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You take a tentative bite of the chocolate coated fruit, your teeth sinking in and the sweetness trickling down your throat.
"Oh! That's actaully really good!" Vic laughs and says,
"I told you so, chocolate makes everything better."
You had been hesitant about buying the desert, even though it was what the cafe was known for. Strawberries are too weird of a texture, chocolate is too dark and bitter, but somehow together it just works. Vic convinced you to try them, free of charge, 'you should buy something other than the fucking pancakes' they had said, rolling their eyes.
"I'll buy a whole box." You said, beaming.
"There's chocolate on your face" Vic said, but they were smiling.
"Can you please stop holding up the line?" The man behind you grumbled. You whirl around and catch a vague outline of his shawdowy, slender form, you can't see his face. A chill runs down your spine.
"Ah sorry!!"
Vic hands quickly hands you the box, and you hurry out of the shop. You have stuff to do, homework for school, chores for your parents (especially since you keep spending all your allowance at the cafe), and fanfiction to write! It almost makes your forget about Vics fingertips brushing yours.
You look in the window of the shop, and maybe it's your eyes tricking you but it seems like possibly Vic is looking back. However, you definetly do have chocolate on your face.
-
"Hey, there you are." Vic is behind the counter agian today.
"I thought you'd be to embarrassed to come back." Embarrassed? Did I do something stupid? Was it the fact that I left so quickly? What did I do that was different than normal?
"Ummm..." Vic looks awkward and you realize you haven't said anything for the last 40 seconds. Well you had to say something now then. You have resigned to your fate. You will walk into the gates of embarrassment in the name of knowledge.
"Wait, what exactly did I do? You know.. that was embarrassing.. or whatever?" Vic looks like they're trying not to laugh.
"Oh my god you still haven't realized!" Vic laughs and leans towards you on the counter and finally reveals what has been haunting you for eons. Well actaully like two minutes but still.
"You forgot to pay yesterday."
If this were a movie everything would probably be slowing down, as the words echo inside your head. Oh my god I'm a thief, I'm literally a criminal, I'm going to get arrested and everyone in prison is going to be stronger than me since they probably did their crimes on purpose and weren't just being a fucking idiot, wait actaully I'd probably go to juvie lol pycsh but shit juvie is also probably pretty bad I read that juvenile detention centers were becoming overcrowded because they arent that effective and kids are getting longer sentences, I'm going to be stuck on the cold hard concrete ground and I'm probably gonna have to dig holes in the desert or something and I'll never get to see Vics pretty face again except for on tiktok which I wont have access to and this will be on my record and I won't get into college and I'll die hungry and alone. Wait did I forget to put periods in my mental paragraph? Shi-
"You look insane geez calm down, I paid for you so you didn't get in trouble."
Your mood completely one-eighties.
"Thank you SO MUCH! I was completely freaking out I'm so so sorry I'll pay you back right now." You reach into your pockets but Vic interrupts you with a hand on your arm.
"Seriously y/n calm down, like take some deep breaths. You don't to pay me back, just give me your number so I can text you next time."
"My phone number?"
"What other number..?" Vic shakes their head, their soft, short, pretty hair framing their face. Well you think its soft, you've never actaully touched it. "Yeah your phone number, you don't have to though if you don't want to." Vic backtracks, slightly panicky. "Like I just don't want to pressure you or anything."
"Can you hurry the fuck up?" Your mind is overcrowded with thinking about Vic and what they just asked you, but you still glance behind you to see a man with a green hoodie and a blank, slightly smiling (for some reason?), expression on his face. You decide to hurry the fuck up and write your number down without a word. You make an incoherent sound as you try to form something smart to say and eventually just leave without saying anything, and weakly wave goodbye.
Vic smiles at you, "bye y/n".
You didn't even order anything.
-
The view outside your window reminds you of a certain glowing yellow thing with one eye, but set within tones of red and orange that are neither faint nor bold. Usually you'd be watching Vics tiktoks put under the name "chcltcvrdstrwbrrs", but after the mess that was earlier today you desperately needed to process and take the mental version of nice, long, shower.
Why were you so worked up the events that happened today? Why is your mind racing and making you all forgetful and stupid and distracted? Do you have a crush on Vic? The person who's tiktoks you watch and purposely go see every afternoon? Who pays for you so you don't get in trouble and has possibly the cutest hair?
As if on cue, your phone vibrates and you surge for it accross the table, hopeful. Your wish is granted and it's an unknown number, but below it is a simple message:
Hey, its vic.
Sorry it took so long, I had to close up the shop today.
Your hands are shaking with excitement as you type out and re-read your response. "Its okay!! Thank you again for paying for me, you really didn't have to."
Its really not a big deal
Do you want to know most popular fandoms of this month on ao3?
Well, of course you do. You and Vic talk late into the night, about ao3, ships and fandoms, pancakes, embarrassing things you did on tumblr, and anything that crosses your mind. When you finally go to sleep, you are haunted by the realization, that you know all of the answers to the questions you were asking yourself, and you are totally fucked.
-
A few weeks pass of talking and laughing pass and you can't get Vic off your mind. You think of Vic when you eat delicious food, you think of Vic when you find a great fanfic, you think of Vic whenever your phone receives a message and your heart leaps.
Something has got to be done about this or you will probably explode.
Should you... confess?
As you are lost in thought while walking to the cafe, and you accidentally bump into a short boy with fiery green hair. "Ah! I'm so sorry ma'am" he says. It yanks you out of your own head and you blink, taking in the real world again. "Its okay, I wasn't looking.." but the boy has already started to hurry away, yelling apologizes and saying something about being late for training. You shrug and shift your gaze towards the cafe, where you see a bright colored paper. Leaning forward you focus on the sign that says:
This location is now permanently closing. Thank you for 10 years.
What?
You can feel your chest become hollow and fragile. Tears sting your eyes and your legs freeze to the pavement.
What the hell?
You loved this place, you had been coming here everyday for months of course you did. You loved the bittersweet smell of coffee and the sugary flavors. You loved the quiet atmosphere and you loved coming here to escape and now it was closing with no notice? You loved being here and you loved the space and you loved Vic.
You loved... Vic.
"Hey y/n." And there they were.
"It sucks that its closing right?" Their hair falls over their face. I love you.
"Something about budget cuts and not enough customers, you were basicailly keeping the store in business" they lick their lips and your heart feels like it's been lit on fire. I love you.
"Um anyway I guess we should find somewhere else to see eachother in person then, not to be creepy, I just um, like having you as a friend." Your eyes meet and you can't even process whatever they are staying at this point. I love you.
"How about we go to the cafe down the street, you're probably hungry or something right?"
"I love you"
Vics lips part and you can see the stunned look in their wide eyes.
I said that out loud, I should not have said that.
You can't look at Vics shocked face anymore so you turn and you run. You run accros the street and down the sidewalk. You run and your feet start to hurt and your eyes swell with tears. How are you supposed to fix this? Its feels as though you are sinking, drowning in a deep ocean. You can't see around you and you can only hold your breath for long. You wonder if when you finally run out of oxygen if it will feel any different, or will you just drift off into the abyss.
Until someone grabs your arm and pulls you out of the water.
You turn around and stare. "Y/n..." they trail off, they can't think of the right words to say. So they give their response with their actions instead.
You smile as you realize, Vic's lips taste like chocolate covered strawberries.