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the bell above the cafe chimed as you stepped in, your clothes were soaked, water dripped from your torn up umbrella, which was practically useless, and you stood there on the polished wooden floor, shivering as a pool of water formed under your shoes.
“ah, fuck” you cursed under your breath, you’d just barely made it out alive from a hellstorm, and you could still hear the rain hammering the pavement.
frustrated and freezing, you walked towards an empty table at the back of the cafe, water dripped off with each step, and by the time you sat down, nearly everyone was staring.
you sighed, cheeks warming despite how cold you were, and sank into your chair trying to disappear.
after a moment, your gaze drifted around the cafe, the low murmur of conversations, the clink of coffee cups, steam hissing from the machine, and a couple at the counter whispered to eachother, while a group of students tapped aggressively on their laptops in the corner.
you blinked, realizing how much you stood out in your soaked disheveled state, there was nothing worse than feeling like a walking mess in a room full of clean people, you needed warmth, and you hoped a drink could save your tragic day.
exhaling, you forced yourself to stand and headed to the cafe counter, your wet shoes squeaked with every step, and you tried to ignore the stares that followed you.
standing infront of the register, you scanned the menu.
“cappuccino…iced latte…espresso…”
you mumbled, squinting.
“will that be all?” a voice rang through.
you flinched slightly, and looked at the barista facing you, his expression was flat, his dull grey eyes pierced through your skin, and it sent a shiver down your spine.
“ah! no i wasn’t ordering” you said quickly waving your hands in the air in protest.
his expression didn’t change, but he narrowed his eyes at you, “don’t just stand there then.”
you felt a vein pop in your forhead, but you took a deep breath and mustered a smile.
“i’ll have a (favorite drink) please.”
he tapped quietly at the touchscreen menu, the buttons clicked roughly, “that’ll be $4.75” he said, tearing off a receipt.
you reached for your soaked wallet, handed him the cash, and accepted the receipt with cold fingers.
as you stepped away from the counter, your eyes caught his name tag.
“levi…” you whispered, glancing at him, his brown apron complimented his appearance, and it ticked a little beat in your heart.
he noticed you staring, and you quickly turned around, heading towards your seat, you looked out the window beside you, as you sat there waiting, watching the rain outside slide down the glass, everything looked grey and low saturated.
honestly you felt the same, cold and tired, but the rhythmic ticking in your heart grew louder, and you tried your best to ignore it.
you weren’t one to romanticize strangers.
you really weren’t.
but something about that barista levi kept tugging your thoughts like a loose thread, and your eyes drifted back to the counter without meaning to, levi was standing there, working at the espresso machine, he looked focused and calm, but it made your chest weirdly warm.
you weren’t supposed to think about someone you’d just met like that, but your brain kept replaying his voice, like a tune you couldn’t quite grasp, and his eyes, oh his eyes, the dead yet light shimmer in them pulled you in, and you could feel the ticking in your chest increase the more you thought about him.
you slapped your cheeks, trying to punch out anymore thoughts, maybe you were just lonely and overwhelmed, that had to be it.
you let your gaze drop at the receipt in your hand, levi, it was just a name, but it made you stupidly blush anyways.
“(favorite drink)”
you jumped slightly, as your thoughts were disturbed, and a voice came from beside you.
levi was right there, setting down your drink on the table, you hadnt even noticed him walk over, and up close, he looked even more intense.
“o-oh thank you” you said, scrambling as you took the cup, wrapping your hands around it.
levi’s eyes flicked to your drenched sleeves, “you’re soaking the chair.”
you opened your mouth to apologize, but he cut you off with a quiet sigh.
“tch” he clicked his tounge, “and you’ve made half the floor wet.”
“i- sorry!” you stammered, cold sweats dripped off your face, and it wasn’t the rain water, “i don’t really have a choice it was raining like hell.”
“i noticed” he muttered, glancing towards the window behind you, “you walked in here like a mop someone threw outside.”
“…great” you mumbled.
levi sighed again, “just…try not to spread it everywhere, someone’s going to slip.”
you shrank a little into your chair, gripping your drink.
levi stared for another second, “honestly your lucky i don’t make you mop it up yourself.”
then he turned away.
but his foot slid across the puddle your clothes had left behind.
“-levi!” you gasped, as he slipped stumbling towards you, and you barely managed to catch him, arms wrapping around his torso to keep him from hitting the floor.
the coffee cups wobbled on the table beside you, and levi’s weight pressed lightly against you.
“watch it!” he barked, though his tone had a bit of embarrassment now, “are you always this messy?”
“its the rains fault i-“ you froze, suddenly realizing how close in contact you both were.
your heart pounded rapidly.
levi stabilized himself, and stepped back quickly, “you’re ridiculous, and wet.”
you swallowed hard and rubbed the back of your neck, “uh- maybe i should get some napkins.”
levi glared, he gave you a sharp look of annoyance, and it made your blood turn cold.
an hour passed.
the noise inside the cafe silenced, but you were still sat there, looking out the window again, your hands were shaking as you replayed the moment he fell, the thought spinned inside your head like a fidget spinner.
as you snapped out of your daydream, you caught a wiff, the cafe smelled like coffee and a forest after a storm.
finally you stood up, and approached the counter, clutching a few napkins like peace offerings.
levi was cleaning, his hands were busy, and his apron still had a wet stain, when he glanced up, his eyebrows furrowed.
“i wanted to say sorry..”you said softly, holding the napkins out, “for earlier.”
levi looked at the napkins, then at your damp sleeves, he exhaled through his nose, “tch, next time stay out of the rain.”
you squeezed the napkins tightly, and felt your cheeks heat up, “yeah… right i’ll try.”
over the next few weeks, you found yourself returning more often, not for him, well it was, but you’d never admit it, the warmth of the cafe, and the quiet presence of the stoic barista, became something you looked forward to, and slowly levi began to notice you too.
first it was remembering your drink without asking, then the way he set a napkin beside your cup without a word, and the small silent gestures built something between you both, something that made your chest goes, ba-dum, ba-dum, it felt strangely comforting.
you didn’t understand it at first.
why your heart raced when you saw him.
you told yourself you just liked the place, maybe the smell of roasted beans, or the clean atmosphere, but everytime you pushed the door open, your eyes flicked to the counter before anything else, and every time, levi would glance back.
sometimes only for a second, and sometimes more.
long enough that something stupid fluttered in your chest before you could force it down.
you tried to act cool, sitting by the window pretending you were reading something on your phone, tracing circles on the rim of your drink cup like you weren’t waiting for him to look up again, it messed with your head in ways you hated.
one afternoon, you came during one of the slower shifts, the rain hadn’t followed you this time, but your heart still felt damp, you ordered your usual, and levi made it with practiced ease, just like the other one hundred times.
you sat down, sipped, stared.
and without realizing it, your eyes had settled on him again, your head leaned on your hand as you watched the crease of his eyebrow, the way he cleaned tables with small movements.
you didn’t notice how obvious you looked, but levi did.
his movements stilled, and he set down the cloth he was using and straightened up, jaw tightening slightly, you blinked out of surprise the second he started walking over, and your spine stiffened
levi stopped at your table, his gaze was unlike the ones you’ve seen before, it was much more sharp now.
“quit staring” he said coldly.
your breath caught, “i- was just spacing out.”
“no, you weren’t” he replied back instantly, voice cold and harsh, “you’ve been doing it a lot.”
you felt some embarrassment crawl across your face, “sorry i didn’t mean to make things awkward…”
“you already are.”
the words sliced into you like a blade, but levi didn’t stop.
“and whatever you’re thinking”
he added, “drop it.”
you swallowed, fingers curling around your drink, “…i wasn’t thinking anything.”
he shot you a look that made it clear he saw straight through that lie.
“i noticed you coming more” he said, “i’m not blind, don’t twist this into something it’s not.”
your chest tightened, “i wasn’t-“
“dont.”
just one word shut you down completely.
he looked almost uncomfortable, like he hated saying it, but he would rather cut the thread then let you tug on it.
“i’m not interested” levi said quietly, “not in that way.”
the words hit harder than you expected.
you tried to smile, though you felt like decaying right then and there, “right… got it.”
levi didn’t soften, but something in his expression changed for just a split second guilt? pity? you weren't sure.
“and stop looking at me like that” he muttered.
you nodded, a sniffle left your nose, “i wont.”
levi stepped back, straightening his apron, already retreating toward the counter.
he didn’t look at you again after that.
and for the rest of the visit, you kept your eyes glued to your drink, your legs bounced up and down beneath the table, and you pretended like your heart wasnt about to burst, turning into a hollow part in your chest.
after that day, something inside you felt off, not upset, just this dull heaviness that clung to you.
but you still went back the next morning.
the bell chimed when you walked in, but levi didn’t look up.
he was wiping down the counter with that same bored expression, but his eyes didn’t flick toward you like they usually did, not even for a second.
you ordered your drink quietly, he didn’t
say anything more than the total, no napkin set beside your cup this time, no lingering glance, not even the usual annoyed sigh.
just nothing.
the space between you felt colder than the day you walked in soaking wet.
you sat by the window again like always, but your chest felt tight the whole time, and when you accidentally glance his way, levi was already looking somewhere else, like he’d erased the invisible thread, between you both and didn’t want it back.
you left early.
the next day you went again.
and the next.
but each visit felt worse.
levi didn’t avoid you, he just didn’t see you anymore.
no more quiet gestures.
no more tiny looks.
no more anything.
just a barista and a customer.
and somehow that hurt more than the rejection itself.
a week passed.
you hesitated to open the cafe door, your hand hovered over the handle, and something in you twisted, the thought of stepping inside made your heart ache.
you turned around instead, walking home with your hands shoved deep in your pockets.
the next morning you didn’t go.
or the next.
or the next.
you kept telling yourself maybe you’d go tomorrow, or maybe next week, but the thought of seeing levi again was something you wanted to avoid.
eventually, the warmth of the cafe became just another thing you passed on your way, you’d look at it sometimes from across the street, watching people walk in and out, but you never followed.
you wondered once or twice if levi ever noticed the empty seat by the window, if he ever glanced up expecting to see you there, if the bell chimed one morning and for a split second he thought-
…no.
you shook your head.
some things weren’t meant to tug back.
so you kept walking.
and the cafe door stayed closed behind you.