The following Saturday morning, Evan was up and early, already making his way to the cafe. Gladly, Alana was back which made Evan feel more comfortable having company, although last night wasn't so bad.
"Hey Evan! Thank you so much.. again!" Alana exclaimed as they both sat in the employees lounge, "So, did everything work alright yesterday?"
"Yeah! There was really only one customer." Evan chuckled under his breath, "That, uhm, Connor guy, yeah.."
"Really?! I'm sorry you had to deal with him. He always such a-"
"N-No, no! Nothing went wrong! It- It was actually really nice! W-We talked for a bit and yeah!"
"Hm, I don't know what your definition of 'nice' is, but I guess I'll trust you on this one.."
Evan laughed quietly once more, Alana joining him.
"So what ever happened with Jared?" Evan asked.
"That guys a handful! While I was looking away he tried eating another one of those bathbomb things and you have no idea how hard it is to take those away from Jared-" Alana's eyes widened as if she had a flashback, sighing, "He had a secret bathbomb hidden in each corner! Like an infinite supply!"
Evan laughed loudly, looking away before clearing his throat awkwardly, "Sorry, hah." he mumbled.
"No need to apologize! You did noth-" Alana began before being disturbed by the loud door ringing, "Well, seems like our day is starting!"
Alana and Evan got up, and headed to the counter, working throughout the day. Ground bean coffee, dark roast, melted hot chocolate with whipped cream, peppermint hot chocolate, oolong tea, green tea, herbal tea... The list was continuous. As Evan worked at the counter, he kept checking the clock, keeping track of the time. 9:00am. He sighed, an hour and a half till Connor would be arriving at his usual schedule.
Ding!
Evan looked at the door, eyes widening in surprise.
"C-Connor?" he called as Connor approached the counter.
"Yeah?" Connor replied.
"I thought you usually come at 10:30?"
"What, now you're keeping track of me?" he teased, smiling nonchalantly.
"I- uhm- well- uhh- I just-!"
"I- uH- wEll- uHm- jUSt-" Connor mimcked, gesturing his arms weirdly.
Evan froze on the spot. Blushing would have been no problem, but what Evan did was go as red as a beetroot and radiate heat like a hot pan. No-one could have missed it. It felt like someone had suddenly turned on an internal heater inside Evan's system, and his skin slowly turned to the shade of a ripe strawberry.
"Dude, calm down, I was just teasing you!" Connor laughed, jokingly shoving Evan's shoulder.
"Haha! Yeah!" Evan laughed awkwardly, "You- You got me..!"
Without even thinking, Evan was already making Connor's cappuccino, specifically how he liked it. Evan reached over the counter, handing over the cup, their hands briefly touching as Connor took the cup away. That was enough to make Evan blush even more.
Connor was about to leave before he paused, turning to Evan.
"Hey." Connor called, re-approaching the counter.
"Uhm.. Yeah?" Evan replied.
In a swift movement, Connor reached out and took Evan's hand, holding it out, palm facing up. Once again, Evan's face flushed, turning a bright red, body heat sky-rocketing. Connor's hands were smooth and pampered, just like the rest of him. To the touch, they were soft and cold. Fingers with cool white skin and, that's when Evan noticed, shiny and pristine black nailpolish apply on his nails. It felt like they were holding hands for an eternity before Connor placed a five dollar bill in Evan's hand.
"Here, a tip." he said, breaking the silence between them.
"Oh! I c-couldn't!" Evan stuttered, smiling weakly at Connor as he blushed.
"No really! Take it." Connor insisted, using his other hand to close Evan's hand shut.
"T-Thank you." Evan managed to spit out, his face still bright red, completely flustered.
"Yeah, no problem." Connor smiled back, taking his hands away from Evan. Evan waved at him as he exited through the door.
Evan turned around, noticing Alana was staring at him, not too far away. She put her phone away as she approached Evan, smiling widely, "I guess you were right!"
"Right about w-what?" he asked.
"About you and Connor of course! You guys being friends and all now. Him not being rude to you." Alana exclaimed.
"Y-Yeah! Friends..." Evan laughed shyly. The word 'friend' felt good. Someone you could talk to, get to know better. Someone to hang out with! A friendship that Evan always seeked but never got.
After a many hours of working, Evan's double-shift was over and he walked home, eager to see Connor the next day, his friend. Evan walked down the concrete sidewalk, the sun setting behind him. He reached the door of his home, scrambling through his pocket for his keys. His keys.
"Wha-" he muttered.
Evan's heart skipped a beat as franctcally checked all his pockets.
His keys were missing.
His palms were sweaty and the adrenaline coursing through his system was shutting down his ability to think logically. Evan began to panic. His breaths coming in short bursts, the short gasps of air allowing his body to keep functioning, but it was crippling. He knocks on the door, waiting for his mother to come and welcome him in. Without even noticing, Evan was nervously tapping his finger.
He tried knocking again.
No response.
He stared at the door, noticing a small folded up piece of paper taped on it. He took it and unfolded it, reading the words that were printed.
'Hey Sweetie,
I'm so sorry, I know I said I wouldn't be working tonight, but there was an emergency and they needed some extra assistance! I left some money on the counter for you to order dinner.
Take care and love you lots, Mom'
He was locked out.
Evan's level of panic increased. He bursted into a full sprint down the sidewalk in the direction of the cafe. The world around him turned into one giant blur. He bit his lip tightly, trying not to panic any further. Evan's feet stumbled upon each other before he crashed into something.
Evan's body collided with something. He didn't even have enough time to react as he went flying backwards, hitting the concrete of the sidewalk. The pain struck throughout him until a voice broke his silence.
"HEY! Watch i-!" a pause, "Oh shit! Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there!"
Evan looked up to see a familiar face.
Connor.
YOU ARE READING
Bittersweet Coffee (DEH:Treebros)
FanfictionEvan, a young man who is making attempts to conquor his social anxiety, is finally opening up to the world with his new favourite job as a barista at the local cafe. Slowly settling in his new job, he becomes familiar with a common customer named Co...
