Sunday Short: Can We Be Friends - Chapter 2
- Faiz Faisal
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
Chapter 2: Cupcakes & Pecs
The next morning, Zoe woke up to Ethan already dressed and talking into a headset about “discovery deadlines” while pouring almond milk into cereal. He was halfway out the door before she even made it to the kitchen.
“Bye, babe,” he called. “Oh—don’t forget the rent’s due today!”
Zoe blinked, still half-asleep. “I literally pay it every month.”
But he was already gone.
By noon, she had two urgent press releases to write, one influencer meltdown to manage, and a scheduled call with her boss who still didn’t know how to mute her mic while yelling at interns.
So, naturally, she stress-texted Lily.
Zoe: Are you home?
Lily: Depends. Is this a cupcake emergency or a “I need to scream into a couch” emergency?
Zoe: Both.
Lily: Front door’s open. Also I just made Peach-Don’t-Kill-My-Vibe cupcakes.
Fifteen minutes later, Zoe was sitting on Lily’s kitchen counter, eating cupcakes that were probably too pretty to eat. But she ate three anyway.
“You ever think about how Ethan and I just… haven’t changed much in five years?” Zoe asked, licking peach glaze off her thumb.
Lily paused while piping frosting onto another dozen. “You mean like emotionally, romantically, or furniture-wise?”
“All of the above?”
Lily raised an eyebrow. “Okay, but also: you work 70 hours a week and he works 80. What’s left to change? You two see each other like twice a day and once is usually during flossing.”
Zoe groaned. “God, you’re right. We’re like roommates with joint tax deductions.”
Lily patted her knee with a floury hand. “But really hot roommates. Like, HGTV-level hot.”
Zoe laughed—too hard, maybe. Her face flushed. “You’re the worst.”
Lily smirked. “You love it.”
Meanwhile, in a gym somewhere in midtown Manhattan, Ethan was regretting wearing grey sweats.
It wasn’t that he hated working out. He just didn’t love looking like a melted popsicle next to Bryan, whose biceps had veins that could probably do their own taxes.
Bryan handed him a towel and clapped him on the back. “You’re pushing harder than usual today. New year, new you?”
Ethan grinned, panting. “Just… figured I should look as good as my trainer.”
Bryan blinked. “Are you… complimenting me?”
Ethan shrugged, a little too casual. “I mean, your pecs are definitely fuller since last week. Symmetry’s unreal.”
Bryan stared. “You counted… my pec symmetry?”
Ethan realized. “Wow. That sounded weird.”
“Yeah, a little,” Bryan said, sipping his protein shake. “But I’ll take it.”
They sat in silence for a beat too long.
Then Ethan cleared his throat. “So, uh... what’s your cologne?”
Bryan blinked again. “Okay, what is going on with you?”
Back at Lily’s apartment, Zoe had eaten a fourth cupcake and was now lying dramatically across the couch.
“I laughed at Lily’s joke about a muffin having daddy issues,” she muttered to herself. “That wasn’t even funny.”
She turned her head toward the kitchen.
Lily was humming, swaying slightly as she lined up her cupcakes into a perfect spiral.
Her hair was up in a messy bun. She had a smudge of frosting on her cheek.
Zoe stared a second too long.
Her hands are really… elegant.
Zoe blinked, sat up straight, and shook her head.
“What is happening to me?”
Bryan wiped sweat off his forehead and watched Ethan flex in the mirror.
Flex. Like, for real.
Was he… glowing?
“Dude,” Bryan said finally, “do you need to talk about something?”
Ethan looked confused. “No, why?”
“Because you’ve complimented my body three times, asked about my cologne, and told me I smell like ‘focus.’ That’s not… normal.”
Ethan grabbed his water bottle. “I’m just being appreciative.”
“Appreciative or… emotionally displaced?”
Ethan stopped mid-sip. “What?”
“Nothing,” Bryan said quickly. “Ignore me. I’m doing legs today. That always makes me weird.”
Later that night, Lily texted Bryan.
Lily: Something’s up with Zoe.
Bryan: You too? Ethan is being... weirdly warm.
Lily: Like emotionally warm or accidentally flirted while eating frosting off a spoon warm?
Bryan: HE COMPLIMENTED MY PECS.
Lily: Oh god.
Bryan: This isn’t normal.
Lily: We need to talk.
Next Sunday: Chapter 3 — Something’s Off
Zoe and Ethan’s behavior is starting to freak everyone out. Lily and Bryan meet up to compare notes, and what they discover changes everything.
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