The Bookmark was a famous place for students to study during their free hours in the comfort of food and warmth. As time passed, with the internet to research everything in seconds, books became obsolete and The Bookmark became just another library.

Few study groups, the older ones, as the new kids didn't know of its existence, still used it as a space to study in peace when their homes lacked the quiet to do so. Yet, at certain hours, a crowd entered through the doors demanding drinks and snacks, and the staff had a hard time serving them all. As they walked in, they also walked out, without ever acknowledging the true essence of the cafe.

It always smelled like coffee and sweets, and even when the chilly wind and constant rains of December and January arrived, it was always warm. The fireplace was only for decoration. The central heating kept the two-story shop pleasant, and the waiters treated costumers like family.

Perhaps it was that joyous spirit that made Andrew like it so much, or that he didn't want to be in his cold and hollow home; either way, he ended up spending his free afternoons sitting by the large window staring at the people in the street with his laptop in front of him.

He had learned the name of every single waiter and waitress working the afternoon and what exact time they came. The very last shift was taken solo by the one person who had threatened him in case he did exactly what he had done, yet there was no tension between them.

"Eliza! Get down!" Nicole yelled after the tiny girl climbing a bookshelf.

The sky had turned several shades of yellows and reds. There was a rush of people going home from work, but the biggest commotion in the cafe had already passed. At that moment, he didn't expect more people to join them.

"You're boring! You hear me? B-O-R-I-N-G! Boring!"

It was only him and Nicole most days, yet this time she was babysitting her boss's six-year-old. The kid was restless, but he liked it. Being alone with Nicole always ended up with both of them in their corners, pretending not to see each other.

"What's your name?" The black-haired girl stared at him from his side, two big obsidian eyes filled with the eagerness and curiosity of any child.

He smiled, ignoring Nicole's protests to get the girl to stop arousing the clients. "I'm Andrew."

She blinked. "You have a weird name."

"Eliza!"

"You think so? What's your name then?" He knew it already. Nicole had spent the last hour screaming it, but he asked anyway.

"The name is Eliza Vasconcelos, but you will call me Liz." She told him. "You're very handsome, date Nicole. She's dying to get a boyfriend."

A boyfriend was the last thing Nicole wanted, yet Liz loved to match her with every single male that entered through that door.

"You could be her knight in shiny armour and she could be your princess."

Andrew chuckled, not once fazed by Nicole's scowl. She was not pleased at all.

"That only happens in fairytales. In real life, princesses have to be their own knight because men are no such thing," said Nicole.

"Oh, come on! We're not all bad." Andrew defended. "I had fencing lessons when I was little. I'm sure I would be a half-decent knight."

Of course you had, rich boy. Nicole thought to herself.

She went back to the kitchen to finish cleaning the mess she had done earlier since Liz was busy with Andrew, always looking at her through the small window to the larger space.

The doorbell rang, and a man in a police uniform walked in. He was in his mid-twenties, good-looking and muscular, a well-cut beard covering half his face.

The man walked to the counter and rang and looked around. He spotted Andrew and Liz watching something on his computer, but didn't pay attention to them.

Nicole came out again, cleaning her hands in the red apron. The fake smile already appearing in her face fell as soon as she saw him leaning against the counter, eyeing her with a smile. Perhaps he was happy to be there, but she was pissed that he would even show up at her workplace.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice was icy, yet he was used to it.

"Came to see you," he explained. "I wanted to ask you out for dinner."

Andrew wasn't listening to the conversation, but Liz was, and she tugged him by the shirt, whispering in his ear about the man stealing his future girlfriend. Andrew chuckled and turned back to the computer, not wanting to pry into her personal business, but he couldn't help to hear them.

"No."

She turned around, ready to go back to the kitchen, yet the man wasn't one to accept defeat.

"Why not? I know you need to pay rent and all that, but dinner is on me."

Nicole stared at him. Her chin could've fallen to the ground if she wasn't biting her own teeth out of anger, to contain herself from saying something that would cause more harm. It was always hard to keep her cool when he opened his mouth. That was why she always got dressed and left before he could say anything when they were together.

"Why do you think?" She tried to keep her cool. "We're not a couple, Gabriel, and I have no intention of making this personal."

There it was again. The breaking of his heart again and again when she was so honest. It was never her intention to have a relationship, and he knew it, yet he insisted. They didn't even spend enough time together to develop feelings; she made sure of it.

Gabriel was only one of the few men Nicole had turned down. Nobody questioned her sexuality since she slept around too much to doubt it, but it would forever remain a mystery why she refused to date.

"Is there someone else? Are you cheating on me?"

She snorted. Cheating, the ugliest word she knew. They weren't exclusive and still she had never been with other men since the beginning of their arrangement. If he was with other women, she wouldn't care because she didn't like him. If they were in a relationship, she would never condone it.

To Andrew's demise, that was the moment Liz took part in the conversation and invoked his name.

"Uh! Can Andrew be someone else? You two would be so cute!"

He choked on his coffee and spit it all over his notes, barely saving his computer from the hot rain. There was never a moment he wished to disappear as much as that one.

Feeling Gabriel's eyes on his, he turned to face them and deny all prior accusations, but Nicole beat him to it.

"Enough with the fairytales, Eliza." She walked to the door and opened it to the policeman. "This is your cue to leave. And don't bother calling. I don't like bringing drama to my workplace. We're done."

Now both Andrew and Liz were watching him stare at Nicole in horror and eating the peanuts she had stolen from the kitchen earlier.

Gabriel couldn't believe what he was hearing. He urged forward and grabbed her by the wrist, pulling her towards him so she would listen to his love confession. Maybe she was just acting tough, and maybe he had messed up, but that couldn't be the end.

"Why are you doing this? I just want to have dinner with you."

She froze. Her skinned burned under his fingers and the air was sucked out of her lungs. After what felt like an eternity, she snapped out of it, refusing to ever feel caged like that again. She reminded herself of her vow and who she was; Nicole was one to be feared, not to fear.

Her arm twisted, freeing herself, and instead of stepping back, she stepped forward.

"I said go, and I'm asking nicely."

"Nicole, please, listen to me..."

"Go!" she cut him, and he had no choice but to comply. He wanted her to love him, not to hate him.

Liz's smirk grew when he was finally outside. Now she was alone with only the two of them, and she could go back to pester them about their romantic life. Nicole was no longer in the picture, but Andrew was a diamond to polish.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

As if coordinated, the door opened once more and Carolina walked in, followed by Miguel and Alice. The blue-haired girl was being dragged in, each of them grabbing one of her arms. She was dressed in a stained hoodie and grey sweats, glasses falling from the tip of her nose.

Alice had been watching sad romance movies and eating ice-cream on her sofa, the supposed remedy for heartbreak, when they barged into her placed and forced her out. An entire week had gone by and she remained in her slump, going out only to attend classes.

It was time to get her out. What neither of them expected was that the sole reason she was crying her eye out nonstop would be there.

The second her eyes met Andrews, her bottom lip trembled, and she was ready to flee.

He looked fine in his monochromatic outfit, as handsome as ever. Yet, she was wrecked. That hurt her even more. In her head, he was as bad as her, if not worse. The reality crushed her.

"I don't want to be here." She whispered to them.

Carolina understood her, but she wouldn't allow her to go back to the comfort of her blankets and ice cream.

"We'll sit far away from him. And you're not alone." Miguel told her.

Although she hated the whole situation, Alice let them to a table behind all the bookshelves. The barrier kept her from seeing him and vice versa, and she curled in her seat.

Carolina called Nicole from the kitchen to order coffee for everyone. They had a quick chat about Alice's state of mind and Andrew.

"How long has he been here?"

"Every day after his classes end, no matter how early that is, until we close." Nicole eyed him quickly, thankful for Liz's distraction.

"Why? Do you think he has some kind of attachment because she broke up with him here?"

Nicole wanted to point out that it had been upstairs. She didn't think it was linked, but she was no shrink.

"How has he been?"

She shrugged. "Normal, I guess. I don't really have a term of comparison. I barely talked to him."

Carolina nodded and glanced at him one last time before going back to her table with the drinks.

Miguel was curling tiny paper balls out of napkins and lining them all up like soldiers. He grabbed the straw Carolina fetched for him and loaded it with one ball before passing it down to Alice.

"You can throw it at him, or I can try to hit Nicole next time she passes by. Your choice."

"Why would you hit Nicole?" Carolina furrowed her eyebrows.

He shrugged. "For fun. Her angry face is adorable."

"No, it isn't." Both girls said at the same time.

On the other side of the bookshelves, Nicole cleaned Andrew's table after his earlier outburst. His notebook could no longer be saved, but she could make it less messy for him to work.

She was quiet, but he couldn't help ask, regardless of Liz's presence opposite him, about the group that had just arrived. He had wondered about Alice all the time, but he didn't dare mention it to Nicole. Even in French class, he never seen her since she had changed rows.

"Is she mad?"

Nicole straightened her back and offered the washcloth to clean himself, but his clothes were already dry.

"I think she is mad at herself, not you."

He swallowed and glanced at the shelves. Somewhere behind the colourful spines was an amazing girl whose heart he had smashed. Guilt filled his chest and stopped his lungs from breathing right.

"Should I apologise?"

She rose an eyebrow. "Why? For not feeling the same? She'll get over it, just give her space."

Andrew chewed the inside of his cheek and stared at Liz's dangling legs, kicking him softly. Alice had smiled like that little girl once, too.

Carolina walked up to them and pulled a chair from another table to sit with him, a sweet smile coating her lips. She wasn't going to further punish Andrew for whatever crimes he had committed; she wanted to get advantage of the situation.

"You're Andrew, right? I'm Carol."

Lucas's girlfriend. He recognised the name immediately.

"I am." He answered.

Nicole was frowning at her, curious about what she wanted.

"You should throw a party."

He blinked. "A party?"

"Yes, a party." She smiled. "You're new, and I heard you have a big house. It's only fair that you host a party."

Andrew was far from understanding the logic. He didn't have to do anything, much less to that girl's pleasure. If she wanted a party, she could host it herself.

"I don't think..." he started.

"Ali would enjoy a distraction."

Nicole rolled her eyes at the excuse, but Andrew was already planning how to save his sofa from spilt drinks.

"Alice wants a party?" He asked.

Carolina smiled. "She'd love it."

Yoooo

Pronouciantion check because you might need it:

Carolina:  Cuh-roo-lee-nuh

Diana: Dee-uh-nuh

And for future reference, Tomás: Too-mahz

Yea, that was it... If you need help with other names comment it.

I hope you like this chapter, I didn't.

Kisses y'all