AnimeCon Harem 13: Anime Sex Cult (Patreon)

   “Shit,” Emily swore under her breath. “Shit shit shit shit.”

   “Chill out,” Kelly smacked the girl’s arm with the back of her hand. “Steph’s got this.”

   “You don’t understand,” Emily quailed. “There’s just no fucking way Brian is going to be cool with this. At all. He’s always—”

   “Steph’s got this,” Kelly repeated in frustration. “Alright? She’ll automatically know how he feels about evrything, her power is basically like cheating at poker. Besides, he can’t say no to Steph anyways. She’s got this.”

   “We don’t know that that’s exactly how her thing works,” Emily griped. “For all we know, Brian being super not okay with it will influence Steph and make her super not okay with it, too! If you take into account that the—”

   “Steph said she’s got this, so she’s got this,” Kelly insisted. “Okay? Drop it, chill out. We can trust Stephanie. I’m about to be moving in with him, so he’d better be okay with this, or what the fuck am I even supposed to do? Alright? So, quit it—you’re making me all jittery. Fuck.”

   “Alright, sorry,” Emily huffed. “I just—yeah, sorry.”

   “Me too,” Kelly shrugged. “Sorry.”

   The two girls strode side by side out the convention’s double doors into the sunlight, leaving the con together for the second time in just a few hours. Emily’s mind was absolutely swimming with everything else that was going on, but in a rare moment of insight, she realized that Kelly unlike last time—Kelly had slowed her longer stride so that they were walking at the same pace. Few people besides Brian ever noticed or even cared to accommodate her smaller steps, meaning that most of her life Emily felt like she was being pressed to keep up with everyone else.

   “I think I’m maybe closer to figuring out my power,” Emily chimed in, eager to pull them out of their previous heavy topic and into a new direction. “I felt like I was connecting to it, for a bit. Just I was, y’know, way too distracted by all the sexy brainfuck juice we were carrying. Oh—yeah uh, sorry again for swallowing some of it. Totally didn’t mean for that to happen, it just sorta—”

   “Don’t be sorry,” Kelly shrugged. “I ended up swallowing almost all the rest of it. Only like a tiny bit of it actually made it the whole way to Steph.”

   “Oh. Oh,” Emily blinked. “Well—yeah, can’t blame you. That stuff is dangerously good.”

   “Yeah,” Kelly frowned. “I think my power’s back on, I can kinda feel it in the back of my mind. Lurking there. Now I’ve gotta worry some asshole future Kelly’s gonna fuck with me. I really hate my power.”

   “What?” Emily sputtered. “Kelly, future knowledge is like, ultra-OP. Unless one of us learns a teleporting power, yours is hands-down, by far the best power anyone could ever even get. By a fucking longshot.”

   “Okay,” Kelly made a face. “But, I hate it. Hate feeling like someone’s just leading me around by the nose, I can’t fucking stand it. Even if it’s ‘future me.’ Fuck future me.”

   “Uhhh—” Emily didn’t know what to say.

   “The first time my charm power activated, it was to like, lure me into rooming with Brian and Steph. On the false promise of sex. Then—”

   “Categorically untrue,” Emily interrupted. “False promise? We’ve kinda—”

   “—Then, the second time, future me tried to make it like she was just giving me this helpful heads-up about my power,” Kelly scowled. “When really, she was tricking me. Showing me exactly what I needed to see, so that I’d get myself deeper and deeper into all of this. It’s just like Stephanie said—this spoonful of sugar so that I’d take my medicine, like I’m this fucking kid. Pisses me off even more that I know all of that and it’s still working.”

   “Okay, time-out,” this time Emily was the one forming a T shape with her hands. “Me and you, we’re cool, right? So, are we the kind of friends where you want me to just sorta go along with what you’re saying so you feel better—or, are we the kinda friends where I level with you and I’m totally honest about what you need to hear, even if it’s really not what you want to hear?”

   “I don’t know?” Kelly gave an indifferent shrug. “Whatever you wind up saying, that’s the kind of friends we are, I guess.”

   “Um. Well, Kelly—you’re kind of a super manipulative person,” Emily said. “Like, not in a good or bad way, that’s just how you are. Who you are. You’re used to using things to get your way, so yeah duh the future you is gonna be like that. Does it suck to be on the receiving end? Yeah, sure. That’s part of why Brian and I didn’t mesh with the popular types back in high school, and we were kinda off into our own thing.

   “But like, with the time magic thing you have going on… for as long as you’re willing to manipulate dumb past you into doing what you want—because obviously you know better than she does—future you is gonna keep being this clever asshole who’s always two steps ahead of you. Always. That’s the revolving wheel of Kelly Kelly Kelly, and you’re never ever gonna be on top.”

   “So, that’s just it, and there’s nothing I can do about it?” Kelly fumed. “There’s no way out of that?”

   “If you’re gonna be stubborn about it—then, yes?” Emily held up her hands. “Should be obvious, but all you have to do to break that cycle is quit treating past you like this different person you’re trying to take advantage of.”

   “If I’m not trying to use this to my advantage, then there’s literally no point in using my power to try to change things for the better,” Kelly argued.

   “You’re not wrong,” Emily shrugged. “But... you could be a lot more right. I think maybe whenever you’re gonna use your power next, consult with Steph first. Like, run what you were planning to say or send or whatever by her first and see what she thinks.”

   “To sugarcoat it,” Kelly frowned again. “You want her to sugarcoat it.”

   “I mean, if you’re fine with feeling all bitter about having the most useful superpower ever, then just keep doin’ what you’re doin’ I guess?” Emily muttered. “Fucking hell. I hope I get teleporting, my feet are killing me. Can you imagine just like—”

   “Sarah, you don’t get to—” Kelly grimaced and clapped a hand over her own mouth. “Fucking fuck fuck. Actually almost fucking went there and called you Sarah. Was bound to happen when you’re both always acting like goddamn weeaboos.”

   “Sarah?” Emily looked bewildered. “The fuck? Who’s Sarah?”

   “Ughh. Don’t even ask,” Kelly growled. “Don’t want to get into it.”

   “Uhhh, okay?” Emily shrugged. “Let’s talk about Brian instead, then.”

   “Sure,” Kelly agreed. “What about him?”

   “So, your whole weird thing is that you’re more into Steph than you are into Brian, yeah?”

   “It’s…” Kelly paused. “It’s fuckin’ complicated, alright?”

   “No, no, I’m just like, interested,” Emily said. “I’ve been secretly into Brian for pretty much forever. He’s this huge part of my life, we were thick as thieves all through high school and so, yeah, I also had this huge crush on him all that time. All this time. If you’re tryin’ to be into Brian, I’m the girl to go to!”

   Emily jerked her arm up and flashed a big thumbs up with her elbow sticking out.

   “Wow,” Kelly mouthed. “I know he told us you do that, but seeing you do it in person is still kinda… wow. You realize how lame that looks, right?”

   “Of course it’s lame, that’s what makes it funny,” Emily stuck her nose up in the air. “You take everything too seriously, and that’s what’s really lame.”

   “If you say so,” Kelly shook her head. “But, uh, yeah. Brian? He’s cool, and I can see why you’re into him. Him and I definitely had a couple moments where things just clicked, and we had some kind of connection that I never expected. And, when we were bumping uglies it was weirdly easy to fantasize about being in love with him and going through with all the lovey dovey couple shit.

   “But, that’s just it; it’s fantasy,” Kelly frowned. “I know I’ve changed over the past couple nights. I’ve changed a lot. But, I can’t change everything. I can’t change my past. There’s some things about me that just aren’t ever gonna change, and they’re the kinda things that torpedo relationships fast. I’m real used to my way or the highway, and this whole thing is just some… really fuckin’ weird detour. Some of that I didn’t even realize until Brian fuckin’ pointed it out.”

   “Brian pointed what out?” Emily blinked.

   “He was saying to me—basically, you’re gonna be uncomfortable living with me if I’m paying all the bills and providing and shit. As like, a power dynamic thing between us. Was suggesting I at least pick up a part time job so that I can feel like I have agency with my life, or like I’m not completely dependent on him.”

   “Mmm,” Emily beamed. “Yeah, you gotta watch out for that, Brian can be real fuckin’ thoughtful sometimes.”

   “That’s—” Kelly made a face. “No, that’s a problem. I’m not a super thoughtful person, I’m more of a spontaneous, in-the-moment kinda girl. We were talking about what’s important in a relationship last night, and he said ‘compromise.’ Compromise. That’s not really a strength of mine, either. That’s not how I do relationships. Someone like me, I’m not supposed to be catching feels in the first place. Someone’s gonna get hurt. Everyone’s gonna get hurt. Just knowing that makes me want to bail before this all fucking blows up in everyone’s face.”

   “That’s how you feel when you picture things with Brian, but not how you feel when you’re picturing things with just you and Stephie?” Emily asked.

   “It’s—I dunno,” Kelly scowled. “Yeah, maybe. Things are different if it’s just me and Steph. It’s like Steph can accept me no matter what.”

   “And, Brian can’t?” Emily challenged.

   “Yeah, basically,” Kelly nodded. “Or, like—he’s a guy. I’m gonna be different around him. There’s gonna come some point where I fly into a mood and just feel this need to push all his buttons. To lash out, to be the alpha bitch that’s always got to test him. It’ll probably be over something stupid and pointless. It always is. Except this time? This time, it’s gonna get everyone fucking hurt.”

   “I think you’re missing something,” Emily said. “Or, overlooking it. Like, first of all— why would Stephanie let you do any of that?”

   “What do you mean?” Kelly stared.

   “You’re talking assuming Steph would let any of those problems develop,” Emily pointed out. “Like she’s gonna be asleep at the wheel or somethin’. You realize she’s the empath, right? Think about what you just said to me about leaving the huge fucking Brian finding out fiasco to her. If you’re right about her power, she’s gonna know whenever something’s off or wrong way the fuck before you are, and then she’ll be all over it. You do realize that’s literally what she’s supposed to be doing right now, right?”

   “That’s… yeah, but I don’t want to put all of that on her,” Kelly said.

   “Way too late for that,” Emily shrugged. “All those things you’re worrying about are already in her hands, and I don’t think you get to take them back. Welcome to being loved and cared about.”

   “Fuck,” Kelly swore under her breath.

   “Yep,” Emily said. “Now, turn it around—if—no, when Steph has problems, are you just gonna stand by and ignore them?”

   “No,” Kelly admitted. “Just. It’s still gonna be weird with Brian. Steph feels differently about Brian than I do, she doesn’t have my problems. I don’t want my bullshit to come between them in the first place.”

   “It won’t,” Emily insisted. “I don’t think it will. If you need space or anything, Brian’ll give you space. If you need him, he’ll be there for you. For any weird, bad stuff between you— just like, talk through it with Steph and she can mediate. Right?”

   “I guess,” Kelly said with reluctance.

   “Hey, uhh,” Emily paused. “About before, about what you said way earlier this morning? Yeah, I’ll be your girlfriend, if you still want me.”

   “Oh?” Kelly arched an eyebrow.

   “I feel like things just kinda clicked,” Emily said. “Just now. You went from being this totally alien existence I can’t relate to, to someone I really do know, and want to know. You know?”

   “I was… half serious about that,” Kelly admitted. “Honestly didn’t put a ton of thought into it. No offense. But if you want to—”

   “You’re a fuckup,” Emily said with a small smile. “Like, for whatever reason I wasn’t even able to see it until we went through all that just now. You’re all amazing and on another level and it’s like you have all your shit together—but you’re also a total fuckup. Now I’m picturing your life as just like, you stubbornly barging on through from one epic fucking disaster to the next, not even super bothered by the mess you’re causing.”

   “I guess,” Kelly sounded amused more than anything.

   “I’m like, the polar opposite kind of fuckup,” Emily illustrated with her hands. “To where I’m afraid to even move, or I’m stuck in one spot spinning my wheels not getting anywhere, or going around in circles in my head with pointless shit. You’re over here fucking everything up, and I’m way on the other end fucking everything up. Two total fuckups. You like, not putting much thought into what you’re doing, and me way overthinking things.”

   “So, we can be real fuckups together?” Kelly smirked.

   “Kind of,” Emily gave her a thoughtful look. “I feel like with the specific different ways each of us fuck up, if we can stick together and like, course correct in each other’s direction, maybe things’ll work out really well?”

   “Or, alternatively, it all blows up in our face but twice as fast and hard?” Kelly countered.

   “Maybe,” Emily said. “I can see that happening, too. I’ll get all hurt by something you said, even if it’s not really the way you meant it, and just keep running it over and over and over in my mind and being bothered by it. I do that all the time. But, then again—we have Stephanie, too. Maybe she’d catch that kind of thing and help us sort it out.”

   “Sounds like it’s always gonna come back to Stephanie just magically solving all our problems,” Kelly remarked in a dry voice.

   “Well, not always,” Emily said, giving Kelly a somber look. “When Chloe was getting right in our face screaming and shouting, Stephie and I couldn’t do jack shit about it to like, out-talk her in front of everybody. Steph was getting overloaded on all the anger and I… I just clench up and get too flustered to have the right things to say in those kinda moments. Then I spend months afterwards replaying it in my mind and trying to think of what I should have said.

   “We needed you, all of us needed you there. And, when Steph was all locked into berserker Steph-mode afterwards, she needed us. Together, you and I tag-teamed things there and actually accomplished something kinda crazy. Right? We’re all always gonna have all kinds of fuckups, but as long as we’re all committed to putting in some effort, this relationship isn’t going to fall apart for stupid reasons.”

   After traversing the crosswalk together and cutting across the road verge that separated the city streets from the Westerlin’s parking lot, Kelly gave a small wave in the distance and Emily discovered what she thought of as a beater car was waiting for them. Rather than the proper gloss of a car finish it was a mottled combination of matte white and primer, adorned around the edges with a cinnamon sprinkling of rust spots. All of the wheels she could see were without hubcaps, and by appearances looked to be undersized donut-tire spares rather than real tires.

   “It’s cheap and it runs really well,” Kelly muttered as they headed over to the idling vehicle. “Don’t say anything.”

   “Hey, I mean—I don’t even have a car of my own,” Emily held up her hands. “Not like I can talk. So long as it runs, right? If—”

   “I said don’t say anything.”

   “Yeah, yep, right,” Emily pouted. “Shuttin’ up.”

   To her surprise, the driver seated therein was nothing like she expected—Emily had assumed Kelly’s friend would be similar to Kelly, a cool crowd scene girl. Instead, the young woman was pretty but wore no makeup at all, had her brown hair pulled back out of the way into a ponytail, and looked like she’d put on pounds and her youthful but tired mien was softened by the extra weight. She seemed to be around the same age as them, but the contrast between the fine features and the apparent zero effort or priority put into her appearance screamed young mother to Emily.

   As a twenty-three year old, Emily of course knew that some of her distant peers from high school had started settling down to marriage or having kids right away, but the abrupt change in social roles still seemed completely alien to her. She was legally an adult now, sure, but she was lowercase ‘a’ adult, basically still the same dumb teen she used to be. People her age who were becoming parents were uppercase ‘A’ Adults already, they had crossed some intangible line Emily didn’t understand and entered into a mysterious realm of stress and responsibility.

   “Hey Chel,” Kelly leaned down slightly so that she could speak through the passenger’s side window of the beater car. A large box, presumably full of Kelly’s belongings, was occupying the passenger’s seat.

   “Kelly, oh my God!” Chelsea exclaimed, putting a hand up to her mouth. “It took me a second to recognize you! Your hair looks amazing! Is this your sister?”

   “My sister?” Kelly followed Chelsea’s gaze over to Emily and winced. “Nah, she’s— this is Emmie. My new girlfriend. One of my new girlfriends. It’s a whole thing.”

   “Um—oh,” Chelsea mouthed in surprise, sizing Emily up. “Okay.”

   “She’s part of the whole big ‘sex cult’ thing I got into,” Kelly smirked. “I... I don’t think I’m even kidding anymore.”

   “Yeah, she ain’t kiddin’,” Emily bobbed her head in agreement. “Anime sex cult. Couldn’t have said it better myself!”

   “And, you’re, uh… you’re sure about this?” Chelsea looked from Kelly to Emily and back again as if not sure how seriously to take their words. “Okay, um. Wow. Cool. Cool? I did bring your things, so… yeah, are you really sure about this?”

   “I am,” Kelly sighed. “I know it sounds weird.”

   “It does sound super weird,” Chelsea let out an uncomfortable laugh. “But, I mean… if you’re sure, then okay? I’ve got all of your stuff—where are we putting it?”

   “So, um,” Kelly pointed down the row of cars. “My friend’s car is on the other end there, see that greenish one? Next to the truck. If you can just pull up behind it, we’ll move everything over.”

   “‘Kay, I see it,” Chelsea shifted out of idle with a strained groan of metal followed by a clunk. “Meet you over there!”

   “So, sister, huh? I take it your sister’s name is Sarah, then?” Emily asked as the beater creeped away from them. “You did slip up and call me Sarah, earlier.”

   “It’s complicated,” Kelly grunted, following after Chelsea’s car. “C’mon.”

   “Duh, I know,” Emily shrugged. “I have a little sister, she lives with me. Err, well I guess we technically just both still live with our Mom. My sister Katelyn though—she’s a stupid, vapid twat. Boring skinny tall bitch. No sense of humor, no interests, no hobbies.”

   “Sarah’s real big into the cosplay thing,” Kelly sighed. “Makes a living at it. I came to AnimeCon ‘cause I was gonna say goodbye to her one last time before I threw my life away starting up this sketchy porno career and getting back into a serious coke habit. Shit like that.”

   “Jesus Christ,” Emily sputtered in surprise. “Coke like cocaine?! Jesus Christ. So, uhhh yeah it is complicated, but it’s all complicated on your end?”

   “I guess,” Kelly grimaced. “Can we drop it?”

   “Yeah, sure. Sorry,” Emily struggled to catch up as she discovered Kelly had switched back to her longer stride. “But, uhh—what’s coke like? I see it in movies and shit, but like, what’s it actually like?”

   “Expensive,” Kelly scowled. “It wasn’t just coke. It was… fuck, it was a lot of things, alright? Major substance abuse, any available substances. Whatever could keep me going. Just alcohol and smoking in recent months. Okay?”

   “Smoking what?” Emily pressed, making a face. “Pot? Crack?”

   “Cigarettes, Emily,” Kelly rolled her eyes. “Can barely even afford them right now. Lost my guy for weed when some bridges got burned, and Chelsea doesn’t get high.”

   “Christ, though,” Emily murmured. “You realize Brian’s not into—”

   “I know,” Kelly cut her off. “It’s a factor. The magic makeover shit helped clear away some of those needs, I guess. Haven’t had any nicotine cravings, haven’t needed a drink yet. I’m clean, alright?”

   “Alright, sorry,” Emily groused. “Just, when you suddenly throw all this—”

   “Hey,” Chelsea called, stepping out of her car but leaving the motor running. “Did I say how much I love your hair, Kelly?! Did you get it done here downtown somewhere?”

   “Sort of,” Kelly made a half-hearted smile. “It’s… honestly, it’s a sex cult thing.”

   “Anime sex cult,” Emily added.

   “Yeah, so I’m red—she’s blue,” Kelly pointed out. “We have another girl, she’s pink. There’s a guy.”

   “Oh, um… wow,” Chelsea’s expression wavered between baffled amusement and hesitant skepticism. “That’s… pretty cool? So, you’re like part of a rainbow theme, like the girls in Magical Doll Himari? Where you each have different colors?”

   “Ugh, Magical Doll Himari,” Emily groaned, slapping her forehead. “I’ll never be able to enjoy it the same way again. It’s completely tainted, now.”

   “It’s complicated,” Kelly leaned back into her new most favorite phrase. “I’m gonna really just try not to even think too hard about it.”

   “Hah, well okay,” Chelsea shook her head in amusement.

   “I’ll, uh—I’ll unlock Brian’s car,” Emily offered with a sheepish smile. “We can fit everything in the back seat, I guess. We’ll just have to be kinda cozy on the ride back. Hey, you realize I’m totally riding back with you guys, right?”

   “Sure, you can drive,” Kelly smirked. “I’ll ride in Brian’s lap.”

   “Wow,” Chelsea remarked. “I guess you guys really are, uh, ‘cozy?’”

   “A lot of things happened,” Kelly chuckled. “Hell, a lot of things are still happening. It’s been wild.”

   “Uhh, I bet,” Chelsea gave her another look.

   As it turned out, the large Toddler Table box that was acting as a makeshift hamper for all of Kelly’s clothing wouldn’t fit in Brian’s backseat without blocking line of sight for the driver. Unless the box was put on its side, which took up more space and required significantly rearranging all of everyone’s travel bags and cosplay stuff—Brian’s, Emily’s, and even Stephanie’s things were all in here at the moment. Brian’s front seat needed to stay relatively clear for a passenger, and fitting an additional person in there after that was going to be a tight squeeze.

   “Here,” Kelly popped open the Bermuda shipping box Chelsea had collected some of her other things into. “Chel, give all these to Devan—I won’t need them.”

   Emily’s eyes widened a bit as Kelly passed an already opened carton of cigarettes to her friend, and then handed her a loose pack as well, along with an ashtray.

   “You’re, ah, you’re just quitting?” Chelsea blinked as the items were pressed into her hands. “Just like that?”

   “I kind of already did,” Kelly said. “All at once. It’s a sex cult thing. I guess?”

   “Ooookay,” Chelsea murmured with a skeptical look. “Well, um. Devan will appreciate these, but are you—”

   “Yes, I’m really sure,” Kelly cut Chelsea off before she could ask again. “And, also… what’s the total damage, how much all do I owe you guys? Know I missed paying my slice of the bills and stuff for a while. Borrowed money, too. I’m paying it all back now.”

   “Oh, that,” Chelsea flushed. “You, uh—you don’t have to worry about it. I talked to Devan and it’s fine. Don’t worry about it. You might need it for your like, fresh start and all—”

   “Chel, no,” Kelly refused. “Skyler has a ton of doctor’s appointments. Devan’s cut of all the band income isn’t super consistent. You deserve to have things easier and stress out over everything less. Okay? You guys took care of me when no one else would, I wasn’t even real grateful about it, and right now I’m not cool with burning you guys on this.”

   “It wasn’t a big deal,” Chelsea tried to wave it away. “You babysat Skyler for us all the time, and it’s not even like—”

   “Chelsea,” Kelly growled, grabbing her purse from where it was tucked in near the floor space of Brian’s back seat and digging into it. “Here.”

   “Kelly—Jesus!” Chelsea exclaimed as she tried to refuse a large wad of folded cash. “What did—where did you even get all this?! How much is this?!”

   “It’s a thousand bucks,” Kelly said. “Lot of it’s in small bills. Sorry.”

   “Kelly, you don’t owe us a thousand dollars,” Chelsea shook her head, pushing the offered money back towards Kelly. “That’s too much, no way.”

   “Take some of it, then,” Kelly insisted. “I’m not cool with not being square with you guys.”

   “No,” Chelsea refused, shaking her head. “You’re jumping into a whole new living situation and it sounds weird and who knows what’s what just yet, okay? Hang onto that in case you need it. You can pay us back some when you know for sure you won’t need it—or even just take Devan and I out to dinner, or something.”

   “Take some of it,” Kelly bristled. “Please.”

   “Hang onto it in case you need it, okay?” Chelsea repeated her refusal.

   “Chelsea—” Kelly began to growl.

   “Whoa whoa, just fuckin’ hang onto it for now, alright?” Emily intervened. “You can pay her whatever once you’re all settled in and everything’s fine. Cool?”

   “Cool,” Chelsea agreed, flashing Emily a smile.

   Kelly scowled at Emily, but finally relented and wound up tossing the wad of cash back into the depths of her purse. She stood there for an awkward moment, unsure of what to say, before Chelsea stepped in and gave her a quick hug. Emily tried not to stare as Kelly’s shoulders sagged slightly and she returned the girl’s hug.

   “Keep in touch for sure,” Chelsea said. “Let us know however things go, okay?”

   “Yeah,” Kelly sighed. “Say g’bye to the string bean for me. He’s a cute little fucker. Thanks for looking out for me all that time, I really never deserved it.”

   “You did,” Chelsea shook her head with a wry smile. “You used to do my makeup for me and everything!”

   “That’s not even remotely comparable to anything you guys—”

   “Well, back then? It meant the world to me,” Chelsea stuck out her tongue. “Take care of yourself, Kelly.”

   “I—yeah,” Kelly managed. “I will. And, they’re gonna take care of me, everything’s gonna be fine. Things are gonna be different.”

   “Good!” Chelsea grinned, turning towards Emily. “Keep an eye on her, alright?”

   “I’ll take good care of her,” Emily promised. “She won’t get a scratch!”

   “Alright, I’ve got your promise, now—not a scratch!” Chelsea teased, slipping back into her beater car. “Ciao ciao for now! Call me soon!”

   “Ciao, Chel,” Kelly waved. “I will.”

   The groan of Chelsea changing gears became an unsettling grinding sound and then a clunk, and the girl was off, pulling away from them and heading out towards the parking lot’s exit. Emily watched Kelly watching her leave, and it was interesting to see—the exchange didn’t look to have gone down quite like she expected, and maybe now the finality of her jumping into a new life with Brian was really hitting her.

   “That was sweet,” Emily remarked, making absolutely sure she didn’t sound patronizing or sarcastic or that her tone could be misread. “She seemed really cool. Well, except her car, hah. She could’ve—”

   “Hey, uh,” Kelly made a face. “Can we kinda just not talk for a bit? No offense, or anything. I just don’t want to talk right now.”

   “Sure, sorry!” Emily peeped. “No problem.”

   Kelly still had a frustrated look as she ducked back into Brian’s car to peel a few twenties out of the fistful of cash in her purse, then shoved the purse in deeper where it was out of sight and slammed the door closed. Emily tested the door handle—everything was locked up properly—and then meandered back over towards the median of grass and sidewalk that separated the parking lot from the street. To her surprise, when Kelly joined her, Kelly held out her hand. It was weird to her still to think of Kelly as an intimate companion or a girlfriend.

   But not BAD weird, just weird weird, Emily thought as she took Kelly’s offered hand and they began the walk back over towards the convention together. She’s up front ‘bout when she’s not in the mood to hear me chatter, but then she also makes sure not to be all standoffish about it, either. We’re just… we’re cool. I like that.

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