Clary brushed past her boyfriend, fighting to keep a straight face, until she burst into her best friend Tessa's room and collapsed into peals of laughter. Startled, Tessa looked up from her laptop, taking off her headphones.
"Um… Are you okay," she crawled forward on the bed to see Clary hunched over and shaking with giggles, "Oh wait, is this about Jace again?"
Clary nodded, stifling her laughter.
"He's bought it completely! He's bought flowers and everything. It's kind of adorable actually."
"But I thought you were actually mad at him."
"I am actually mad at him, but not as mad as he thinks I am. I mean, look at what I found on the bedside table this morning."
Clary pulled out a small pink square of paper with neat, cursive writing printed on it.
"An invite? To 'a candlelit dinner for two at home'! That's so sweet!"
"Exactly! He really thinks he's in trouble about this."
"Still, that's going to be so romantic."
Clary giggled, blushing.
"Wait a minute," Tessa looked at the invite again, frowning at the date, "This is tonight."
"Yeah."
"At home."
"Uh-huh."
"But we had plans for tonight! We were going to lounge around watching movies and eating junk. I even bought cup noodles."
"Oh Tessa," Clary looked at her sheepishly, "I'm sorry. We can do it tomorrow."
"Or you could just do it without me, like you were planning to in the first place."
"But your dinner is at home. Which means I can't be here."
"Uh… yes, that's true."
"But I don't want to go out."
"But you never go out. Maybe this could be good for you?"
"And where am I supposed to go?"
"Anywhere! Go watch a movie. Go to a pub and hook up with a tall beautiful stranger."
Tessa glanced at her reflection in the mirror hanging on her cupboard door. Her brown hair was sloppily tied into a tangled bun, and she was dressed in an oversized Marvel t-shirt and ratty pajama pants. She did not look like the kind of person who should be in pubs. She did not look like the kind of person who should even leave the house.
"Come on Tessa. You'll enjoy it. Please?" Clary tilted her head and blinked her giant green eyes, pleading.
Tessa imagined walking into a pub in the little black dress she'd gotten for Christmas.
"I guess…"
"Yes! Thank you so much Tessa, I swear I will make this up to you! You won't regret this!"
Tessa already was.