Almost - A Travlyn Fanfic

Chapter 1

The warm scent of coffee flitted through the air of the coffee shop. Morning sunlight spilled throughout the room, filling it with the morning glow that the regular morning people loved to sit in while they drank their beverages.

The bell over the door rung, and a man walked in. His hair the colour of bone, his eyes brighter than emeralds, though they looked particularly dull that day as a deep ring of blood red was beginning to pale around the beautiful bottle-green colour. His ink black pupils were dilated at a strange size as he tried to focus on things on the menu board upon making his entrance.

He felt a sharp pain in his head, the shrill bell sound becoming a quick annoyance. The pain subsided ever-so-slightly when he walked further into the cafe.

"Welcome to Starbucks!"

With a deep breath, Travis ignored the loud voice, and he made it to the counter. He braced his hands on the edge, his grip strong causing his knuckles to go stark white, almost matching his tousled hair.

"I'll have a large black coffee." His voice was hoarse, the bright winter morning not agreeing with him.

Winter was the worst with daylight. Especially when recovering from a hangover. The bright sun reflecting off the white snow, the loud plow trucks that heaved through the streets, pushing piles of white fluffy snow that mixed with the brown mud that usually laid dormant beneath it. Sometimes even walking would be too much of a hassle in the winter, depending on the texture of the snow. If it was wet, your feet got soaked. If it was fluffy, your shoes got covered, leaving tracks in any building you walked in. If the snow was sticky, then every step you took made a satisfying crunching sound that is usually nice, and comforting, unless every sound is like a jackhammer to the brain.

The barista smirked as if she had just heard a funny joke.

"Name?"

Although she already knew his name. He wasn't exactly new to the building. He came in about twice a week, sometimes three times. But asking for his name was protocol, and she didn't know him well enough to be sure of what his name would be.

"Travis," he sighed, the scent of beer and various other alcohol still very evident on his breath.

Katelyn tried not to scrunch up her nose at the scent, but she felt a small instinctive twitch to the smell.

Travis lazily handed her the money, not bothering to even let her utter how much his coffee would cost. So he walked over to his seat, sat down, and laid his head on the cool table to rest the constant pounding that resided there.

He held back a groan as his name was called at a volume too loud for his liking.

His feet dragged as he walked over the counter, mumbled a thank you and sat down in his seat. He took a cautious sip, enjoying the bitter taste that soothed his sore throat. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back and taking steadying breaths.

This won't last forever, this isn't a permanent thing. Hangovers go away.

He was pulled out of his meditative trance by the sound of a loud chair being pulled out and sat in. He opened an eye to see the barista who always served him. Her long periwinkle blue hair was out of its ponytail and cascaded over one shoulder in a waterfall of hair. Her hands were braced on top of the table, palms down. She chewed on her bottom lip, waiting to be acknowledged. She really didn't look like she was in the best mood.

"Um....hi?" Travis forced out the greeting, still not in the talkative mood.

"OKAY, I'M SORRY!" She forced out, pulling the cup of coffee from his grasp. Travis winced at the loudness of her voice, but let it slide, seeing as how she couldn't possibly of realized that he was in immense pain from a crazy night prior.