insomnia | e.jaeger

17 • bittersweet

"thank you! have a nice day!" loki cheered after the customer that had just left. he let out a sigh of relief seeing as the shop was now empty after the rush.

"it's beginning to get colder." jae muses. "yet business still hasn't slowed down." he begins to wipe down some tables, ridding of the sticky residue left behind by kids who spilled their frozen treat.

"well it's usually around this time of year that sis makes us her famous hot chocolate and she serves it to our regulars." loki added.

it was a late september evening, the sun was setting causing an orange red hue to illuminate in the small ice cream parlor. bittersweet creamery was launched shortly after the arrival of the twins, named after their personalities. it was always your fathers dream to run an ice cream shop and it was an immediate success in this small town where things such as fast food joints were limited.

jae wrung out the rag he was using, tossing it in a bucket full of other used rags. he turned to wash his hands, his eyes looking outside of the shop to as he people watched. a familiar face stood out amongst the crowd as they made their way into the shop.

"well if it isn't dumb and dumber!" the voice cheered. loki rolled his eyes, resting his elbow on the counter and placing his chin in the palm of his hand as he stared at the person.

"sorry olivia, we don't serve animals."

jae stifled a laugh as olivia scoffed. she turned to glare at the laughing boy which caused him to shrug and head to the back to put away some dirty dishes. the bell above the door chimed once more as another familiar face entered the shop.

"liv! you forgot your coat!" emi told her younger sister. the girl groaned, snatching the coat from her hands.

"what? did mom send you to spy on me?" she accused. loki watched the scene unfold with an amused glint. olivia was the younger sister of his sister's best friend, emi. she was about a year older than the twins, making her seventeen. despite their sisters being close, the twins and liv never saw eye to eye.

"mom's still at work. i just heard you leave and realized you forgot it. i tried calling out to you but you must not have heard me." emi tells her.

"did you think that maybe i was ignoring you? god! why can't you just leave me alone!" the younger stomped her foot before stalking towards the door. the bell rang once more as she exited the shop.

a deep sigh escaped emi's lips as rested her head in her hands. jae peeked hus head out of the back. "is she gone?"

loki turned to his twin and nodded before looking back to emi. "why do you let her to talk to you like that?"

"trust me, it's not like i enjoy it. it's taking a toll on me. she used to cling to me and now she wants nothing to do with me. i think it's due to the fact that i accepted our parent's divorce whereas she thinks we should've fought to keep them together." emi sighs, looking at both twins with a weak smile. "sorry for dumping that all on you. how are you guys?"

"busy with the shop and school. jae is studying like crazy so he can follow in y/n's step to marley." loki teased.

"you're one to talk. you didn't wanna play mario party the other night because you were studying too!"

emi laughed at the twins bickering. "how is y/n? i rarely hear from her nowadays."

"last i heard she's fine. we haven't really spoke in a week." jae nodded before a gasp left his lips. he slammed his closed fist into the palm of his hand before pointing at emi. "what do you know about her and kris' break up?!"

the girl purses her lips as she stands up straighter. "he said she cheated on him."

loki and jae's jaws dropped as a loud "HUH?!" left each of their mouths.