Not a Fan (Wilbur Soot)

Maroon and Yellow

She slid the knot at the top of the bag of cookies around his door handle, knocking lightly a couple times before making her way to the elevator. She heard the door swing open just as she stepped inside, quickly pressing the lobby's button. 

The ride to Niki's was fairly quick, most people either at home or work at this hour. It was comforting to know that her closest friend in the area was just a short cab trip away. Aurora didn't plan on getting a car or license anytime soon. Groceries were around the corner and she was working from home, having a car seemed frivolous. She would make a pact with herself to start taking public transport instead of taxis though. 

Aurora thanked her driver, stepping out carefully with both arms supporting the large tupperware of cookies. She looked up at the apartment building, definitely quite a bit nicer than hers. Niki must be doing well for herself as a streamer or whatever. She thought to herself, pulling on the large front door of the building. 

"412, 412, 412.." Aurora spoke to herself quietly as she climbed the stairs of the building, afraid she would forget the apartment number. She turned the final corner, making her way down the long hallway to Niki's door. 

"She's an old friend. Niki will be happy to see me. She won't hate me for ghosting her for years. This is going to be great. Cookies will make up for everything." Aurora mantra-ed to herself, shifting the cookies into one arm before knocking on the door, three tan clouds appeared with each knock. 

The door swung open almost instantly, as if Niki had been waiting on the other side since their call. 

"Niki! I've missed you so much!" Aurora spoke before even saying as much as hello. 

"Bye, Wil!" Niki started, looking down at her phone for a moment before instantly throwing her arms around Aurora. "Rori! You're real! You're actually here! Your hair is so long now, wow!" Niki said excitedly, swaying them both. Aurora didn't want this moment to end, but it had to. She was about to drop the cookies. 

"Easy there or you'll miss out on my sweets!" She laughed, trying to regain her balance. 

"How could I forget about them? Gimmie!" Niki answered, instantly reaching out for the tupperware as Aurora walked passed her and inside. 

"This place is so nice! Way bigger than my apartment too." She smiled, looking all around her at Niki's cutely decorated apartment. "What did you say you were doing for work again?" She asked. 

"I'm a streamer! I basically just play games on the internet with my friends and people watch. I don't wanna talk about work though, I want to talk about you!" Niki said, attempting to cover her mouth as she spoke, preventing the cookie she was chewing from spilling out.

Aurora tried her best to smile, avoiding the lump forming in her throat. How was she supposed to explain that the last few years of her life were mere flashes as she existed in a half-numb prescription anti-depressant haze? 

"Oh, you know. Finished school, started working as a computer technician for a while. It made good money but I just felt like I wasn't myself, I wasn't even painting anymore. So, I decided enough is enough and I would take charge of my life. And by that I mean I made a series of very reckless decisions that landed me on your doorstep." Aurora laughed awkwardly, pulling her damp hair into around her to look busy as she described her recent past with rose colored glasses. 

"Boo! I want to hear the fun stuff! Tell me about your love life, your crazy mom, and that one best friend who called you like five times a day." Niki said, laying down on her couch, the tub of cookies still open in front of her. 

"Hey, I gave you some gossip, your turn to reciprocate a little." Aurora laughed, sitting across from Niki on the couch, her best attempt at deflecting from the conversation.