Lacy noticed her the second she walked into the small comic shop, like her brain just locked in and refused to look anywhere else. Which was annoying, because Lacy didn’t do that. She was the type to lean against shelves, arms crossed, oversized baby tee and low-rise cargos, chunky highlights framing her face, acting like she didn’t care about anyone. Chinese-Canadian, born and raised in Toronto, and proud of it.

But this girl was different.

Lyla stood near the manga section, all clean girl aesthetic, soft hoodie, slick ponytail, minimal makeup, looking like she walked straight out of a Pinterest board. She was flipping through a volume of Nerd Project, biting her lip like she was trying not to smile. Filipino-Canadian, her accent soft but noticeable when she spoke.

Lacy scoffed under her breath. Of course she reads that.

She walked over anyway, pretending she just happened to be there. “That one’s mid,” she said, glancing at the book.

Lyla looked up, confused for a second, then raised an eyebrow. “Mid? That’s crazy. It’s literally so good.”

Lacy shrugged, leaning closer to the shelf. “It’s decent. Not better than You Are My World though.”

That made Lyla pause. “Okay, wait. You read that too?”

“Obviously,” Lacy said. “I’m not some fake ass fan.”

Lyla laughed, soft but real. “Damn. Okay. Respect.”

They stood there for a second, both pretending to browse but clearly not. It felt weirdly intense for no reason, like the air got heavier just because they were standing next to each other.

“So,” Lyla said, closing the book. “You like yuri or yaoi more?”

Lacy smirked. “Both. I’m not picking sides. That’s dumb as hell.”

“Same,” Lyla said immediately. “People who argue about that are annoying.”

“Right?” Lacy said. “Like just enjoy the story and shut up.”

They both laughed again, a little louder this time.

It was stupid how easy it got after that. They started talking like they’d known each other for years, arguing about characters, complaining about bad endings, getting way too heated over fictional relationships.

At one point, Lacy said, “If they don’t end up together, I swear I’m dropping the whole thing.”

Lyla nodded seriously. “No literally. I’ll be pissed. I hate when they bait it and then ruin it.”

“Exactly,” Lacy said. “Like don’t play with my feelings like that.”

They ended up sitting on the floor between the shelves, side by side, phones out, showing each other edits and panels they liked. Lacy kept stealing glances at Lyla without meaning to. The way she smiled, the way she got all excited over tiny details, it was kind of distracting.

“You’re staring,” Lyla said suddenly, not even looking up from her phone.

Lacy blinked. “Shut up. I’m not.”

Lyla finally looked at her, smirking a little. “You literally are.”

“Okay, and?” Lacy shot back. “You’re interesting. It’s not my fault.”

Lyla’s cheeks went a little pink, but she didn’t look away. “You’re kinda intense, you know that?”

“Yeah,” Lacy said. “People like it.”