The Coffee Shop (Hamilton Lams Modern AU) **IN EDITING**

Chapter 3

Both POVs

I got up the next morning to the sun shining a bit too brightly in my room. The thin windows rattled as the wind blew outside. Stupid windows.. nothing in here ever gets fixed... I thought, getting up to get breakfast. Dang it! There's nothing to eat.. I sighed and went ahead to get dressed instead, deciding to go buy breakfast from somewhere.

~

As I got to the shop, I noticed a crowd of people inside. Looks like I'll have to wait a bit to see- "Hey, Alex!" John called. "Oh, hi John," I mumbled. "You can go in the back, there should be something to eat in my backpack," he instructed. "How did you-?" He cut me off mid-sentence. "I had a feeling you came for breakfast," he explained with a grin before getting back to work. I stepped into the break room, noticing an iPad and backpack on one of the chairs. This must be his, I thought, opening it up. I noticed a few Cosmic Brownies, a Ziploc full of Oreos that were somehow more than double stuffed, and another bag full of chocolate chip cookies. I picked up one of the brownies and was about to take its wrapper off when John came into the room. "Hey, Alex! Are you okay? You found my snacks, right?" he asked. "Y-yeah, I found your stuff," I replied, putting the brownie down and taking a cookie instead. "These are so good! Where did you get these?" I exclaimed, finishing the cookie within a minute. "Slow down, Alex. And my roommate made them," he explained. "When can I meet h-" but I was cut off by someone entering the room. He was a lot taller than me or John, and he seemed slightly annoyed. "John, mon ami,I need you back out front-" he stopped when he noticed me. "Laf, this is Alex. Alex, this is Laf. He's my roommate and owner of the shop, which is why I'm assistant manager," John told me. I nodded and mumbled a small "hello", not wanting to speak. "Never mind, I'll have Peggy do it," he said to us before leaving. "Why didn't you speak, Alex?" John asked. "I don't have any social skills," I mumbled, half joking, half serious. "Alright, but I need to go back out now. Are you good with staying here?" I nodded and had a seat on one of the chairs, picked up my phone (and the ziploc of cookies) and just relaxed.

~

The day felt as if it had dragged on, but it was finally time for my break. I went into the back, only to see Alex sound asleep. Awww, he's too cute.. I thought. I gently shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. "Alex, wake up, I'm on break for now until 3," I whispered. He groaned and pushed my hand away. I rolled my eyes and smiled. Guess I'll leave him for now, I thought.

~

After finishing my lunch, I was about to leave when I heard something from behind me. "Don't go.." Alex mumbled. "You had your chance, you chose to sleep," I told him. "But I want you to stay..." he muttered. "How about you come help me? You can get people's coffee while I take the orders," I offered. "A-are you sure? I have zero social skills," he joked, half-smiling. "Just trust me, okay? You won't have to deal with any karens or whatever, I'll take care of that," I explained, "Alright," Alex replied, getting up and coming with me behind the counter. The rest of the afternoon went pretty well, and Alex had done great. "Thanks for the help, Alex! You did great today," I told him as I closed up shop. "You think so?" he asked. "Yeah! Just be a bit more careful next time, I saw you came close to burning your hand a lot," I replied. "Anyways, see you tonight!" I called to him as he began walking off in the opposite direction. He waved back at me and I grinned, deciding to run home again.