“So,” I said, looking at the awning over the shop. It was a green, a dark bottled color. “This is Starbucks.” Eleanor nodded, a proud smile on her face as she tied her hair into a loose bun. I smiled, for her benefit, but I couldn’t see the appeal. I knew what Starbucks was, I was a person, who breathed, but I’d never actually had any of their drinks.
Before I left the Foster Care system my Foster Parents had always had a beef with the company. With The Millers it was that the caffeine stunting growth, with The Anderson’s it was that coffee paled compared to tea, and with The Liston’s their reason was that they didn’t want to pay for overpriced drinks.
Eleanor lightly touched the sides of her sunglasses, and I rushed to pull the glasses over my eyes. Eleanor had told me someone might come up to her, ask for a picture, and that’d be fine. She promised me no one would notice me though. The photo circulating of me wasn’t exactly of my best angle.
Left side, angled slightly upwards. That’s my best angle according to Eleanor. Amazing what you can learn when you’re stuck in a hotel.
“So, I think you should start simple. Not just a bland coffee though, it’s nice outside,” Eleanor started, and I noticed how her voice picked up. When she was excited she showed it. Whether it was television or her favorite chain. “Do you like vanilla?” she asked, pushing open the door and filing into the line.
“Yes,” I said hesitantly, and I could see her thinking.
Moments later, and at the register, she had ordered two drinks, in some coffee language I couldn’t understand. It was when she pulled out her wallet that I noticed the girl looking at us. She looked to be around fourteen, maybe a year older, and her staring was blatant at the least.
Her eyes were quick to slide past me, only wavering for a second. They were laser pointed on Eleanor. She was with who I assumed to be a friend, and she spoke to her rapidly, eyes trailing us as we moved out of the way to wait for our drinks.
“Excuse me,” a light voice said, and Eleanor whipped her head around to see the girl from earlier, eyes wide as apples. She held a phone in her hand, and now that she was closer to me I watched as her eyes flicked to me, inspecting me. She tried to be discreet, but her glance was a second to long. I didn’t mind the stare as long as she didn’t know who I was.
“Yes?” Eleanor said sweetly, a slight smile now on her lips.
“A-Are you Eleanor Calder?” she asked in reply, and her knuckles were white around her phone. Eleanor nodded, and she slipped her sunglasses up to the top of her head. I started to do the same, but she sent a warning look. “Could I have a picture?” she asked, and Eleanor nodded hesitantly. I knew she was trying not to attract attention.
“I’ll take it,” I suggested, and the girl looked thankful as she passed her phone to me, already opened to the camera. I took the photo of them, trying to ignore the people glancing over to us.
Once the photo was taken the girl wavered, eyes sticking to me. “Who are you?” she asked, her voice oozing false brazenness. She blinked a bit to fast, and her hands shook on her phone as silence followed her question. Eleanor shot me a warning look, so I let the girl down easy.
“I’m a friend of Eleanor’s,” I told her simply, and I heard our drinks called in the background of my hearing, and the shuffling of my friend’s feet.
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Run Forest Run (A Zayn Malik Fan Fiction)
FanfictionRun, Forest, Run, because your time's almost up.
