Don't be Shy ✓

4. Hot chocolate (edited)

Sebastian stood behind a corner, peering at the café from afar. He could see people inside, happily drinking their coffee, tea, chocolate or whatever was in their cups. There seemed to be a fair amount of couples in there, and that made it even more awkward to head in there alone. You just didn't go to a café alone. 

People looked at him where he stood, clearly wondering why he stood at a corner like that. It looked suspicious, and he knew it. It would just take one step, then he would be visible, and then there would be no going back. It would be painfully embarrassing if Kaiden saw him here and then saw him leave again. That wasn't allowed to happen--so he had to stay in the hiding-place until he knew for sure that he wouldn't back off. 

He re-read all the messages from Kaiden and some of his own. He smiled at all of Kaiden's but curled his lips while reading his replies. Why couldn't he have a way with words, like Kaiden. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, considering his options. He could go home and just forget about it, or he could enter the café like Kaiden had asked him to... well, he had before Seb had written the message about bringing Dylan. Now, Seb couldn't be sure if Kaiden actually wanted to see him or not. 

He reminded himself of the pep-talk he had with his mind as he left school. He didn't want to be a coward, so in that respect the option of running in the opposite direction was a no-go. That left him with one last alternative. Or rather, two ones, but he thought that the first option was just as stupid as running. He could text Kaiden and tell him that he couldn't make it, but that wouldn't really help him out, and it would still count as cowardice. No, the one option he was left with was the most obvious, but also the most frightening one. He would enter the café, and then order a hot chocolate. He could feel his cheeks burning at the mere thought of it all.

He shifted his weight a couple of more times, straightened his wrinkled clothes and stole a glance at his reflection in a window. He looked like he usually did, but that didn't feel enough at the moment. He wished that he was taller, better looking, perhaps a bit more buff. He was skin and bones beneath his clothes, and he looked a bit like a short stick wrapped in cloth. He shook his head and looked away. It was no use standing there thinking bad thoughts. Kaiden had given Seb his number, so perhaps Kaiden found him attractive--or perhaps Kaiden just wanted to embarrass him by feigning interest and then ignoring him. The thought was filled with poison and Seb almost cried as he thought of the possibility. It would be his usual luck if that was the case, and it would leave him mortified. If that happened, he would probably vow never to date again. 

He shook his head again. This isn't a date, he reminded himself.

He almost ran right there and then, but something inside him urged him to drop that thought. It was too much of a conspiracy. What would Kaiden gain on doing something like that? He didn't know Seb, they didn't have any friends in common, and Seb wasn't anyone at school. He was just someone that no-one noticed. At least it had been like that until Dylan came along. 

Deciding that he couldn't stand here and make a fool out of himself, he took that first step around the corner before he could change his mind. Looking straight at the café, he started to walk with steps that must have looked far more determined than they were. 

He didn't dare to search for Kaiden through the windows, instead he walked right up to the door and opened it. It was slightly cooler inside than outside thanks to the AC, and Seb inhaled the colder air to cool him down. What he didn't know, was that he looked like a pale ghost already. 

Sitting down at a table, he grabbed the menu and started reading--more to spend the time than anything else. He wasn't ready to meet Kaiden's eyes just yet, so he kept his own ones neatly placed on the jumble of words he couldn't really read at the moment. He was far to flustered and nervous to gather his thoughts, much less make sense of a coffee-menu in Italian. 

"Welcome to Espresso Italiano," a girl said, disrupting him from his reading. He glanced up at her and had a hard time returning her smile as his heart seemed to sink in his chest. She wasn't Kaiden. "Are you ready to order?" she continued. 

He faltered, not really sure what to do. This was so unexpected. However, he knew what to order, because Kaiden had already decided for him. "I'd like a hot chocolate, please," he said, and saw her look at him while she bit into her pen. 

"Hot chocolate? It's pretty warm outside," she said, questioning his choice of drink. 

"You're right, it is pretty warm... but I'd like one either way," he replied, suddenly a bit defensive over his choice of drink. He didn't really mind what he had, as long as it wasn't just plain espresso, because that was just horrible. 

"You waiting for someone else?" she asked. 

He didn't know what to reply. Or rather, he didn't want to reply, but at the same time he didn't have it in him to be rude just because she happened to be. "No, I'm not," he answered, trying not to sound sad about it. 

"Okay, Kaiden will be out with your hot chocolate in a minute. We're changing shifts right now," she told him and skipped away from his table, oblivious to the chaos of emotions that she left behind. 

Seb's heart was speeding up in his chest, beating louder and louder. He was sure others could hear it, but it was useless to try to stop it. He hid his face in his palms for a while, but it didn't help. Instead he turned his gaze towards the window, watching people walk by outside. It wasn't as interesting as when he and Dylan did it the other day, but it still worked to pass some time before Kaiden would come with his chocolate. 

He wanted to groan loud at the thought, but stopped it in time. It wouldn't do him any good to gain any more attention to his awkwardness. 

"Hi cutie!"

Seb's heart seemed to miss a beat in his chest. He looked up and stared into Kaiden's mischievous eyes. 

"Hi..." he croaked out. 

"So, I can't sit down, because my boss would be here to give me a piece of her disagreeable mind, but at least I can give you this..." Kaiden said, winking as he put the cup of hot chocolate in front of Seb. However, he didn't pull away. In fact, Kaiden was extremely close, and Seb's cheeks flushed bright pink. "You're adorable when you're blushing," Kaiden whispered in his ear. The warm air sent a shiver from Seb's ear all the way down his spine. 

Kaiden looked into Seb's eyes and flashed a beautiful smile before turning on his heels to go about his duties. He looked back once over his shoulder, and all Seb could do was stare back, completely unable to reply, or even form a coherent thought.