Cappuccino anyone?, Yes, make mine a double mocha, please.

[Helena Adelaide Forster]

Helen sat in a corner with her book. She was there early, so she brought a book to read: a romantic book to read. Yes, she was feeling romantic. She even had a laminated, pressed-and-dried rose petal bookmark in the book. But only Amelia would know she was feeling romantic that day, simply because of the red ribbon in her hair. That was a dead giveaway only to her sister because she wore it when she was feeling pretty or romantic, or both.

Helen snuggled up in her overstuffed chair and opened her book. Ah, the hero of the book--masculine, yet gentle; serious, yet, with a sense of humor; smart, yet not a know-it-all. Sigh.

[Amelia Isabelle Forster]

Amelia ran one hand through her tosled curls as she walked into the Starbucks, her shoulder bag slung over one shoulder and her skirt sitting low on her hips. She had lost weight yet again, and she needed to either buy new clothes or alter the ones that she had. But Amelia lost weight so often that she couldn't keep up with how it fluctuated. Besides, the style was to have your skirt hang like that. As long as she didn't lose so much weight that it fell off, she would be fine.

Amelia spotted her sister straight off. And there was a red ribbon in her hair, how classic. That meant that Helena was feeling gorgeous and romantic, or at least romantic today. And judging from the book she was reading, it was romantic. Amelia made her way over to the chair that Helena was sitting in and leaned over the back of it, placing one cheek against her sisters.

"There you are, darling. And what yummy book are we reading today?"

[Helena Adelaide Forster]

Helen felt a smooth cheek. She smiled. It was funny how Amelia could sneek up on her like that. Helen absorbed herself into things and became completely oblivious to the world, and Amelia would just walk up to her. Sometimes she scared Helen half to death just by standing there smiling when Helen turned around. It had turned into one of Amelia's favorite past times, it seemed. And it was rather funny on both parts.

"It's the Scarlet Pimpernel."

Alright, so it wasn't the most romantic book she could have chosen, but it was definately romantic. The more she read it, the more romance she saw, and Helen saw a lot more of it when she was feeling romantic to begin with. She reached up and gently pulled one of Amelia's curls.

"How is curly girl today?"

[Amelia Isabelle Forster]

"How long has that book been on our bookshelf, and I've not seen it?" Questioned Amelia, pretending to be enraged. But of course Helena would know that she wasn't enraged, or anything. Helen knew Amelia better than anyone in the whole world: they were closer than best friends; they were sisters. "I would have read it, had I seen it," she said, coming around to sit in the chair across from her sister.

When Helena called her curly girl, she just smiled. "Helena, I feel I must unclasp the secret of even my very soul," she said, quoting Twelfth Night, her favorite Shakespeare play. It was time that she told her sister about Will, and how things had changed between them. And it would be easier to tell Helen here in Starbucks, rather than at home, where it was only the two of them. Plus, Helena could help her deal with her family.

[Helena Adelaide Forster]

"Ah, but this is my personal copy. The one on the bookshelf is...not as nice." She smiled, knowing how silly she sounded, but she didn't care. It was Amelia she was talking to, and Amelia treasured her quirky characteristics. Helen had a pet peeve for book covers. She liked hardback, the kind with woven fabric over it and the title of the book stamped in gold--simple, elegant, classic. And best of all, this copy was old. The pages had that wonderful, crisp, musty smell of an old, loved, but taken care of book.

Helena was unsure if Amelia was being serious or not when she quoted from Twelfth Night, but nonetheless, she closed her book and smiled at her sister. They both loved Twelfth Night. They'd acted it out in their bedroom countless times, had good-natured arguements over who would play whom, practically memorized the entire play. Helen didn't doubt that Amelia had the entire play by heart. But Amelia didn't want to talk about Twelfth Night. There was something else...

[Amelia Isabelle Forster]

"Yes, because you 'prefer books to be in their original form, hardback, woven covered, embossed with gold, and in all ways perfect'" She said in a highpitched voice. "Is not that so?" She tossed her curls over one shoulder, then leaned fowards when she could tell that Helena was ready to listen.

"So...you remember Will Gardner, right? That...um...horrid man?" That didn't sound very convincing. But Amelia really couldn't help it. At the moment, she didn't find Will odious at all. No, indeed, she was rather in love with him. But that was beside the point. She had to tell her family at some point, and who better to start with than Helena?

Helena would hopefully be supportive of her. After all, she would know that Amelia knew her own heart, and wouldn't make an about-face for anything less than an excellent reason.

[Helena Adelaide Forster]

"Why yes, quite so," Helena replied with mock seriousness, then she laughed. But then she looked into Amelia's eyes and saw that she wanted to talk. Not just chat talk, or conversation talk, but she wanted a deep talk. Starbucks was very quiet this time of day, and being in the corner put them in almost completely solitude with each other. That was good. Helena hated to talk, really talk, about something when other people were anywhere near, no matter how complete a stranger they could be.

Helen uncrossed her legs and scooted forwards a little, leaning towards Amelia. She wondered what was on Amelia's mind. A lot happened in their separate lives that the other sister didn't know about, even though they told each other practically everything.

Will Gardner? Helen kept her face straight, but inside, her wheels were turning. Melia usually brought Will up when she was angry with him, and Helen would listen to her sister vent about how horrid he'd been. But Amelia didn't look angry in the least. She said the words "horrid man" with...could it be tenderness? What was this in her sister? But Helen didn't jump to conclutions. She couldn't jump to conclutions. It was her nature to hear all she could, and then assume the best of people. Right now, she wasn't sure what she thought, but she would hear her sister out and then form her thoughts.

"The Will Gardner whom you so utterly despise?" So that was a bit of a stretch, but sometimes Amelia really was angry with that man. Maybe this wasn't the same Will Gardner...absurd thought...

[Amelia Isabelle Forster]

When Helena sat forward in her chair, Amelia did too, appreciating the fact that her sister was indicating the intimacy and privacy of the chat. She clasped and unclasped her hands, not knowing how to begin. But Helena gave her the opening when she said "The Will Gardner whom you so utterly despise?" Amelia sighed, a kind of light coming on in her eyes as she thought of Will.

"Well, yes and no. The same Will, yes. Utterly despise, no." Amelia smiled slightly and looked at her hands, which she forced to remain still in her lap. She was working on getting rid of all of these ridiculous nervous habits.

"So anyway, I saw Will again. And I was nice. And he was nice. And then it just grew...and now we're dating." She said it in a rush, because she didn't want her sister to explode from anxiety, or anything. Last thing Helena had known, the two had hated each other. And now they were madly in love and dating. Well, things did change.

[Helena Adelaide Forster]

Amelia was nervous. That would be obvious to anyone looking at her. But it alarmed her sister. Nervous about Will? That man whom the entire family practically hates? Helen wished she could just absorb what Amelia wanted to say in an instant.

Her sister sighed. She sighed at the mention of Will. And a strange light came into her eyes. Helen found herself staring at her sister, bewildered, surprised, even a little anxious. And then Amelia spilled it all out rather quickly, the last phrase hitting Helen like a brick. Dating? Amelia and Will? The thought sounded so absurd she almost wanted to laugh. But then she felt like sobbing. Waves of emotions began to wash over her with every half second. And suddenly she felt like taking her sister by the shoulders and screaming, "Amelia, you must be insane! William Gardner is the man you hate! He's done terrible things to you, said horrible things about you, but now you're in love with him?! What's the matter with you?!"

But despite all of her emotions, Helen held her peace. She collected herself, only letting an expression of mild bewilderment shape her face, and made herself think positive thoughts. There had to be an explanation. A good explanation. Amelia had never done anything this foolish, why should she now? There had to be some way to explain it all where everything would come out right.