Lila had been thinking of him so much lately. Her ex, except he wasn't an ex. He was an almost, a never was. For someone who'd all but raised herself and made her own way in life, this lingering emotional connection was nothing short of abhorrent. And she'd joined the circus precisely to escape the sight of him every day, to leave behind the place where she had been rejected like an ugly fat girl with braces and acne or something.
Nevermind that reality painted a far different picture of what had actually happened, or that it was silly and self centered to hold a married man's desire to stay faithful against him like a personal attack. Ohhhh, but it was, wasn't it? In some small way? Because he wasn't even happily married! And it was her first... well. No other had ever inspired those types of feelings in her. It was unfathomable to her that over a half year later he'd still trespass into her thoughts, unwelcome and uninvited. It was infuriating to think her stomach would still jump at the thought of him. And just when she thought she was maybe moving forward, too!
So she sought help. Excess drugs and alcohol weren't her thing: she was independent to such an extreme that she didn't dare meddle with even chemical dependencies. No. She just needed a temporary solution, really.
Before her shift, she made her way to Alex's workshop, knowing he was rather good with potions and the like. Lila knocked loudly and then opened the door wide enough to let herself in.
"Your name is Alex, isn't it? You make potions?" She had seen him around, knew him by face and by name, though they'd never been formally introduced.