Unwanted sunlight intrudes past the silk curtains, stirring Finn awake. A groan escapes his lips as he tries to shield himself with a pillow.

"Good morning! I have a surprise for you," Thalia announces, kneeling in front of the couch with a grin. "You're making me breakfast!"

"How is that a surprise?" His voice is muffled by the pillow, which Thalia snatches away.

He emits another groan but manages to open his eyelids. She chuckles at his disheveled state - tousled hair, eyes barely open.

Although she doesn't have the nerves to say it now, he looks adorable.

"Get up!" She messes up his hair more than it already was prior to retreating to the kitchen.

A moment later, Finn stumbles into the kitchen. She can tell he's freshened up.

"I have a shoot to get to after breakfast, so hurry up and make me those awesome double chocolate chip pancakes with Nutella and chocolate syrup."

Finn furrows his brows, taking a while to realise what she's talking about. "Dude! I haven't made those in so long."

"Better get to it." She leans over the island, watching him with a smile.

Finn searches the cupboards, and then pauses before pivoting around to face her. "Are you also getting Deja vu right now?"

An immediate nod is her response. "A lot."

The pair enjoys their breakfast in silence, the only sounds accompanying them the clinks of forks and knives against plates.

"Diabetes tastes amazing." Finn quips.

Thalia nods her head in agreement, swallowing the last of her pancake. "Well, I'm gonna head out now."

"Is it okay if I clean while you're away?"

She's taken off-guard by his request. "Okay, but why the fuck would you wanna do that?"

"To be nice." He shrugs his shoulders, chuckling at the bewildered look on her face.

With a sigh, she exits. "Bye weirdo."

Left in the quietude of the kitchen, Finn resumes eating his pancake. A notification reaches his ears, prompting him to grab his phone.

Lia 💩

Do not open the
bottom left drawer of the
wardrobe in my bedroom.

👍
Seen

"Wolfhard, where's Thalia?"

Finn flinches at the sudden voice, glancing up to find Juniper leaned against the wall.

"She had to step out for a bit. Said something about a photoshoot."

Juniper hums, a furrow forming on their brow as they survey the scene. "And did you ask her before going through all her shit?"

"She gave me permission to tidy up." He smiles, continuing with his chores. "You must be Jupiter."

"It's juniper." They bite their cheek.

Finn nods. "Right, sorry."

"Need some help?"

"Lia really needs to stay away from online shopping, because what the actual fuck is a banana slicer?" Finn sighs.

Juniper offers a slight smile. "Lia? That's cute. The only nickname I have for her is whore. A term of endearment, of-course."

He laughs, immediately tossing the banana slicer into the bag of items for disposal.

"She won't be thrilled to discover we're throwing away so much... useless stuff."

"She's rich, she can just buy them back if she loves wasting her money so much." They remark, shrugging nonchalantly.

Juniper sits on the floor of the walk-in closet, dictating the orientation of Thalias attire on the shelves while Finn does all the work.

"You know, I don't get why you can't just help me physically."

They snort with a laugh. "Yeah right."

Finn blinks at them, amused by how eerily they resemble Thalia. It's evident that they're joined at the hip.

"By the way, she just texted me to inform us not to open the bottom left drawer of the wardrobe in her bedroom." They state, causing Finn to chuckle under his breath.

"Okay, now I'm actually curious to find out what she has in there."

"It's probably just human remains, don't worry about it." They add, reclining on the cold marble tiles.

Having significantly tidied up the house, the two relax on the spacious couch, each holding a mug of coffee.

"Thalia has to appreciate having friends like us," Juniper remarks. "She should be paying us for this."

Finn chuckles, taking a sip of his coffee. "True, but I'm just relieved I won't be tripping over fishnets and cardigans anymore."

Juniper offers a nose-breath, apparently to ponder on something.

"She really missed you all those years. Always had you on her mind, always rambling about you."

A certain feeling rises in his chest at their words, his face heating up. He swallows his breath as he regains composure. "Oh... well, I thought of her a lot as well."

"I mean, how could I not?"

the worst groupchat ever

hottie
hi lia

funny boy
WHAT
NU-UH
only i call her that 😡

hottie
lol too late
it's cute so i stole it

mean girl
?

funny boy
jupiter made this gc
the names were also
given by them if u can't tell

mean girl
Okay.
I'm busy.

funny boy
😡

hottie
i'm hot

funny boy
nu-uh

hottie
ok
ykw
i'm about to
EXCESSIVELY call her lia

funny boy
NO
STOP

hottie
LIA
bring us popcorn

mean girl
Okay.

funny boy
this is MY lia not yours
nu-uh

hottie
but she agrees that i'm hot sooo

mean girl
Actually, hot people
have better punctuation.

funny boy
HAH.
See, I told you.

hottie
...
wolfhard.

funny boy
What?
I'm not doing anything.

mean girl
Can I leave this?

funny boy
NO

hottie
no.
listen
bring both butter and caramel

funny boy
YES

hottie
and some cinnamon
sugar while you're at it

funny boy
YES

mean girl
Finn?

funny boy
YES

mean girl
Stop using caps.

funny boy
NO

mean girl
Okay.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

Thalia turns the key in the front door, half-expecting the usual chaos that greets her upon entering. However, the moment the door swings open, she's met with the contrary.

She strolls through the halls, eventually reaching the living room where the scent of a fresh pot of coffee lingers in the air.

The golden hues of the sunset filtering through the curtains plays upon the cleaned surfaces, giving the house a glow.

"You're welcome." Juniper states, noticing the suppressed smile on Thalias face.

Finn huffs at them. "You literally did nothing. I did 99% of the work."

"That 1% still deserves credit." They shrug before facing Thalia. "Did you bring the popcorn?"

She tosses the instant popcorn packets at them, grinning at their immediate excitement as they rush to the kitchen.

"Are we having a movie night?" Thalia inquires, settling down next to Finn.

He sighs, "No... Jupiter talked me into binging gossip girl with you."

Thalia gasps, enveloping him in a hug.

At about 4am, Juniper dozes off in the guest room, leaving Thalia and Finn still engrossed in the show in the living room.

By 9am, the pair is officially through with the first season.

Rubbing their eyes and yawning, fueled by numerous mugs of coffee and the sugar rush from popcorn, they bask in the achievement of pulling an all-nighter.

Thalia, nearly succumbing to sleep a few times, was kept awake by Finn playing a scream sound effect next to her ear whenever she started to drift off.

Reclined on the couch, they soak in both the sunlight filtering through the sleek curtains and the sense of accomplishment that comes with an all-nighter.

"Looks like I'm taking the couch again." Finn chuckles, dropping his head back.

"What? No." Thalia objects. "You took the couch last night."

"That wasn't on purpose."

"It's fine, I'll just drag Jun out of the guest room and drop her here."

Before he can respond, Thalia follows it up with another statement.

"Or, let's just both sleep in my bed."

Finn chokes on air at her words. He's aware that she's not implying anything suggestive, yet his heartbeat inexplicably quickens.

Clearing his throat, he agrees, "Yeah, we did it when we were kids, so why not?"

"Exactly." She smiles, dismissing any potential awkwardness and turning off the TV.

As they lie in Thalias bedroom, they're pulled into a cocoon of darkness, the heavy curtains shutting out even the faintest glimmer of outside light.

A minute passes with the duo lying on their backs, eyes fixed on the ceiling above.

There's a subtle shift in the atmosphere between them, one they've been sensing ever since they crossed paths again at the louvre.

It could just be the change that came with growing up, but there's an undeniable peculiarity to it.

Thalia pulls at the edge of the comforter, clearing her throat before breaking the painful silence. "Deja vu, again."

Finn offers a forced chuckle. "Yeah."

The darkness becomes both their ally and their adversary. It conceals, yet intensifies the tension between them.

In the quiet, she can feel his gaze on her, which withdraws the moment she gazes back.

"So, uh... goodnight, then." Finn forces a smile, turning over to his side and facing the opposite way.

She mimics his action, fully aware that she won't be receiving a hint of sleep.

"Goodnight."

AUTHORS NOTE

The next chapter is very interesting. I have it all planned out.