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It was a cold morning for this city, tall buildings shivering. Outside the streets were slush, and the sky dark with impending storm. Freezing winds bit at pedestrians shakily making their way at the crosswalk, ice stinging their cheeks and whipping at their overcoats. It was the Venta café’s hope that the blustery weather would blow customers in. Past its frosty double doors and wide-windowed storefront, wedged between a row of shops, the café was a cozy place. Its warm umber walls hugged against each other, successfully sealing off the chill. Booths pressed their backs against the other snugly, long tables and tall chairs stood in anticipation of introducing strangers, and overstuffed armchairs awaited someone to wrap in their cushioned embrace. The earthy floor tiles were swept, the tables wiped down, and the air filled with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, all was prepared to face the chilled morning.
All except for Feliks. Feliks wasn’t prepared. Feliks was bored.
“Ohhhhhmygawd,” he blond barista slumped onto the cash register, hair falling disheveled in his face. “Could this day drag on any longer.” He moaned.
Behind him, another barista moved about methodically, making sure that all was in proper order and function for the day. He paused at the comment and turned with a frown in his vermillion eyes. “Feliks, we’ve been open for all of three minutes.”
“Yeah, but it’s three minutes on a Monday,” Feliks sighed, blowing strands of hair from his mouth. “That’s, like, three hours on a normal day. I totally should’ve stayed in bed. The bus was freezing, you know that Vlad?”
Vlad rolled his eyes. Feliks could be such a drama queen. “I walked here from my apartment so I wouldn’t know.”
“Don’t you one-up me. This is my pity-party.” Feliks sighed again, emerald eyes glaring behind him. Vlad only grinned back, a little sharp snaggletooth poking out. Vlad had just started working here, and Feliks didn’t know him that well, but he had nice eyes and pretty hair, so he supposed that he was cool enough.
“If you’re so bored you can help me restock.”
“I’m not that bored,” Feliks straightened up and stretched. “Besides, our first customer should be here any minute now. Someone has to man the register.”
Vlad glance over his shoulder, curious. “Our first customer? How do you know that?”
Feliks was examining his nails. “It’s a Monday, Vlad.” When the strawberry blond just continued to stare inquisitively, Feliks rolled his eyes. “That’s right, you’re still, like, really new here. Okay, bit of info from your seniour,” Feliks turned to him and crossed his arms smartly in preparation of his own advice. “You’ll notice that while most customers are blow in by the breeze, some have distinct patterns in attendance. These are what we call ‘regulars’,” he nodded at his own wisdom. “And, every single day, at seven-ten in the morning exactly, we have our first regular. And it will be seven-ten in three,” he checked his watch. “…Two…one…and--”
A gust of chill wind swirled into the café as the doors were shoved open in someone’s desperation to escape the cold. A figure bundled in several layers of thin coats and scarves stumbled in, a backpack on one shoulder and a battered messenger bag clutched to his shivering chest. Feliks grinned at Vlad’s dumbfounded expression before turning to someone he considered to be a best friend. “Hey, Toris.”
The customer sneezed and pulled down the snow-encrusted scarf that was covering his nose and mouth. “Good morning, Feliks. How are you?”
“Oh, just miserable.” Feliks groaned dramatically, snatching up a forty-percent recycled paper cup and preparing it for an order. “And so are you. I’ve got your table ready. Go make yourself comfortable.”
“Great. Thanks, Feliks.” Toris sneezed again.
“Right, whatever,” Feliks smirked to himself as he saw Vlad peeking from behind the espresso machine with wonder at this strangley punctual customer. Yeah, he had doubted him, but it was true. Every day at seven-ten. And Feliks knew what Vlad was seeing, too. Toris would trudge over to his usual spot, a small, sort of out-of-the-way round table by the barista’s counter that had a nice view of the café. Then, in a smooth well-practised motion, he would heave his heavy backpack unto the backrest of one of the two chairs, and then dump the messenger back down in the seat. He would sigh, beginning to fumble with the buttons of about three or four thin overcoats and tangle of scarves. After those were left to thaw on the nearby coatrack, Toris would collapse into his seat with a deep exhale, reclined uncomfortably in the hard-backed chair, hands cradling his face. After about two minutes of staying like that, he’d sigh again, straighten up, and pull a laptop from the messenger bag, coaxing it to life while his coffee brewed. Just like always.
And, just like always, at the exact moment when Feliks snapped the lid of the coffee cup into place, he heard the scrape of the chair as Toris stood up to receive his precious caffeine. Feliks smoothly brushed past an incredulous Vlad and slid the beverage across the counter. Like a boss. “One venti Americano with two extra shots of espresso and anxiety. And your hair is a mess.”
“Yeah, yeah, I walked here, Feliks. And I don’t need any criticism; I’ve got a big paper due in two weeks.” Toris sighed, running his fingers through his brown hair, righting the long locks. Dark rings were under his eyes.
“You’ve always got a big paper due in two weeks, or one week, or two days or whatever,” Feliks shook his head as he exacted change for Toris’s purchase. “You’ll be fine, Smarty Pants College Boy. Besides, cheer up; it’s a Monday.”
Toris became fidgety, suddenly very eager to receive his change and retreat to his seat. “Y-yeah. S-so?”
Feliks smirked. “Well, you gonna?”
“I haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.” Toris examined his shoes, hair falling forth to obscure a flushed visage.
“Oh, yeah, I’m so sure. Want a cake pop?”
“N-no, thanks.” He muttered and quickly scurried to his table once he had swiped the coffee. Feliks just laughed and shook his head. Oh, man, that guy was totally hopeless. He is going to have to do it one of these days, or maybe Feliks will ban him from the café until he does. Painful, watching him brood.
“...Uh, Feliks?” Vlad tapped his coworker on the shoulder, looking for an explanation to the exchange. Feliks just grinned at him, swiping a strawberry cake pop for himself.
“Oh, you’ll see soon enough. It’s a Monday after all.”
The rest of the hour went by much quicker than the initial ten minutes, Feliks was glad to admit. Customers trickled in, although none as disheveled or disoriented as the first. He and Vlad had their hands full brewing drinks, mongering merchandise, grilling paninis, and presenting fluffy pastries to the patrons. Near the turn of the hour, they had gotten a reasonable amount of business, and light chatter filled the empty corners. All this time, Toris had been hunched over at his table, staring deep into the flickering computer screen. Spread across the table were two bursting binders, three battered notebooks and a whole scramble of papers spilling over the sides. Occasionally he would pull a heavy tome or two from the backpack, balancing it on his lap while he double checked it with an internet source. His work ethic was ridiculous, Feliks thought has he sprayed whipped cream onto an order of hot cocoa. It was seriously having an effect on his health.
The barista’s eyes caught the clock on the wall. Oh! Seven- fifty-eight. He had lost track of time! “Hey, Vlad!” his partner turned at the call. “It’s now, Vlad.”
“What’s now?”
“It is. You know, what makes Monday important.”
The doors breezed open and a new person stepped in with a smile. “Hello, Feliks.”
Feliks happily turned to this other totally maybe best friend. “Hey, (Name).”
There she was.
The girl that made Toris weak in the knees the moment she glided into the Venta café. The girl with a smile that left him breathless and chased snowy storm clouds clear out of the country. She always had something smart to say, a smile to spare, and some kindness to give away. Her hair was completely mussed up from the blowing wind, snowflakes dusting her hair and shoulders and ruddiness stinging her cheeks, but nothing could detract from her beauty. The rough weather had energised her, mirthful joy shining in her eyes, and the snow created a glow like a halo about her crown. Toris found Miss (Name) utterly enchanting, he always had whether she was run-down and exhausted, a mess and miserable, or at the top of her game, sashaying into the café. She was perfect to him in every way.
If only he could talk to her!
Toris knew how foolish he was, constructing this fantasy romance from a table across the room. He hadn’t spoken a single word to her since she had begun coming to his café, and yet he adored her so! He often tried convincing himself that honestly, he didn’t know her, she couldn’t be as great as he felt she was, but then he’d look across the room to find her there, happily curled up with a hot cocoa, a pastry, and a book, a most absentminded and celestial smile glowing as she was lost in a world some author had penned into being, and his heart would fill with warmth for her once again. And damn if he didn’t love a girl who read! One of his weaknesses! He was a literature major, after all. If only he could read next to her.
Toris had always done his best to avoid silly crushes, but for the life of him he couldn’t let this one go. It was only every two days a week that he would see her enter the doors into this place, yet his fondness of her never abated. Instead of researching for his next thesis, his head would fill with daydreams of them together. Holding hands, laughing together, holding her in his embrace, sitting next to her, both reading something wonderful snuggled up in front of a fire. Ah, what a hopeless romantic he was!
“Uhhh, like, Toris? Hello?”
Toris jolted from his pleasant wishing to see Feliks looking at him expectantly from behind the pastry showcase. “Don’t you, like, have a class in…?” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.
Toris’s eyes followed the gesture to the wall clock. He shot to his feet, sending notebooks tumbling to the floor. “I’m late for class!!” he scrambled to shove as many materials as he could salvage into his bags, not even bothering to leave room for his laptop, which he just snapped closed and tucked under his arm, and streaked out. “Thanks for the coffee, Feliks, I’ve got to go!!”
(Name) jumped as the man bolted past her table, papers fluttering in his wake. Before she could even ask if he was alright he was out the doors and across the street, struggling to stuff his backpack with the coats he was too rushed to put on. She turned in her seat to catch Feliks’s eye. “What was that all about?”
“College student.”
“Ah. Never mind then.”
~~~
“Oh, she comes on Thursdays, too?”
Feliks nodded with a grin to Vlad as a very embarrassed Toris stood nervously to the side, shifting from foot to foot. Feliks was dangling his venti Americano just out of his reach. “Every Monday and Thursday at eight in the morning! Without fail! Can you believe it?”
Vlad raised his eyebrows. “That is rather impressive.”
“(Name) was lost the first time she came in here, see, ‘cos she had like just moved in and all, and I totally made friends with her like that, and get this, I was, like, one of her first friends here in town, so she, like, always comes and stuff. I don’t know, I guess she likes the scones, too. She’s never had our cake pops. Which is a shame. Our cake pops are boss. But that’s not the point,” he shook his head. “As you saw yesterday, our little Toris totally has a crush on her--”
“I do not!!”
“—and he has not spoken a word to her--”
“That is true.”
“—for the seven months that she has been coming here.”
“What?!!” Vlad nearly dropped the espresso shot he was handling, staring at Toris in disbelief. “Okay, you have to man up, that’s just being pansy about it!”
“See, he agrees with me! Now I’m not giving you your caffeine until you agree to talk to her!”
“For the love of—Feliks, I will pay you extra, just give me my coffee and leave the matter alone!!”
Feliks’s posture sunk into a dejected pout and he thrust the coffee into his friend’s face. “Fine. Enjoy your caffeine addiction sitting forever alone at your little table with your dictionary posse or whatever. See if anyone cares.”
Toris sighed and received the beverage gratefully, going back to his seat and settling down in front of his laptop. He wished he could talk to her, he really did. But how could he? He had been staring at her from across the room every Monday and Thursday morning for seven months now. He was practically her stalker, and the only thing worse than being a stalker is being a stalker and have your crush find out.
Even besides that complication, Toris just didn’t have the personality for such a feat. He wasn’t outgoing, he wasn’t particularly cheerful, nor did he have a magnetic personality or any of those things that make people naturally like you. Striking up conversation with a stranger wasn’t something he could do. Feliks could do that (and did so on an embarrassingly regular basis), but this wasn’t just any stranger; this was Miss (Name). The (Name) that he had stared at from behind his impenetrable barricade of books since the fateful day she had wandered in some miserable midday in July, beautiful even when perspiring and frizzy from the summer blaze.
His glanced up at the wall clock. He sighed. Time for class. Today he slowly rounded up all his things, feeling particularly down on himself for another day of practically hiding from (Name). He sure hoped that she didn’t think that he was ignoring her. Nah, she probably didn’t even notice him.
He secured his sacks about him and pushed in his chair, beginning to leave. Involuntarily, his eyes drifted to (Name) as he passed her booth on his way out. To his utter shock, she looked up as he passed by. A sweet smile spread on her face, and she gave him a tiny, shy wave. “Have fun in class.” She said quietly.
Toris’s mind went blank. His heart stopped. He was frozen for an eternity, suspended in a solution of shock and joy. Then his foot hit the ground. He went out like a shot, double doors swinging as he sprinted out and across the street, a skip in his step and a grin on his face.
(Name) watched, nose pressed against the window as Toris raced across the street to join up with his two friends. Her eyes followed the three mosey down the road until they rounded the corner, and she let out a breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding and sank down in her seat with embarrassment, countenance flushed. She buried her face in her book. That had been way too hard.
“So, like, are you still breathing, or do I perform CPR, or what?”
“Sh-shut up, Feliks.”
~~~
“Feliks, let me in!”
Vlad jumped at the exclamation, effectively bumping his head on the cabinet he was ducking under. Rubbing what would surely be a bump in a few minutes, he pulled himself to a standing position, glaring over the counter to identify who had surprised him into this injury. He saw no one but Feliks. But Feliks wasn’t behind the counter, preparing for the day. He was leaning suspiciously against the front door, both of them, like he was bracing them shut. At Vlad’s puzzled gaze he only shrugged and waved nonchalantly, putting more weight against the door at a harsh rattle. Vlad squinted. He thought he saw a familiar outline of jackets and scarves on the other side of the fogged glass…
The door rattled again. “Feliks ,it’s really cold out here!!”
Vlad’s eyes went wide. “You’re locking someone out?!!?”
Feliks blinked innocently. “See, I had vowed to myself a few days ago that if Toris didn’t do anything about his crush, I would ban him from the café, soooo…”
“Feliks!!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll open the stupid door! Geez, don’t get your panties in a wad…”
Moments later Toris was in a heap on the floor, a shivering and rubbing his arms to coax his blood to start rushing again. Vlad helped take his frozen outer layers to the coat rack to speed up the process, sending glares to Feliks all the way. Feliks was unperturbed.
“Fine. I’ll talk to her,” Toris wheezed. “If you promise to never do that again.”
Feliks threw his hands into the air. “See? It worked! I’m a genius. I’ll have your Americano whatever out in a few minutes, just sit by the heater or something before you drown in papers. Don’t want you catching a cold or whatever.”
“Right,” Toris shuffled over to the extra space heater they had hooked up and crouched contentedly next to it. He stayed like that for a good twenty minutes before reluctantly returning to his table. Vlad glared at Feliks, who acted as if he hadn’t a clue what the glare was for.
Before anyone knew it was eight-oh-clock, and (Name) faithfully walked through those doors, wearing her famous smile. Feliks kept his stressed friend in the corner of his eye while he participated in the morning chat that (Name) and him always had together. Just like every time, he sat stock-still, always in such a shock at seeing her that he would stare straight at her until she meandered over to her usual tiny booth, when he would snap out of it and no doubt agonise over the embarrassment for at least twenty minutes. Hopefully this time he wouldn’t take so long. Or maybe he would have the decency to quit staring so much. C’mon, Toris, he cheered on in his mind as (Name) departed from the barista counter. You can do this.
Toris sat at his table for a good twenty minutes before doing anything. In his defence, he was giving himself a peptalk. That lasted twenty minutes. Okay, he was daydreaming again. About when (Name) first began coming to the Venta café. The first time she had stumbled in, and she didn’t come back for a while. The next time she dropped by, she was such a shy thing, tentatively stepping over the threshold and quietly making her order. But slowly, she gained confidence, probably thanks to befriending Feliks, and now she walked in each day surely. That was a little thing, but it was big to her. Talking to her was little, he guessed, but big to him. If she could do it, he could take a shot at it right? Maybe not. This was pretty scary.
And for whatever reason Reason could offer, Toris suddenly found himself standing to the side of (Name’s) table, without a single clue to what he was doing. Oh, crap. He had approached her! Now he had to talk to her! Maybe she had even noticed that he had been staring. Had she noticed? Maybe she thought he was a total creeper! Oh, wait, he had to say something. Had she even noticed him standing there? She hadn’t! Oh, good, maybe he could walk away before any interaction had to occur. Agh, she’s looking his way now, and with that adorable face… no, don’t daydream! You have to say something!
He gulped. “Uh-h… may, may I please have a napkin? M-my table doesn’t have any, see. Uh. Please.”
“Yes, of course,” (Name) smiled brightly at him, eyes sparkling, and tugged three napkins free of the dispenser. When she handed them to him, her hand brushed against his, and all he could manage was some guttural form of ‘thank you’ before shuffling back to his seat, hunching over at his laptop with napkins clenched in his hands and not doing a single thing until (Name) left thirty minutes later. After he made sure that she was safely outside the café, he peeked over his study fortress to check for danger.
Feliks was staring, his hands on his hips, shaking his head at Toris in awe. “Wow, you are really bad at this.”
“Sh-shut up, Feliks.”
~~~
This Thursday morning was a day of freezing sleet and slush. A clammy dampness stuck to everything, no matter how hard they tried to shake it off. Coats could offer no protection, blankets offered no haven, and even the walls of the Venta café couldn’t completely stand against it, as a bowl sitting upon the pastry case collecting the drippings of a leak proved. It was no surprise that hardly anyone wanted to go out in this weather, not even to get a warming cup of coffee, but that was the issue of the masses. The regulars would ever stay faithful to their routines.
Except it was Thursday morning at eight-oh-clock and (Name) wasn’t in the Venta café.
Eight-oh-five, eight-ten, Feliks accounted it for traffic. Visibility was low. Whether she walked here or rode the bus, it would be slow going as every exerted caution on the slick roads.
Eight-fifteen, eight-twenty, he thought that there must’ve been an accident on downtown, or construction on the avenue taking up the much-needed lanes.
Eight-twenty-five, eight-thirty, nope nope nope, this was an official emergency. Time to call a Code Red. Hell, make it Code Pink. He likes pink. Feliks leaned around the espresso machine nervously, taking a peek at Toris to see how he was holding up with this unexpected turn of events.
Toris was not working, which was alarming. Without (Name) to distract him, he should be in full-swing right now. In fact, everything was perfectly ordered on his table, which was very alarming. Toris was always extremely unorganised whenever he was particularly stressed, and only two days from a thesis due, he should be positively swamped in papers, encyclopedias, and notebooks right now. But everything was neatly set in order, notebooks set aside, tomes stacked up, papers filed away, laptop snapped shut. His OCD always kicked in when he was especially nervous. He stared blankly at a flickering light on his laptop, blankly, hands clasped tightly in his lap, foot tapping incessantly against the tiles.
Feliks finally dared to break the silence. “…I’m sure she’s fine, Toris.”
“It’s been seven months and she hasn’t missed a single Monday or Thursday.” He replied immediately, not averting his gaze from his laptop. “Something must be wrong.”
“Nonsense. We’re totally overreacting, I’m sure she’s just, like, catching up on her beauty sleep.”
“Is that why she hasn’t texted you?”
“How do you know she hasn’t texted me?”
“If she had you would’ve relayed to me exactly what she said to comfort me instead of half-baked ‘it’s fine’s.”
“Well, I’m not admitting anything. If I said she wasn’t responding, you get even more anxious and probably like keel over or something.”
“Thanks for the consideration.”
“You’re welcome. I’m super great, I know.” Feliks stuck his seventh cake pop into his mouth satisfyingly. “Ugh, Tor-Tor, I’m gonna get so fat from these and you’re gonna have hell to pay for it.”
“Why is your eating too many of those things my fault??”
“Because you’re in super-hyper-warp-factor-seven-anxiety mode, and it’s kind of infectious and so I’m stress eating. Oh, have I ever mentioned how glad I am that you, like, gave up that totally stupid nail-biting –oh.” His eyes drifted to the reddened bandages about his friends fingers. “Dammit, Toris.”
“Sorry.”
“You’re pathetic. Get to class and try not to pass out from being such a worry-wart.”
“Right.” Toris left without much commotion.
“…Will he be alright?” Vlad was unsure of what to do with himself, not attached enough to the situation as to be sufficiently worried, but not so uninvolved where going about his business like nothing was wrong would be permitted.
“He’ll be fine,” Feliks chomped down on another cake pop. “Monday isn’t too far away.”
~~~
Toris woke up Monday to the early morning sunlight forcing its way through his blinds and into his cramped apartment.
Even in his half-asleep state, this struck him as a bit odd. The sunlight woke him up? Didn’t he have a schedule? He always had a schedule. Not that he wanted one, it’s just that there were always million things that he had to do every day. So he always set an alarm. So why didn’t it go off? He peered through the dimness at this nightstand. There weren’t any glaring angular numbers shining back at him. Oh. Clock ran out of batteries. He sighed and closed his eyes for another ten minutes of blissful drowsiness.
Wait.
Today was a Monday.
Toris sprang out of bed, tripped over his own feet, landed face-down in his messenger bag, and struggled with the pockets of it before he found his cellphone and could flick the power button. The bright screen momentarily blinded him, but then he saw the bold white numbers across the top. Eight-thirty. Eight-thirty! He was late!
Get dressed, brush teeth, fix hair, hair looks like a mess, fix hair again, wait, (Name) will be here today, won’t she, sure hope so, hope she’s okay, forgot to shave, shave, grab a poptart, hate poptarts, get books, get papers, get pencils, get pens, forgot writing book, get writing book, stuff it all into two bags, pray the straps won’t break, bundle up, get out the door, forgot keys, forgot shoes, get keys, get shoes, sprintoutofthedoorhowlongwasthat, fifteen minutes, YESSSSS!!!
Panting, Toris finally arrived at the Venta café and swung the doors open wide. “Good morning, Feliks, sorry that I’m—gah!!”
The café was filled with people! Not that’s in unusual for people to be at a café, but the Venta café wasn’t exactly Starbucks in popularity! People were huddled wall to wall, awaiting their turn to order something that could remedy the bitter cold outside. There didn’t even seem to be a single seat available!
“Tor-Tor!” Feliks called from above the crowd of people, grinning madly. “Where have you been?”
“Feliks, what’s going on?!”
“Butterfly effect! Someone dropped a cocktail napkin in Laos! I’ll have your usual out in a sec!”
Toris stood in the doorway for a moment before recovering and slipping inside among all the other people. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood despite the bad weather and crowded facilities, thankfully. It made squirming his way through the lines a less mortifying task than usual. Suddenly, something caught his eye. There (Name) was, all curled up in her usual booth with hot chocolate, a raspberry scone, and a good book. A tension released in Toris that he hadn’t even realised he had been holding. She was fine! Of course she was. He was worried so much. He did wonder what happened though. He gazed at her for quite a long while before noticing something a bit odd about the picture. Why was…?
“Yo, Tor-Tor! Get up here!”
Toris’s face blushed at having to be called up to the front of the line with all these people here, but no one seemed to take much notice. He guessed that everyone’s senses were a bit dulled without having yet consumed their morning caffeine.
“…There’s so many people here, but the seat across from (Name) isn’t taken. Why is that?”
“Oh, I told people that she was waiting for her boyfriend. Shame on you for making a lady wait.”
Toris’s eyes widened. “Feliks, you aren’t suggesting that--”
“Look, if I have to make the move for you, you’ll never be a man. Now go on.”
Toris’s mind was buzzing as he pushed his way through the crowd with coffee in hand to reach (Name’s) petite booth. Now he had to face her! What would he say? What could he do? Did he even iron this shirt?? Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no—
“Um, may I….would you mind if I sat down here?” he was surprised that coherent words actually managed to come out of his mouth. And there she was, with that sweet smile on her face, like always.
“Of course. Go right ahead.”
He nearly fell into the seat across from her, but was quick to right himself and get comfortable. He kept his posture clean, trying to appear as collected and normal as possible. She probably wouldn’t even notice, anyways. After a good five minutes of complete silence he gave up on any possibility of thinking straight or talking to her. She did look beautiful, though. Absolutely stunning.
(Name’s) brain was in a tizzy. What should she do? Make small talk? Keep reading? Talking would probably be the best option, but what should she even say? Oh, and her nose was all red and peeling and runny from the cold she caught earlier this week! Why did she have to look like this in front of him, of all people? Finally she summoned up the courage and took a breath.
“You weren’t here at your usual time.”
Toris nearly threw his coffee across the room from nerves. “What?”
“You’re always here before me. But you weren’t today,” she was peeking at him from above her novel. “I was worried.”
Toris could’ve flown to the moon and back at that moment. She knew that he existed! She noticed him when she was here! “M-my alarm didn’t go off. Pretty careless of me, huh?” a sudden realisation jolted him. “But that’s not the concern! You didn’t show up Thursday at all! What happened? Were you okay?”
A light flush came to her cheeks. He noticed! Of course, she knew he would notice. He’s always staring at her from that table over there, surrounded by his work. But he actually cared! Oh, but now she had to answer. “I-I caught a cold,” she admitted, mumbling. “I’m still recovering, which is why I’m kind of gross. S-so, really sorry about that.”
“What are you talking about? You’re beautiful!” he blurted out.
Both of them were surprised at the exclamation. (Name) nearly fainted at the confession. He thinks she’s beautiful! Or was he just saying that? No, he’s so shy and sweet, he wouldn’t say something that embarrassing unless he really meant it. He thinks she’s beautiful!
“Th-thank you, I--” (Name) burst into a sudden coughing fit, and she buried her face in the elbow of her sleeve, turning the other way. Toris waited politely for her to collect herself, and his heart warmed at the adorable blush on her face.
“S-sorry, I said I was recovering, and I thought the hot chocolate might help my throat, but--” (Name) was interrupted. Toris had handed her a small plastic box tentatively. Blinking, she took it and snapped the lid open. Inside were cough drops packed neatly in the square container. She looked at him in wonder, and he averted his eyes nervously.
“I-I always carry some with me when the season gets this rough. Take as many as you like, I’d like you to feel better.”
“Thank you.” She gave another smile and he allowed himself to smile back. They both blushed.
Then something caught Toris’s eye. He gasped. “A-are you reading Anna Karenina?”
(Name) snapped to attention. “Why, yes I am! It’s one of my favourites. Have you read it?”
“Have I read it? I just turned in a twenty-page thesis on it!”
They were quite busy the next hour and half, deep in discussion exploring all the aspects of the piece of Russian literature. Of course, Toris had a lot to say, and could share many different viewpoints seeing as he spent all that time researching, and she seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say, which just about melted his heart. She did read!
Finally their discussion winded down. “Thanks, Toris, I--” she slapped a hand over her mouth and he looked at her questioningly. She giggled. “…Is it kind of weird that I know your name even though we’ve never been introduced?”
“Oh! No! I mean, I know your name, too, from--”
“—Feliks.” They both said and laughed. Of course, the sassy barista was something they both had in common.
“Um, you know, Miss (Name)--”
"Oh just call me (Name)."
“O-okay. (Name)," he took a deep breath and summoned his resolve, "Um, I was wondering...f you wanted to get coffee sometime with me?”
They sat there a moment as the request sunk in to both of them.
“…We’re already in a café, Toris. We’ve both finished our drinks already.” (Name) pointed out gently, keeping back giggles.
“Oh, yeah,” he flushed yet again at his blunder. In a moment of assertiveness, he swallowed back his embarrassment. “So, I guess we’ll get coffee now, then. It’s a d-d-d,” he licked his lips. “It’s a date.”
(Name) blinked with her wide eyes and Toris just about fainted. “A d-date?”
“Y-yes. A date.” He cleared his throat. “Because if I can’t even ask you to do that th-then what kind of guy would I be to take care of you for the rest of your life?”
Her eyes widened and she flushed up to her ears. Neither of them had really expected something so bold to come from someone who used to only stare from across the room. “Then I guess it’s a date.” She murmured softly, and the sweetest, softest, smile broke out across his face. “I’m so glad you’ve finally come to talk to me, Toris,” (Name) smiled, looking down into her now-empty mug of cocoa and giggled. “Maybe now Feliks will finally stop pestering me.”
Toris blinked at her. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, he knew h-how much I wanted to talk to you. He always badgered me the moment you left for class!”
“…What?”
“Yes! Incessantly! And he has my number, you realise, so it’s even more frustrating! Like he’d pester me all day about it!
Toris was aghast. “You’re kidding! He’s bullied me for months about this! He even locked me out earlier this week because he was so tired of waiting for me to make a move!”
“What?! You mean, he knew that both of us--” they whirled about in their seats to stare at the barista who was innocently wiping off the counter. He suddenly shot them a foxy grin and cleared his throat.
“Ohhhhhhh matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match! Find me a find! Catch me a catch…!”
“Feliks!!”