POV: Jay
Shopping.
The battlefield I never signed up for.
Andy and Jeana were walking ahead of us looking like a rom-com poster.
Holding hands.
Smiling.
Breathing the same air dramatically.
Aries and I were behind them.
In our own world.
"I should've faked an injury," I muttered.
"You should've," Aries agreed.
Andy suddenly stopped and turned around.
"So! What do you guys want to buy?"
"Nothing please," I said immediately.
Jeana grabbed his arm.
"Come on, Andy. Let's go. They'll find something."
No.
We won't.
We entered a clothing store.
Jeana picked up dresses like she was rescuing them.
"Jay, try this!"
"No."
"This one?"
"No."
"This one?"
"Absolutely not."
Aries disappeared with Andy to the men's section.
I saw Aries come out wearing a shirt.
It wasn't bad.
"Nice," I admitted.
He looked at me suspiciously. "That was too fast."
"It's decent."
"Wow. High praise."
Meanwhile, Jeana forced two dresses into my hands.
I sighed and went to the fitting room.
When I stepped out—
Aries blinked.
"…Okay. That's actually good."
Andy nodded. "Yeah."
Jeana clapped. "See?!"
I rolled my eyes but secretly… I liked it.
Fine.
I bought two dresses.
Then we went to the shoe store.
Aries tried on sneakers and did dramatic runway walks.
"Model walk," he said.
"You look like you're avoiding a puddle," I replied.
He gasped. "Rude."
I bought two sneakers.
Simple.
Done.
Aries bought three shirts, two shoes, and one jeans.
Jeana?
Let's not discuss Jeana.
She bought so many dresses that Aries and I had to carry half of them.
"This is unfair," Aries complained.
"I didn't even want to come," I added.
"You said you were busy with 'project work,'" he teased.
"Silence."
After shopping, we went to eat.
The food was good.
Finally something worth leaving the house for.
Jeana and Andy fed each other fries.
Aries and I pretended not to see.
"I'm single by choice," Aries declared dramatically.
"No one asked," I replied.
We laughed anyway.
By the time we headed home, our arms were tired.
Jeana was glowing happily.
Aries was suffering.
I was thinking about Keifer.
Why?
Annoying.
Very annoying.
When we reached home, I dropped the shopping bags and stretched.
"Next time," Aries said, "we run."
"Agreed."
But secretly…
It wasn't that bad.
Annoying.
Exhausting.
But fun.
And I only bought two dresses.
Growth.
End of Chapter 106 ✨🛍️