Amy stared at her screen for a moment before flicking over to her messages.
[Lumi [💫]: Amyyyyyyyyyyyyyy]
[Lumi [💫]: Did Risa call you already??]
[Lumi [💫]: Tell me she didn't say I framed the fitting pics — SHE GAVE ME PERMISSION]
Amy shook her head and started typing.
[Amy:She absolutely blamed you.]
[Lumi [💫]:😱 SHE'S A MONSTER]
[Lumi [💫]:Okay, that aside]
[Lumi [💫]: RISAAA TOLD ME YOU'RE IN]
[Lumi [💫]: DO NOT DENY IT]
[Lumi [💫]: This is your destiny]
[Amy:I have no idea what you're talking about]
[Lumi [💫]: Liar]
[Lumi [💫]: You like her]
[Lumi [💫]: She's going]
[Lumi [💫]: You're going]
[Lumi [💫]: I have the dress]
[Lumi [💫]: THIS IS THE UNIVERSE SAYING YES]
[Amy:You're insufferable]
[Lumi [💫]: And you love me]
[Lumi [💫]: Now open the door in 20. I'm bringing eyeliner and emotional support snacks]
Amy smiled.
For the first time in years — no, timelines — she wasn't dreading the hours ahead.
This time, she'd say what she needed to.
Even if the world was ending soon...
Tonight, she was alive.
…
Amy was still seated on the edge of her bed, phone still dimly lit in her palm, when the knock came.
Right on time.
Two knocks. A pause. Then three rapid-fire ones.
She blinked, sat up straighter.
Lumi.
The door swung open without hesitation.
"Don't even try hiding in that gloomy little cave of yours," Lumi said as she stepped inside, already tossing a scarf onto Amy's desk chair like she lived there. "You are coming with us."
Behind her, Risa entered with her usual amused calm, phone in one hand, eyebrow arched. "We gave you a ten-minute head start. Honestly, that was generous."
Amy set her phone aside. "You two planned this."
"No," Lumi said brightly. "We orchestrated it."
Amy sighed. "What exactly am I being dragged into?"
"Step one: mall. Step two: dress. Step three: world domination," Risa recited, flicking her braid over her shoulder. "In that order."
Lumi added with a proud nod, "And step four: look absolutely radiant at tonight's party."
Amy opened her mouth to argue but closed it. There was no point.
She'd lived this before. She knew how it went — the unstoppable force of her friends and the inevitable pull of their energy. But there was something warm about it too. Something grounding.
This time… she wanted to be swept along.
"You need to change," Risa said with a smirk. "We're going to the mall. And before you ask, no, you're not driving. My dad's taking us."
Amy hesitated. "Why?"
"He's going anyway," Risa said with a shrug. "Groceries or something. We're just hitching a ride. Chill."
'Right. That's how it happened.' Amy had forgotten the detail — how ordinary it had all felt. She nodded, letting the moment carry her.
Lumi leaned in, stage-whispering, "You'd think she was being kidnapped."
Amy rolled her eyes but cracked a small smile. "You're worse than kidnappers. At least they don't drag you to boutiques."
"Incorrect," Lumi chirped. "Good kidnappers take you shopping and make you fabulous."
After a quick change — jeans, sneakers, and a fitted coat — Amy followed them out. The world felt strange in its brightness. Familiar, but distant. A memory, now in high definition.