My Peculiar Mates

Chapter 2: Clarity

    "Ugh, I'm so hungover," Tamara whined, holding her head in her hands. They ended up staying out til 3 AM, after which Rico made them leave so he could make the drive back to Ontario without falling asleep. Rheya was hung over, but not enough to stop her from thinking about Ophelia.

    After Lia kicked out Elijah, she stayed and danced with the group, before slipping her number in Rheya's phone and saying goodnight. 

    She tossed a bottle of Advil at Tamara and sat cross legged on her bed, staring at the number saved in her contacts. She knew she wanted to see Lia again, but she had no idea what to say. What if it was just a courtesy, in case they had any more problems?

    She typed out a quick text. Hey, thanks again for saving me last night. I appreciate it. -Rheya 

    She flopped back on her bed, grateful that school had already ended and she had graduated. She and Tamara could stay in the dark all day nursing their headaches. 

    Her phone beeped, making Tamara groan in annoyance. Rheya quickly silenced her phone before reading her new text.

    Lia: Anytime, sweetcheeks. You are always welcome at The Den. I hope you had a good birthday.

    Rheya: The best! Do you happen to know any hangover cures? We had a little too much fun lol

    Lia: I have an idea to make the pain go away, but it involves little clothes and no friends... x

    Rheya bit her lip and buried her head in her pillow. She wasn't imagining it. Oh the trouble she could get up to...

    She heard a light knock on the door, and got up to answer it, stepping into the hallway so as to not disturb her friend.

    "Good morning sunshine," Rico joked, looking at her pained expression. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to come shopping for college stuff with me?"

    "For sure, just let me tell Tamara and I'll join you downstairs. Shower and breakfast first," she replied, re-entering her bedroom. 

    Tamara was snoring softly, having passed back out in her double bed. She grinned before taking a Snapchat selfie with her drooling face, leaving her a text with their location and time. She doubted Tamara would be in any condition to leave the house today.

    She walked into the en-suite bathroom that she shared with Rico, turning on the water and letting it warm up before stepping in. The steamy water cascaded down her back, but still she could imagine a pair of emerald eyes staring at her, the black skinny jeans emphasizing her rounded ass. How was Lia so g*d*mn attractive? She shook her head at the unwarranted perverted thoughts entering her mind. She didn't have time to get horny.

    The siblings shared a quick meal of waffles in the kitchen before Rheya hopped in the driver's seat, Rico stealing the aux cord. It didn't take long to pull up to one of the big shopping malls in Ottawa. Rico disappeared into the food court to get a coffee, meanwhile Rheya's first stop was her favourite merch store. 

    She began browsing the shelves at the entrance, looking for any new items. She settled her eyes on a Stitch backpack, picking it up before eyeing the price tag with distaste and putting it back. There was no way she was paying $60 for a little backpack. She turned around and almost ran into a short person with a neon pink pixie cut. At first she thought they were a teenager, but judging by their face they were likely older than she was. "Sorry!" 

    "It's alright, sorry for scaring you," they replied, before eyeing the backpack she put down. They pointed to their sweater, which was blue and had big Stitch ears. "I love Stitch! My name's Jules, what's yours?" 

    "Rheya, it's nice to meet you Jules. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what pronouns do you use?" 

    Jules beamed. "I go by they/them or she/her, thanks for making sure!" Just then, Rico turned the corner and almost dropped his coffee as his eyes met with Jules'. Rheya glanced between them, smiling slightly at how starstruck they both looked. Jules' ears turned red and Rico coughed and swallowed. 

    "Who's this, Rheya?" Rico asked, stepping closer to the pair, his eyes never leaving Jules' face.

    "This is Jules. She was just telling me how much she loves Lilo and Stitch..." Jules' face continued to get redder, and Rico grinned down at them.

    "Rheya and I are both Disney fanatics. You look adorable in that sweater," he flirted while she squeaked in embarrassment. "Maybe we should do a movie night sometime? If you're interested..."

    Jules nodded enthusiastically, both of them reaching for their phones at the same time. They swapped numbers while Rheya continued to browse the shop, happy that they found a connection. She grabbed a new lanyard, a pack of Disney themed pens and some Harry Potter notebooks before making her way back to the cash register. She paid for her goods and walked back up to Rico just as Jules waved goodbye. She raised her eyebrows at Rico, who just shrugged and smiled shyly. "What? They were cute!"

    She just chuckled and shook her head, before dragging him with her to the pet store to look at the animals. They had just recently started featuring pets with breeding papers, and she had always admired the puppies and kittens tumbling over each other in their pens. 

~~~

After they finished their school shopping, they went back home. Rico ended up staying on his phone all night, texting Jules back and forth. Rheya knocked and swung the bedroom door open, noting that Tamara looked less pale now that she had some extra hours of sleep in her system. They set up a cheesy comedy on the TV while Rheya cooked some pasta for their dinner. She was just finishing up when she heard a knock on the door. 

    She walked over to answer it, but glancing outside she didn't see anyone there. She swung open the door to reveal a familiar Stitch backpack sitting on the ground. She swung her head outside, looking for Jules to see if they were pranking her. All she saw was a black BMW with tinted windows turning the corner at the end of the street.

    She grabbed the backpack and opened it, revealing more cheesy school essentials and the latest Star Wars movie on Blu-ray. She turned towards Rico questioningly, who didn't seem to notice the doorbell had rung. "Hey, are you still texting Jules?"

    He nodded without looking up from his phone. "Yeah, why?"

    "Because this just got delivered to the door," she handed him the backpack of gifts. Rico and Tamara both sat there confused. 

    "Jules says they're at home right now, so it can't have been them. Did you see anyone else at the mall today?" Rico asked. Rheya shook her head no and sighed.

    "Well whoever it was, that was really kind of them. I hope I get to thank them sometime." She placed the gift inside her room and grabbed the DVD, sitting down to watch it with the group. She finally forced herself to go to bed when she started to doze off.