StarStruck Coffee

Chicken Stir Fry and the Sky After the Storm

Nate sighed as Layla checked her phone for the twentieth time that hour. It was starting to get annoying, she'd messaged Zach about two hours ago, and for the first hour she did pretty well, she did some cleaning, made herself dinner. She made chicken stir fry as she'd bought a new wok the other day and wanted to try it out. It was actually quite good, Nate managed to nick a bite while she was in the bathroom; but now that she had finished and cleaned it up she was getting obsessive. She was curled up on the double-seater sofa, her back legs tucked behind her, covered by the red heart pillow she kept there, she tapped her fingers, while swiping on her phone, Nate assumed she was refreshing the page; "Can you stop sighing already!" Layla whipped her head round and glared, "If Zach would respond, I wouldn't have too."

"Just calm down. He's probably still at the hospital." Nate gave her a pointed glare, "He went through a lot because of us y'know, that's why we bought him that phone. He will call when he wants to."

"But why can't that be-" Layla was cut off by a sharp ringing from her phone. "It's him. It's Zach!" She turned the phone around to show Nate who nodded, "you gonna answer it then."

"Yes i was about to" she rolled her eyes as she pressed the answer button; "Hey did you get my message?" Nate scoffed and whispered to her;

"You're a bit impatient aint ya." Layla replied by throwing the heart pillow straight for his head.

"Layla, are you still there? You cut out for a second there..." Zach chimed in oblivious to the fact he'd just saved Nate's ass. Nate would have to thank him for that later.

"Yeah, I'm here. Soooo... are you on your way over?" Layla was definitely impatient, that was a certainty.

"Yeah im about to leave Beth's coffee shop-"

"Wait! You're with Beth?" Nate cut him off.

"Yeah what about it? Actually that's perfect! Hold on a second- BETH! Oi dumbass come here."

They could hear Beth's voice through the phone, "Layla and Nate invited me to dinner at there place. Do you want to come? It could be a whole group thing."

Nate sighed. Zach was going to get himself killed, if only he could see Layla's face; her eyes were pointed straight at the phone, her brow scrunched up in frustration, nostrils flaring. It was obvious she was going to kick Nate out when Zach got here so it could be a date.

"Oh yeah that's be great!" Beth chirped through the phone, "We'll be there in 15." Before Layla could object, Zach had hung up the phone.

"That could've gone better-" Nate started, before the TV remote went flying into the wall behind him. "On second thought i'll be in my room." Nate knew better than to be around Layla when she was like this, so he scampered to his room and hollered through a half closed door, "I'll come out when they get here." The last thing he heard was Layla scream before he slammed his door shut.

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"Zach come on already i said 15 minutes if we dont go now we're gonna be late!" Beth tugging on Zach's sleeve whined. "Yeah, yeah i know i'm coming arent I." He replied, wincing at the sunlight. He knew he'd been in the shop too long, as even with all the clouds it was way too bright outside. "I know you said 15 minutes but we don't have to run, Nate's chill asf he wont care if we're late."

"Yes but I care! It's important we start off strong now for the future." Despite the constant hinting at him, Zach was still oblivious that Layla had a crush on him.

"What future? When I graduate, I'm probably gonna move away."

"Wait what?" Beth's voice cracked. "What about us?"

"What'd you mean? We'll still be best mates even if I don't see you every day."

Beth's voice faded away as Zach saw her across the street.

He'd never forget that jet black hair, those dead blue eyes; not blue like the ocean, blue like the sky after a lightning storm. Even with makeup on it still showed what had happened. Zach knew he wouldn't be able to face her right now. Not after what had happened this past month.

A million questions flew through his mind; How? Did she hear about the coma? Why is she here? Why now?-

"ZACH!"

"Huh sorry I got distracted..." he still couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman.

"Jesus Christ you say something like that and then zone out. You cruel bastard." Beth was obviously upset, but Zach didn't notice he was more concerned with the woman who had heard Beth's outburst.

"Zach is that you?" She called across the street. Even her voice hadn't changed, haggard and old, like a smoker after years of pain.

"Zach do you know-" Beth was shut down by Zach's warm hand clamped tight across her mouth,

"Don't talk to that woman." he ordered through gritted teeth, "Go straight to Nate's, and tell them I'll be there in five minutes after you get there. Do I make myself clear."

Beth wrestled herself out of his grip, "What're you on about who is she?"

"That's not important." Zach was running out of time, some cars had stopped to let her cross the street. If he was going to get away he would have to go now, he'd already planned out the route, It was slightly longer than normal but he knew somebody knew to the city wouldn't know where the hell he was going.

"Beth put your headphones on and go. Please just trust me."

Beth could see the pain in Zach's eyes, it was nothing like she'd ever seen before, it almost made her cry there and then. She knew this was important to him though, so she nodded and left in the opposite direction from the woman.

"Zachie please don't go. I know it wasn't your fault-" the woman was forced to stop behind a lorry so what she said next was muffled, but Zach didn't care. He didn't want to see her. While she was distracted with the lorry, Zach ducked down the side alley next to the shop.