Chapter Text
Will drummed his fingers against the counter, surveying the room in front of him with narrowed eyes.
The cafe was quiet and cozy, with low lighting and soft piano music playing over the speakers. Cat towers and climbing shelves were pushed up against the walls and the front windows, where a display case would normally be kept. From where he stood behind the counter, he could see people lounging in the worn, comfortable couches, sipping coffee or playing with the cats.
Ideally, customers would walk in, buy a drink and maybe a pastry, and sit down amongst a dozen or so adorable kittens. The point of the place was to match potential owners with pets, and by the time the customers finished their food, they would have chosen a cat to adopt. Most went home with an animal within a few hours, but some regulars would come in at least once a week just to play with the cats. One of the old women Will had seen at least twice before was reclined on a chair, a muffin in one hand and a kitten in the other. Oh, well. If she wasn’t going to adopt, then the next best thing was to give them attention. They needed to get accustomed to people. Besides, you had to pay a flat fee just to get into the place; if it brought in more money, then Will was happy to let her stay as long as she liked.
He sighed, immensely bored. He liked his job, getting to watch people meet their new pets. And the pay wasn’t half-bad, either. But it did get a little monotonous, standing behind the bar area for hours and hours, watching people eat and drink.
A door opened behind him, and Kayla, his co-worker, strode out, pieces of her green-tipped hair falling out of her ponytail.
"A family wants to adopt Maisy,” she told Will, setting down the new crates of coffee beans she’d brought in from the back. “Austin’s talking to them now.” Will looked over to where she chin-pointed, where their other employee was conversing with a middle aged woman. Two kids, a girl and a boy, sat at her feet, cooing over a little orange and brown striped kitten. Will felt a smile creep onto his face, watching them interact with their new pet. Hardly anyone had to return their cats; that was either a sign that the cafe was working, or the animals were exceptionally sweet.
“I’m going to call Apollo,” Kayla continued. Apollo was the manager, and had final say on all adoptions. He trusted the employees, however, to make good choices. Secretly, Will thought this wasn’t the smartest choice—after all, they were only teenagers. Nevertheless, their system seemed to work, and the little cafe was bringing in a bigger profit every month.
Will nodded, and Kayla disappeared into the back room again. He sighed for a second time, propping his head up on one of his hands. He gazed around with detached interest, eyes landing on a small, completely black kitten jumping around a few feet away, trying to catch the feathered toy a man was controlling.
The door swung open, jingling a little bell. Will looked up. He couldn’t see the newcomer very well in the dim lighting, but they were wearing a dark jacket and pants. They hovered in the doorway for almost a minute, and Will had already gone back to watching the cats when they finally stepped up to the counter.
“What can I get for you today?” Will asked, turning his gaze to the person and doing a complete double take.
It was a boy, probably around his age (sixteen or so), though he was a couple inches shorter. Messy dark hair hung into his face, which was as pale as bone. He wore dark jeans and a black sweatshirt, unzipped to show a gray shirt. There was a silver skull-shaped ring on his left index finger. But it was his eyes that Will focused on, dark and deceptively deep, a swirling pool of emotions and thoughts. At first glance, they were black, but Will could detect the slightest glint of chocolate brown around his pupils.
“Hello?” The boy waved a hand in front of Will’s face; he jumped and flushed.
“S-sorry, could you repeat that?”
“I’ll have a medium decaf, no sugar, no cream.”
Will fumbled with the keyboard, attempting to simultaneously punch in the order and hide the blush on his cheeks. “That’ll be $3.56.”
The boy handed Will a card, and he swiped it quickly as quickly as possible before turning to make the coffee. Just his luck, Kayla chose that moment to come back to the main room, frowning when she saw his face. “What happened to you?”
Will just shook his head, popping the lid on the coffee before handing it back to the guy. They made eye contact one more time, and Will had to look away so he wouldn’t be sucked into his strangely intense gaze again.
“Thanks,” he said, before moving away to sit on one of the couches.
Kayla watched him go. “He’s not our normal type of customer, that’s for sure.” Will nodded, leaning against the espresso machine. Kayla’s eyes flicked from him, back to the boy, and then to Will again.
“You’re blushing,” she said, a devilish grin growing on her freckled face.
“What? N-no!” This statement just made him flush more, and Kayla’s smile widened.
“He’s cute. You should ask him out.”
“What?” Will yelped, much louder than he intended; multiple people looked over in surprise, including the boy. “No way. He probably isn’t even into guys. And even if he was, he definitely isn’t single.
“How would you know?”
“Because—well, I mean...just look at him!”
Kayla snickered loudly, and Will shot her a glare. Of course, Austin chose that time to finish talking with the customer and join them behind the counter. “What’s going on?” he asked, seeing the smile on Kayla’s face and the redness on Will’s.
“Oh, the usual. Will’s having a crisis over a cute guy.”
“I am not!”
Austin looked over at the rest of the shop. “That guy?” The boy in black was sitting on a couch, sipping his coffee and scrolling through his phone. One of the cats was sitting a couple feet away, staring at him, but the boy didn’t seem to notice. “Why is he here if he isn’t going to adopt?”
“Who cares? He’s paying to be here, and that’s what matters. Besides, Will doesn’t seem to mind.”
Will groaned. “I don’t like him. I just think he has nice eyes.” He said the last part quietly, but Kayla and Austin still snickered behind their hands. “Honestly, why are we even friends?” He stomped out from behind the counter and to one of the tables, snatching up used mugs and plates.
“Well, there wasn’t much competition,” Kayla said.
“I’ll have you know I have plenty of friends. Just because they don’t work here, doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”
Unfortunately, the black-haired boy had heard him; he looked up from his phone and met Will’s gaze again. Blushing, Will fumbled with the dishes.
“Sorry about that.”
The boy shrugged, going back to his phone. “It’s fine. My friends and I fight all the time.”
“Are you...planning on adopting?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Why?”
Well, you’re just sitting there, staring at your phone and ignoring everyone else.
“Just wondering. A lot of people come in once a week just to sit here with the animals. Mostly lonely old women—they’re here so often, we’ve considered giving them a discount.”
The boy snorted. Will was proud of the fact that he’d made him laugh, and also that he’d talked without blushing or stuttering.
“I’m waiting for them to come up to me,” he explained. “I want one that’s friendly.”
“Oh.” Will stood there like an idiot. The boy went back to his phone, and Will took the chance to stare at him. Slender build, messy hair (that looked really soft), eyes as black as the coffee he was drinking.
“Do you need something?”
It was the second time he’d jerked Will out of a daze. Grabbing the plates from the table, he said, “Nope. I’m good. Just tell me if you need anything.”
“Or I could go to one of them.” He pointed in the direction of his coworkers, who were watching with bemused expressions.
“Right. Of course. That’s what I meant.” He hurried away, dumping the dishes on the counter and pushing past Kayla and Austin. Safely in the back room, he let out a breath, leaning against the wall.
“I am such an idiot.” he whispered to himself.
“That’s what we’ve been telling you for years.” Kayla had followed him, Austin at her heels.
Will smacked her with his apron.
[none of them noticed the small, shy smile on the black-haired boy's face.]