Keeley and Valentina, in their pajamas, were sprawled on the floor watching a telenovela on Saturday while Jennica was at an audition. It was a rare, beautiful moment of leisure; neither had pressing obligations, and they decided to relax.

Hours had clearly passed. Their hair was a mess from lying on their sides, they'd built a blanket fort, and snack wrappers littered the floor. Molly, a cat, was stretched out on at least three.

"Don't do it, Jorge!" Valentina pleaded.

The male lead was about to strangle Ana Maria, who'd confessed her baby was Felipe's after they'd run off together.

"She shouldn't have lied," Keeley pointed out, stuffing more microwave popcorn into her mouth.

"Lying is a valid reason for murder now?" Valentina asked incredulously.

Keeley, having been murdered once, didn't think so. "No, but this is a TV show. You're applying real-world logic to fiction."

Valentina huffed. "Do you have to be such a realist? Let me be dramatic in peace."

She laughed and tossed some popcorn at her friend. "Okay, okay. Have fun being dramatic."

"Thank you," Keeley replied.

They watched two more episodes before the doorbell rang. Valentina's eyes were glued to the screen, but Keeley answered the door. She peered through the peephole and nearly had a heart attack.

Aaron! What was he doing at her apartment?

She saw her phone on the kitchen table, on silent. Thirteen missed messages. Oh no.

He knocked again.

"Keeley, why haven't you answered the door?" Valentina asked irritably. "I'm trying to watch!"

"I'll get rid of him," Keeley said faintly.

She looked terrible and didn't want to see Aaron anyway. How embarrassing.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, attempting to appear composed. "Aaron! What are you doing here?"

"You didn't answer your phone. I thought something happened," he said flatly.

The sound of shouting in Spanish drifted from the apartment. Worse, Aaron could see the blanket fort and wrappers. Keeley wanted to die.

She closed the door, quickly tidying the mess before staring at her fuzzy socks. "Sorry, my phone was on silent in the other room. We're having a marathon."

"Of what?"

"Los Valientes e Implacables," she muttered, blushing.

"The Brave and the Relentless?"

She wanted the earth to swallow her whole. "It's a telenovela…my roommate is Peruvian, and she introduced me to them freshman year of college."

"You've lived together that long? I want to meet her," he said resolutely.

No, no, no. That was a terrible idea for many reasons, mainly because Valentina would immediately recognize him as her ex.

"She's in her pajamas; she'd be embarrassed," Keeley improvised.

"You're in your pajamas too," Aaron pointed out.

And she wanted to vanish. She was wearing an XXL NYU sweatshirt and fleece pajama pants printed with cupcakes.

"I am embarrassed! Are you dense?!"

"No, but I don't know why you would be. You look cute."

Keeley was stunned. Cute? Had he ever called her cute? The word shouldn't exist in his vocabulary!

She blinked, shook her head, and tried to regain composure. She didn't have time to process this.

"I didn't see your messages…what did you want?"

"I got back two days ago and missed you. I wondered if you'd join me for dinner," he said emotionlessly. Only Aaron could say "I missed you" so flatly.

But…he missed her? Was this a joke? She'd never believed he was capable of missing someone, given his coldness and lack of sentimentality.

"You missed me?" she repeated flatly. "Really?"

Aaron nodded seriously. "Yes. You didn't text back often because you were busy, and I wasn't here to visit you at the lab, so I missed you."

What was happening? This was the most bizarre thing she'd ever heard him say. The words echoed in her head: I missed you, I missed you, I missed you.

"O…kay…Well, you've seen me, so I should probably go inside. Valentina will wonder where I am," Keeley lied. She wouldn't even notice her absence.

"Don't you want your souvenir?"

She'd forgotten, but it didn't matter. Would it make him leave faster? "Sure! Hand it over."

He shrugged. "I forgot it at home."

Why mention it then?! Aaron was infuriating. "Then why—"

"We should go back and get it. You can have dinner at my place."

Of course. There was always something. Keeley weighed her options. This way, she wouldn't have to see him again later.

"Okay, just let me get dressed," she said, defeated. So much for a relaxing Saturday.

He scooped her into his arms and started walking toward the elevator.

"Aaron!" Keeley yelped. "What are you doing?!"

"If I carry you, your socks won't get dirty," he said calmly.

"Or you could let me get shoes; are you crazy?! I can't go out like this!"

It was too late. They were in the elevator. She sulked, putting her arms around his neck.

"I hate you."

"I know."

"You're the worst."

"I know that too."

"You could have just let me get my shoes; it's not like I was going to lock you out." Being in pajamas in public was bad enough; carrying her was excessive.

Aaron's voice was flat. "Variety is the spice of life."

He always hated when she tried to shake things up! "…who are you and what did you do to Aaron Hale?"

"I'm his evil clone," he deadpanned.

"If anything, you're the less evil clone," she muttered, making him laugh.

A real laugh! What was happening? The last ten minutes were like a Twilight Zone episode.

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