Reve thumbs through the vinyl track records this small shop called 80s and Beyond had situated upon their display rack.
The air smells faintly of instant cup noodles, coffee and hotdogs. There's a slight drizzle outside and a few people passing by the intersection the store overlooks here and there. The glass windows are starting to fog because of how high the air conditioner's fan setting was set. Thankfully, Reve's got the hot pack in one of his jacket's pocket to counter that. Overall, the weekend was great and he's came to this place to unwind and shake some life into his bones with his best bud, Pyre.
“So like, what do I buy, Reve?” Pyre mumbles as he shuffles towards him, eyes trained between these two packets of tea he has on opposite hands.
Reve spares him a glance. His eyes flicker over to the vanilla tea and then towards the jasmine tea packet. “Tell me your mood.”
Pyre looks up and quirks up a brow. “Well, first of all, rude.” He swipes a lock of hair that'd strayed on his face, tucks it behind his ear before he pouts in thought. “Second, well, I guess I'm pretty neutral right now.”
Reve just blinks at him for a couple of seconds, his eyes blank and appears to be entirely contemplative of the situation. The smaller boy blinks back with owlish eyes, equally curious and confused. Just as when he was about to say something, Reve moves and stalks off to another aisle, Pyre a few paces behind, and stops along an array of tea flavors.
“And how do you want to feel now?” he says, running a hand over the boxes and packets. He relatively walks over to the herbal section and picks up four packets before looking back up to Pyre.
Pyre looks mostly preplexed than passive about it, but decides to answer the question anyway. “I guess alive. I'm sleep deprived and stressed, Reve. I could really use a morning kick right now."
Reve hums a response, browses the shelves and picks out a packet. He gestures for Pyre to give him his hand and the smaller complies with a slight roll of his eyes. The taller man proceeds to flip his hand with the palm facing upwards. He gently presses the Turkish tea packet atop of it, and meets Pyre's questioning eyes.
“First of all, I know you love me. So don't be insulted with me ditching your question on purpose.” he scratches his nape shyly. “I know you're very particular with your tea. It makes or breaks your day so I had to be very careful about it. Sorry.”
Pyre seems to be lost for a moment before he chuckles and looks at the item in his hand. “You sound like my boyfriend,” he flips the packet as though inspecting it. “well okay since you gave your heart and effort into it...” he raises his hand and points at Reve with the packet. “10 points. And oh, forgiven. It wasn't like I was mad at you in the first place.”
Reve shrugs and smiles. “Never hurts to make sure.”
--
After purchasing a couple of drinks, a box of donuts, popcorn and pizza, they took their time to just sit down on one of the plush chairs situated near the windows to catch up with each other's lives. The rain had started to intensify but only to a calming rhythm of pitter-patter, it would've served as a good backdrop to the modulated chatters in the café, if only it wasn't muted by the glass windows. By the time they've stepped out of the confines of the town's retro-themed convenient store, the rain had finally came to a stop. The air was cold, and it felt quite refreshing when it's paired alongside the scent of petrichore.
There were a few leaves along the pavement and they crunch under their boots. Reve and Pyre might differ in a lot of things, but they do share the similar interest with boots.
