Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 44th cycle. Now cycle 45!

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** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 45 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about shift days!

This is a shift day [see above]. There will be another upload this afternoon: A Dish Best Served Cold, chapter 1.

"Activities in Friendship"
Artie & Lucy (OC)
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

The more time went by, the more he felt like it had always been a fine line between who they were as friends and who they were as a couple. The couple things, they were obvious, sure. The kissing, the hand holding, the cuddling, those little words they could say to each other, but really, they were bonuses, add-ons to a foundation based on friendship, so as much as they could miss those add-ons, and the extra time they might have spent together and all that, they were kind of the same people. Except they weren't, not yet. They were being cautious, the both of them. It had been weeks now since Grant, and the break-up, but even then the whole thing remained on their minds, on hers even more.

Part of him just wanted to say 'what are we doing, we both want to be together, so why can't we?' but he didn't want to go too fast and risk having her back away on him.

At least they were getting better at it all. He could see it. First it had been in letting Stella see him again, and then in how she had started calling him or texting him again, suggesting that they hang out after school, or before her shifts at Breadstix… It almost felt like old times, almost… She still resisted.

One Saturday, she had sent him a message, one he was long familiar with. Whenever she wanted to meet before her shift, all she would have to do would be to text him 'meet me at the fountain' and he would be on his way. The first time she had sent him one of those after the break-up, he had almost dropped his phone. He replied to her – yes, he would be there – and he had checked for either his mother or father to take him to the mall.

When he arrived, there she was, same spot as always, with the bag that would hold her Breadstix uniform. She saw him and smiled, moving up toward him. "Guess what?" she asked.

"Uh…" he thought. He had no idea, but that never stopped him. "They delivered too many breadsticks, now you have to bring some home so they don't go bad," he spoke, all the while pointing to himself and nodding. It got a smile out of her.

"Sadly, no," she told him and he smiled back. "No, but the new candy store finally opened," she pointed up to the second floor. He dropped his jaw.

"Well what are we waiting for, woman?" he intoned, and she gave a wide-eyed shrug and a chuckle as they headed for the elevators. The space had once been occupied by a shoe store, which had closed a few months ago. After that, they had watched the boarded up store front, whenever they would pass by, take guesses as to what would take its place. Their ideas could range anywhere from clothing store to 'specialized' lizard store, or a secret front for smugglers. Eventually though they had found out that it was to be a candy store, to replace the one that had closed on the lower level. This one would be even bigger, if they were to guess from the dimensions of the old shoe store. Little by little they had seen more of the window and store be revealed, even if it wasn't open yet.

Now they went and stood in front of it, all lit up and full of people, and they kind of had to just pause and take a breath and look at one another. They knew what it represented in a way. They had been part of its development, over time. As their relationship had developed, so had the store. They had awaited its opening, and after the break up they had kind of forgotten about it. But now they were here, as friends on the mend, not a couple, and the store was done, ready, moving along where they weren't... and now they hesitated to go in.

"I kind of want to go all out with jelly beans," he revealed after a moment, and he could see like a breath had been liberated in her.

"And I know someone who would flip at the sight of a massive bag of multicolored gum balls," she added and he smiled.

"Come on," he nodded ahead and they went in.

They had gone and achieved both of their goals, getting an obscene amount of jelly beans for Artie, and a massive supply of gum balls for Stella. For her part, Lucy had been swayed to any and all things cinnamon flavored. The way she had it, she wouldn't be satisfied until she could breathe fire.

It had been their best time together since the break-up. Maybe for that he had been more daring, presenting an offer to her: he wanted to take her to see a movie before her shift. If they went now, they could have time. Her face had shrunk back, and he knew he'd be heading for a letdown.

"We can't..." she shook her head.

"Why not? It'd be fun, and we have candy already, we'll sneak it in with my chair, they never check it."

"I know, but..."

"But it would feel like a date," he figured it out and she looked sad again. "It's okay, we don't have to, we can... Hey, how about the bookstore?" he offered and she smiled weakly.

They went to the bookstore, browsing the biographies, the music section, and Lucy's favorite section, the linguistics and language books. They had been looking at them all, this language and that, and it felt very normal for them. Maybe for that, it had made Lucy pause, look back to him.

"I hate that things have to be like this," she admitted. "I feel horrible, and you, I mean… You've been so good about it, I…" she breathed.

"I get it, I swear. And I'll do my time, whatever you need," he promised.

"I know, and that right there just makes me want to say 'forget I said anything, let's just be happy again, but…"

"We're not… unhappy, you know," he told her. "We're having fun, aren't we?"

"We are," she confirmed, smiling.

"So we're… rediscovering each other, as friends. It doesn't have to be a bad thing, it can be… good. Maybe I didn't see it at first because, well… I miss you," he cut to the chase, and she smiled. "Let's just not worry anymore," he shrugged. "Not think about how we were a couple but now we're not, let's just see how things go and just be… us."

"That actually sounds really nice," she agreed, the sadness draining out of her, leeched out by his suggestions. "Come to Breadstix tonight," she nodded. "For old times'…" she started, and he held up a hand, "… endless salad bowl night," she course-corrected. He frowned, unsure. "Salads are good for you," she insisted. "You can do like a tasting, try out each one."

"Oh, yeah," he perked up at the thought. "You're on," he offered his hand and she shook it. "Now take me to the salad bar," he declared. She moved behind him, guiding his chair.

"Might as well, what with all those jelly beans you're about to eat," she whispered at his ear.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!