Work Text:
Lena’s fingers tapped away on her laptop keyboard as she sat tucked away in the corner of the university coffee shop. She felt a dull throb starting up behind her eyes as she finished up another paragraph of her dreaded research paper. Reaching dully for her styrofoam coffee cup, Lena lifted it to her lips only to find it completely empty. She set it down with an inconvenienced sigh and hung her head, the throb in her temples intensifying. The paper was never going to get done at this rate and she was half tempted to slam down the top of her laptop and go straight to bed. But her grade was on the line so she begrudgingly got up and stumbled over to the counter.
“Another one already?” The barista asked with a knowing smile. Lena nodded with a half attempt at a response but it was lost in the steam of the coffee that floated from the machine. She took a grateful inhale through her nose and drummed her fingers on the counter impatiently. Finally taking the cup, Lena stalked back to her seat as she took large gulps of the boiling liquid, not caring about scalding every inch of her tongue. She plopped back down in the booth and felt her brain draw a blank as she stared at her unfinished paper.
Okay, it was time for a break. Lena sat back and rested her aching head against the cushioned booth. She turned and took a look around the shop which was bustling with its usual hub of activity. Students of all ages sat either alone or in groups, books and papers scattered all about with pens and pencils scratching. Lena blinked slowly as she studied each individual face in a tired haze. She stopped on one person in particular for no specific reason other than the pain in her head made it hard to move her eyes any longer. She stared at the face without really seeing it, feeling lost in thought about the deadline that loomed over her.
Lena gazed into nothingness until she realized that the face she had been staring at was looking back at her. She jolted up straight, a blush burning in her cheeks. She had been staring at a girl a little older than herself who was sitting just across the shop behind a laptop. The girl had a questioning eyebrow raised and Lena’s cheeks sizzled harder. She glued her eyes back to her laptop, not daring to look back at the stranger.
Lena went back to typing as she tried to contain her embarrassment. But her mind could focus on nothing more than the stranger's face she had been staring at. Finally, Lena risked another glance in that direction. Thankfully the girl was back to working on her own school assignments and paid Lena no mind. Her face was thin and angular, Lena noted it’s beauty, and her dark hair was tied up in a high ponytail. To Lena’s horror, the girl looked up and again they looked eyes. She could barely contain her yelp of surprise, forcing her own eyes back down to her lap.
Unable to take the humiliation any longer, Lena packed up her laptop and notebooks, ducking out the backdoor in shame. She could finish her paper back in her dorm even if Lucio would be playing his music at earsplitting volume. As she pushed the door open, she took one last glance over her shoulder. The girl was still looking her way and even gave a smug little wave to Lena who jumped in surprise, bustling through the exit with her tail between her legs.
She ended up turning in her paper half finished.
A few weeks later, Lena found herself in a surprisingly familiar situation. Sitting in her booth with an empty coffee cup, she could once again feel the tendrils of a headache wrapping around her temples as she stared at a blank computer screen. Why why why did she choose English as a major? It was nonstop reading a writing scholarly papers which was one of her least favorite things to do. Lena put her head on the cool tabletop and let her eyes drift shut for a moment. It did little to ease her oncoming headache but the anxiety in her stomach did die down just a tad. After several minutes, Lena let her eyes creak open and nearly choked on her own spit.
There she was again. The brown-haired girl with those gorgeous amber eyes. All of the anxiety flooded back into Lena’s chest as she bolted up looked straight ahead. She risked a dangerous peek to find the girl just minding her own business as if nothing happened. But to her dismay, Lena also found that the mysterious stranger had chosen a spot right next to the counter. She glanced at her empty coffee cup with a frown, wondering if it was worth the embarrassment. The throb in her head said yes, definitely. Lena carefully and quietly slid out of her booth and tip-toed up to the counter where she waved the barista over.
“Well hello again.” She greeted loudly. Lena gestured wildly to quiet her down, making the cut-off motion over her throat. The barista raised an eyebrow and tried to look offended but couldn’t contain her grin.
“Just the regular then?” She whispered with a wink. Lena nodded and gave her a thumbs up. She spared a glance over to the stranger who was still quietly jotting down notes, seemingly oblivious to the world. The barista set the steaming coffee cup onto the counter and set down a few packs of sugar.
“I put in an extra shot of espresso for luck.” She said quietly, putting a finger over her lips.
“Thanks, love.” Lena whispered back grabbing the drink, “Sorry about shushing you.” She turned and prepared to make a clean getaway.
She then promptly tripped over her own feet.
The coffee flew in every direction as Lena crashed to the floor with a loud thud. She lay dazed on the tile floor as stars twinkled in her vision. As she came to, she realized that every head in the shop was turned in her direction.
“Whoops,” She laughed nervously, “Mum always said I had a knack for catching my feet on air.” A few people chuckled and everyone turned back to work as if nothing happened. Everyone except the girl by the counter who still had her amber eyes trained on Lena. They stared at each other for a moment, Lena becoming increasingly aware of the coffee soaking into her clothes. Their gaze was broken by the barista coming out from the back room with a mop and bucket.
“I’m so sorry,” Lena apologized profusely, “I’ll clean it up, seriously it was my fault. Dead clumsy you know.”
“Don’t worry about it,” The barista waved her away, “It’s my job. Go finish your work I’ve got this.” It took several minutes of convincing to get Lena to slink back to her seat, clothes still soaked in cold coffee. Once again, Lena packed up her unfinished paper and left the shop, this time not looking back to see if she was being watched.
The coffee shop was always at it’s busiest during finals week and Lena was lucky enough to even find a place to sit. If it were her choice she wouldn’t even be there if it had not been for Lucio needing to work on his musical composition final which was loud . When Lena arrived, almost every seat was spoken for except the rickety table in the very back corner. Grumbling under her breath she took a seat and set up her laptop, immediately finding it difficult to type due to the wobbling.
“This suuuucks. ” She groaned, already wanting to turn around and go home. Lena took a deep breath and popped her knuckles. She only needed to finished an online test and she would be free for the next two weeks. No pressure, she just needed to get it done.
It started off well enough, Lena knew a fair amount of the material and didn't find many of the questions difficult. She blazed through quickly, making it about halfway through until the unthinkable happened. She didn’t notice it at first. But the little orange light on her laptop had begun to blink, signaling it was time for a charge. When it did catch her eye, Lena groaned at the interruption and dug around in her bag for the charging cord. She looked left and right but there wasn’t an outlet by this table.
“Oh no no no.” She muttered in a panic. Lena jumped up and saw that every outlet was taken all around the shop. She wandered around, keeping a panicky eye on her battery percentage as she hunted for an empty plug. And she did find one.
Lena almost whooped for joy as she darted over to the booth, ready to ask the person for permission to use their outlet. Then she almost fell over when she saw who was lounging in the booth.
It was her.
The strange girl sat at the only booth with an unoccupied plug, sipping her coffee and reading a book. Lena felt a cold sweat break out across her forehead. It was either talk to this girl who she had been caught staring at more than once, or fail her final. She inched closer, half-hiding her face behind her laptop.
“Uhm...excuse me…” Lena started nervously, “Are you...that plug…if you’re not using...is free?” The girl stared at her.
“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re asking me.” she said in a drop-dead gorgeous French accept that almost made Lena faint on the spot.
“I really need that plug.” Lena forced out quickly before she lost her composure again, “It’s the only one left and I’m going to fail my final if my laptop dies.” The girl seemed to ponder this for a moment, folding her hands in front of her face.
“Sure you can use it.” She finally said from behind her locked fingers, “In exchange for a fresh coffee.” She gestured to her empty mug.
“O-Of course!” Lena said in relief, “What’s your poison, love?”
“Just tell the barista that you’re ordering for Amélie. She will know.”
“Coming right up!” Lena said with a two-finger salute, running to the front counter and placing the order. She ran to her original table and grabbed her backpack while she waited, taking the fresh coffee from the barista and her way back to Amélie.
“One special order!” Lena announced, setting the cup down on the table. She turned her attention back to her dying laptop, plugging in the charger and sighing in relief as the screen brightened back up.
“Thank you.” Amélie said, taking a sip, “Ahh perfect.”
“So what is that?” Lena asked curiously, “It looks like regular black coffee to me.”
“That’s because it is.”
Lena made a face.
“How can you drink it so bitter? I always need a bit of sweet in mine.” Lena said, wrinkling her nose, “Okay a lot of sweet.”
“I have always had my coffee black.” Amélie said, taking another sip, “Sweet coffee is an abomination.” She had a hint of a smile on her lips.
“The English in me begs to differ,” Lena laughed playfully, “Plain black coffee is nothing more than bitter bean water.”
“Well that makes flavored coffee nothing more than bitter bean water with cream in it, non?” Amélie shot back teasingly. Lena considered for a moment.
“Alright that’s fair.” She decided, “The name’s Oxton. Lena Oxton. I’m assuming your name is Amélie?”
“Oui.”
“Well Amélie you’re a lifesaver for letting me use this outlet.” Lena said, “Woulda been pretty screwed if my laptop had died.”
“And I thank you again for the coffee.” Amélie said, gazing at Lena over the rim of her cup, “Good thing you didn’t spill it this time.” Lena immediately went dark red.
“Ahhhh right...that…” She said with a sheepish chuckle, “Busted my arse on this hard tile and that coffee was hot as Satan’s bollocks.”
“You probably wouldn’t have tripped if you had just walked like a normal person.” Amélie said with a slight smirk, “Or were you too busy staring at someone?” Lena spluttered and blushed even harder.
“I can explain that!” She said quickly, “I swear I’m not a creep or anything like that! I had this big paper and a headache and-”
“ Arrêter de parler,” Amélie interjected in her soothing voice, “I do not think you’re a creep, Lena.”
“Oh thank God.” Lena sighed, visibly relieved, “The last time I got caught staring at a hot girl I got walloped.”
“Oh, so you think I am attractive?” Amélie asked teasingly, leaning slightly forward over the table, fingers still locked together.
“O-Of course! I mean if that’s okay with you I mean I don’t want to seem like I think you’re unattractive because that’s definitely not the case in fact it’s quite the opposite-” Lena clamped her mouth shut before she let out another string of rambling embarrassment.
“You are adorable.” Amélie said with a hint of amusement in her voice, “But aren’t you supposed to be taking a test, mon chérie?”
“Oh right, my final.” Lena groaned, smacking a hand to her forehead, “I totally forgot about it.” Amélie drained the rest of her coffee and set the empty cup down on the table.
“I should leave you to work in peace.” She said, putting her book into her backpack. Lena felt a stab of disappointment.
“I mean, you wouldn’t be bothering me. This is all easy stuff anyway.” She said, trying to seem nonchalant, but Amélie had a knowing smile on her face.
“On the contrary I think you would be very distracted.” She said mischievously. Lena almost let out a squeak of surprise when she felt a foot sliding up her calf.
“W-Well when you put it that way, love.” Lena said, slightly flustered, “You make me not want to do my final at all.”
“ Non non,” Amélie tsked, “We couldn’t have that.” Lena felt the foot slide up higher.
“You better have some good incentive for me to finish then.” She gulped.
“I think I have something in mind.” Amélie hummed, jotting something down on a scrap of paper and sliding it over to Lena, “Call me when you’re done and we can ‘discuss’ your results.” Lena held the phone number in her shaky hands, stowing it carefully in her pocket.
“You have quite the knack for motivation.” Lena said, rolling up her sleeves, “I’ll be done in no time!”
“I’ll be waiting, chérie.” Amélie got up from the table, gave Lena a suggestive wink, and strode out of the doors. Lena sat stunned for several minutes, letting the events that just unfolded process in her head. She tore her head out of the clouds and back to the task at hand, her final.
“Time to earn some extra credit.” She said with a determined grin.
She finished the exam in a record-breaking 15 minutes while still maintaining a score of 89%.