Irhaboggle Pride (2022) Gaylor Swift's Version

Cornelia St, Afterglow, Daylight

Dahlia and Justine were in the backseat, drunk on love, but this drunkenness didn't suddenly make them extroverted party girls with loose lips. Instead, at least in Justine's case, it made her feel even tenser than before. It left her feeling queasy and confused, not quite sure what to say, and certain that anything that came out of her mouth would likely be a mess. But they couldn't just sit in silence forever, so Justine leaned back in her seat, trying to look relaxed and cool.

"I rent a place on Cornelia Street," she said casually. The invitation was clear. Did Dahlia want to go on vacation with her? It would be nice to see the other woman outside of work more often. They both worked in the combat department at the Prism agency, but they had different jobs, so their paths didn't cross very often. This vacation would be the perfect chance to get to know one another better now.

Their story was still on a fresh page, barely even begun, and they were making it up as they went along. By asking Dahlia out on a vacation, Justine was taking the first steps to writing their first chapter, but she was terrified on the inside. She stared straight ahead, unsure of what she was more afraid of, Dahlia saying yes, or Dahlia saying no. Somewhere in the haziness of her mind, one thought stood out to her above all the others:

The streetlights look like arrowheads pointing us home...

"Sure, I'd love to!" Dahlia flashed Justine a dazzling, friendly smile and Justine felt her heart jump a little in her chest. She was a rather stoic woman, it took an awful lot to shake her up in any way, but all Dahlia had to do was smile and Justine was gone. That was part of what drew Justine to her so much. When was the last time anybody made her feel like that? Well, she knew the answer, but she didn't want to think about it right now. Instead, her mind had other ideas...

The two pulled up to Justine's place on Cornelia Street. The autumn air nipped at them as they stepped out of the car, and both of them shivered. Dahlia tightened her grip on the jacket around her shoulders. Contrast to the purple and white she normally wore, the jacket was black, it was Justine's. Like a proper gentlewoman, she gave it to Dahlia earlier that evening. It was a little small on Dahlia, since Justine was shorter than her, but Dahlia appreciated the gesture just the same.

"Justine, this place is beautiful..." Dahlia's voice was soft and full of wonder. Justine's stomach did a somersault.

"I'm glad you like it," she told Dahlia with a casual tone. Her inner voice was much more berating. Get a grip, Justine! She bit her lip and followed after Dahlia as Dahlia explored every inch of the vacation home. It was truly a lovely little place, humble though it was.

"I like it," she decided at the end of her little tour. "It's homey!"

"Homey?" Justine couldn't help but laugh, a wry smile slowly spreading across her face. She could see the appeal, she'd rented it after all, but she never would've described it as "homey". It always felt too cold and empty...and lonely. But Dahlia seemed to feel quite at home there already.

Although Justine didn't know it yet, as Dahlia would tell her later, every window was flung wide open and she memorized the creaks in the floor for a very specific reason. She had the ability to cast lifelike illusions wherever she wanted, and she wanted this place burned into her brain so that the next time she cast an illusion, she could revisit Cornelia Street after their vacation came to its inevitable end.

Inevitable end...Justine was no idiot. She knew nothing in life lasted forever. But that didn't mean that thinking about the day Dahlia would eventually move on from her and leave her behind was any easier to bear. It didn't matter how many people Justine lost, sometimes it still hurt just as badly as the first time. That time was all her fault, her first and biggest mistake.