It's Friday I'm in Love (A Tom Hiddleston Fanfiction)

Chapter One

"What size, dear?"

Size? Size of what? Oh, coffee, right. I was ordering coffee at one of the best shops in the city: Mo and Joe's Coffee to Go, owned and operated by Maureen and Joseph Blake, the friendliest couple I had ever met in my entire life. Joe had a head full of gray hair and a mustache to match. He would always brag about the fact that while most men his age were going bald, he was still paying $7.00 twice a year to get his hair cut. Where he found a barber willing to cut his hair for that price in LA, I have no idea. His stomach was as big and as well-rounded as his sense of humor. I had never once gone into the shop and not been told a joke, even if it was a repeat. I would always chuckle and throw a dollar or two into the tip jar. Laughter was a rare thing in my life these days.

Joe's wife, Maureen (or as most people called her, Mo), was a gossip if I had ever seen one. My whole life, I've tended to avoid people like her, but her stories were entertaining and her kindness was appreciated, especially in my line of work. Plus, the coffee here was to die for. To this day I can't comprehend why they don't have more customers.

Mo had the warmest brown eyes in all of California, where, I realize there wasn't very much competition. Most of the people who live here have blonde hair and blue eyes or fake blonde hair with blue eyes or fake brown hair with fake colored eyes with a fake tan. You can pick up on the pattern, I'm sure. That's why Mo and Joe's Coffee to Go was my daily coffee shop; they were the most real one could find in Hollywood. Right now, however, those warm brown eyes belonging to Mo were watching me and waiting for my answer.

"Medium, please," I mumbled.

"Frigga, Honey, are you feeling alright?"

Mo and Joe were the only ones I let call me by my given name. I was still upset with my parents about naming me after my Norwegian grandmother. Mo only discovered it when, one very early morning after an overnight shoot, I accidentally handed her my driver's license instead of my coffee card. Of course, she told Joe, but miraculously, it seems she heeded my request and never told anyone else. That was one of the perks of being a regular; I generally stayed out of Mo's gossip. Of course, there really wasn't anyone else to tell; no one that I knew anyway. As far as I know, I'm the only person from the studios who comes to the shop on a routine basis.

"I'm fine," I managed. "It's just another early morning and I'm in desperate need of a caffeine fix."

Mo nodded and grabbed a medium cup (none of that grande crap like those other places; a medium was a medium) and started tinkering with the espresso machine.

"What've you got goin' on today?" Mo was referring to work. I knew this because after all the mornings I've spent here by myself, I'm sure Mo realized that I have nothing in my life besides work and coffee.

"We begin a new shoot today, actually."

While the espresso was dripping tantalizingly from the spout, teasing me with every dribble, Mo poured the milk to froth for my usual vanilla latte.

"Oh yeah? What's this one then? Another romantic comedy? Action?" she asked.

"We're starting a project based on the book, The Echo, if you've ever heard of that." I didn't want to give too much away, otherwise everyone who came into the shop would know about it in a matter of days.

Popping out from the storeroom behind the counter, Joe asked, "Who's in it?"

This question should have surprised me since Joe didn't actually know many actors. I once asked him who his favorite actress was and he told me he "Really enjoyed that one lady, what's her name... The one in I Love Lucy." But because I knew Joe and knew how he loved conversation, even if he had no clue what people were going on about, the question didn't shock me.