in the cracks of light, i dreamed of you

02

"Do you want me to turn on some music?" she asks after about ten minutes of driving in silence.

"Sure, that would be really great actually," I say, thankful for an excuse to break the tension. She plugs her phone in and plays some soft Bon Iver. This girl couldn't get anymore perfect, I smile to myself. "You're a Bon Iver fan?" I question, wanting to start a conversation.

"Yeah I kinda go all over the place music wise but I love Bon Iver. My parents played his music a lot when I was young so it's always very nostalgic for me. Plus on a rainy night like this it feels like it fits the mood" she says, her eyes lighting up as she talks about music.

"Ok so we agree on music taste. That's good because music is kind of my thing"

"Oh, your thing. I see." she replies, wiggling her eyebrows at me. I look down, not yet ready to explain that music is my escape from my parents fighting.

We arrive at the cafe shortly. It's fairly empty aside from an elderly couple and the owner. As we walk inside the aroma of coffee and books fills the air. There's something magical about this place. One wall is covered from floor to ceiling in classic literature. A record player sits in the corner playing soft jazz and plants adorn every surface.

"The usual?" the barista asks, looking at Karlie.

"Of course! Have I ever ordered anything else?" she says, chuckling.

"Well there was that one time you got a shot of espresso to impress a girl..." The barista says slyly. Karlie's cheeks turn slightly red at the mention of her failed attempts at flirting.

"Ok, we don't have to go there. Clearly Klossanova doesn't always work. Anyways, Taylor, what would you like?"

"Oh I'm ok, I didn't bring any money." I say quietly, embarrassed of my financial situation.

"Taylor, it's on me." She responds, squeezing my hand, "You can pay me back with chem help." The barista raises an eyebrow at Karlie's sudden contact with me. I pretend not to notice.

"I'll bring you guys a hot chocolate each and some fresh pastries. No caffeine at this hour." We take a seat at a nearby table and start homework. I pull out my laptop and books to start some reading.

"Do you understand this chem worksheet?I just don't understand how to write out these Lewis Dot structures. It made sense when it was just one element but these Polyatomic Ions are crazy" Karlie asks, looking up from her stack of papers.

"Aren't you supposed to be the science nerd coding genius girl?" I tease.

"Coding is so different from chemistry. Coding makes sense, chem doesn't"

"Here are my notes. What really helped me was approaching it step by step and not getting overwhelmed by the complexity of the problem. I wrote out these steps to help me so that I could break down the problem more easily." I realize I am rambling on and catch myself before I scare her away.

"Oh my god, thank you. You are a lifesaver Taylor!" She exclaims, knocking her books off the table to hug me. I flinch from the sudden contact but quickly find comfort in her arms. "No problem." I say shyly "I really should be the one thanking you"

"What for? We all have shitty days or shitty family situations. Technically you are doing me a favor, allowing me more time away from my homophobic father."

"You're gay?" I ask, looking up from my worksheet.

"Well bisexual...my parents are holding on to any hope that I will marry a man and be the perfect daughter they envisioned. My sisters don't care as long as I'm happy but my parents make a point of asking about the men in my life all the time. It gets exhausting." She says with a light chuckle. I can tell it bothers her a lot more than she's letting on. As much as I hate that she has to go through that, there is some comfort in knowing she won't think i'm broken because of my home life.