Work Text:
Amélie Lacroix is having a perfectly calm evening.
Her phone is face-down on the marble kitchen counter. Dinner is simmering. The windows of her apartment glow with city lights and rain. She is at peace.
Her phone buzzes.
She ignores it.
It buzzes again.
With the faintest sigh of irritation, she flips it over.
> [???]: yo
> [???]: angie
> [???]: i found a frog
> [???]: can i keep it
Amélie stares.
Once.
Twice.
She checks the number. Unknown.
She types, slow and precise.
> [Amélie]: I believe you have the wrong number.
Three seconds pass.
> [???]: …
Another buzz.
> [???]: WAIT
> [???]: angie doesn’t text like that
> [???]: shit
Amélie arches a brow despite herself.
> [Amélie]: Correct.
> [???]: okay so
> [???]: hypothetical question
> [???]: if you found a frog
> [???]: like a REALLY cool frog
Amélie pinches the bridge of her nose.
> [Amélie]: I am not Angela.
> [???]: yeah yeah i got that part
> [???]: sorry about that btw
> [???]: but since you’re here
She exhales through her nose.
> [Amélie]: …Go on.
There is a pause. Longer this time.
> [???]: okay so picture this
> [???]: i’m on my evening run
> [???]: normal run
> [???]: very normal
> [???]: and there’s this frog chilling near the canal
Amélie leans against the counter, against her better judgment.
> [Amélie]: And this concerns me because…?
> [???]: it looked at me
> [???]: like it understood me
> [???]: like we were spiritually aligned or somethin
Amélie snorts. She does not snort. But she does now.
> [Amélie]: You are asking a stranger if you may keep a frog.
> [???]: when you say it like that it sounds weird
> [Amélie]: It is weird.
> [???]: okay but hear me out
> [???]: angela says i can’t keep animals i find
> [???]: but you’re not angela
Ah.
That explains a great deal.
> [Amélie]: I am afraid I will not override your… Angela.
> [???]: damn
> [???]: you’re very calm about this
> [Amélie]: I am choosing grace.
> [???]: i like you
> [???]: you’re fancy
Amélie blinks.
> [Amélie]: You do not know me.
> [???]: you use punctuation
> [???]: that’s enough
A laugh escapes her this time, surprised, like she couldn’t believe her eyes.
> [Amélie]: May I ask your name, frog girl?
> [???]: lena
> [???]: lena oxton
> [???]: frog enthusiast
> [Amélie]: Amélie.
> [Lena]: oh wow
> [Lena]: that IS fancy
Another pause.
> [Lena]: hey amélie
> [Amélie]: Yes?
> [Lena]: if i send you a picture of the frog
> [Lena]: will you tell me if he looks happy
Amélie hesitates.
Then her phone buzzes again — a blurry photo of a tiny green frog perched on a running shoe, staring directly into the camera like it owns the world.
She stares at it.
Her lips curve into what seemed like a smile (shut up, inner olivia, she was not smiling at her phone).
> [Amélie]: …He appears content.
> [Lena]: YES
> [Lena]: SEE
> [Lena]: the universe agrees with me
> [Amélie]: Do not let this go to your head.
> [Lena]: too late
> [Lena]: anyway
> [Lena]: i should probably return him
> [Lena]: but you should know
> [Lena]: you’re my favourite wrong number ever
Amélie glances at her quiet apartment. The rain. The stillness.
She types back.
> [Amélie]: If you ever find another frog, you may consult me.
> [Lena]: WAIT
> [Lena]: really??
> [Amélie]: Only frogs.
> [Lena]: deal 🐸
Amélie sets the phone down, smile lingering longer than she expects.
Somewhere out there, a strange girl is jogging through the city, returning a frog to the canal…and Amélie suspects her evenings have just gotten a lot less quiet.