Dawn woke her to a universe of pain. A different kind of pain. Headache instead of heartache. Giselle rolled over to one side in response and groaned. Annie curled up around her and soothed her back into a shallow slumber. A moment later a dense forest surrounded her. It didn't look or smell familiar. The brunette took a step forward and the ground tilted into a slope. One step forward, upward, left her panting as if she had taken a thousand steps already. Pain rushed through her and the trees exploded into a sea of fire. Giselle was screaming as she turned 360 degrees and had no way out.

Suddenly she was back in Annie's bedroom, covered in sweat. Her head pounded with pain. The constant rhythm of a smith working on his anvil, shaping metal into art. Her vision slowly cleared and she realised that she was lying on her back, glancing up at the white ceiling. "You had a bad dream, you were screaming all of a sudden. Are you okay?", the blonde woman asked softly while squeezing Giselle's hand tightly. "I had a nightmare. Yesterday must've gotten to me after all", she breathed quietly. Any louder would've upset her headache.

"What exactly happened, love?", Annie asked and sat up cross-legged. "We broke up and he left". The compassionate expression on her neighbour's face made her lips curl into a smile. "I look like crap, don't I?". Annie nodded and whispered, "You do. You tried to drown the pain away. Did it work?". "I turned it into a headache", she sighed and squeezed her neighbour's hand. With her other hand she felt her forehead. It was cold and sweaty, so she pulled the cover up to her shoulder. Warmth slowly radiated from her and gathered all around her naked body. The sweat felt icky, but the warmth did some good.

Within the next fifteen minutes, Giselle had summed up the events from yesterday and Annie had brought her a glass of water and painkillers. It was a workday after all and she couldn't afford sickness today. Ian would step out of the loan and paying it back would be on her. To do that she needed a raise. Somehow. Maybe Laury could move in with her? The thought got discarded as quickly as it entered her head.

"I'll need some time to sort through things, Annie", she finished her explanation and her lover just nodded. Then they shared a kiss. Giselle was tempted to pull away, everything inside of her was in turmoil, yet she forced herself to commit. Despite everything, she was in love. Taking her misfortune out on others was unfair.

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When she stood up, the realisation hit her that she was free now. No one could pass judgement on her any longer. "Are we in a relationship now?", she suddenly asked over her shoulder. The blonde just laughed, "No silly, you haven't even proposed yet!". Proposed. So there was some old school romantic hidden in that blonde neighbour after all.

Annie had packed her a cute breakfast and sent her off in her dressing gown to get ready. Both had to go to work. Giselle felt that a lot of unfinished business and things unexplained were still hanging between her neighbour and her. They'd figure it out another day. Any other day, Annie had been so sure about everything, or rather come across certain and steady. Not this morning. The situation had been new for both of them.

During the shower, the headache became less annoying and the bus ride to work ended up being bearable. Mr Dean wasn't at work that day and Laury received the short version of the breakup. Now that her alcohol levels had dropped, her heart felt quite heavy. It was an open wound and needed time to heal. Her coworker had hugged her tightly and promised to make time to help with anything needed. Since she didn't need to move out, she wasn't sure anything was needed at all. That work day ended up being so busy, that they couldn't properly chat and when they closed up the shop, Giselle felt tired. Very tired. They parted ways and as chance willed her, Annie fumbled her key into the lock as she appeared next to the woman. "Hey, need a hand?", Giselle smiled happily and her lover nodded. Together they carried three large bags into the apartment. Her neighbour had been grocery shopping.

The brunette briefly went over to her place and changed into something more comfortable while the blonde woman packed her spoils into the fridge and pantry. Two glasses, a large bottle of lemonade and two sticks of incense, glimmering and fuming into the still air decorated the living room table as she returned in a pair of comfy leggings and a wide long-sleeve shirt. Somehow Annie had managed to change into her oversized pyjama shirt and hot pants, packed away the groceries and remove her make-up in the time it took Giselle to change in her apartment. That woman might be a magician. And she was just about to ask whether there was a time lapse, when the blonde smiled over and asked, "I think in the morning we left much unsaid. How about you tell me again how you are and what you'll do now?".