barista / h.s

1

C H A P T E R ~ O N E

Sydney was an 18 year old girl, working at Starbucks. Minimum wage, could barely afford her own house-- your average struggling teenager who thought she was too grown to live with her parents anymore. It's not like she had a choice anyway, because both her parents passed away a month before she got the job.

Sydney's job was an easy one. All she did was grind the beans, add flavor, and she was done. Well, that's all she knew at the time (but she was getting better). It was hard for her to understand because she wasn't used to making beverages for other people, she was used to it being the other way around.

Brooke, her supervisor, was very skeptical of Sydney's abilities, if any. She just wasn't grasping the idea well and needed someone to watch her at all times. Brooke just didn't understand what was going on behind closed doors. Even though its her fault Sydney is always being monitored, Brooke was an okay girl.

But this day was an exception.

Brooke was out sick, due to the stomach flu. The manager had put Sydney in her trust, as foolish as if may seem.

Now, you might think Sydney was stupid or had some learning deficiency. That's not the case at all.

She was just really, very bad at making coffee.

And you couldn't really blame her, with all those weird machines and different flavors to mix and blend. It was just too much for her fragile brain to take.

"Next." Her frail voice called out, and only one person was next in line. Sydney kept her head down, scribbling on her notepad carelessly. She drew drawings of spirals, hearts, bows and arrows, basically anything you could ever imagine was sprawled down.

"Hey, love." The voice said. It sounded melodious but deep at the same time, and Sydney wondered who it belonged to. "Ill have a tall caramel macchiato."

She smiled to herself and set her notepad down. Thankfully, that was the only drink she actually knew how to prepare. She walked over to the machines and made it almost perfectly, step by step. With each move she made her curly hair which was in the highest of ponytails swayed side to side. It was a dark brown with ombré ends, and it suited her well.

When she was finished she handed the finished result to the customer without exchanging glances.

"Name?" She asked, ready to type it into the computer to be put on the receipt.

"H.S." The voice replied. Instead of questioning it, she typed the initials down and pressed "print." "Those are my initials, by the way."

Without looking up she nodded again. Inside she wanted to know what kind of person would have such a beautiful voice, but her lack of confidence prevented her from finding out. She printed the receipt and handed it to him. She couldn't help but look up, and she was very surprised by who she saw standing across the counter.

"Okay, that'll be-- oh God, you're Harry Styles."

Those are the only words she could think of when she saw his face. Perfectly swept chestnut curls dangled over his forehead, and he wore the darkest of beanies upon his head. He looked like what winter would if it were to come down on earth as a person.

"I am." He said in his signature deep voice, one that fit his look now that she knew who he was.

"Lead singer of One Direction." She faintly smiled. "I used to be a fan."

Harry raised an eyebrow with a small smile. He looked genuinely kind. "Used to? Why not now?" He reached into his pocket and his hand moved around inside the hole in his pants that could basically fit anything.

She shrugged, handing him the drink. He took it with his free hand. "It grew off of me."

"Oh, well..." His voice trailed off and his expression became troubled.

"Problem?" She asked with a smile, admiring his features that looked even better in person.

"Oh, I just-- I just can't seem to find my money." He sighed, frustrated. He jiggled his hand more frantically in his pocket, before pulling it out empty handed.

"Don't worry." Sydney grinned. "It's on the house."

He smiled gratefully. "Thank you... Sydney." He read her name tag, and she grinned as a response to his kind attitude.

"No problem, Harry. I might listen to your music sometime soon."

He tussled his hair and returned the friendly expression. "Louisville is a nice place, you know."

Sydney didn't complain that a customer was having a conversation with her, because this customer wasn't worry some. It was Harry Styles, singer in one of the biggest boy bands on the planet at the time. "Yes." She agreed. "I love Louisville. I grew up here."

"We're staying here for a while," Harry said. "The whole band is. I might come here every day until we leave, this is a nice coffee shop."

"We have one of the best Starbucks in town." Sydney lied. Hardly anyone wanted to come there because of how terribly she made the coffee, but Harry didn't have to know that. Plus,if what he ordered today was his regular, he would never know.

Harry took a sip of his coffee. "I can agree with that." He took another sip and paused, "You make good coffee."

"Thanks."

There was a long pause between the two. Suddenly, Harry glanced at his watch and got his things together.

"Well, I have to go." He said slowly, his British accent thickening. "See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow." Sydney repeated, and she felt like she had a good reason to work for minimum wage all of a sudden. She watched intently as he walked to the door, turned around and winked, and then exited the coffee shop. The entrance door made a small ringing sound, and she was thrown back into the silence that comes with a regular day at work.

Except one thing was different, and that was the fact that she had her mind on a certain boy that she thought would never look her way.

A/N: I hope you guys liked the first chapter! This is going to be a short story, so that means short chapters as well. Ill try to have at least one picture on each chapter.

Vote and comment for feedback please?

I'm so excited to get this started! Im more focused on daydreaming atm though!

•Alex•