rue bennett x reader stories

coffee shop blues

in which you hate coffee, but love the one that rue bennett makes you.
(oh yeah, you also love her, too.)

Coffee is something that's always been considered trendy. Popular. The new thing. Every time you scroll on Instagram, you see at least one coffee. You tried it, and you just don't get the appeal. You prefer tea. It gives you the same amount of energy without that disgusting taste.

On the contrary, Rue Bennett has had the same job since she was 18. A barista at the corner coffee shop. She loves coffee, every kind, in fact. Iced, hot, blended, she'll drink it up in less than five minutes on a good day.

When she was 19, a girl ordered a vanilla latte and sat down in the corner of the coffee shop, pulled out a book, and started reading.

That girl happened to be you.

You sat there until Rue would close up the shop at 7:00pm. You came every single day, never the same book, but always the same order. A large vanilla latte. It was the only coffee you liked, you can drink a million of those, and never get tired of it.

Why?

Because she made it.

You didn't know her name, you never asked. The only words in the three years you've been going there were, "Your total is gonna be $5.50," and "Thank you," Each followed by a smile at each other.

But, that all changed when you had this realization that you couldn't bear to spend $5.50 on a drink every single day. (It was the city, after all. Everything's overpriced), but it all started to add up. You realized that you have spent almost $150 on coffee, per month.

So, you had no choice but to stop coming.

Little did you know, she would stare at the door every single day at 3:00pm, when you get done with class) waiting for you to walk in with your sweater that you wore every day, with your book of choice in hand.

She couldn't help the frown that would take over if someone sat down in your seat.

It just didn't feel right. You were their #1 customer, and dare she say it, she missed it. She missed you, the girl she didn't even know the name of, but only your coffee order.

She could tell if you were enjoying your book by just watching you. If you enjoyed it, you would make the whole cup last the entire time you're there. If you didn't like the book, you would drink very quickly, because you had no interest in turning the page.

Eventually, she thought about you less and less. She never forgot about you, the vision of you, sitting in that chair in the corner still lingered in her head. But, now her shifts are even longer because she graduated from college.

Which means she had plenty of time on her hands... to work.

But, after a year, you decide that you can only drink coffee from here.

You tried Starbucks, which was fairly cheaper, and wanted to spit the drink out right there. It just wasn't the same. So, it was back to spending $5.50.

As soon as you walked in the door, Rue immediately looked up at you, her lips part, eyes widening at the sight of you standing right there in front of her.

She looked different, a good different. Her hair was still brown and curly. She still wore the name tag, the same name tag that read, "Rue" with a little heart next to it. She was still the same girl that kept you going there for three years straight.

Who would've thought that she was the real culprit of making you spend $5.50 every day? (The coffee was just an extra bonus)

"That's gonna be, uh, $5.50," She says, already ringing it up.