Chapter Text
- November 27th.
The weather had felt like a freezer would suddenly engulf the city any day now. The wind pricked her fingers and lifted her layered hair up. December was near, but she did not care for the holiday anyway. Satya's eyes glared out the window of the pub, paying attention to the hazy lights that filled the street. She was busy trying to figure out where to go in life, or moreso how to make her life more interesting. She had been told countless times that she needed to get out more, how she needed to loosen up(courtesy of Niran.)
But how do you do that, when your life has always revolved around doing the complete opposite? She thought, looking down at the wooden swirl table.Could her dilemma of her thoughts be due to Sanjay? She would have suggestions for something, anything! Yet he would always decline. It was only so she could focus on work and not get carried away, though she was starting to wonder if that was what was best for her. No, that wasn’t proper to think. The table buzzed, causing Satya to flip over her phone to see who it was.
"Where are you??"
Satya let out a small sigh. She knew Sanjay would have something to say, but it was understandable why he would be concerned. Satya didn't usually go to bars, or drink in general. Though luckily she had yet to order any drinks for right now. Satya was responsible, as she had always been.
"Can you answer the door?”
As much as she wanted to ignore him, she knew he would just worry and spam her phone even more. So, she reluctantly began to come up with a good response to satisfy him.
“I’m not at home, Sanjay.”
She quickly typed, closing her eyes to eat another fry. She looked down at the table again, her reflection staring back at her. Her expression shifted into one of disappointment. This was not fun , to say the least. She would have asked Sanjay to come with her, but he didn’t enjoy places like this. “There are too many drunk bastards here for me to handle. Could you imagine being around someone like that? Ha! I’m glad you live among more mannered people, Satya. Vishkar truly saved you, didn’t they?” He would probably say to her.
Her phone buzzed once more, but she didn't want to answer him. Sanjay had always been worried about her, as he was sort of a mentor for her when she first started working for Vishkar. Maybe an older brother, but she wouldn’t know much about having siblings despite the fact she was around many other children when she was young herself. While she appreciated his concern, it’s always been a bit much. It felt as if he always needed to know how she was feeling, which only mattered if it would affect her work performance, it seemed. She sighed, not bothering to finish her food as she got up to leave. Her chair moved out with a low screech, a very unpleasant noise. She had better things to do anyway— like… Satya couldn't think of anything, unfortunately. Satya barely left her comfort zone, but maybe it was time to–
“Oh, ‘scuse me, miss..”
Satya felt herself bump into someone’s side, jolting her out of her thoughts. The voice paused for a mere moment.. His tone was low and gruff. It was almost too familiar that her mind could barely comprehend it and tell her who it belonged to. It tugged at her consciousness. Before she could even recall it, he spoke again.
“Satya?” The voice was accompanied by a familiar southern accent, which caused her face to shift into one of shock. She blinked, the man’s face shifting into one opposite to hers. It was warm, forgiving, almost. Forgiving her for the fact that she left without a word.
“..Cole?” She managed to sputter his name out, causing him to chuckle slightly. “Well..I thought my eyes were ‘deceivin me.” He would laugh, shaking his head in disbelief as the two stood in the crisp wind. Satya, however, was not laughing. There wasn’t anything humorous about this. In fact, it was something she didn’t wish to deal with right now. She couldn’t describe what she was feeling, but she knew it wasn’t a good one. Guilt? Comfort?
“Cole! This is– what are you doing here?”
“I was just gettin' a drink, since it is a bar,” He chuckled again, and Satya felt yet another pang of emotion. “But I might stay for a bit longer..” He trailed off, his eyes casually moving around the area as Satya sighed. She would look off to the side, “What uh..What ‘ave you been up to?”
Satya bit the side of her cheek, wondering how she could even go about talking to him. She felt a bit of a lump in her throat, but still attempted to speak anyway.
“Well..a lot. I’ve felt quite better since leaving. Um..”
“Ah, really? Like what you did with your hair, by the way. It’s-”
“This is serious, Satya.”
Her phone buzzed in her pocket, she checked it, sighing. She could already hear his nagging now. Satya sighed, looking towards Cole with a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, it’s– I sort of need to get home--”
“No, It’s fine. I get it.” She could swear his smile dropped a little. “But you look good. I’m glad you’re doing well.”
Satya gave him a quick wave, before rushing to her car. Cole's hand moved slowly as he muttered a small goodbye. Once she drove off, he realized that he completely forgot to ask for her number. He made a fist and brought it to his forehead, pounding it slightly.
“Stupid– stupid. You’ll probably never see her again now. Dammit..” He mumbled to himself, not even wanting a drink now as he started to walk off. His chance to reconnect was now lost. As soon as his brain could register her face, his head began to flood with memories that he lost all sense of self. He felt stuck in place at the sight of her after so long.
He felt like a complete dumbass.
His foot made contact with a rock. But it didn’t feel much like a rock. More…rectangular shaped? He peered down to notice a small phone, and the flip phone looked more expensive than most. He picked it up, realizing it must’ve been Satya’s. While this was in no way good for Satya, this meant he had a second chance! That is, if she wanted to even see him again–
“You didn’t get her number? Jeez, no wonder things didn’t work out with As-”
Back at home, Genji quickly covered Olivia’s mouth as she began to speak in a muffled voice. She licked his hand, which caused him to snatch it away immediately. “Ew! Ugh..you’re so disgusting..”
He got up to wash his hand, which was possibly collecting germs as they spoke. Cole threw his head down, his eyes closed with mournfulness as he recounted the events from the night before. She seemed to be rushing.. Back home to a boyfriend maybe? He wouldn’t be surprised, she was a beautiful woman, and there was so much about her that any guy– He stopped himself from thinking any further, a deep sigh leaving him. But why did he care anyway? His friendship with Satya faltered towards the end, suddenly too. It’s not like they were together in the first place. And if she was with someone, he would want her to be happy! He would be happy.
“Who knows, maybe she’ll show up somewhere?” Genji wasn’t sure about that, but was trying to come up with something to make his friend feel better. He knew Satya as well, as all three went to college together, along with Angela and Ashe. He wasn’t as close with her, but thought of her to be pretty nice. Plus, she brought out a more academic side of Cole he never saw before, so he appreciated her.
“About that..” He mumbled, pulling out the phone from his back pocket. “She dropped her phone and well– I don’t think she noticed. I gotta get it back to her somehow, right?” He looked at the two, unsure of what to do. Olivia grinned, and Genji furrowed his eyebrows.
“Well, duh. But how are you going to do that exactly?” Genji asked, and Cole wasn’t sure. He had been so distracted by everything he didn’t even begin to think about how he’d get her phone back. But no doubt she would go looking for it, right?
“Give me that, you two are so dumb.” Olivia shook her head, opening the phone and beginning to go through her contacts first and foremost, determined to find anything interesting on this girl.
“Hey! You can’t just–” Cole attempted to stop her, but she quickly snatched it behind her head with a sly grin. A part of him was curious, as anyone naturally would be. But he was more than willing to respect her privacy.
“Let’s see..” Olivia mumbled, Genji slowly looking over at the phone. She grinned, looking up at Cole. “You sure you don’t wanna look? I see her boyfriend in here..ooh~” She teased. “You’re kiddin’ ?” Cole sat up, sounding more concerned then he should’ve. “I’m kidding! Jeez, don’t look so worried!” Olivia cackled, Genji smiling at his reaction.
“I ain’t worried, just surprised..” Cole scoffed, leaning back on the couch with folded arms. “Did you find anything helpful ?” He was a bit fed up with his friends going through Satya’s phone like this, so he quickly snatched it back when he was met with no reply.
“You two should know better. Respect someone’s privacy,” He said sternly, going to the contacts to see if she had anyone he was able to call. He was only met with a few contacts. Niran, who he was a bit familiar with but wasn’t sure if he and Satya were still in touch, and Sanjay? A new friend, perhaps? He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if he should speak to him.
“That Sanjay guy seemed like he needed something. Why not call him?” Olivia grinned, Cole shooting her a look before clicking on the contact. He stepped away from them, letting the phone ring.
.
.
.
“Hello?”