“Bye, have a good evening.” Chaos did his customary wave, a single, grand sweep with his open palm. In his other, he held a cup of the seasonal flavor of cinnamon, which hadn’t been selling that well and a cup of his favorite, vanilla with some rainbow sprinkles.

  “See you,” Ever replied. He had just finished packing up the sorbets and was about to move onto the ice creams. He risked a glance at Taylor, stooped over in the corner. Her eyebrows were furrowed, whispering numbers under her breath as if she were trying to covertly hex the cash register.

  They’d maintained this distance of nine to ten feet without even agreeing to. It was almost like Taylor conjured an uncomfortable force field around her that she selectively applied to Ever. It wasn’t so much that he wasn’t physically able to get closer to her, but after scurrying away from him each time he drew close - whether on purpose or by accident - he could also feel this awkward energy that rippled in the air between them.

  “Here’s your pay,” Taylor said, putting the bank notes on the serving bench to her right. She took a little breath and held it, mouth slightly open, closing it momentarily after.

  “Thank you.” Ever slid across, reaching out and grabbing the notes while keeping as much of his body away from her as possible, like he was handing her a towel in the shower while trying to not look at her.

  He’d enjoyed the last reaping so much - and the flying in general - that he was going to go and do it again. He hurriedly finished cleaning and packing up, went into the back room, stashed his cash (and Chaos’ cash that he warped into his pocket) and got changed. In that time, Taylor had stepped into the front of the store, looking busy with one of the customer chairs.

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  Ever pushed down on the door handle. “Good night.” It was a mostly clear sky with a few clouds here and there, should be fun to--

  “Wait.”

  Ever held the door handle down.

  “I…” Taylor wrestled with her words as they thrashed wildly about. “I just wanted to say that I’m sorry.”

  Ever gently let the door handle come back up and let go of it. He suddenly became aware of his heartbeat in his neck. He looked away from the window towards the floor. From the corner of his eye, he could just make out the form of the first human he ever met; she still wasn’t looking at him, but at least she was talking to him again.

  “What for?” He said quietly. Now it was his turn to hold his breath.

  “I…” the words were constricting her, but she fought to get them out. “Stuff’s changing. Things I used to believe I’m not so sure about anymore.”

  Like going overseas to study? Ever wanted to say, but he didn’t want to put words in her mouth. Besides, he knew that her sudden change in demeanor towards him probably wasn’t because of that.

  “Like what?” His voice was low, just above a whisper.

  Ring! Ring!

  He looked up at her, meeting her eyes for the first time in days. They were wide open. Her mouth trembled ever so slightly. He took half a step towards her. Why did he want to take her in his arms?

  Ring! Ring!

  Taylor rushed past him to pick up the phone in the corner; it was her uncle, asking about the day’s takings. The bell dinged cheerfully, betraying Ever’s wish to depart without a trace. She watched him walk down the street and disappear from sight, almost as if he were a ghost.