Re: The Pizza Parlor.
Hannah looked warmer with each passing moment. Yes, there were still traces of something pale slipping right along the edges of her being, it was the fluttering of a curtain in the corner of Audrey's eyes--but Hannah's cheeks now glowed along with the sparkle lighting up doe eyes, and her smile was less of a phantom and more of a reality, a welcoming, kind sort ... like coming home.
She had been a little scared, yes. Audrey never, ever claimed to be brave. In fact she was the exact opposite at times, because brave people didn't hide-away in their rooms like a book clad cave when things got too hard to handle. They didn't scurry away from confrontation or throw up when it got too much. So when Hannah called her beautiful, and made bets of bravery and confidence her cheeks lit up electric pink. She almost choked on her food. Almost. She swallowed it to keep her throat from closing up.
"Maybe," she whispered. Maybe she could make things stay and stick, she fiddled with the straw of her drink, averting her eyes. "Th-thanks, for the compliments." She had to thank, even if she didn't necessarily believe it, because some times it was still nice to believe in the make-believe. She knew everyone saw something different when they looked at others, but it was so very hard to believe that about herself; she had been the invisible girl for so long how could she?
But then Hannah was thanking her and her gaze flit back to the cozy person across from her. "O-oh, sure...that would be nice." Audrey perked up slightly. "...kind of like a little book club, something like Little Women, what was it called, The Pickwick Club, I believe." Her eyes became crescents and carefully, oh so much, she took her own cherry cola and held it up for a cheers. "For books and all the good they bring, huh?"