Chapter Text
Rasmus never liked to eavesdrop on conversations, but for this one, he had to.
He heard it in the coffee shop, the line unusually long today as he waited to order his go-to drink. He heard a booming, deep, and pretentious voice going on and on and on and on and on – and then, in the tiniest moments in between, the hint of a girl’s voice, trying to get a word in edgewise but ultimately being unable to say anything of true substance. He tried to keep looking down at his phone, tried to keep his eyes stuck on the screen and keep himself out of it like a good person, but all hope was lost as he kept hearing the guy’s tone of voice.
“History? You’re seriously majoring in history?”
When Rasmus looked up, trying to locate the people associated with the voices he heard, he didn’t have to try hard: against the wall of the café sat a guy in a hoodie with varsity-style lettering and jeans. He exuded confidence and pompousness, leaning forward into the table with dark brown hair perfectly fixed. The girl across from him, with dirty blonde hair pinned back on one side with bobby pins, wearing a knit sweater and jeans, had her hands wrapped around the disposable cup that held her coffee. She looked ready to bolt at any second.
“You don’t think history is interesting?” she asked, her voice strained at the words coming out of his mouth.
“Didn’t say I thought it was uninteresting. It’s just – what are you even going to do with a major in history?”
They had to have been students from the University of Toronto, Rasmus thought. He was sort of close to the campus, and judging by their conversation, they had to be students. The guy definitely looked the part with his hoodie and, if he was being honest, so was the girl. In an alternate universe, he would probably be in the same position because of his age. But he wasn’t. He looked down at his phone to see if a text he was waiting for came through, but it didn’t, so he kept listening.
“I don’t know. A teacher, a—maybe I’ll get my Master’s or my PhD and become a professor,” the girl said.
“Oh wow, a history teacher. How original,” the guy remarked.
“Well, what are you going to do with your degree?”
“My bachelor of commerce? Work in business obviously,” the guy said arrogantly. “Get a job at a big bank, or start my own based on my connections.”
“Your connections.”
“I went to Ambrose College, and the alumni network available to me basically guarantees me a job once I get my diploma.”
Rasmus found himself rolling his eyes. The guy began to ramble on and on about his private, all-boys high school experience, and the vast alumni network available to him because he went there and graduated with their diploma. If Rasmus was being honest, the guy looked and sounded like a straight-up douchebag. But when he looked back up at them, after he’d ordered his coffee and moved to the side to wait, he saw something completely different in the eyes of the girl. Instead of looking at the guy, she was looking around the café – looking for some sort of out. He didn’t blame her. The guy was so pretentious it was making his head spin, and Rasmus wasn’t even on the date with him. He could only imagine what this poor girl was going through. Rasmus could tell she was nervous from her eyes dancing, and the way she clutched at the coffee cup like it was her crutch for this God-awful conversation – well, one-sided conversation – she was having with this douchebag. Rasmus felt sorry for her. She was pretty enough, and no girl deserved to be on such a horrible date.
“What school did you go to?” the guy eventually asked.
“Oh, uh, just some school up north in the countryside – nothing as famous as your school or anything,” the girl said, her voice nervous. “Hey, I think I sh—”
“U of T let you in? Wow. Girls like you from the boonies take up so many spots! I mean, not like any of my buddies went into history or anything, but it’s still a spot,” he said.
“I—wow,” the girl practically gasped out. “I earned my spot, you know.”
“That’s what all the girls say. Especially the engineering girls. But we all know how true that is.”
“Listen, I really think—”
“—What college did you say you were in, Lucy?—”
“—It’s Lusine—”
“—Was it SMC? The Catholic one? Aren’t Catholics known for, like, their acts of charity?—”
“—Listen—”
“Lusine?” Rasmus interrupted.
The girl – Lusine – looked up at him from her seat at the table. So did the guy. Lusine had a ‘GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!!!!’ look on her face, and Rasmus could read her like a book. He was going to do what he had to do – be her knight in shining armour. It didn’t matter that he had no clue who she was, and she had no clue who he was. She needed to get out of the situation, and he was going to help her out of it. “Lusine, I haven’t seen you in ages!” he exclaimed.
“Oh my God, William!” she exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and hugging him like they were old, long-lost friends, grasping on to him for dear life. “I can’t believe—you’re here! We ran into each other! Are you back from British Columbia for something?”
“Ah, you know, brother’s getting married,” he played along expertly, giving her a warm smile. “What have you been up to? I take it you’re still rocking it at U of T? I’d love to catch up.”
Lusine finally smiled – a real, genuine smile. He could tell. She would obviously take the opportunity. They both deserved Oscars for their performance. “I—I just—” she looked back at the guy. She pointed to Rasmus. “This is one of my old friends, William—and I haven’t seen him in ages and—"
“You don’t mind if I steal her, do you?” Rasmus stared directly into the guy’s eyes. He didn’t want to know his name and didn’t even care to either. The way he was speaking and treating Lusine was gross. “I just haven’t seen her since I moved to B.C two years ago.”
“I guess I don’t have a choice, do I?” the guy huffed. He looked up at Lusine, already grabbing at her purse. “I guess I’ll call you later and we can finish our chat?”
“Sure,” she answered absent-mindedly, keeping her eyes on Rasmus. “See ya.”
Lusine didn’t take a single look back as she exited the café with Rasmus, walking beside him until they knew they were out of view. When they were far enough away from the café – far enough that even if the guy looked out the window and down the street he wouldn’t see them – they looked at each other and burst into a fit of laughter. That was when Rasmus noticed Lusine’s smile – giant and wide and electric – with a hint of complete innocence behind it, and brighter than anything he’d seen at the café. And that’s when Lusine noticed Rasmus’s smile too – giant and wide and electric, with a hint of mischief behind it, and brighter than the guy’s smile, that was for sure. Even his voice was better, since Lusine could tell he had a hint of an accent.
“God, that was awful!” she exclaimed in between laughs, shaking her head at what had just happened. “Could you hear him?”
“Oh yeah,” Rasmus nodded. “What a dick.”
“Thank you for getting me out of whatever that was,” she said. “You’re a great actor.”
“You’re not so bad too.”
“I—I’m Lusine, by the way,” she stuck out her hand. This was new to her. Lusine didn’t introduce herself to random men who saved her from awkward situations. But ever since she moved to Toronto, she knew she had to broaden her horizons and put herself out there more. She’d promised herself. She needed to do things like this. “What’s your real name?”
“Rasmus,” he said, making sure he sounded Swedish when he said it. He thought it was cooler that way, if he said it in an accent. Maybe it would be impressive. Maybe she’d like it better. Maybe she’d smile more and he’d get to see her smile more and she’d get to see his smile more and—
“Well thank you Rasmus,” she said. “Dang, I didn’t even remember to grab my coffee.”
“I’ll get you another one,” Rasmus offered before he could even realize what he was saying. He was being bold and he knew it. She just learned his name five seconds ago. “There’s another good coffee place my actual friend William and I go to all the time,” he said.
Rasmus saw a flash of surprise and hesitancy cross her face, and he didn’t blame her. Who the hell was he to be telling her he could get her another coffee? That meant spending more time together. That meant casual conversation, walking somewhere together, and knowing each other’s coffee order. Well, knowing her coffee order. Coffee orders were serious business.
But.
To his surprise, he saw Lusine nod her head. “Uh, okay,” she said. She was still hesitant, still nervous. “Do—do you mind if I just call my roommate? So that she knows where I am?”
“Of course,” Rasmus said, giving her some space.
He realized what this looked like. He realized she was probably going to make up some excuse, and for good reason, because again, who the hell was he? She was probably calling her roommate to come get her. It’s what she probably would have done if he hadn’t shown up to the café and saved her from the awful date. He stood awkwardly, trying not to watch as she paced back and forth slightly as she spoke on the phone with her roommate.
Suddenly, she turned towards him. They were a way’s away from each other, so she had to raise her voice slightly. “Where are we going?” she asked, covering the speaker of her phone.
“Jimmy’s Coffee,” he answered. He watched as she said it into the receiver.
Lusine looked back at him, another smile on her face. “My roommate wants to know if you’re a serial killer.”
A large, charming smile spread across his face. “No. Just Rasmus.