HAPPINESS - tobi brown

chapter 2

taytum

today i have work in the cafe at 9am. i change into leggings and a fleece along with my white converse. i grab my handbag and throw my apron in there. my dad leaves at 7:30 in the morning so thankfully i don't have to run into him.

it is 8:30 when i leave my house, it's quite cold today. the cafe is about a 10 minute drive so it's not too bad. i arrive at the cafe and am greeted by my work colleague, eilise, who i have been friends with for a while now. she is also doing nursing and is in the same year as me. we have grown very close over the 2 years, but i haven't told anyone about what happens with my dad. i know he's doing terrible things to me but at the end of the day, he's my dad , the only family i have left.

once my mum died her family moved away, leaving me and my dad was already alone, my mum was all he had.

"hey girl!" eilise greets with a smile on her face. she is much taller than me or i'm really small, one of the two. she has long brunette wavy hair. we are like the opposites in looks but our personalities are very much similar.

"eilise! i feel like i haven't talked to you in ages." i smile pulling her in for a hug. "tay, you seen me like two days ago." she laughs. "still! i missed you." i pull away grabbing my apron. " i missed you too tay."

it is now 8:52. me and eilise get everything sorted as we are the only one on shift today. we work 9am-4pm so it's handy enough and it gives us time to get uni work done.

once it hits 9am i walk to the door and flick the sign to "open". it is a monday morning therefore we are busy with people coming in for coffees before heading to work.

"have you started the assignment yet?" eilise asks me. we have a big assignment due as one of our exams. we are given a good few weeks to submit it which i'm grateful for. i shake my head. "no i don't even know where to start or what to do or what i want to base it on."

she nods her head understanding. "same with me, i've always wanted to be a heart nurse, so i think i'll base it off that."

"yeah, i've always wanted to work with children so i think i might do that but it's still difficult to do." i groan making a cup of tea for myself. we have quietened down a bit now as it's 2pm.

"yeah it's so difficult but we can do this." she laughs. "yeah we got it."

me and eilise continue or conversation about uni then going into planning a day out together when we get time. our conversation is interrupted when a group of boys come in. the sidemen.

"oh my god, taytum!" simon is first to notice me. "guys, hey!" i reply smiling at them all. i look at eilise to see that she is in shock. i look at her confused. "what?" i ask. she pulls me aside.

"taytum, how the fuck does the sidemen know your name?" she whispers. "i met them yesterday." i whisper back. i look over to them and see that they are all in their on conversation. "and you didn't think to tell me!" she exclaimed quietly. i shrugged. "didn't really know who they were to be honest." she gapes at me. "you are so uneducated oh my god." she throws her head in her hands causing me to laugh.

i walk back over to the guys to be greeted by tobi. "hey t." i smile at the new nickname, i've never got that one before. "hey tobes, what can i get you guys." the guys shout their orders and go sit down in the back.

while we were doing their order, eilise kept fangirling about how crazy this was and that  they added me to their group chat even though they only met me yesterday. it was strange how well i got on with them.

we complete their order and take it over to their table. "here you go." we receive a chorus of thankyous. "hey why don't you guys sit down for a while if you's aren't busy." harry suggests. me and eilise look at eachother and shrug. we weren't busy as it is now near closing.

"yeah okay why not." i say while grabbing the seat next to tobi. i can't help but be attracted to him. eilise sits across from me beside harry. we chat for 20minutes about the boys day before we break off into our own conversations. i was listening to josh and ethan rant about monkeys scratching their arses when someone nudges me.

i turn to see tobi. he leans in and whispers in my ear causing shivers to travel down my spine. "they're getting close." he nods over to harry and eilise. i glance over to see them laughing at eachother. i smile. eilise hasn't had it easy with men in her life.

i look back over to tobi and smile. "they'd be cute." he laughs and agrees with me. "yeah they would be."
we stare at eachother for a while until we are interrupted by eilise. "hey tay, we have to get tidied up." i look up at her then to my watch, 3:30pm.

"yeah okay, uh we will see you guys another time?" i drag on hoping they say yes. "yeah sure ofcourse." they say while standing and heading towards the door. tobi is last to leave. "see you later t." i smile. "bye tobes."  he then leaves.

"girl you've got some serious explaining to do." eilise laughs while cleaning dirty cups. "what do you mean?" i say acting stupid. "stop acting dumb, i know u have a thing for tobi, i seen how yous look at eachother." she giggles. "he's attractive yes but i don't have a thing for him." i roll my eyes going to wipe the tables. "sure honey."

"well what about you and harry? yous seemed to get on well." she blushes. "he asked for my number." i squeal "omg!"

after our little talk about boys we hee back to work and are tidied in no time. we lock up and say our goodbyes. i drive back home and walk in the door and notice a very angry father awaiting me....

oh lord