Ding!

  Ever looked up; it was just Chaos coming in.

  “Oh morning,” Ever said.

  The tall primordial soul raised an eyebrow. “Don’t worry, I’m not thrilled to see you either.”

  “It’s not that,” Ever said, raising his hands in apology, “I thought maybe you were…” he didn’t finish the end of the sentence, but both of them knew what it was.

  “I saw what happened,” Chaos said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Taylor, outside your home.”

  Home. It was the first time Ever had heard of his treehouse in the cemetery referred to it as that. He didn’t know why, but it didn’t feel right calling it his home.

  “What? You did?”

  “I see all.” The primordial being’s infinity eyes momentarily threatened to swallow Ever before reverting to barely human, yellow-hazel.

  “Right.” Ever cleared his throat. “I’m going to tell her.”

  “That you’re Death’s apprentice?”

  “Yes.”

  “How are you going to prove it to her?”

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  Ever opened his mouth then closed it again. Chaos was right, she would need proof. Ever recalled that conversation that night with her, directly asking what she believed in. I don’t know, science? Code? Stuff I can see and feel?

  “I… I don’t know.”

  Ding!

  Ever and Chaos looked to the door. The cheerful, little bell belied Taylor’s stormy expression. If she looked bad when she was stressed about her programming assignment weeks earlier, she looked atrocious now. Even with her mascara on, her eye bags were clear to see.

  “Morning,” Ever said.

  “Hey, morning,” she said, not looking at him as she made her way straight to the back room.

  “You don’t look well,” Chaos said with genuine concern. “Are you sure you should be here?”

  “I’m fine,” Taylor said brusquely. The other thing that Ever had improved on a lot besides reading facial expressions was reading vocal tone. He’d worked with Taylor long enough to know when the conversation was over - and when it would be hard to start a new one.

  “Let’s just work, I’m a bit over all the studying.” Ever and Chaos nodded, silently cooperating to put the rest of the tables outside the ice cream shop. Moments later, they were all standing together waiting for the day’s first customers to arrive, Taylor closest to the register in the corner, Chaos in front of the ice creams and Ever in front of the sorbets. The radio was playing an annoyingly cheerful song for a Monday, doing little to dispel the awkwardness.

  “So, Taylor..." Ever shifted his weight between his feet while Chaos looked straight ahead. “...you mentioned you were going overseas to study soon.”

  No response. Ever risked a glance to his left, but Chaos’ tall figure blocked his view of the woman with raven hair. She heard me, right? Fifteen agonizing seconds passed, then twenty.

  “Yeah,” she said - and that was all she said.

  Ever’s pressed his lips into a thin line while Chaos was doing everything in his power to hold back an ill-timed laugh.

  ∞You are very good at talking, Death’s apprentice.∞

  Ever sighed quietly. I am not going to tell her. At least, not today.