The Show Must Go On (Lesbian Story)

Wednesday, December 28th

Wednesday, December 28th

It had been four days since Lexi heard from Elli. Christmas morning, Lexi and Elizabeth had gone out of town to have a few days with family at her grandparent's house. For a few days, it was a bit easy for her to focus on family meals and egocentric younger cousins instead of the small conversation she had with Elli on Christmas Eve. Christmas day, she sent Elli a little gif of a cat with a Santa hat going 'Meowy Christmas!' and that hadn't gotten a reply. She couldn't help but look down at her screen in hopes of seeing something other than Read at 2:34pm. She received texts and wishes from her other friends. Even Jeasica bombarded her phone with texts of apologies and asking to talk. Those she did not respond to.

After celebrating the holidays over those few days, she was back to work at 2pm Wednesday. That was also the first time that she saw Alyssa and Mitch since Christmas Eve. Both of them regarded her with a cautious tone. It was almost like they were around a nuclear bomb, one tap from completely exploding.

Lexi didn't feel that way, however. She was just trying to keep everything level and calm. Was it working? That was a great question, in her eyes. However, she was trying her damn best to be calm and passive about it.

It could be going better.

"Max!" Lexi called, setting a coffee on the counter. A blonde took the cup and gave her a polite smile before walking away. A 'guest services' smile stayed on Lexi's face, "Have a great day!"

That was how Lexi acted all day. She kept the smile on her face and treated the customers nicer than she usually would. Cleaning off a table, she stroke up conversation with a few people at another table. Mitch only stood behind the counter with a baffled look on their face.

Alyssa came to the register to ring up a customer, making Mitch walk up next to her. "So Lex has been oddly nice to everyone, including you and I. Do you think some weird Alien has taken over her body?"

"I don't think Lex has been pod-peopled. Can you get me a hazelnut latte?" As Mitch went to fix the coffee, Alyssa kept talking, "She's just smiling. Not luring people into a spaceship."

"It's odd. I don't like it."

"What's odd?" Lexi showed up behind the counter.

"Nothing!" Alyssa reassured just as Mitch responded with, "Your friendliness."

That caused her to snort. She grabbed a new pack of medium cups, "Oh, please. I'm just providing a great customer service."

"Sure you are, sweetie." Mitch walked off to the drive-through computer, still not convinced.

Alyssa stood next to Lexi, speaking in a low voice, "Are you alright? I can see that there is something wrong."

"Everything is right as rain, my dear giant." Lexi still kept her attention on the cups in front of her.

The doorbell rang, making Alyssa turn her eyes to the door. "Oh. Hey, guys!" She exclaimed, going to the counter.

That made Lexi look over her shoulder to see who her friend was talking to. A small pit in her stomach opened when she saw that it was Juliet and Elli. The redhead bounced towards the counter while the other girl hesitated by the door. She stared at Lexi, a look of conflict on her face. A man trying to go out of the door finally made her start towards the counter. She stood next to Juliet, still with her eyes on Lexi. The other girl stood to the left of Alyssa, unable to move or look away. A small part of her felt like she needed to move forward. Gravitate, almost. Her feet stayed where they were, however.

"What do you hooligans want?" Alyssa asked, her eyes discreetly skirting from Lexi to Elli.

"I'll have a s'mores latte." Juliet also let her eyes look between the two girls who only looked at each other. A soft elbow grazed Elli's side, "El?"