☸ About Us ☸

When we met, it was as if you were a hurricane and I was the sea. Every time you spun, you took a piece of me.

~

The storm raged on outside the coffee shop and Arabella sighed as she used the back of her arm to wipe the sweat off her brow. Whenever the door opened, a pleasant breeze would blow in, bringing with it wet couples, giggling into each other as they pulled their coats off.

Arabella placed another used cup into the grey tray in her arms and wiped down the table which were instantly taken by a blonde couple who seemed too interested in each other to be aware that the girl had placed her elbow right into a puddle of coffee.

Normally Arabella wouldn't care, but this was her job, and she needed it. Blowing up some air to flip her fringe off her sticky forehead, she attempted to lean forward and wipe the offending spot when the girl shot her a glare.

Fine. Arabella shrugged her shoulders and scurried off to the kitchen, placing her tray near the sink and returning back to behind the auburn coloured counter. She wiped her fingers on her apron and picked up her cashier card, swiping it before turning to the next customer with a plastered smile on her face.

"Hi there, what would you like today?" Her voice just the right amount of cheery, enough to fool the opposite person into thinking she enjoyed her time here. Perfect. 

Arabella went through the usual motions of taking an order and placed the ticket on the holder for the barista to begin making, before facing the onslaught of customers that had piled in once the rain had picked up.

She wasn't going to lie, she loved Winter, just not when she was working. But she knew that this came with the territory of working in a coffee shop. Apparently it was the cool new thing too, she thought as she spared a quick glance at the teens and young adults all taking pictures of their orders.

If there wasn't the risk of being fired, Arabella would have definitely rolled her eyes.

Glancing at the clock, Arabella resigned herself to the fact that she only had to get through another hour of this hell before she could finally go home, and make a coffee for herself for once.

But first, she had to deal with her boss.

Jerry wasn't a particularly intimidating person when you saw him, in fact he looked quite homely in his plaid shirts, black jeans and larger than average build. But when you were stuck with him after the barista hadn't cleaned the coffee machine, then he was the lumberjack devil.

Arabella snickered to herself, the lumberjack devil? Oh, she could use that in her book! She wasn't particularly good, but practice made perfect right?

"Excuse me?"

Arabella stalled in writing the person's name on the cup in front of her and looked up meekly, though his voice did seem familiar, she didn't have the energy to place it. She hadn't meant to be that loud.

"I have allergies, sorry." She lied, before dropping her head and finishing the order, not really paying attention to the man.

Her gaze flitted to the only clock that hung on the wall to her left. Only an hour left.

☸

Tobias rushed about his room grabbing his laptop and pulling on his socks. He scratched his head as he held a yellow sock in his hand, but its partner was no where to be seen.

He walked to his little brother on the computer and tapped him on the back of his head.

"Aiden."

Aiden moved the headphones back from one ear, but his eyes never left the screen in front of him. "Yeah?"

Tobias moved his sock in to his line of vision, waving it when he didn't get a reply. Suddenly Aiden moved his black swivel chair back, lifting up a foot which had a familiar looking yellow sock on it.

Tobias smirked, before throwing the lone sock at him. Looks like he'd just wear the black ones.

Ruffling Aiden's shaggy brown hair and receiving a lopsided smiled, Tobias shoved everything into his side bag and hurried out of the room he shared with his little brother and ran past his father in the kitchen.

Shuffling backwards, he cast a glance inside and smiled at the image of his father reading a cookbook and attempting to bake, was that a cake? It didn't matter. It just meant his father was healing, and he was okay with that.

At that moment he looked up at his son staring at him from the doorway.

"Ah, Toby! Are you free? Could you tell me if this is flour or sugar?" He asked, holding out a spoon of white substance.

Tobias rolled his eyes as he walked forward, sticking out the tip of his tongue. The dry taste had him coughing and he looked his dad right in the eye. "Definitely flour."

The twinkle in his eye had Tobias thinking that perhaps he already knew, but he wasn't going to fight him. "I'm off dad. I'll be back later. Need me to pick up something?"

But his father was already doing something else. "Yeah, probably dinner." He muttered distractedly.

Tobias nodded and grabbed his keys from the counter. "See you soon."

Tobias looked at his wrist watch. The time 4:30 flashed back at him and he turned on his wipers. The rain seemed to get harder the longer he drove to the coffee shop around the corner. He had found that sharing a room with an 11 year old boy made it nearly impossible to get any university studying done. But the coffee shop that had a constant supply off caffeine? He was definitely okay with that.

Finding a parking space, he looked at the time again. 4:37. He still had time. She wouldn't finish until five, and as long as he ordered before the end of her shift, he could get the perfect coffee.

Walking in, the smell of coffee hit him and the dark colours of the outside world made the shop look otherworldly. The brown walls seemed to take on a warmer glow and the pendant lights swung every time the door was opened. Luckily, they had a welcome mat right in front of the door as the hoards of people tracking in rain and mud would have made it hard for anybody to walk in confidently.

Taking his usual seat by one of the windows, Tobias unbundled himself from his favourite grey overcoat and removed his deep red scarf, laying them on the chair that was opposite him. He plugged in his laptop charger and set up his workspace before giving it a well done glance.

Walking through the crowd, he noticed that most of the people here now were students or couples, and most times both. But Tobias didn't pay too much attention to them. It wasn't the time for all of that. It was the time to study.

Getting to the front of the line, he made his order with the pretty barista with short auburn hair and hazel eyes who seemed to look right through him. He read her name tag Arabella and he tested the name on his tongue as he realised he liked how nicely it rolled.

She was familiar. She was the one who made his coffees perfectly, but also the one who shared every one of his science classes. She was also the one who never made it through any class fully and always left fifteen minutes before it finished. 

But he just wanted his coffee.

"Tobias."

She snickered and Tobias felt strangely self conscious.

"Excuse me?"

She looked up then, her eyes still didn't focus on his face, rather it seemed mechanical as she looked at him.

"I have allergies."

He knew she was lying, but he wasn't going to argue with her about it. In fact, as long as he got his coffee, he was fine.

He made his order and returned to his seat, knowing Arabella would have to deliver it soon and he could get back to studying.

Only a year left.

☸ About Us ☸

Hi Everyone! 

I've decided to revamp this story! I know it's been a while but I really appreciate the support I've received from you all. As always, I love to hear from you so please let me know what you think! 

About Us will be updated twice per week - exact days to be confirmed but will be updated in my bio :)

Love, Shay