c h a p t e r  f i f t e e n.
(part one)

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When Chen finally woke up the next morning, it was already nearing noon. His skin felt clammy and cool, meaning that his fever had broken during the night. He coughed and his throat was much less sore.

                He looked to his right, where his chair remained, although Wendy wasn’t there anymore.

                Of course she wasn’t; she had to work, of course. She had a ‘real’ job.

                Noticing that there was a bundle and a note left on his nightstand near a new glass of water, he picked them up and examined the contents of the small bag. It looked like a vitamin C tablet and some other vitamins.

                “Take these when you wake up. I hope you feel better soon. Wendy ♡”

                He swallowed hard, stuck between deciding if he should laugh or cry. A strange feeling of incompleteness washed over him and settled somewhere at the base of his spine.

                Look at what you’ve done.

                She loves you.

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The weekend passed and by Monday, Chen was feeling entirely better.

                That morning, he took a long, hot shower, standing still under the scalding water for a few minutes in order to wash away more than just the last remnants of his sickness.

                After spritzing cologne on his clean skin, he got dressed in a white button-up and an oversized sweater, dark pants, and boots.

                He stared at himself in the mirror for a long time.

                Randomly, he remembered his and Wendy’s first kiss, and couldn’t deny admitting to himself that thinking about it made him feel wonderful, even if he couldn’t avoid also thinking about...them.

                He took a deep breath.

                Tell her.

                She deserves to know.

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Before making his return to The Roost, Chen stopped by a barber shop to get a fresh cut; he was starting to look like a stereotypical starving young writer.

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Wendy smiled at him brightly when he entered the café; not saying anything to him yet because she was helping the current line of customers. Just then, however, Mr. Cho appeared from the back room and seamlessly took over the register.

                Chen approached the counter while Wendy created a tuxedo mocha.

                “Greetings.” he said, with a small smile.

                “It’s nice to see you on your feet again.” she said, returning the smile.

                “Pfft. Why so formal?”

                “I’m a professional.” she said, raising her nose in the air as she poured warmed cream from a carafe at a ridiculous height.

                “Yes...”

                “I’m glad that you’re feeling better, darling.”

                “...Darling?” he said with an eyebrow raised, though he was clearly delighted by her choice of pet name.

                She just smiled, lowering her gaze to the to-go cup between her hands as she lidded it and slipped it into a sleeve.

                “I’ll just be in my corner writing per the norm.” Chen continued. “I was able to write over the weekend, too. I’m actually making excellent progress, if I do say so myself...”

                “Are you over the hermit life, then?”

                He laughed. Oh, how she had missed that laugh. Whenever he wasn’t right there she missed literally everything about him, but his smile and his laugh were at the top of the list. “Well, I have been isolated in my room for the past week; I figured some fresh air would be more beneficial for today.”

                “Alright. I’ll come over and bring you a cold brew with a little sugar and no milk during my lunch break, okay?”

                “I would sure appreciate that. Oh, Wendy...?”

                When he didn’t continue, Wendy glanced up at him. “...Yes?”

                “When you get off work, let’s go out. I want to take you somewhere.” He didn’t look at her as he spoke and something about his tone was a bit odd, but Wendy cocked her head to the side with interest. “...I mean, now that I’m no longer deathly ill and I don’t have to be concerned about spreading germs.”

                The barista went on making another coffee drink and Chen started to feel a little anxious that she wasn’t responding to offer.

                “...Wendy? Would you like to go out tonight?”

                She tried to appear ca