A Deal With Dark

One

Chapter One

I wasn't expecting to run into my ex as I walked into my favorite coffee shop on a warm California Monday. In fact, he was the last person I thought I'd see, since we hadn't really talked a whole lot or seen each other much since we broke up a few months ago. It was funny how we could live in the same city and still almost never see each other, especially since we used to come to this specific coffee shop on dates when we were together. I still went there all the time - I had been going there long before I was ever going there for dates, and it was both out of habit and craving. But this time, I quite literally ran right into my ex as I walked through the door.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I apologized before I realized who it was. When I looked up, my expression changed. I knew that dark hair and those chocolate eyes, and I remembered how I used to lean on him for comfort almost the same way I accidentally was now.

"It's alright...Maddy?" Realization smacked him in the face and I took a couple steps backwards as I began to physically feel the awkwardness around us.

"Hey, Mark," I replied with a small smile.

"It's been a while. How have you been?" he asked. We started walking towards the cashier in order to stay out of the way of others walking into the shop.

"I've been pretty good, how about yourself?"

"I've been alright. Youtube's keeping me busy as always." I had to admit that his videos still made me smile, and watching them was my way of seeing him without things being weird.

"I'm sure. I still watch your videos, believe it or not."

"Really?"

I nodded and made eye contact with the cashier who was ready to take my order. "Hi, can I please have a venti caramel iced coffee with 2% milk?" She asked if I wanted anything else and I shook my head, handing her my debit card.

"Have you done any crazy photo shoots lately?" Mark wondered.

"I did a shoot with some dogs the other day, which was a bit of a challenge. They weren't quite as obedient as Chica," I told him. He ordered coffee for himself and we moved to the side to wait for our drinks.

"Yeah, she's a good girl." A few moments later we both got our coffees.

"Well, I better get going. I need to do some grocery shopping before my afternoon photoshoot," I said. I actually had plenty of time to get things done, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to stay and chat.

"Alright, have fun! It was nice to see you, Mads." Mads. That was what he used to call me. I could tell by his face that he hadn't meant to call me that - it just slipped out due to habit - so I didn't make a big deal out of it.

"It was good to see you too, Mark."

I did indeed go grocery shopping after that, and I took my time. I stopped at a nearby cupcake shop and got a small box for myself and my roommate. She wasn't around when I got to our apartment, so I left a note telling her that two of the four cupcakes were hers. I put away my groceries and sat down to relax for a bit before I had to head out for my photoshoot.

I pulled up Youtube and watched a new video that Mark had posted. I don't know why I couldn't just be friends with Mark without acting so weird around him. I wasn't even the one who should be acting strange about things. I had broken up with him. We dated for about a year and he was great - he was really kind and generous and funny, and he treated me incredibly well. But he loved me a lot more than I loved him. I felt like I couldn't fully reciprocate his feelings, and I knew it wouldn't be right to continue things with him knowing that. That was a few months ago, and he still clearly missed us being together. I could tell by his facial expressions when he was around me, the way he still was calling me Mads, the way he would send me a message or picture saying that he was thinking of me. He wasn't over me, and I didn't know how to handle that. I had never been very good at staying friends with my exes. Because of that, it was always awkward when I ran into him or hung out with him with mutual friends. But his videos still put a smile on my face.