Chapter Text
It was Valentine's day. The holiday of couples. All of Abby's friends had gone out with their boyfriends or girlfriends, leaving her, the only single member of her friend group, all alone.
It wasn't that she never tried to get into relationships. In fact, throughout her 19 years of living, she had asked people out. It was simply that they didn't reciprocate her feelings. So when she reached college, she stopped trying to confess her feelings toward people, convinced it would just lead to more rejection and more awkwardness. She was used to spending her holidays alone. While couples kissed under the mistletoe on Christmas Eve, she always stuffed herself full of gingerbread to not feel left out of the fun. It was the same with Valentine's Day, always alone, watching movies and cursing the world out for making her so unlucky in love.
She was originally planning to stay home and binge watch the latest romcom as she always did, but she really was craving a hot cocoa from her favorite café : Heart Sweets Café. They made drinks that temporarily made her forget about the isolating experience of being single. So she buckled up and drove all the way to the café, despite it being 30 minutes away from her place.
When she arrived, unsurprisingly, the tables were full of couples. Some were wearing matching clothes to celebrate the whimsical holiday, while others were simply content with giving each other bouquets and teddy bears. Some of them were kissing despite being in public, not caring about anyone else but themselves. And Abby could swear she saw a man on his knees, proposing to a girl who began to cry tears of joy.
"Ahh.. Should've known that was coming." Abby thought to herself, looking away from the displays of affection in front of her.
She then noticed the pinks posters full of hearts pasted all over the café, the text read : "COUPLE'S DISCOUNT : Bring your partner, and get 30% off both of your orders ! As well as a bonus couple's exclusive Lover's Red Velvet cake, and a delicious sundae for the both of you !", the imagery depicted a man and a woman smiling and laughing together as they ate their meals. The background was full of hearts, and it made Abby feel sick. Of course they were leaving her out, she was single after all.
She waited and waited in front of the café, but waiters looked at her, saw she was alone and refused to take her order. Meanwhile, a couple who just came in instantly got seated. Of course they'd be prioritizing couples in a day like this. She was about to leave, frustrated by how the world seemed to humiliate her all for not having a boyfriend when suddenly, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Sorry for being late babe, shall we take a seat?" A guy about her age was addressing her, but she didn't know him, which made her confused.
"Do I know you? I think you might have the wrong person." Abby stated, looking at him as he came closer to her.
"Look, I've noticed you've been waiting here for a while, but they're not taking orders from anyone who's alone today. So, wanna play along so we can get a place?" The guy whispered, inching even closer to her.
She thought about it for a moment. But she was very curious about that new Red Velvet cake they had out, and she just wanted her hot cocoa. She figured it wouldn't hurt to play along, especially during such a humiliating holiday like Valentine's.
"Alright. I'll play along, we just pretend to be a couple, right?" She whispered back to him.
"Yeah, I'll just hold your hand so we look the part." The guy replied as he took her hand.
It was the first time a guy ever held her hand. So it made her startled at first, but she didn't hate the feeling. Besides, it was to make sure the staff didn't suspect them of faking it.
A waitress instantly came up to them to get their order.
They were seated on a small table for two as their orders were being written down. Once the waitress went away, Abby finally spoke up.
"If we're gonna do this gig, I should at least know your name." Abby stated as she looked at the guy. He had black hair, and wore some quite thick glasses.
"I'm Zack, and you?"
"Abby."
Zack seemed to be fidgeting quite a bit. For a while he made the gesture as if he wanted to grab something from his bag, but he put his hand back on the table. Abby on the other hand decided to pull out a calculator from her pocket, something she always carried with her, and began to calculate how much money she saved by managing to get this discount. When she saw she had saved a whole 10 dollars worth of money by pretending to date a stranger, she felt ecstatic. Maybe this ruse was worth it after all! She was already thinking about all of the things she could spent this extra money on.
"A calculator? Do you always carry that around?" Zack asked, looking at Abby's little calculator.
"I study finance after all, and I love to analyze the prices of things. It's always nice to save money, wouldn't you agree?" Abby giggled a bit, thinking about their situation.
"Of course, I mean, I love being able to buy extra watercolor pans." Zack smiled.
"Watercolor.. So you're an artist?"
"Yeah, I go to art school, for graphic design, but truth is, I prefer traditional painting."
They order arrived soon after they began their small talk. Abby got her hot cocoa, while Zack had ordered an espresso, with two packets of extra sugar.
Abby was thrilled to taste that Red Velvet, it sure was delicious. So was the sundae. Zack took a small portion of each, but mostly let her have the sweets, meanwhile, he was hesitantly sipping at his espresso, making a strange sort of face.
"Is the espresso not to your liking?" Abby inquired, curiously staring at Zack's grimace as he slowly sipped at his cup.
"No, it's not that. I order it like this all the time. It's just that I'm not really a big coffee fan." Zack explained.
"Then why order coffee if it's not your cup of tea?" Abby questioned, now wondering if the guy she was fake dating was perhaps a little strange.
"It's just.. And I'm sorry to bring up such a heavy topic but.. If you want to know.. Well, I used to go to this place with my ex all the time, and she always drank her espresso like this. I simply starting drinking it out of routine, and it stays ingrained in my day. I feel strange when I don't drink it, even though we've been broken up for two years now." Zack stammered as he drank his espresso, looking down at it, then looking up at Abby.
"You've been in a relationship before? That seems rough. I've never had a boyfriend before so, I can't imagine what it's like to experience a breakup." Abby replied, she wasn't really sure what to say, as she had expected Zack to also be someone who's never dated, kind of like her. "I've had friends tell me about their breakups before, and they're always in tears, so I can gather it must be difficult."
There was a long pause before Abby broke the silence.
"So.. What's your actual favorite drink?"
"Well.. It's hard to decide, I love some good alcohol at parties, but soda is nice too. And tea is great to relax.." Zack seemed to calm down from his previous tangent, and Abby felt relief.
At that moment, it felt like they had known each other for longer than they actually did. Almost like a date, as Abby had always imagined it. She was surprised by how easily Zack opened up to her, and despite them being strangers, she felt safe around him.
Once the finished their snacks and drinks, it was time to leave the café. But before they parted ways, Abby came up to Zack to make a request.
"You know, I go to this café quite often, and I would be concerned about our act being exposed. And there are so many couple's discounts I would love to take advantage of all around town! So maybe we could.. Continue to pretend to be a couple so we can save money.." Abby mumbled, she was shocked by her own words, but their deal had worked great the first time, and she wasn't going to miss the opportunity, even if the relationship was fake.
"Alright, there are several concerts that offer discounted seats for couples, I'd love to finally be able to use those coupons. So let's exchange numbers for the next good deal." Zack calmly spoke as he showed her his phone, with his number written in big.
She added his number to her contact list and they both went their separate ways, Abby in her car, and Zack by foot.