I laugh at Kjelle wrinkling her nose as I drag her into Bath and Body Works. "Severaaa," she complains quietly, but otherwise letting me pull her inside.

"Come on, it's time to figure out your summer scent!" I squeal. Kjelle's low tolerance for sweet things applies to her sense of smell too, but I love taking her here anyway. I don't really have anyone to go wander around with, so I Kjelle is all I got. Not that I'd rather anyone else. Her presence calms but excites me at the same time. Since she's lived in a bubble in her grand house and fancy sports, I try to show her the things average people like me enjoy. For example, Bath and Body Works.

"But I was fine with last summer's scent," Kjelle retorts. I haven't mentioned before, but I love hearing Kjelle talk. Her voice is low and smooth, like velvet. If her voice was a cat, I'd never stop petting it. But alas, the best I can do is let her quiet tones ring through my ears.

"Yeah, but we get new scents! And so, more options for you." I grin at her, tugging on her hand. I choose a scent for her every season. She rarely uses perfume or body mist, so I always smell her Dove eucalyptus soap. It suits her, but I want her to find her signature scent that isn't soap. It's kinda selfish of me, yeah, but look, when you're around her as often as I am, you'd start wanting to experiment too. Besides, she only does this for me, so let me indulge a little. I lead her to the shiny new display of scents. "Ohmygod!" I yell, scaring the store greeter.

"What?" Kjelle asks.

I point to the display. "They brought back retired scents!" Kjelle gives me a blank look, her pink mouth in a small frown. "They used to be in circulation back when we were in middle school, but they've been off the shelves for years, remember? I can't believe they brought back Pink Chiffon, it was my fave!" I pick up a bottle of body wash, screw off the cap, and take in a deep whiff. I pass it to Kjelle, where she sniffs it.

"I remember this," she says, her eyes brightening. "I always had the sensation of eating cotton candy when you wore this." I bite my lip to keep from saying, I wanted you to eat me.

I put the bottle back down as another scent catches my eye. "Ooh, Cucumber Melon? Dude this is totally you." I shove a bottle of body mist at Kjelle.

Kjelle gingerly takes it, asking, "Really? I've never tried this before…" At my urging, she sprays her wrist with it and sniffs. I expect her to say some sort of agreement, but she just looks at me with blank eyes again.

"What's up? Is the spray not working?"

"No, I...I can't smell anything." I stare at her for a long while, taking in her outfit of a purple tank top and beige cargo shorts. It's a bit of a fashion disaster, but she pulls it off perfectly. It shows off her curves. Ugh, focus on what Kjelle's saying, Severa. You can admire her all you want later. After shaking my head to clear those thoughts, I burst out into laughter. Kjelle giggles along. This happens sometimes: Kjelle's fine for a few minutes, but then the clashing of strong scents gets to her and Kjelle can't tell anything apart. Today is one of those days.

"That's fine, we can just ring this up," I say, taking a bottle of Pink Chiffon body wash and French Lavender Honey lotion. I reach for Kjelle's soft hand, pulling her to the register.


After forty minutes of sitting in the hot spring with Sumia, I'm burning up. And not just from the steam—all of Sumia's movements is making me flush in a way I've never experienced before.

Well, I mean, I experienced it...but only with Chrom, and the man who I thought loved me but left me to care for Severa on my own.

Sumia's supple skin, flushed from being in the hot spring, seeing her happy, it kills me.

And it makes me want to kiss her.

No, stop. Don't throw away your friendship for this. You don't even know what's going on.

Chrom has her. What do I have?

Am I just jealous?

"Cordelia?" Sumia calls out from across the spring. I've moved farther away from her and stuck my head up to my nose in the water, trying to hide everything.

I sputter some water out to answer, "Yeah?"

"Why are you so far?" She starts treading towards me. I start backing up, sputtering nonsense. But Sumia's gray eyes give me a knowing look. She knows I'm lying. Of course she knows. She's been in my life ever since we were three. What doesn't she know?

She doesn't know I love Chrom. I guess I should say loved, though. I moved on.

Right?

"Cordeliaaaaa, you can't hide from me." Sumia made it to me, leaving me pressed against the stone wall at the edge of the spring. She presses a damp hand to my cheek. I just want to melt under her touch. Whenever Sumia touches me, I feel so...safe. Like she's always holding me up. I feel all the love radiating from her hand.

I kiss her hand in a moment of weakness. I can't deny her. I can't deny myself from her.

So I blurt, "I loved Chrom."