October 3rd 2020
Prompt: Inspired by a song
Sorry, YouTube isn't working
Song: Coffee by Reinaeiry
*****

Cute boy.

That's all my brain could focus on when I met him.

I, being the nervous wreck I was, only managed to utter out: "I-coffee...please." Finished with an embarrassing squeak. He had given it to me in a to-go cup, handing it over with a warm smile as I snatched it and hurried away.

Here I was now. Sitting like a dork in the booth as I cupped my hands around the drink, taking tiny sips so I could prolong my time to watch him work. There was a big group of them that worked at the shop but he was always on coffee, whistling away as he organized the beans or attempting to draw little figures like warped smiley faces in the cream. I took another minuscule drink, fighting back a cough as the rich, bitter taste made my eyes water.

"Now this is just sad." I looked up to see the disapproving face of my best friend. Her pink lips drawn into a frown, freckled nose scrunched, and her eyes practically disappearing under her eyebrows.

I sighed and gestured for her to sit. She brushed a lock of her frizzy brown hair away, taking a seat and glancing back at the barista, a joyful smile on his perfect face as he laughed and talked with his fellow employees.

"Si, you gotta stop. This is stalkerish." She tsked, adjusting her black beret. She's always had a good taste in hats.

  I avoided her gaze, keeping my own locked on him. "No, it's not."

"You need to focus on getting a gig." She directed the topic into a different direction. "Did you ask that pizza place?"

  I sighed. "I tried Mackenzie, but I barely got a stuttered 'H-hi can I-' before they were already rejecting me."

  Mackenzie shook her head. "You need to be confident and go for it! If not you'll be stuck as a dog walker, wasting all your money here."

  I smirked. "Come on, you know you're going to end up pitching in a dollar or two towards a drink."

  "As much as you and attractive barista are my OTP I'm not donating money to over-priced coffee you don't even like." Mackenzie huffed. I rolled my eyes, taking another small drink and trying to poker-face through my urge to hack.

  "I have a different plan." Mackenzie revealed smugly. Uh oh. I shook my head quickly but to my horror she continued talking. "You can get a gig here by asking Mr. Coffee-Man and therefore wooing him with your melodious music."

  She did exaggerated hand gestured. "BAM!" She yelled like it solved everything. I pushed her arm away from my face. My face heating up as people glanced at us.

  "Shut up, I'm not doing that." I hissed.

  "Why not?" Mackenzie wrapped her arm over my shoulders, causing my coffee to shift dangerously. "Sometimes you just gotta go out there, Siena! Fight for what you want!"

  I ducked under her arm and stood. "It's a lot easier when you can talk to the guy but unfortunately I can barely even order coffee from him. Goodbye Mackenzie!" I waved and turned out the door.

I couldn't do it. Just one smile made my mouth suddenly forget how to move. I doubt I could learn morse code in time for me to ask him that way and my sign language tended to get messy when I was nervous.

No.

I'd figure it out another way.

*******

  She came about two times a week, three if it was a holiday. She was a regular customer who took her coffee as a mocha with a lot, a lot, a lot, of cream. Usually she'd sit and drink or pop in her headphones and work on school or something. She was just another customer with a nervous smile, big blue eyes that seemed bigger with her glasses, and wavy blonde hair.

  Usually she'd fumble her way through her order and then take a seat, but not this time. Her eyes were red and puffy, tear marks down her cheeks. She looked tired, very tired. I watched as she sat down, placing her head on her arms sorrowfully.

I glanced at my friends, or my brothers in all but blood. "Do you think I should say something?" I murmured as subtly as I could. The two were bickering over if they got an order right, Jay was adamant it was not correct, Kai complained Jay was being petty and was still mad at him for something that he did.

Kai followed my gaze as he passed over the mug of tea- much to Jay's annoyance. "Uh, no." Kai said like it was obvious. "Big emotions mean bad stuff! Like therapists and temper tantrums!"

Jay leaned in. "Or periods." He stage-whispered.

I shot him a dirty look. "Guys, she's generally upset."

"Your funeral." Kai shrugged, moving away to go to the back of the store.

I mentally prepared myself, since my mother had passed I didn't have good experience with how to deal with the typical emotions of a female being. Though Nya was good practice I mostly kept my distance and let Kai handle any mood swings. I called it sibling companionship. Kai called it throwing him under the bus. But for some reason I decided that I wanted to help this person. I added in a pump of cinnamon just like she asked on cold days and poured as much cream as I was allowed to give into the cup before marching over.

I sat down, sliding the mug over to her. She jolted at my appearance, pale blue eyes wide as she stared at me but decided she was to exhausted to do anything so she took the drink.

"Hey..." I said awkwardly. Watching as she tested the temperature. "Um...are you okay?"

"Uh...um..." She avoided my gaze, cheeks warming as she stared intensely into the brown liquid. But after a moment the nerves seemed to fade and slide back into the exhausted feeling she had before.

"No." She sighed. "My parents are divorcing."

Oh crud.

My brain seemed to laugh at me. Yelling, "Ha, you dug yourself a hole with this one- see ya!" This wasn't like a bad grade or getting kicked out of a club, this was so much worse.

"That's....that really sucks, man." I winced before the words even finished leaving my mouth.

But for some insane reason she gave a small smile. "Thanks. The coffee helps." Her voice was very quiet, still had a slight nervous shake and she wouldn't meet my eyes, looking everywhere but direct eye contact. But she seemed much more comfortable then when I dropped the coffee on her and she practically ran out the door.

"Cole," I felt someone whack me in the chest. I glanced up to see Lloyd there. "The band quit. Wu's going up the wall! The only person available tonight is Dareth and its either him or letting Jay do Karaoke again."

No, not that. I shook my head violently. "Okay, it'll be okay." I stood, raking my fingers through my dark locks. I clapped them together. "What about-"

"No." Lloyd knew exactly what I was going to say. "I said it once and I say it again, opera singers do not belong in coffee shops!"

  I sighed. "What other options do we have?"

  "Um...your dad?" Lloyd peeped out painfully.

  I have a fake laugh like it was the funniest thing on earth . "Haha-NO."

  "Um...I could play." A tiny voice piped.

  We both whipped around to stare at her. She shrunk down in her seat. "I have demo if you'd like to see it and I don't ask for much money."

  "You're hired!' Lloyd pumped his fists in the air. "Thank you so much!"

  The girl looked flustered as he threw his arms around her enthusiastically before practically dancing back behind the counter.

  I gave her a smile. "Thanks."

  She grabbed her bag, fumbling out of the booth. "No problem...um see you later then." She left almost as quickly as I can eat cake.

******

  "I can't believe it!" Mackenzie shrieked as we made our way down the streets. It was late and usually it would be a little intimidating since shady people roam at night but I managed to scare off a shifty dude wearing a fish hat by swinging my guitar case his way.

  "My plans are genius!" Mackenzie sang, practically skipping towards the tea and coffee shop.

  I rolled my eyes, hoisting the case into a better grip. We made it inside, the place was packed, full of laughing groups of teenagers and a few annoyed adults. I took off my coat, hanging it in the coat hanger and pulled up my high waisted jeans nervously. I had worn a floral off the shoulder top and Mackenzie helped twist my blonde hair into a low messy bun. I felt my nerves grip me as I glanced at all the people.

  "Hey, Si." Mackenzie spun me around to look at her. "You got this." She gripped my shoulders. Shaking me a little as if it would take her confident energy and suck it inside of me.

  "Hey, Siena right?" The blonde boy saw me. "Thanks for sending your demo, it was awesome!"

  I forced a smile as I glanced around at the crowd. Following him to the small stage in the corner. "Thank you so much for doing this, you're gonna kill it!" He gave me one last grin before disappearing in the cramped space.

  There were butterflies. But it felt more like killer bees swarming in my stomach. I tried to take deep breaths, keeping my eyes on the light fixtures as I sat down and got my guitar ready. I could see Cole. He was working at the coffee machine, handing the lattes to a pair of tweens and elbowing his friend as he threw a wink that seng one giggling  and the other eye-rolling. He met my gaze, giving a small nod with a grin before turning to wipe off the counter.

No.

Focus.

I mentally slapped myself in the face, not actually since I was already questioning my sanity before preparing my fingers on the frets and plucking the first row of notes. Everyone quieted as the music began, I focused on that, blocking out the white noise and closing my eyes as the song begun.

   "You like coffee but I'm more of a jasmine kind of gal." I smiled softly as I switched one of my notes. "Got nothing against it, I just don't like the taste, the look, the smell."

  "Oh but you love it and I will drink anything you brew," Cole glanced up at that line, watching me carefully as I sang. "Cause even if I hate it, everything tastes good when I'm with you."

  I played a note before pausing for second. After a heartbeat I started again. "C, O, F, F, double E. I'm falling for you constantly and I never liked it cause it tastes so bitter but the previous me didn't have you with her." I glanced at him briefly, getting lost in his eyes.

  "Do I need to spell it out again for you understand that you're my very best friend." I looked to Mackenzie when I sang that line, a silent form of gratitude for all the support she's given me. I moved into a softer tone, slipping into a small hum. "Ba badum, ba badum, ba badum, Mmda da. Ba badum, ba badum."

  I moved back to the first line. My eyes breaking from Cole's warm brown eyes and closing softly. "You like coffee but I'm more of a jasmine type of gal. Got nothing against it I just don't like the taste, the look, the smell."

  "Oh but you love it and I will drink anything you brew cause even if I hate it," I opened my eyes once more. "Everything tastes good when I'm with you."

The customers began to clap, slow at first before rising into a roar. Whistles of appreciation joining in. I felt my lips tug into a big grin, the expression remaining there as I ran down the steps to where Mackenzie was waiting, arms open wide for a hug. I crashed into her, a laugh erupting from me as I squeezed her tight.

  "Si! That was amazing!" Mackenzie pulled away to look at me. "You were amazing!"

  "Thank you," was all I could reply. "Really, for everything."

  Mackenzie's eyes softened and she squeezed me again in a hug. Suddenly she froze and my brows furrowed with confusion when she backed up and practically ran to the other side of the room. A hand grabbed my shoulder, gently gaining my attention. I turned and was met with familiar brown eyes. Warm and soft.

    "That was..." Cole shook his head, an impressed smile on his face. "Awesome, like- really awesome."

  "Thank you." A flush warmed my cheeks but this time it wasn't the violent red like a boiling kettle or a cartoon but rather more of a soft pink like a strawberry sunrise.

  "So...um.." Cole mumbled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. With a jolt I realized that this time Cole was the nervous one. Foot wouldn't stop moving, teeth chewing away at his bottom lip. But for some reason I felt confident. I felt strong.

  "I was wondering if you would like to go out for some coffee sometime." He blurted out finally, a shy smile gracing his lips. "Or tea if that's what you prefer." Cole added quickly.

  My lips tilted upwards as I met his eyes. A laugh, a beautiful laugh, a release of relief spilling from my lips. "I'd love that."

  Suddenly the confident side returned as I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes. "But I can have either. Everything tastes good when I'm with you."

Note*****
Lyrics and the whole song belong to Reinaeiry. The song was Coffee and I just loved the song and the artist so much that I thought it would make a good short story. She's a singer-songwriter and I love all her songs. If any of you like She-Ra she made some amazing music for Catra and Adora.

The character Siena was from Musically Me, it was out of timeline and was very different from their actual story but I wanted to bring our girl back.

I hope you liked this one-shot!

LuckyBugBooks 🐞

Edit: look, I mentioned the period thing in the book but if you EVER say that, especially if you are a guy- or even if you're a girl, non binary or ended fluid- to anyone, it is VERY OFFENSIVE! If someone said "is it that time of the month" to me  when I was just upset about something, as a non violent person I would be tempted to kick them. Sorry, I just wanted to clear that up. And people, don't misuse it in book writing either. I realized that mentoring the period thing might not have been a good idea so...yeah.