adora • lookism

7. Cafeteria

Ari stared at Jay, crossing both her arms and legs around the large stuffed bear she had gifted him some time ago. The bear's name was Coco Chanel (despite having absolutely no affiliation with Chanel), and she'd very ceremoniously plonked it onto Jay's couch upon her third visit, after the first and second had revealed how cold and lonely his stupid-expensive, stupid-huge apartment was.

"But why are you giving him a present?" Ari asked, uncomprehendingly. "When did you guys become friends? Why didn't I notice anything?"

"When I tried to stop Zack last time," Jay said very quietly. His voice was a little raspy from infrequent use. "He asked to be friends..."

They were in Jay's high-rise apartment, just the two of them---even Mister Butler had gone out for something. She was sitting on Jay's immense and oddly not that comfortable sofa, while Jay was pacing the rug, brainstorming what to get Daniel for his birthday.

"So you're gonna get him such a big birthday present just for that," Ari said, feeling speechless. "You haven't even given me a birthday present yet."

"Well," Jay hesitated. "Your birthday..."

"I know it's not my birthday yet," she pouted and fell onto her back on the sofa, kicking her legs out into the air aimlessly. "But how can you give him a birthday present before me?"

Was she being petulant? Yes. Did she care? Not really.

Jay faltered, seeming to be unsure if she was teasing or if he really had made some sort of friend faux-pas. Ari sometimes forgot how unfamiliar he was with having close friends.

Before Jay could begin to spiral into anxiety that he'd offended her for real, Ari opened up the arms of the oversized teddy bear towards him. She waggled its paws invitingly at him until he walked over and embraced it, and by extension her, his arms slipping under her back to squish her into the bear.

"Do you really-really-really want to get him a present?" Ari asked, wrapping the teddy's arms loosely around Jay's neck in a downy hug. Feeling his nod through the layers of cotton and fluff, she sighed. "Then I'm imposing a limit of 4 bags! No more than 4."

Sensing his reluctance, she said, "He's gonna get alarmed if you give him too much stuff, you know. And giving him less now means you can give him more later. Like for Christmas or something." She paused, and added, "And I don't believe in doing good deeds without leaving a name. I'm going to help you write him a birthday card, and you won't get a choice in the matter!"

Ari felt Jay perk right up. "Okay," he mumbled, hiding a smile into the bear's ear.

She laughed a bit, too. This boy was so freaking cute, how could she not have befriended him immediately? It was just impossible, even as a hypothetical thought.

"Alright, let's go out and choose some gifts," Ari said. She gently patted Jay's head, indicating that he should get up. When he only squeezed both the bear and her waist harder, she patted his shoulders this time, much more firmly. "Jay---ack!"

"Coco! At least let Coco Chanel down," she cried, clutching steel-like triceps as she was bodily lifted up from the sofa, stuffed bear and all. "Coco belongs on the sofa!"

Jay only paused long enough to let her plop the big bear back down onto the sofa before he hauled her out the door and into the car waiting downstairs for them, not letting go of her once.

"You're spoiled," she informed him once they were settled in the back seats. When she ruffled his hair, he tentatively pushed his head into her hand like a newly domesticated cat. "I've spoiled you."

Jay had nothing to say to that, especially not now that they were outside of the house. And that was how they went, the driver, whom she suspected to be Mister Butler, zipping them over to the nearest luxury department store, while Jay explored a newfound career as a particularly large and particularly shy koala.