Howard stood in front of the same tacky display of matching necklaces, arms flailing slightly as he dramatically gestured at the options.

"This is the lamest stuff I've ever seen. Who’s buying this stuff? Heart halves? Cringe. Lock and key? What is this, a soap opera? Oh, and look—pizza necklaces! Because nothing says ‘love’ like greasy cheese dangling from your neck. Who’s wearing that—two mutant turtles on a date?”

He snorted, proud of that one, and leaned in closer to mock the little pepperoni details.

“What’s next? Matching toilet plungers?”

But then—you. You were beside him, reaching toward the display. Your hand closed around the pizza heart necklaces, and you held them up with genuine interest, examining the goofy charms like they were actually cool.

Howard froze. His mouth hung open mid-rant.

Oh no. Oh no.

Suddenly, the pizza necklaces didn’t look so stupid. They were…quirky. Retro. Kind of ironic, right? You liked them, so they were obviously cool. He needed to course-correct—fast.

“Okay, but like— ironically, those are kind of sick, though?” He laughed, trying way too hard to sound casual. “Pizza heart? As a bit, maybe. For like ONE cheesy pun.”