Chapter Text
"Ughh…"
It was nine in the morning. On a normal day, Nathaniel would be in bed, tossing and turning, thinking about his next art project. However, Alix had recently convinced him to start working with her at one of the campus cafes.
"No way," Nath had replied at the time.
"Come on, please! My dad is forcing me to do this, and I don't want to do it alone." The pink-haired girl gave him puppy-dog eyes, trying to convince him.
"Alix, I swear I'll get my revenge someday for all the crap you've gotten me into."
"Come on, Nath, don't be so dramatic. I'll go with you to see that new Marvel movie on Friday, okay?"
"Ughh… fine, but not one more, okay?"
The girl smiled triumphantly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Besides, it's not like you don't need the money too."
Now they were both working, on a busy Monday in a coffee shop full of arrogant college students and people with too much homework to worry about leaving a tip for the bartenders.
"What's up now?"
"I'm dying of sleep," the redhead complained.
"Well, if you hadn't been drawing all night, I'm sure you wouldn't be so tired now."
"Ha, ha," the boy laughed sarcastically. "You know I had to finish the art project by tomorrow."
"Oh, excuse me, I forgot I was in the presence of an art legend."
"Very funny, Alix, but I really need this project to go well, you know?"
The girl looked at him, a barely perceptible smile rising slightly at the corner of her lip.
"I'm sure your mom will love it, Nath," she paused, seeing the boy lower his head. "And if she doesn't like it, she clearly has terrible taste, dude. Anyone could see your talent a mile away."
She playfully nudged him, pulling him out of his reverie.
"Stop thinking about that, come on. Go serve some customers before we get fired for gossiping at work."
"We're not even gossiping..." Nathaniel muttered reluctantly.
He stood in front of the register and pulled his hair back into a low ponytail so it wouldn't get in his face.
"Hello, what can I get you today?" he asked in his most cheerful tone.
"I, um, would like a latte, please, no sugar."
"Coming right up," he said, ignoring the boy in front of him.
He went to the coffee machine and grabbed a cup. He couldn't remember if the boy had ordered anything else, so he added a few spoonfuls of sugar and went to the counter to hand over the order.
"Marc?"
"Y-yes, here."
"Coffee with milk," he said with a tired smile to the blue-haired boy.
"O-okay, thank you very much."
He turned to head back to the register when he found Alix standing in front of him.
"Dude, you should listen to the orders better, or we're going to start losing customers."
"What?"
"That kid ordered his coffee without sugar, and I saw you put in enough to give him a cavity just from drinking it."
"That's impossible. Besides, he would have complained."
"Sure, Mr. Two Hours of Sleep. It's impossible that you're making half our coffees wrong," Alix said, amused. "Besides, that kid would drink the mop water if you were the one pouring it."
"W-what?!"
"What you hear, he always comes to write on his laptop at the same time and he stands there with the face of a kicked dog every time he order you a drink. If I'm not mistaken, which I never am, he's totally smitten with you."
"Alix!!"
"What? I'm just telling the truth."
"Yeah, sure."
When he turned to mop the floor, he couldn't help but notice the guy from before. He was sitting at one of the tables in the back, far enough away not to be disturbed by the noise of the customers ordering and shouting names. Just as Alix had said, he was writing something on his laptop. His blue hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail. He couldn't see his face very well, but he noticed he was wearing a feather earring in his left ear and some makeup, from what he glimpsed in the line. He was wearing a red jacket over what looked like a psychedelic rainbow T-shirt. He was wearing ripped jeans and combat boots, along with fingerless gloves that looked terribly uncomfortable for writing.
He seemed stressed about whatever he was working on, and Nath noticed the coffee he'd made him was half-finished beside his things. Maybe Alix was right and the drink was too sweet for him, but he didn't seem too bothered by it.
He couldn't help but think he looked handsome like that, focused and engrossed in his work, completely oblivious to his surroundings and a far cry from the shy boy he'd served earlier.
His reverie was interrupted when her colleague decided to appear behind her.
"Damn it, Alix! You could at least let me know you're coming, you know?"
"Pfft, as if I would," she said, laughing at his start. "Besides, you would have seen me if you'd been spying on that boy earlier."
"I'm not spying on anyone!" The artist tried to defend himself, noticing his face flushing.
"Then explain to me why you've been scrubbing the same area for 10 minutes straight."
"T-that's because it really needed a cleaning," He tried to explain.
"Sure, dude, whatever keeps you up at night."
The pink-haired woman left laughing for her break, leaving Nathaniel annoyed and with all the pending orders waiting for him, his gaze drifting back to the seat of the boy in the red jacket. Unfortunately, when he turned around, he only saw the half-finished cup of coffee and a tip next to it.
"What a weird guy." Nathaniel thought to himself. If few people bothered to leave a tip, it was even weirder for someone who didn't even finish his drink to do so. He remained lost in thought for a while until he saw the long line forming and hurried back to his station.
"Next!"
The next day, Nathaniel was on his way to art class. It was cold, and he walked quickly, carrying his paints, hoping he hadn't overslept and was late. Suddenly, he tripped over someone and fell to the ground.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I wasn't even looking where I was going!"
Nathaniel grabbed his head. He'd bumped his head against the stranger, and now it hurt.
"Don't worry, it's n-"
When he looked up, he found himself staring into two emerald-green eyes that were all too familiar.
It was the boy from the cafeteria yesterday. Up close, he could make out all the features he'd missed, like the beautiful lightning bolt makeup on his left eye that perfectly complemented his eyes. He could also see that his lips were soft (or at least they seemed to be) and a peachy pink colour, and that his nose was slightly flat. His expression showed concern, and suddenly Nathaniel remembered the situation they'd been in.
"Oh my god, I gave you a shock," said the stranger, putting his hands to his head.
"NO!" Shit, that came out too abruptly. "I mean, I was just a little sore, but I'm perfectly fine, see?"
He got up quickly and held out his hand to the blue-haired boy who was still on the ground.
"Um, I'm so sorry…?"
"Marc, my name is Marc," replied the nervous boy.
"I'm really sorry, Marc," he said, looking away. "My name is Nath."
"Yeah, I mean! It's not like I knew your name or anything," Marc gestured nervously with his hands. "I recognized you from, uh, the cafeteria! You know, because of the badges you guys wear."
"Yeah, makes sense."
"Sure."
"Great."
"Great."
An awkward silence fell between the two boys.
"Um, I'm running late for class so..."
"Oh yeah, yeah, sure, of course, don't let me keep you up," Nathaniel chuckled awkwardly. "What class are you taking? If you don't mind me asking, of course."
"No, no, not at all, I'm taking literature."
"Oh, you write?"
"Yeah, um, how...?"
"Oh, sorry, it's just that I look at you in the cafeteria too." He saw Marc blush and realized he'd said it. "I mean! Yesterday, I saw you sitting at a table with your laptop yesterday."
"Oh yeah, haha, I usually hang out there to write," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "It's quieter than at home, so..."
"I understand, sometimes it's good to get a change of scenery."
The bell from one of the faculties on campus rang throughout the campus. Both boys jumped and quickly gathered their belongings, hurrying off in different directions.
"Nice to meet you, Marc. I guess I'll see you in the cafeteria."
"Sure, see you later."
Nathaniel turned and saw the boy in the red jacket running towards the humanities building. He stood there for a few minutes until he remembered the drawings he was carrying and started running too, heading for the architecture building.
"Fuck, fuck, I'm late."