Cutely Together -chapter 2- By Ellaraia -

He looked up. “Morning, dragon tamer.”

Lila buried her face in the pillow, mortified and smiling at the same time. The kitchen was small but impossibly cozy. String lights shaped like tiny strawberries hung over the sink. A teapot shaped like a sleepy cat sat on the stove. And there—leaning against the counter, scrolling through his phone with one hand and holding a mug with the other—was Theo.

“You did. And then you stole my hoodie. Which, by the way, you’re still wearing.”

As the bus pulled away, she watched him through the window, still standing there, still smiling. Her phone buzzed almost immediately. Cutely Together -Chapter 2- By Ellaraia

He laughed, pulling out his phone. “What’s your number?”

“Didn’t want to wake you. You talk in your sleep. (Something about a dragon named Mr. Whiskers.) Coffee’s in the kitchen. —Theo”

Lila dropped her fork. “I did not.”

He pointed to a framed embroidery on the wall that read: Cutely Together . “It’s a lifestyle, Lila. Not just decor.” They made pancakes in comfortable chaos. Flour on the counter, syrup almost spilled, laughter over nothing in particular. At one point, their hands brushed reaching for the same spatula, and neither moved away for a full three seconds.

“I’ll give it back,” she said quietly.

Theo tilted his head, eyes soft. “Or… you could keep it. And come over next time it rains. And the time after that.” He looked up

“Hey, Theo?”

“Maybe.” He shrugged, but his ears were pink. “But you smiled seven times since you walked in here. And I’d like to make it eight.”

She snorted. “Did you just quote your own apartment sign?” String lights shaped like tiny strawberries hung over

She blinked up at an unfamiliar ceiling—soft gray, with tiny glow-in-the-dark stars she definitely hadn’t put there. Then last night came rushing back: the rain, the broken umbrella, the stranger with the kind eyes and the oversized hoodie.