'Long Black topped up for Julia!'

Popping the lid on the paper cup, Fenne held the drink out for the businesswoman. The barista smiled as the customer thanked her. She then turned back to the commercial coffee machine and started making the next order.

Fenne's hair was tied back in a ponytail and she wore her black uniform. The cafe she worked at was having a midday rush and with her coworker, Fenne was handling every customer in an efficient time. She steamed the milk perfectly and made iced and hot coffees without spilling any grounds.

The queue was getting smaller and only a few people enjoyed their drinks and goods inside. The dining area was only a narrow path, while some chairs were outside on the pavement. This kept the customer turnover quick and flowing, and made the cafe a popular business in the area.

She went to grab another lid for a latte but touched the metal table below instead. Without breaking her concentration, Fenne crouched down to peer underneath the work station. Another stack of lids sat waiting and she reached out to grab it, hearing the last customer put in their order.

'Just an iced latte, please.'

'Did you want to add any caramel?' Fenne heard her coworker ask.

'That would be nice, thank you.'

With the new stack of lids, Fenne straightened up in front of the coffee machine and finished the latte. She turned to the one of two people waiting and called out the order, prompting an old man to step forward and take it with a 'thank you'.

She went to make the iced latte, which was the last order of the rush, but was stopped when she heard,

'Fenne!'

With raised eyebrows, she turned back to the cafe and felt her heart skip a beat at the next customer.

'Joost! What are you doing here?'

'I'm on my way to get a tattoo. I didn't know you worked here.'

Joost was stood in a button-up shirt and in knee-length denim shorts. His blonde hair curled in a perfect mess and two silver necklaces hung where his shirt sat open. A chain draped from his belt loop and into his pocket and black sneakers covered his feet.

Fenne noticed the thin brown glasses on his nose and tried to remember if Joost ever wore glasses at school. She didn't have the time to think intently, as the tall Klein stepped forward to stand at the service area.

'I'm only here a few days a week. Just for some spending money, you know,' Fenne held the cup with 'iced latte w/c' written on the side. 'You wanted caramel, right?'

Joost nodded with a smile. Fenne had to tear herself away from the crinkles in the corner of Joost's eyes. His cheeks balled and his crystal clear irises shown through his blonde eyelashes. It was enough to make Fenne's knees weak, especially when he was stood where the noon sun shown through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The right side of his face was shadowed by his straight nose and Fenne wandered if his hands were as warm and soft as they were last weekend.

To distract herself, Fenne started to make his iced latte. Murphy's law seemed to take effect as caramel splattered over the edge of the cup and she nearly dropped the lid on the floor. She cursed her sudden nerves and looked through the corner of her eye to the service area.

With his hands in his pockets and bouncing on his heels, Joost didn't pay any mind to Fenne's mess-up. He appeared to be looking around the cafe with a distant look. It looked as if there was nothing of malice or negativity in his thoughts. There was nothing but the May sun on his pale skin and the promise for a cold drink before his appointment.

'When do you finish?'

Fenne glanced up from pouring the milk to see Joost beaming at her.

'In about ten minutes,' she answered and was relieved to feel the lid seal over the cup.

'Did you want to come to the parlour? I'm getting my friend's work done on my arm and I could use a hand to hold.'

She put Joost's drink on the counter and eyed the young man on the other side. His request was inticing and he took his drink with the same smile still on his face. A dimple appeared on his cheek and Fenne wanted nothing more than to poke her finger into the adorable dent.

Fenne wiped the caramel that had landed on her hand while trying to seem like she was contemplating saying no.

'A-Are you sure? Your friend won't mind?'

Joost sipped at his straw while shaking his head with a creased brow. His action brought Fenne's attention to his pink lips, which were in a constant pout from their plump shape.

'Of course, not,' he said afterwards. 'It's only going to be Enzo and the artist.'

'Okay, yeah, let me just clean up.'

Fenne started turning off her station. She couldn't clean fast enough knowing that Joost was waiting for her. The machine's steaming wand didn't finish its cycle for a good minute and Fenne rushed to the back to clock out. She called her farewell to her manager and coworkers, before grabbing her bag and heading around the counter.

As Joost looked up from his phone, Fenne prayed that she didn't smell or look like she had just worked a busy shift. Her uniform consisted of a black fitted top and black highwaisted jeans. She was thankful that her Doc Martens fell into the uniform's style, otherwise she may have turned down Joost's offer to step out from behind the counter.

'You make a mean coffee, Fenne,' Joost held up his drink with an impressed look. 'You'll see me in here again, and not just for a drink.'

'Our crepes are good.'

'I was thinking of the barista, actually.'

Joost added to Fenne's blushing cheeks by holding the door open for her. She ducked underneath his arm, giving her a whiff of his fresh cologne. Once she was outside, Fenne turned as Joost stepped out behind her and squinted from the sunlight.

'What tattoo are you getting?' Fenne asked as they walked down the street.

'My friend, Enzo, has this company called Knolpower. He's been working really hard on it and I said I would get the logo tattooed if he made over €10k,' Joost explained and pulled up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal his shoulder. 'I'm getting it here.'

'That's really nice of you. Do you just get tattoos of whatever people ask?'

'No! I think hard on every single one, thank you!'

'Even Crazy Frog?'

'I thought the longest on that one!'

The offended look on Joost's face made Fenne snicker. Thanks to the Crazy Frog talk, the infuriating tune lodged itself in their heads, and it wasn't long until Joost started mumbling to himself. The walk was short with Joost's low hums of the song and Fenne looked at the man next to her as they arrived at the parlour.

'Do you normally wear glasses?' she asked while grabbing the door. Joost didn't enter without putting his hand above her head and waiting for her to go first instead. Fenne rolled her eyes but walked in anyway, knowing it was a lost battle to argue.

'I don't need them but I just like the way they look. Some days I feel naked without something on my face,' Joost answered and slipped the frames down his nose for demonstration.

'Huh. And today was one of those days?'

'Yep.'

A familiar buzz filled the tattoo parlour from an in-use needle. With wooden floors and a high front desk, the two walked in and were graced with a powerful air-conditioning. There was a sense of intent for this as keeping the place cool was ideal for those who felt faint during their session.

But to Joost, who was close to having ten tattoos already, it was overkill.

Fenne hung back as a man greeted Joost with an intimate embrace. The man was in a red hoodie and blue jeans and was the same height as Joost bar an inch or two. Behind them, a tattoo artist covered in his own artwork stepped out after having spoken with the man who embraced today's customer.

'You sure you want to do this?' the man in the red hoodie said while pulling away.

'Hell yeah, I do. This is as big of a moment for you as it is for me.'

'At least get it in red, dude. That way, if you still want it when it starts fading, you can get it redone.'

'Hey, you're the one paying.'

Joost held his hands up in an innocent act and the man appeared slightly relieved. Stepping forward to shake hands with the tattoo artist, Joost was polite and the presence of his extra company was made known to his friend.

'Hello, sorry for not introducing myself,' he held a hand out to Fenne with a close-lipped smile. 'I'm Enzo.'

'Nice to meet you. I'm Fenne,' she shook his hand and mustered a slightly awkward greeting. Enzo didn't hold it against her, but made sure to look to Joost with a hint of inquiry.

'Are you here to make sure he doesn't pass out?' Enzo joked.

Joost cursed at the man with a playful harshness. He ignored Enzo's desire to know the story behind the new girl in the parlour and made his way back to Fenne's side. It was obvious that meeting new people took a great deal of courage for her. So, before the artist led them to the back of the store, Joost wrapped one arm around her shoulders and spoke lowly into her ear.

'Are you okay waiting? It shouldn't take too long,' his mumble made the tips of Fenne's ears tingle. She almost shrunk into his chest at his touch on her shoulders and looked up through her lashes at his 6'2 frame.

Fenne nodded with a hum. He asked her to hold his drink before he slipped his arm away to follow Enzo and the artist to his seat. The intensity of the air-conditioning became apparent without Joost's chest against her side. But she didn't let it bother her as she took a seat, prepared to come to his aid when the needle did its work.

---

'He seems nice.'

'Enzo? Yeah, he's a good guy. He's very successful on TikTok.'

Fenne hummed in reply. The session was done within an hour and Joost walked with his bicep wrapped in clingfilm. It turned out that he didn't need Fenne to hold his hand, but as soon as they bid Enzo goodbye, his fingers found their way to hers hanging by her side.

'I have an assignment to hand in tonight,' Fenne groaned at the thought.

'What is it?'

'An essay on how cultural representation is seen in 80s film,' she recited as if she was being quizzed before sticking her tongue out to show her dislike for the task. Joost found it cute, but said nothing about it.

'What are you doing this Friday?'

Fenne turned to him. Her hand was still in his and seeing his side profile only reminded her of his firm grip. Ever since that night at The Indi, Fenne had yearned for his touch, and when she felt it, she couldn't get enough. When he looked at her, she felt like she was on stage. She wondered if that was how Joost felt, performing for people that knew every song and cheered his name every weekend.

'Nothing... why?'

'I have a show and then the guys are throwing a party. It's not long until I go to Lowlands and they wanted to celebrate with some people.'

Joost's gaze flickered from the path ahead to Fenne next to him. He had been nervous to ask, pushing the question towards the end of the day. But the afternoon was ending and Fenne's statement of needing to do her essay prompted him to bring it up sooner.

He hoped he wasn't overstepping. They had already seen each other a handful of times in the past weeks and Fenne had seen him perform twice already. In Joost's mind, this was more than enough for him. But Stuntje and Apson were begging to throw a get-together with their extended friend groups and for a chance to meet Fenne properly. He had tried to draw out their pleas for as long as he could, but they were insufferable.

Not only this, but Teun was also curious of Joost's new interest. Joost supposed that one party wouldn't hurt.

'I'd love to. Am I granted backstage access?' Fenne asked formally, but showed she was joking by raising her eyebrows with a restrained grin.

'Only if you get on stage and sing with me.'

'No fucking chance!'

'Welp, I guess you're in the mosh.'

Fenne jabbed her elbow into Joost's ribs and took his glasses off his face when he hunched over. The groan he made was dramatic but Fenne took not notice. She went to put on the clear lenses, only to have her wrist grabbed. Joost recovered from the cheap shot and only needed one hand to stop the shorter girl from wearing his frames.

'Just let me try!-'

'I'm so forming a wall of death for you this Friday,' Joost laughed while easily holding Fenne's wrist away from her face. The iced coffee in his other hand was idle as Fenne tried with her all her might to pull herself out of Joost's hold. It was futile and she was forced to let him take them back and sit them on his nose.

'I'll get backstage somehow. Just you watch.'

'Oh, yeah? What are you willing to do?'

Fenne cringed and Joost laughed with the pitch of a small child.