The Magic of Different Worlds || Severus Snape x Reader ||

Chapter 2: A Returning Customer

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A/N: I love slow burn, hehehe.

"What do you wish to know?"

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Severus stayed on my mind for the next week. He bounced around in the back of my mind, and I found myself wondering about him throughout the day. I just couldn't seem to stop thinking about him. His behavior, his looks, and his eyes were stuck on loop in my brain. It wasn't really unusual for me to think about a customer after they left. Some people interested me and resonated with me more than others. I'd think of them once or twice before I saw them again (or if I saw them again).

I was very interested with people, and I always craved for that sensation of human connection. With Severus, the feeling seemed to double. Despite the fact that he told me that he'd be returning, I knew that there was a chance that he wouldn't. Sometimes people would say that they'd be coming back and then I'd never see them again. That's why I didn't allow myself to establish friendships with my regulars until I was sure that they wouldn't intentionally drop off the face of the Earth. It seemed that with Severus, though, I had strayed from that motto.

I wanted to see him again, and the more shifts that passed, the more I began to think that I wouldn't. Truthfully, I shouldn't have been so dead set on it. He seemed like the kind of customer to come in once and not come back. I shouldn't have let myself be so interested in him. I couldn't really help it, I knew that deep down.

I was just so curious about the way he had looked when he walked in. I wanted to know more about the way he seemed so out of place and so nervous in a way that I knew was more than social anxiety. I wanted to find out why the sadness of his lonely heart showed in the pools of his eyes.

I just wanted to know him.

"Are you attempting to make me blackout before the end of the night?" Isobel's voice interrupted my thoughts.

My head did a brief shake as I realized that my hand had gone heavy and I had way over poured the alcohol in her drink. Isobel had decided to branch out tonight and try something different, a vodka cranberry with a splash of lime. It was a super easy and common drink to make, but based on the way I had practically drowned her glass in vodka suggested that I had never made a drink a day in my life.

"Shit," I cursed, reaching for another glass to split the amount in half, "I'll just go ahead and make two."

Isobel herself had been a bit absent in the last week. She'd been flying under the radar and only coming in to the bar for a short amount of time before leaving. Isobel usually stayed for the majority of my shift, but lately she had been drinking and dashing. I supposed she just had a lot going on in her life. Oddly enough, I didn't know much about Isobel. She had been coming in for a while and had quickly become one of my most consistent regulars, but I felt as if she knew a lot more about me than I knew about her.

"You're distracted." Isobel proclaimed, her eyes narrowing at me.

I squeezed a lime over the rims of both of her drinks, being careful not to put too much this time. Isobel was a people person, and she could read people just about as well as I could. I was comfortable confiding in Isobel, which really it should've been the other way around since I was serving her. Honestly, I saw Isobel more as a friend than a customer.

"Do you remember that man who was here last week? The one that you said was looking at me?" I asked her, figuring that she'd remember who I was referring to.

Isobel took the tall glass into her hand, taking the first slow sip as she nodded her head. Her eyes flashed with interest. I waited for her reaction before I moved on, her lips turning up into a satisfied smile. She gave me her approval, and I continued my story.