-Tessa POV-

 

Before leaving the library, we made plans to go to the mall the next day, since it seemed likely that Mr. Johnson, the club’s advisor, would still be sick the next day.

I was a little leery of going to a mall, given what had happened last time we went to one, but more than that I was excited about going to the mall with friends.

I had never gone anywhere with friends before. After all, only about a week and a half ago, my only friends were Maia and Tom. Tom didn’t much like hanging out outside of school and, well, Maia was a bit more than just a friend.

The rest of the day passed quickly, as did school during the next.

Soon, it was time to meet up with Reese, Jamie, and Cass. David was busy with something, so he wasn’t coming.

“Hi, Tessa, Maia!” Reese called as we approached, energetic as ever.

“Hey,” Maia greeted.

“Hi,” I said, a bit quietly.

Reese was standing next to a van with its side door open. Cass was in the back seat, her seat belt already buckled. Jamie was in the passenger seat, talking loudly to the woman in the driver's seat, whom I didn’t recognize.

Reese motioned for Maia and I to get into the van, then clambered in after us. The van had three rows of seats, so we were all able to squeeze in.

After we sat down and buckled our seat belts, the driver looked back at us.

“Hi, you’re Tessa and Maia, right?” she asked, pointing at each of us as she said our names. After we nodded, she continued. “Nice to meet you. I’m Jamie’s sister, Jenna.”

“Nice to meet you,” Maia and I repeated in unison.

Jenna chuckled, then turned back to face the road. Reese slid the door closed, and we were off.

 

-Maia POV-

 

Although it was only going to be about a fifteen minute drive, Tessa was soon nodding off. We were both sitting in the third row of seats, and when Tessa fell asleep, her head came to rest on my shoulder. Strangely, though, she didn’t change into her moth form.

I looked at her face as best I could, though it was at a bit of a strange angle. Still, though, she was really cute. Her face, which usually held the tiniest bit of tension at all times, was relaxed, and her mouth was even slightly open.

Absolutely adorable.

Last night, I had fallen asleep before her, and when I woke up today, it seemed like she hadn’t gotten enough sleep. She was just that excited for today, I suppose. Yet another really cute thing about her.

I smiled and gently stroked her head, only stopping when the van stopped.

“We’re here!” Reese exclaimed, and I chuckled a bit at her statement of the obvious.

“Wake up, sleepyhead,” I murmured to Tessa.

“Huh? Wha?”

She made a few adorable sleepy noises and rubbed her eyes.

“We’re here,” I told her, echoing Reese’s words, but much quieter.

I stroked Tessa’s head, running my fingers through her hair as she yawned and stretched.

When we finally got out of the van, Reese, Jamie, and Cass were waiting outside for us.

Jamie was looking at Tessa and I with a grin, while Reese and Cass had turned their attention to the mall in front of us.

“You girls have fun,” Jenna called from the van. “Just call me when you need me to come pick you up.”

“Thanks, bye!” Jamie replied.

Jenna chuckled.

“I’ll leave you to it, then. Bye.”

And before we could thank her, she drove away.

“Onwards!” declared Reese, before grabbing Cass’s hand and pulling her towards the door.

I held out my hand to Tessa, and she placed her hand in mine. She beamed at me, and I smiled back at her.

Hand in hand, we followed the trio into the mall.

 

-Tessa POV-

 

“So, uh,” Maia began once we had all entered the mall, “I like a good mall trip as much as the next girl, but like… why are we here?”

Reese grinned, then turned and skipped away. Jamie and Cass followed, and I noticed that even Cass had a slight smile on her face.

I shared a confused look with Maia, then we hurried after them.

Moments later, we were all standing in front of a clothing store. Yet again, Reese darted off and Jamie and Cass followed her.

Finally, we all came to a stop in the swimsuit section.

Reese whirled around and spread her arms, as though she was presenting something.

“We’re shopping for swimsuits!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, no, I don’t really like swi-“ I began, then stopped.

I did like swimming. The only reason I always claimed I didn’t like it was because I didn’t want to wear a boy’s swimsuit. But now…

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Maia smiling at me.

{…We can wear cute swimsuits now.}

[Yep.]

I smiled back at Maia, then followed the group as we plunged deeper into the store.

Soon, Reese, Maia, and I arrived at a section that seemed to only have bikinis. Cass and Jamie had split off from the group somewhere back in the one-piece section, but Reese insisted on Maia and I following her.

“So,” Reese began, already rifling through a clothing rack. “I heard you two haven’t bought swimsuits before. I could help, if you want?”

“Sure!” I replied, and Maia nodded.

“Great!” Reese said, immediately taking two hangers off of the rack. She handed one to Maia and the other to me.

“Let’s get started!”

 

-Maia POV-

 

Shopping for swimsuits was surprisingly fun.

Most of the swimsuits Reese handed to Tessa and me fit quite well, and Tessa looked really cute in everything she tried on. It was even cuter how each time I tried on a swimsuit, she would blush and try not to stare at me.

When Reese wasn’t looking, I handed a very revealing swimsuit to Tessa and watched as she practically melted into a blushy puddle when I suggested she put it on.

In the end, Tessa and I bought two swimsuits each. I had found a simple red bikini that matched my eyes, and Tessa really liked a frilly pink one. Additionally, we got matching light blue bikinis.

After we finished shopping, we found Jamie and Cass in front of the store.

As soon as we were within talking distance, Reese called out to them.

“Hey, guys! Wanna get snacks?”

“Sure!” Jamie replied, and Cass gave a thumbs up.

Then, Reese turned to Tessa and I.

“Do you two wanna come too?”

“Sure, why not,” I answered, and Tessa nodded.

“Great!” Reese said, seeming to almost bounce in place. “I know a place with really good soft pretzels!”

“She just wants pretzels,” Jamie commented, shaking her head with a smile.

Reese skipped away, and the rest of us followed.

Once we arrived at the food court and got our pretzels, we sat at a table to eat.

I had gotten a pretzel for Tessa and I to share, and I enjoyed watching her blush as I fed it to her. I didn’t want to overdo it, though, since we were with friends, so Tessa and I just alternated taking bites of our pretzel.

Afterwards, Jamie called Jenna to tell her to come pick us up.

While we were waiting, we walked around the mall, looking inside the windows of stores and pointing out interesting things we saw.

Then, when Jenna arrived, we all piled back into the van, and Jenna dropped us off at our respective houses.

 

-Tessa POV-

 

Going to the mall with friends really was fun.

I laid in bed that night, smiling to myself while Maia slept next to me. Although we hadn’t done much at the mall, I still enjoyed going shopping and having pretzels with Reese, Cass, and Jamie. Idly, I wondered if we could go to the mall again sometime. I hoped so.

I ended up drifting off to sleep while thinking of all the things we could do together someday.

The next day passed without incident, and the music appreciation club was back in session. As usual, though, we just watched part of a movie and hung out.

However, when it was time to go home, it was raining. It was a bit odd, considering there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when classes finished for the day.

The other club members went home, but Maia and I stayed behind.

We stood at the door for a moment, not leaving school just yet.

Watching the rain pouring down outside, I had an idea. This was the perfect chance to share an umbrella with Maia.

Turning to Maia, I decided to prompt her.

“I forgot my umbrella,” we said in unison.

“Wait, what?” I asked, caught off guard. I had actually brought my umbrella, so it would work out, but I hadn’t expected for Maia to forget hers at home.

Giggling a bit, I sheepishly pulled out my umbrella, then watched as Maia did the same.

Well. Turns out we just had the same idea.

Maia chuckled, then opened her umbrella and held it over us.

“Shall we?” she said, motioning to the door. I quickly stowed my own umbrella, then answered.

“Yes!”

We walked home in the rain with me clinging to Maia’s arm the whole way.