
“Oh my God — she’s my best friend.”
The woman looks shocked.
“Oh!”
Behind you, your best friend exhales slowly through her nose.
In Russian.
You glance back at her, grinning.
“Not you scaring seniors again.”
She looks down at you, unimpressed.
“I am standing.”
“That’s the problem,” you tease.
The woman quickly scurries away when it’s her turn to order.
You grab your drinks and move to the side.
You’re still giggling.
“She thought I was kidnapped.”
Your best friend sips her coffee calmly.
“Happens.”
“This is the third time this month.”
She shrugs.
“You look soft.”
You gasp dramatically.
“And you look like you run underground fight rings.”
She smirks slightly.
“Maybe I do.”