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Gigi has always been a summer person - she likes the way the sun rises early with her and stays bright until late, casting her shadow onto the pavement as makeshift company as she makes her way home. She’s a big believer in the fact that good weather translates to a good mood, always has been, so the best days are ones spent in the light, letting the heat wash over her and the light bounce off the grin she flashes at everyone she passes.
Spring, though, is more of an acquired taste, and one she has yet to get used to. Especially on days like this, where she can feel the bitter cold through the weather report on the screen of her phone. Fifty degree weather and an 80% chance of rain is not ideal at any point. What she needs, especially right now, is coffee.
So that’s what she gets, hauls herself out of bed less smoothly than she’d prefer to do and makes a beeline for the kitchen, starting her day to the soothing soundtrack of the dull humming of her coffee machine. Coffee is nice, sure, but what she needs is a bright, sunny morning, birds singing outside her open window as she rolls gracefully out of bed at ten thirty-ish, unwrapping herself from white linen sheets, and makes herself a smoothie, or some pancakes, or heads out to the juice place across the street if she’s feeling particularly energetic-
The too-chipper sound of a text notification pulls her out of her thoughts and she sets the coffee she’s still stirring down on the counter, picking up her phone. Crystal. Of course, because who else would be texting her this early?
I’m bored, she says, punctuated with an emoji that’s too sad to be justifiable by boredom. Do you wanna go out?
Now? Gigi replies, the roll of her eyes not visible but heavily implied. It’s six in the morning.
Duh, now, her phone chimes a minute later. When else?
Later, she shoots back. At a time appropriate for human interaction, maybe.
Gigi sets her phone down and reaches to pick up the mug again when she hears a knock on the door of her apartment.
-
It’s six-fifteen, and as they walk along the streets, empty except for a few cars and the odd middle-aged man out for a morning run, Gigi wonders why in fresh hell crystal didn’t decide to wear anything warmer. She stares at Crystal’s too-thin t-shirt just long enough for it to be noticeable and sighs deeply, watching her breath dissipate into the air.
‘What’s up?’ Crystal asks, spinning around and walking backwards to face her. ‘You don’t seem like you’re in a great mood.’
‘It’s too early to be outside,’ Gigi replies, pouting. ‘And it’s cold. Where the fuck are we even going?’ Crystal laughs in response, light and airy, and grabs Gigi’s hands from where they’re tucked at her side, squeezing them with a smile. ‘You’ll see,’ she grins, entertained by Gigi’s evident irritation. A few seconds pass, and she realises she’s not getting a response. ‘Fine, we’re going to the park,’ she relents. ‘If you stop being so whiny, I’ll buy you a coffee when we get there.’
They walk in silence for a few minutes, and Gigi looks around, taking in the scenery and letting the calm of the city streets wash over her. She’s lived in New York for going on two years now but never leaves her apartment before eight at the earliest as a rule of thumb - she needs her sleep, and besides, there’s nothing for her to do until her shifts begin around noon, and she’s exhausted every possible tourist attraction ten times over. It’s odd to see the place she’s come to call home so weirdly deserted - it almost feels lonely, in a weird way, and she almost lets herself slip back into the isolated mindset that drove her here in the first place before she feels the first drop of rain on her head, and then ten more, and all of a sudden the heavens open.
‘Fuck,’ Crystal laughs, and before Gigi knows it she’s being pulled through the rain and across the street to the nearest shelter they can find. Crystal collapses onto the bench of the bus stop and runs a shaking hand through her wet hair, laughing breathlessly.
‘The park, huh? Great idea,’ Gigi deadpans as she perches herself delicately next to her, pulling her jacket from around her shoulders and draping it across Crystal’s back, trying to steady her own shivers. ‘I told you it was too cold.’
As she sees Crystal smile and pull her jacket tighter around her, though, she realises maybe the cold isn’t too bad at all.