After a few days...                  

ERICA'S POV                     

'Better luck next life,' was the first pathological taunt ever I had received from Val when my ex-boss fired me loud enough to cause a ruckus in the office. 

I had really lost my mind this time to say that i had received, i didn't receive. 

Critics weren't meant to receive, they were meant to throw at others, which was the case with me unbelievably. 

Val had thrown some really unprecedented bad critics at me when she thought my life was over for good. 

I didn't want to believe that at first, but until i had a better job than that, there was no way i could deny the truth. 

This wasn't even the best part, what actually was for steven to believe that I was the reason to his failure. When I wasn't. 

To defend myself, which I couldn't, when i could've, but wasn't given a chance was hurtful than anything.

I just had a one source of income. And that income was below the median households in here. 

Now, why would I want to ever become a begger living on the streets, when my financial condition was tight and worse? That was like, progressing backwards and living into the chivalry era. 

But it wasn't like I didn't try my all. I did, i sent him numerous messages, texts, called him and also had emailed him about the misunderstandings, but my messages weren't sent through. 

They were black listed, reported as spams and were blocked.

So then I had to give up. I had to give up where i wasn't invited anymore.

I had to give up where i was needed less, needed no more too. 

If I had betrayed him, which he think i did on purpose and with sixty nine other motives, i wouldn't have ever showed up in his office. 

I would've stayed secretive, avoided grand encounters with him, lived in my own nutshell, and would've done basically anything that wouldn't have triggered him about me and be like 'oh, she totally slipped off my mind. So she is the person who was going to be behind the bars in a few minutes. lemme take a good luck before sending her off.'  

But I wasn't an employee either, i was his pa. So he was bound to be wary of me. And now I was letting my job go because, i wasn't guilty of anything. 

Whether or not I was doing the right thing, i still was holding onto my self respect, forever. 

I didn't know how & from where did he get the photos from, but i knew that me and tris, we were just taking a stroll around his uni. 

Because that's where he graduated from and so he was telling me some of his great memories of the ut, his friends and actually his biography. 

And how the hindrances in his life or his grades didn't stop him from getting to where he was now, at the top. 

Then he was onto cracking up some cocky jokes for which I should've encouraged him less about, but since i was discharged from the spell of the HR not too long ago, i was in search of some great enlightenment. 

And then to top it off, I couldn't lie, but we had a lil picnic under the shade of flora trees beside the pond. 

I know, i know, this was way too questionable and suspicious, but better than the betrayal.

I, i... just had misjudged tris with the way he behaved. 

But the truth was, I had found a second real friend of my life in him, besides noah. 

As a person who was reticent or a loner who was isolated her whole life, didn't I deserve to be happy for just a little time?

Okay maybe not so much, but I at the very bottom, deserved a small chance to talk, goddamnit.

But what was over, was over.

But that didn't meant my life did.

So what if I was fired and thrown out from the company i had worked so hard for that even if my weekends were swamped with dudes online, I'd still be the same on Monday again.

Now that I think about the dudes, I had so far duped, were my karma.

A big karma that now left me free on weekdays as well.

Maybe I should've less cussed and cursed 'bout how much monday was an enemy to me.

Or maybe I shouldn't have complained so much about not getting time for myself, because now that i did, i found myself a bore and of low-maintenance.

Which clearly meant, I had nothing to do except for job-hunting online at Starbucks today.

And the ambience today at starbucks was fairly annoying to me, because it wasn't helping me with anything.

But what it did help with me was, it gave complex.

Complex to look at myself and be like 'I was just a level above janitors, and there was so much for me to do & grow. Average again.'

Maybe should've complained and whined about how sick was I of the adjective average.

So it would've gotten rid of that too.

But I was late again, like the rate of my success.

Who would've thought that I'd jobless when christmas was just at my doorstep. And single. No, not single.

I had thought of it and how much i wasn't ready to mingle.

But relationship wasn't a necessity here, a good fine job was!

Love could be as instant as a hot cup of coffee, money wasn't.

So the hustle had to enter that chat.

I was here at starbucks, seating alone on a table with a red rose (how could starbucks not expect me? They were all well aware of my requirements and they served it just the right way. They knew petals were nothing to me, but they also knew that thorns were needed. Thanks for that!) kept besides the tissue box.

So after like applying for twenty four jobs online, it was time to appreciate the beauty around me if I wasn't going to be the one. Ha. Ha.

Sorry for the sarcasm.

I know that it needed to be fixed, but only if someone could fix me!

Now coming back to this entire aesthetic pinterest vision and mood board, the aroma of roasted beans & the brewed coffee directly from the mastrena machine, aesthetic lights all over the walls, spotlight LED lights shone down at us, the hubbub of people doing their usual stuff, ordering coffees, beverages & drink fresheners were like celebrating their own christmas house party.

And since everyone were scattered into their own safe comfort zone, I was seated near to a group of teens who looked like they were past the 'I know how to wash my ass with toiletries, so back off you peasants. Who's the king?' and were now halted at a 'sex driven wannabe' stop who were playing never have I ever. That also, on a recessed long table.

And judging by the way there were frequent chaos and hooting from them, they had planned to stop by that aforementioned stop forever.

And just like me, some people who were seated on chesterfield's seats, stig chairs & armless bar stools, were cheesed off them.

So I was sure that, not even a single person in here hadn't thought once about, that this coffee shop was soon about to transform into a match making venue or like it's gonna be their party nest thing in the near future.

But the thing was, why was I even wasting my time on betting and stuff like that when I could try harder this time.

I got it, right now, a 'something' was a must to calm my soul down, to purify it.

And I was granted that, in a soothing classic jazz piano instrumental music that were played by the starbucks partners.

But even if I was granted that, it couldn't reach down to my soul, that cool cottage peace life was somewhere and absolutely missing.

Shoutout to those kids, I'd say.

Thinking better or not able to think in the end, was something that I'd been a pro at for a long time now.

And outside life weren't helping much as well, like outside the starbucks, the weather was kinda dancing with gated misty in them, then there were pedestrians & jaywalkers walking on the creative crosswalks and doing whatever the shit they felt like doing.

So nothing were in my hands except for admiring their lives but I stopped myself from doing that.

Whenever I admired someone or something or complained about anything, you knew what could've and what would've happened.

I had multiple tabs opened on in my laptop, from which the only tab was in front of me was, Instagram.

Here you go, I was ready to submit myself to you, the surroundings around me were distractive like a lot and i couldn't do this segment at home because it was depressing.

So like you feel me? You felt me.

My Instagram feed was all about positive quotes, motivational videos and a little undisputed melancholy in the corner that was following me wherever I went and now wanted me to look at that and care about that.

So I was forced to.

When not wanted, that group toned down their voices, leaving me with unconditional jazz music that was apparently working as a lullaby for me.

Lullaby meant sleep. And sleep was blanketing me in...

Leaned in on the chair, neck craned down with knuckles full supporting in, I was swinging side to side like a drunk person full on sleep.

"One venti peppermint hot mocha for uhh, jade. Erica jade?" Oh my fuck! The audacity––– oh, it was the partner who called out, pulling me out of the laziness as she waved out the cup in the air slightly, her eyes looking out for the receiver.

Had to go when summoned.

I removed one ear bud out from one ear, one still on so didn't lose track of whatever it was, rubbed out some eye discharge to look presentable even if it was a partner who worked at Starbucks. And then I walked up towards her.

"Yeah, that would be me." I confirmed, a sweet smile up on my face that was enough to consume her in.

She deserved the warmth so had an idea in mind to be extra nice to her.

Even if not all days were bad, all days weren't good too.

And for someone who worked for us, gave much to the society desired that.

Kindness always made it's first stop at me before anything did.

And I genuinely respected that.

For I believed, like karma was a boomerang, kindness was too.

Not that I was waiting for it to hit me up with it's love––– wouldn't mind it too if it insisted.

"Oh yeah right. Here you go. Enjoy." It clicked her mind as she nodded, sliding the coffee towards me and she blinked her eyes in contentment as a way of thanking. 

"I will." I said. I knew she was busy with the customers and that i was probably wasting her time, but my fingers were circling the outer side of the cup. 

If I had made up my mind, i had to live up to that.

I had strong hate towards failure and disappointment.

So no harm in trying my luck out today. If it could test me, I could do too. 

"Can I help you?" the deep southern drawl accent pointed out the worry in me with the way I was fidgeting things with my neck down. 

She waited for me to speak up, her hands on her waist twisted, her one foot balanced on another with arched eyebrows filled of clearing FAQ's asked by me. 

"Uhm, don't mind me but, can I ask you something?"that made me lean in, biting up my upper lip and tension was door dashed to me, easy! 

"Shoot up," she chilled out, hands shrugged as her ginger head curls bounced up on it's own. 

As friendly as merida. Much more than her in a simplified way. 

"Are you guys short of staff members?" i paused and then asked, my tongue licking the lower bottom lip with a slim hope that could get me in. 

The thought of working in here never for once had chipped in me, that is until I looked at miranda. 

That was the name visible to the left side of her personalized red apron she had worn. And oh my, such a serene scenery with a lake to look at. 

Ginger curls, ginger freckles & light red lips! I was taken, as a sister. 

Bowing ovation for her. 

Rather than knowing if her freckles were natural or by henna, I was so interested in her roots.

I could've given her a dozen or  generous amount of compliments, but i didn't. 

Pretty girls could never accept the fact that they were pretty. But of course, if only the sender was genuine. 

Which I was, no doubt in that.

But if I did, she'd humble herself and shake it off. But I still did, mentally. 

"Depends on what job you are looking for." smart answer. But not smart enough to answer my question.

Really? Was I for real testing out her intelligence when my own dumb ass mind failed to specify the question?

"Any vacancies right now? Like barista or something? I can do anything." Hmm. Now that was it. Couldn't have I done that a few seconds ago?

"Oh, that? We were, about a few days ago. Sorry." Her eyes first rolled at one eighty degree, in deep thinking on how to break it to me & then she apologized.

Her whole body language was, her neck face muscle streched to the side, sympathy in her eyes and a small thin down top smile.

"Any chance I could get in, in the near future?" Not even a chance. I was asking the unnecessary stuff.

But even if her gaze was busy with the customer care, she chose to entertain my question.

And making her day was the first perfect decision of my life after the work-break settled in like relatives.

But a little glad that I weren't given brown relatives otherwise...

"I am not sure. But when I do, I'll ring you up." She said as she sent a shaka sign through my way that she'll call me.

But we both knew, we were giving each other false hopes as a way of formality. And I think, that's how nice  introverts communicated.

"Okay, but when you do, please let me know. I'm here till like an hour?" I glanced back to where my things were kept on the table, as my lips flapped open, showing out the teeth that never had an opening time, it opened at anytime & at anywhere.

I couldn't open up to others at all times, but a bunny smile was always guaranteed from me as a return gift.

"Sure thing. But... if you're that desperate, I could fit you in." When she didn't see me moving any further from my place, she looked concerned and then she began to open up, like inaugurating some more opportunities for me.

"But there's a prob. The manager in here is a total man bitch." Her another ranting side came in vision as she felt comfortable with this conversation.

"But then who isn't?" I leaned in again, kidding around a bit to light up the mood.

And she pulled up her mask at that, when her eyes spread across, I figured out she laughed in her own space zone.

Must've been because of her manager that was lingering around her mind.

"agreed. And so if you don't give him what he wants, you know the next scene." That created a horror in the air for a few seconds until those teens laughed their heart out that had every hinge of hoarse voices.

Okay, that gave me sickening nostalgia exactly of those banana dudes in my classes before.

A bunch of horrible extinct  specimens.

"Womanhood. Familiar with that one. So then how did you get in?" Just was curious to know because she was a disney princess or warrior all the way.

"Talent got me in, and an overprotective bro who just, yk." She paused when a customer besides me standing was squinting their eyes at the digital menu board up miranda's head.

A mini break from my real world, but by all means I was enjoying the conversations but when she excused herself from me and went on with her work, she confirmed that i was very much boring that i had to leave from their and go back to the table.

Or it was me as always overthinking that she felt that way when she didn't,
she gestured me to wait until she took the order of that customer.

At least someone who kept me as their second priority and not the second last or last like the usual.

But she instantly let a guy take over the coffee making when she explained the order to him.

After that, there was a buoyancy flapping her invisible but a god's gift that winged her back.

"Get the scene man." I didn't relate to that but i could imagine how having a bro at your home would've felt.

"But I still feel useless." She harrumphed looking at the pos outage.

I couldn't relate to that as well, but i did get that feeling of not coming to your own self use.

"Oh, what a pleasant stress buster. We're in the same boat," I said, relaxed a bit with myself.

Cuz I loved that answer of mine that hit just right through my ears and probably her's as well?

"If you want, I am here. You can join me in, that is only after your work shift ends." Her previous self thought had brewed a satisfaction in me that made me spit out the warmthness that needed her.

If anyone was in search of liveliness and the feeling that felt like home, were ultimately workers like her.

Less appreciated things at starbucks or at any other places included workers too, largely as the sub part.

"But you don't look like you need a job right now." She then snuggled out an awkward laugh that also sounded like a southern accent.

"Yeah, well even if a joker is sad, it still looks happy to the world." Logic was nowhere to be found here according to me, but it had an impact on her that made her blink fast and often.

But it was metaphorically correct.

"So is the joker you?" She pointed a  finger at me, an adorable amount of processing in her.

"Can't say. But you may consider, for the time being." I think some things or most of the things your own self could do better than anyone else could try a shot at.

Take me for example––– didn't you see how well I roasted myself to the point where i was without any restrictions qualified to win the spelling bee contest?

When I carefully studied her face expressions well, i found out that she had a 'uhh, yeah' gif expression on her face instead of laughing with me.

If you took a look in my heart, you'd know how sexy was self-roasting to me.

Did you know what else was sexy?

Sexy was to find your own self worth and confidence in self roasting than to lose confidence in other motivational stuff.

Now that the work hours were over to the people that were coming in, I found myself walking back to the table, but before i did that, i made extra sure to not traumatize miranda's day because a long line was already on it's way to make her's.

Minus one person would save her the headache so I waved at her and let her knew that i was here if she needed help with anything, although i was sure that i wasn't related to their jobs.

But making people believe that you had someone to count on––– was an epic kind of kindness that couldn't have been ever bought with money.

I just saw one thumbs up in the air from her before we lost contact, from the huge line buzzing up the counter.

Thankfully somehow an hour of doing absolutely nothing on my laptop had passed and it we were quarter to seven.

So I had precisely forty five minutes more before they closed up and i was back to nothing.

I was sixty minutes in now and still haven't had any luck with responses from any other company that was ready to accept me in.

I had eighteen tabs on as of now, you got the seriousness of me, and i just had my drink and a rose with me at the moment.

What was I supposed to do with it? Crush it? Peel it off? Make rose water out of it? Eat it? What the heck bruh rose?

Couldn't this rose do some magic in my life right now when I held it in my hands? Or work as a magic wand?

This rose needed to do some real shit, man. Didn't have to follow my lead. Show me the lead. Show me the way.

It didn't work, the affirmation didn't.

Whoever made this thing up or in a fancy way, 'invented' it, deserved a french kiss from a chameleon. 

Because if it were to work––– a woman like me wouldn't have been here spending my whole fortune on some disposable tumblers with a branded queen logo on it.

But I was getting the feeling of a bougie too as the same time.

When was this unlucky cycle gonna end?

Thinking this with my head in hands, I was once again illustrating the dreams of mine in the back of my head with paps running behind me to catch up with me and asking me about my newest dress design next project.

Or people attending the runway vogue show hailing me as I bow to them before models wear my designs and they go viral with back to black song on tiktok and youtube.

But I swear on my delusions, no one could be as delusional as me but if we looked at the good side of it, dreamin' didn't require you high quality wealth.
                 
"Hii." Someone tapped on my table, with a friendly tone.

From the very next time, I was going to seriously put a 'do not disturb when sleeping' sticker on my laptop!

When I gazed up with a heavy noisy sigh leaving me, i saw the reason in front of me why was i fired a few days ago.

And as I had an hallucination of me climbing up on this table and pounding up on him, i got so obsessed with it that i wanted to try it out in real life as well.

But I wouldn't.

"Go away." I whined & went back to sleep.

"Hii again, miss smoothy." He tried again, but this time with a raspy sexy voice that annoyed me.

"What's your prob?" I pushed my hair back, he just nudged me and plucked the strands of my hair.

A nemesis called tris could be this annoying, who knew?

"How do you always manage to get the key to my heart?" I was totally not understanding what kind of language was he communicating in with me. 

Because mentally retarded language weren't taught to me in any phase of my life! 

"Why do you want me to go away?" he posed, hands on his chest with a grimace on his face. And why not? 

You tell me tris, shouldn't you have known better? I wanted to push you away because you were my dream come true! 

In a fifthly way that I couldn't even afford the basic toiletries, let alone pay the rent on time! 

And little did you know that I was sitting here on the chair without wiping my ass. 

Yeah, gross! Bits of paper rolls were as good as not wiping your ass out. And whatcha gonna do about it? 

Oh, boy. How were you gonna prevent the hopefully, short term poverty that I was going thru? 

And how were you gonna back me up and return the only money ladder I owned? 

Better to face the truth, you weren't. I was your leisure time, according to you. 

"Because if I said so, then it is so," I squinted at him, tongue-in-teeth as my elbows were touching the surface of the table, hands crossed tightly. 

"Fine. Then you also would want him to go away right?" he shrugged slightly after he uncrossed his arms and put the big chonk of happiness in front of me that had a smile of an angel. 

"Aww, my baby." I spread out my hands towards carter, in awe. 

How did my soul forget about this big chonk of happiness? 

Great things indeed came in small packages. 

"Mommy. I missed you."  he wiped out a tear from the corner of his eyes, and bumped his weight into me as he hugged me tightly as a mode of affection. 

And oh my christ, my gaze witnessed an invisible glowing halo angel ring above his head. 

Even if it was invisible for others, it was visible for me & god. 

"Not more than me." i unintentionally squeezed him, his head on my chest because i was sitting on the chair, as i ran a hand through his soft lofty hair and pecked him everywhere on his face, except the lips parts cuz he had his own toast to seal. 

And I, as a cool best friend, was not going to steal it away from him. Everyone had it's own special desperate box to unbox. 

"So what ya think?" soon as he took a seat in front of me, he sipped my drink and after he was done sipping, he had a jaunty smirk on his face that described mischief. 

First, what the fuck? Second, the fuck? Third, fuck, fuck him! 

"I am still not gonna talk to you, sir." i told him in a dismissive tone, rubbing the side of my neck as then my attention was fully ready to entertain carter, stroking his cheeks. 

"Sir? Drop the formalities, please. I can't hear that."  he ducking was chewing on the silicone straw. 

Where were the manners at? I didn't just made friends with a pre-historic mammal, did i? 

Even a small gentleman like carter got his manners from the foster care. No wonder then he got me in this state. 

"What else do you hear then."  i stifled a laugh under my breath, as i mumbled it. 

Today's kids were on an another level cuz look at carter's grasping level. 

He grasped my words just like how I intended it towards tris. 

He didn't get it as always but carter for sure showed me his teeth. 

"What?" he pardoned himself, wanting me to say that again only if I had the guts. 

I had it in me. But just to retain the whole festive spirits around us, i held it back in me. 

"Nothing." i said, hiding my face from his space as my face was buried at the laptop screen in front of me. 

And for the next five minutes, our table went straight from legos fighting to pin drop silence. 

When I peeked from the corner side of the screen, i found a phone pulled up in front of tris with a not happy face. So it was better to not wake the animal up. 

Then I again drowned myself into the online jobs.

And just like filling up the formalities, I filled out extra twenty one forms out.

I mean, if i had made up my mind, it was inevitable to escape now. Had to be a deep diver. 

"Mommy, who hurt you? Why are you sad?"  I think he wanted to say this since a long time now. 

But he eventually asked it out while he was deep solving the rubik's cube with his round glasses pushed up. 

Now what was missing out from his attire was a red bow to top it off. 

"Nothing baby, it's just a job." I pinched his cheeks, giving assurance that everything was fine. 

He used to get scared when he saw me in sheer distress.

Remember when I told you about him being an angel? Yeah. That's what he was. 

"Who? Steven?" Oh so that's what got his ears up. I didn't know that they shared such a special & specific bond.

But then which nemesis didn't? 

"Shh, don't jinx," I pulled down the flap of the laptop a bit, and i shushed him along with a discountenance look on my face. 

"But why did he do that?" He must've liked the juicy content because he kept down the phone on the table, his eyesight were sewed at me. 

"Why don't you ask yourself this?" First i yawned & then rolled my eyes at him. 

"No. Am I the reason?"  He asked, his perturbation was coutured  on him. 

"Take a guess." I made him guess, my head cocked to side, as i delivered a made up smile to him. And he legit took it. Like bruhh! 

"Can't believe it. How insecure is he even?"  He complained about it but it sounded just like he wanted to bitch about him so that I'd turn to him & not to my ex-boss. 

"Just about you are."  I barbed him up as my lips went flat at that.

But I was hoping I got a job when a message ringed up in my computer, but it was an advertisement of a penthouse only available for couples.

And that was only valid till christmas.

Why was I giving any fuck about it anyways? It was a liability to me. 

"What? Nope. That's not true. I'm a man."  He knew more than me than he cared to admit.

But he was taut with anger that he slurped down the whole drink down. 

"See for yourself." The clicking sound of my keyboard amplified more, the more I paid less attention to him.

Carter was looking hungry in the meantime so I fed him some chicken salad sandwich and banana chocolate loaf cake. 

I cared about everyone & yet I was alone with zero penny on me. 

But the secret was, kindness towards one another was my coping mechanism. 

I might've been tired of it but I was never ever gonna leave doing the social experiment. 

I never planned on doing that ever, i had a thought of it, but i didn't do it. 

So there was an abundance of a difference between thinking about something and actually having the guts to do it in the reality. 

And once again, we were having a silence kinda campaign all over the table again. 

I didn't do anything else to do other than doing what i was upto, that was doin' nothing. 

"I'm going to order something for myself. Want some?" After a few seconds, the silence finally broke. He inaugurated it. With his eyes affixed straight to the phone in his hands. 

"What? You just gulped down a venti mocha & you want more?" he seriously wasn't being serious right now. 

When we both, that was, me & carter found ourselves unbelievably dramatic, we gave him a look that screamed 'you can't be serious right now.' 

"Anything else you know of, besides being rude AF?"  that didn't sound like a question, that sounded more like a personic critic. With a little bit of dirty sarcasm garnished on top. 

"Nope, just like you. When annoying people is the only thing you know, how do you expect me to not be rude?" I leaned in on the table, the back of my palm holding the weight of my chin with a bot like smile tunk on my lips as my gaze was held up high looking at him with the same gaze he looked me with. 

"And being rude at the right person." i added, playing with my hair, palm out. 

"Can anyone control you the right way?" After his thighs touched the edge of the table, his torso forwarded, and his eyebrows curled up. 

"Unless I permit them to. This apple right here has though." i admitted and gestured carter a kiss who was sitting beside me, but his attention was taken away by the cube, just as he was already taken by his secret legos crush, making me realise that he was running out of giving his undivided attention to me at the age of six and a half. 

This one wholesome relationship was also fading out somewhere. 

"Have fun with your chonky apple. I'm having it with whipped cream on top." not again with the wink. That was gruesome. 

And that lengthy tidbits were more gruesome with that another american girl he was having with on the counter. 

But atleast that designed a peaceful environment for the time being. 

Coming back to designing, I also had  an application for my fashion illustrations and ofcourse i didn't have my ipad with me right now to design some latest portfolios, but i think the mouse pad was sufficient enough to run the final touchup of the designs. 

But the sketches still lacked something, it was perfection. 

Because the model I had created for my designs to display on, their legs looked unproportional that they gave off wobble. Long way to go. 

"Jade. I'm scared." Carter's voice ruled out the seriousness in me, when he kept the cube back on the table. 

"Carter, no one's gonna hurt you. You're under my shield of protection." i filmed out the collectedness in me, hands on my chin and deep resolving perception focused on the screen before ease showed my talking the pace. 

He probably had a bad vision again of those horrifying stuff. 

"No. I am not convinced. I still am jade. Help." his voice wavered and trembled when he nudged me by my shoulders, holding and swinging my pinky little finger. 

"My cranberry, there's no Disney antagonist anywhere around here." i wiped out the crumbs on the side of his face with a tissue, trying my a whole best to assure him that whatever was on his mind, wasn't going to take place whatsoever. 

I needed that advice too. To not put your mind into the things that hadn't happened.

To think of the negative things and the unparalleled things was to give what the devil fiend.

"I know. He's different. He's, he's like big hulk."  After not in a few seconds, he motioned out the whole scene and how hulk's real version looked like. Kids were damn expressive. 

"Ah-uh. I'm listening to that. Gimme more." i said, but wasn't going to stick to that.

And that had caused me to focus more on the opacity of the design and give him my divided attention.

I wasn't for it, but disney antagonists weren't a controversial topic. Not atleast here.

The story he was giving me didn't stand out from the options I had in front of me opened.

"No pretty please. I am so serious. Serious like when I'm with rubik's cube." Alright, this young man right here wasn't having any of that shit. 

Heck, where did that 'pretty please' term come from? Who the mf taught him that? 

If he could do that to me, he could do the same too to his pantry crush or whatever. This og's were real salty now nfl. 

"You sure. Where?" i asked him, but i didn't search for no one, my mind was still at the screen in front of me since I was painting the slit cut skirt with the touchpad, thinking which color theory would work up here and blow that shit up. 

The theme that I was currently working on for were, casuals. (If you were interested to know) and the casuals which I was merchandising, it could be your go-to in stores, or like in malls, or like could work anywhere on weekends. 

So the model had a skirt with a plain white t-shirt. White & black were way too common and contrasting and anybody could design it. And what you needed to have in this industry was, uniqueness. 

My color theory so far was, a white plain round neck t-shirt with a green dark forest long slit cut skirt bottoms, shein shades on top, a round dial watch with hands accessories, and we could go with either flat flip flops or ankle length boots. 

The sketching part was done, just had to fill in the colours and the border line. 

Since it was casuals, needed to look like one, not some filtered instgram posts. 

It needed to look like did not woke up like this.

Cuz all the woke up like this shit was overdone & no one was buying that shit. 

"There, right in front of you staring at me." his baby hands stroked my chin (not too much baby, but he was going to be a baby for me for the lifetime) - his hands smelled like baby powder and no amount of high quality branded hand creams could beat that shit up, baby powder itself was enough to troll the whole industry. And yes, this wasn't any promotional stuff, do not take it the hard way- and turned it up to my right. But when he did that, my fingers froze at the touchpad. 

For me the world stopped, I couldn't hear the chaos anymore clearly.

I could only hear the blurry stuff of people laughing and i went numb quickly for a few seconds. 

Life was having too much fun wid me, the volatility it was giving in my life from a few days now was at high range again.

You could altogether say that now I was a family to bitcoin officially.

The laptop and the inner content in it held me spellbound so eminently that I didn't take a note that the ex-boss of mine was sitting diagonally opposite to our table, with an opposite gender who shared the same shade of vanilla blond hair i knew someone with and had a blue flamingo maxi dress on. So only the back was visible of her. 

The nostalgia was deep this time.

Only the place & situations were different, but lunch ruckus was as same as this one. 

His stare wasn't backing up at all. He was leaned in like me, elbows on the surface of the table, his index finger pointed towards the side of his head as he was biting off the nail of his middle finger and my oh my, his eyes were outstaring me. 

And the woman who was with him, which might've been similar to shasha, was feeding him something while blowing on the hot food. 

I should've known that I was replaceable no matter what. Because my illusion thought I wasn't. But what was so special about nanny? Anyone could hire nanny. 

And he made me show that I belonged to the same common group of people. 

But that lady who was giving him the vip treatment, looked like it didn't satisfy him. 

Since when he was watching the both of us like a maniac stalker?

How long had it been? Not to mention, the eye contact he was giving off was cavernous. 

What was he gonna about it? If this was the after sorry treatment, I didn't want it. If it looked like any. 

He was strangling and making the situation so much complicated like I did all of it. As if I crushed him down. No I didn't. 

Whoever that tipper was, that tipper was two-faced and had some serious beef with me. 

I thought I was past that. I thought I could face him without breaking off the eye contact. I was wrong again. I never wanted to meet him again. Never in my lifetime again. 

That blue sapphire eyes and the intensity of them burnt my skin and made me feel naked to the eye. My life was hell, I wanted to go home. 

I never lost my face. I could just assume his existence right here as a mistake and move on. And that's what I did. 

But was there any place still available for me to go where my life wasn't going to meet him? 

"Mommy, are you all right?" i don't know why he whispered, but he called me out. And the globe resumed again. Voices in my ears, came back to life. 

"Yeah. I am. " i said, looking at carter from the corner of my eyes, and my blinking became rapid. 

"You don't sound like one though." After his concerned tone said, my inner voice agreed with that internally. 

I wasn't at all fine emotionally.

I didn't like him coming here but i didn't control starbucks to kick him out or to ban him.

My emotions were helpless as of now. 

"Is that who hurt you?" carter was scared to look at him, but he lifted his fingers and pointed at him, his cute crooked teeth coming in place when he opened them to snarl at him.

"You don't have to look at him. And don't point your fingers at him too." i told him, pulling down his fingers and clenched fists. 

He should've had some manners in the first place to not stare at us openly and focus on what was in front of him. 

It had been quite a few minutes, his peer didn't move an inch and stayed at where they were from the first place, at me. 

"Why don't you show me how to solve the cube?"  i didn't want him as the main topic, i changed him which was in my hands and under my control.

So I took the cube and placed the cube in his hands and pat his head slowly. 

He still was monitoring each and every thing.

I had cautioned tris to not jinx him. He did. Results were here. 

My will was against of what steven was doing, I wished he paid that much attention to me when i still had the job, not after everything was broken and over.

Objects could be rehashed, not this. 

"Uhmm. Okay. Let me just reshuffle it. So that we can play. And this is fun too." a mellow smile consumed his full face, indicating that the diversion was successful. 

Even after all this while, his eyes were touching me internally in all the wrong places, arising the goosebumps on my hands & back. 

Emotions were wreckless, they weren't going to come in my way.

I wasn't going to give them a chance too. 

When everything and everyone resumed again inside of my head, my work did too.

And the muscle in my finger started to work on it's own, touching the touchpad and life went on.

"Did she talk about me in the meantime, little gentleman?" whatever that it was, he was hoping to get some positive things from it but i knew that limerence.

Talking from experience, I knew where it was coming from. 

Then his lips curled up while he was placing the tray on the table, his gaze first razed at carter and then at me.

However that annoying may have been, I paid no heed to it. 

But I knew four people were watching me, all of them were different personalities of steven, so i had to converse with him until they moved away.

When I thought of doing something naughty like sneak peek on them, his eyes weren't off me.

This was not allowed, it was a personal emotional attack.

He couldn't do this to me. 

So I made an effort and wanted to maintain the eye contact without having to break it, i was shy at them but i could give as good as i got. 

But the first thing I noticed was, how poor their relationship was.

Only shasha had that vanilla shade, it had to be her otherwise she wouldn't had cautioned me to stay away from him. 

Their relationship here was an exhibition that she loved to put it on view for the whole nation to know that nobody could have him the way she was getting. 

The way she was feeding him wholeheartedly, conversing with him even though his whole attention was stolen by me and the way her foot went up his shins under the table that could be seen from here, were big fat signs of triangulation. 

I didn't have to tell myself again and again that psychology ran in our family, it was inbuilt. 

She was experimenting the emotional abuse tactic on no one, no one was invested in their relationship.

Exhibition needed audiance, she had none. 

I thought she was a mentally well organized person, insecurity was in the air.

The summation was, their were not cool, I would've made a well settled career in psychology if it weren't for the money, and i won.

In what aspects, that was yet to be researched. 

"Just a little bit." he gestured out how little was i really thinking of him, a little of tee-hee making him excited. 

"Obviously." tris's eyes rolled at three sixty degree before it went back to normal, food in his mouth while he laughed. 

A mannerless geek was the nearest thing I could think of. 

When my gaze bounced back again to them like a ping pong ball, that is when I noticed him feeding her back and letting her sip from his coffee.

This had to be a freaking show! It only confirmed that I was all wrong from the start about them. 

Because now the audience were starting to appreciate their relationship, two ladies got up from their seat to shoot them in the camera roll. 

Affect was affecting me. There was terribly something wrong with me, emotionally. 

A piece of me was getting salty for no reason, the other piece of me was wishing for something else and the last one was something I didn't want. 

These days were so divergent of what happened.

My heart was unexpectedly too funny for words to theatre out my feelings. 

This wasn't going work, my feelings & the entire system needed a full on break. Needed to reprieve. I had made up my mind to set my feelings free. 

"Wait, where you going again?" the food was in between his mouth, the mixture of drink & snacks were so not okay. 

"Does that matter?" the profound stale expression was here after a long time, not too long ago, twelve hours ago?

I yanked his grip off me. Pulling my hair up in a messy bun. 

"I mean, I could get you what you want from the menu." he cleared out his throat, although there was nothing spicy with what he was having, wiping off the crumbs surrounding his lips with the tissue papers. 

Could he get me an extra large box of peace with enough bubble wrappers?

I didn't think so.

If truth be told, what I asked for was none of his business and was rather out of any human's  league.

"I want peace. Could you give me that  from the menu?" My hands were to my chest, locked position sign of not an open person, ankles crossed together.

It was the stale impression that got my voice a little louder out there that stopped the commotion for a few mins before people spared us glances & moving with their stuff.

Nobody could feel & know what I was feeling.

"Just admit it that you can't." I know there was not only some but everything about me was wrong, but the complete chaos inside me was about to fly apart.

Everything was an oscillation, one time it wanted to go right, the next left. It couldn't stop for a second.

What should've I done?

Jesus Christ––– please I surrendered my heart to you, do whatever felt good.

Carter gawped at that, my biggest sponsor & ally of all time by the way and tris was chagrined at that.

I mean, if comebacks couldn't be your bitch––– your life was done & so was his's. I said what I said.

"I am going out for some fresh air. Be right back." I vented out, lugging the staidness while exhaling out the tired sighs.

And just as that, I walked out and while i was doing so, our paths crossed again––– i saw the fury in steven's gaze, jaw stiffened.

He challenged me on what basis I had limited clue about, but I ignored him & pulled the door out, jostling people & allowing them to grunt at me as i  stepped out of the coffee shop.

That was wild & violent––– but little did I know that the true meaning of life began to jot down when you willed out of your comfort zone.

And little did I know that i was going to have to do more stuff out of my comfort zone if i wanted my name out there and marked in the history.

Starbucks had never been so suffocating before, but now it did.

That's the whole reason as to why I thought streets would be my escapists for the night.

Night life, Christmas on the head and the same old past situation––– complete desertion.

Not Christmas, but mom hadn't known about me losing my job.

So she reserved all the rights to expect gifts from me & a christmas tree which hasn't had the fortune to settle in our house since...

But it was our family background that wasn't clean to celebrate jesus.

I never did drugs, but I still was high today on pressure & complexity.

There were many, many things in my life that hadn't been done and dusted, for example, life never scared me this much that I was in the rattling zone.

The nocturnal was sparkly today with moon & stars with midnight shade of black overtones––– the most relatable thing in my life.

Common sense said, moon was a dead object––– my heart said it was the most beautiful dead thing ever that knew how to shine among alive things despite of it's ordeal.

I didn't know if my unspoken thoughts made sense or not––– but moon had to be my role model as time passed.

I needed no personality tests to know how much ruminating on sad things coursed through my veins.

To this day, I couldn't figure out why exactly people used to break up their friendship with me but now that I knew, i didn't even like myself––– my life was a hit-or-miss driver.

And just like anyone, I had to direct and make life have a purpose in order to not crash.

And when I was done motivating my motive-less life, the corner of my eyes descried the very same familiar beefcake figure stalking me to see where was I headed to.

"What?" I yelled, turning back to demand an answer from him and his heart pounded out from his mouth when he retrieved back, shocked.

"What?" He played off innocent, shrugging his shoulders and a 'i don't know, you tell me' phrase sticked on his face.

Stalking someone right after kicking them out of their office was a bold contrive act.

But breaking his ass off, was a bad idea right? Breaking his ass of, was a bad idea right? Breaking his ass off, was a bad idea right?!

"Loving this prank, wasn't firing me enough for you that you followed me all the way up here?" There was a mock in my laugh, but the fire in me wasn't put off yet by the way I looked him straight in his eyes without blinking.

Bipolar bitch baby I got issues, but I loved myself.

"Followed you? What kind of boho have you done for me to follow you?" He was back to crossing his hands, his wide shoulders engulfing me, the stingy tone of his's taking over.

Right person, wrong question. He should've interviewed me and asked what kind of deadly sins were due of my past life that our invisible strings got knitted together.

"There, just right there. Doesn't that give you a reason to not follow me?" I stroked my eyelashes, something dusty went into my eye but smoothly i removed it out with the pad of my ring finger.

Directly after, my consciousness adjusted to his way again. Why was he here just after hurting me?

Did he even know a part of me always blamed myself and held that part captive for everything from the moment he suddenly decided that I wasn't needed anymore?

It was always easy to judge the movie than to see what it took them to make behind the scenes.

"Do you own this street? Let me tell you, you don't, because this is a public property. And I'm sure you know that everyone has the right to walk here and go wherever they want." He did pause when he nestled me aside when he saw someone from my direction was about to jostle me but he continued after that.

He never for once failed to carry that frown on his face, did he?

"Bingo! Anyone can walk wherever they want not follow my goddamn lead," i gestured to the street, the pitch of my tone ascending just the way my hatred for him did.

Just because the food he bought got expired or went rancid, didn't mean he could turn to leftovers.

"That's because our destination is same." He didn't have shame in him to say that while a smirk pulled up on the corners of his lips.

His destination was a zoo, a mental rehabilitation centre, hell and you name it.

The ticket of my destination was yet to be handed over to me but these were not my destinations.

"Says the man who distanced the destination himself & wants to align them again." A scoff left me as i pulled down the scarf, the sharp part of my round earrings got stuck to it while i unstrangled them and ran my fingers to the right portion of my hair. 

I was wasting my energy on the wrong spirit.

But I also on the other hand wanted to know what was his gallant excuses that he had come up with.

I wanted to know the root cause. What had made him change his mind about me betraying him after a long six months.

Betrayal just asked for a scanty amount of time if he wasn't wasted.

"I can do whatever the hell I want to. Who are you to stop me?" Frowns streaked his face as he tilted his head to his right side, his burning gaze traveling all over me which was a contradiction to the iciness in his tone who was being a tough guy to drop it.

And while all this happened, loud sirens mooted all over the streets with flashing lights as squad cars raced past over the streets following someone closely.

So it took me my sweet time to recall what he said but I successfully recollected what was he here for when i looked at his unbothered face.

"That's what I am talking about. Who am I to stop you? Have fun with your destination, you crazy piece of bipolar shit!" the spleen in me roared at him, my jaw worked from side to side when my gaze popped back at him and i turned around to go away from him. 

But dang! Where did that come from? How did I chanelise my inner voice out? Oh, the tortoise was just coming out of it's shell. 

"Shit? Crazy? Behave." he took a minute to analyse and also waited until I cooled off as if he was giving me a chance to gather myself up and then he ruled. 

That behave shit sounded like 'stay!' as if I were a different species. 

But who was gonna tell him that he was the one that got no behaviour? 

"Why should I? We're not related to each other anymore. So I can treat strangers however I wish to." pretty sure that hurt him as hell, but you reap what you sow. 

So I did what my heart felt like, untied my bun while my gaze was at his level and wore the wavy curls down. 

"That answers my question." in between the muffled chaos on the streets, i liked his realisation more. 

He was firm about it, but who knew he had numerous layers underneath them. 

His other layers were overtones so it didn't matter much, but that one sombreness undertone hit different. 

"It does." I agreed, one leg forward towards him which he didn't approve of and thumbs scratching the side of my chin. 

If he stopped following me around or even gave up his time on me, ninety nine point nine percent of my probs would end then and there. 

But if he was here, he wasn't just to go away. 

"Then? Now what? Are you gonna go or want me to go first?"  i kept it informal between us, maybe we were better this way, keeping the tone stale. 

Honest to god, I didn't want to keep him, i didn't want to keep in touch with him.

Maybe not honest to god, but to myself I was. 

He was a catch, nine figure, everyone's type but that indecisiveness was gonna cost him more than his soul and was incurable. 

Did anyone bring to his notice that he was gonna have to spend his entire life in the mental asylum if he kept on putting his feet on two stones? 

"I'll go first." when our voices grew apart, his stare didn't. It was like a messenger between the two of us and it was personal.

Fucking donuts personal. 

Someone needed to call the cops on him and arrest him for staring into someone's heart and be a creep about it. 

"No. You won't." he got a hold of my wrists when I whirled around, wanting to go back home but then I remembered that my things were left in the shop with carter & tris. 

And on top of that, he wasn't letting me go but was holding onto me instead like an ex-lover of mine with the same standard dominance that wasn't ever gonna blend in with me. 

"Why don't you get yourself cured?" I lobbed his hand off me with another hand that possibly might've dug it's nails in him, voice more breathy and less weak.

Please begging you Steven, call it quits with me already. I didn't want us to talk anymore.

"I will. But for now, I have a confession to make." That sombreness undertone of him overtook it and now was everywhere.

The seriousness that was bagging up inside of him was scaring me.

He was getting prepared as right now he was going to announce something that was not to my liking.

But atleast that gave him a neck to neck compitition to his self.

Because whatever he brought to the table, was going to have no meaning.

Not even his shadow could bring me back to his inc.

"Confession? Is this some kind of dare? first your girlfriend and now you." Mind thought changing the topic could avoid the confession for as long as it could, but it was of no use.

His face spoke to me in the most disastrous way.

No one could convince me that wildfire didn't spread rapidly.

"Girlfriend? Where did that come from?" He carried the somb with him, not liking what just came out from my mouth.

But he was the one who was down for the engagement––– it was his lookout.

The wind blowing & whistling inside my ears bristled me up and was making it more difficult to believe that this was real.

"HR? Rings a bell?" there was actually no need for me to ridicule him, but staying with him had made me do so.

Monitoring his expressions and reactions to different things had made me do so. Couldn't he just let me go?

"How do you know about that?" A frown as big as him greased on his face as he held me by my arms, no plans on ever to behave like a human being.

How did I know about that? They hadn't printed the wedding card yet so what did he expect me to do about it?

They both were engaged as claimed by her, he didn't know he had a hyperactive Anabelle doll besides him? But if he was a chucky doll, buy one get one free.

"This proves that I was a fool in the first place to think I could still converse with you." I was done with him. Today. Totally. Finally. Definitely. 

The signs were quite obvious as well, the crowd before was like people found living in the antarctica but now, people were rampaging & rushing through us.

And crowd meant a bullshit mind.

And a bullshit mind meant, your were not okay and more likely to do anything that first came to your mind.

This was my first time checking up on myself and on my thoughts.

But what did I find?

Come, let's check it––– it felt as if I was a tourist to my own mind and traveling through them all again and found an unorganised mind.

And that unorganised mind was like scribbled sketches sketched in the free period or a substitute period.

"You will only leave when I tell you to." I know this wasn't alright but these were the only languages in which he could communicate well.

So he was fluent in multiple languages and some of them which I were familiar with were, dominance, ire, melancholy, reigning and what else? Paranoid maybe?

So he lost it when he twisted my wrists from letting me go and...

"No I won't. Find someone else to do that!" i striked against him, like i had an overdose of rampaging.

And when I saw the same tiredness in his eyes like it had in me before all of this happened, i turned around and started to walk away from him.

But there's a saying that said, even the body which you had known for years and lived in couldn't be completely yours.

And I felt that today––– my body was rebelling against me so much for whom?

"I deserve a chance. Just lemme say what I've got to & then the decision is yours." he shouted from behind, and my heels stopped for him.

My heels were so used to him and fawned over, I only knew it now.

"You're a fake person if you tell that you didn't get deja vu." i walked up to him again when i brought the humiliation to his notice, with hands on my chest and my boots clacking against the bricks pavement.

And people took a good look at him before they looked at me, nodded and walked away.

I could always be a google calendar whenever i wished to remind others of their events, history, anything or even nag them.

Which also justified for why did no one wanted to team up with me to finish up the projects even though I was all good.

But I still loved them even if they weren't gold that glittered.

"Lemme just finish. I'm sorry for your loss. Lemme redeem it tonight." his head dropped down, unable to get his eyes on me, and there was a shifted undertone in him that started out as real but ended as fake.

No human could redeem me. Beasts also couldn't. But here I was, listening to his shit.

When he gazed up at me after he was done showing how much had he reflected on his mistakes, there was a pinched smile on his face as he nodded to tell me that he could fix this, us and him.

It was as if, a patient assuring the doctor that he could cure others and himself. This was metaphorically not fancy and it was agreeable.

"I don't want you to redeem it for me. Fuck off." props to him for the magnificent acting but he was no longer needed here. So I rejected him downright.

He could never erase the fact that I had to face humiliation because of him and was held guilty for nothing.

If he could even solve half of my probs and erased the imaginations in people's head that I was promiscuous, he could go on.

"You're joining my office again." it wasn't my place to judge, but it was times like this when i knew for sure that he needed to be admitted asap.

The vibrations he was passing on to other people were harmful and not the very least pompous.

If I could, i would've thrown the species of the whole amazon forest on him for treating me the wrong way and would've made him live with them.

But he was a beast, he would've easily blended in with them without raising his voice.

"Say what? First get your bipolarism cured, then fucking talk to me. You don't even know what you want," he took away half of my anger and the other half was bitten on my lips.

I had lost the algorithm of him since the gap was huge between us so god had given me the perfect way to deal with him. And that was to not get the hang of him.

"You even know what I have & what I don't. How will I explain it to my next pa?" the driven passionate dominance in him soon withered as the low spirit sank deep into him.

A producer would've paid him max ten thousand dollars for the act in my opinion.

And it felt that he for the very first time acted like he should.

"Then you should've fucking considered all the possibilities & consequences before firing me." I only told him what his ears truly needed to hear and the hearing was declared in the most anti-silicone way.

Right after that, the self absorbed look on his face faded away.

My first and foremost target was achieved then and there. But this was just not it, more to go.

"That's what, I'm in the process of it. You're not the reason why I lost our client. It was my fault. I am ready to take the blame for it." he made it known to the world as if having to choose between one.

But the urgency in his tone galvanized me to do something about it or to least round it up.

He was going to hate me for this but so be it, when did he loved or respected my boundaries? 

"That's not possible, I am already working under a great company that has appraisals as good as their revenue." the lie eventually got coated with firmness, as my legs were slightly apart, and hands still rested on chest. 

Devil made me do it! If he had the guts, he could try all under his power to throw a bone. 

But how would he do that if he didn't have a backbone? 

A mentally retarded beast with no backbone. That was a name catered up by me. 

If it fascinated you, you could dm me for repost. After all, it was a howling success. In fact, it were a dress to his macho individuality. 

"You better not fuck with me. And you won't work for Bennett." oh, so the predominance was yet to deviate. 

But ouch, his hardened grip on my shoulders would've either bruised my arms and make it purple or it would've made him a rachet bitch. 

Both of them happened, he was a rachet from the start so it didn't have to come on a scroll, but I wasn't sure about the bruised part. 

In order for me to check it, I would've had to remove the cardigan sweater, it was far fetched. 

He had scrutinized me from every inch to every angle, but most of his attention was to my eyes, his gaze moved like parabola when it reached me. 

Maybe it was his was own reflection that he wanted to see in me?

Only a narcissistic could do that. Everytime he did something like this, we grew apart more and more. 

So it was decided that I wasn't going to encourage him.

He was still a fucking slave driver in my eyes! Also because, that ship had sailed away.

"Oh my fuck! What the hell is wrong with you? You've ruined my life you idiot, do you get that?!" I wanted to do anything but to give in, but i was drowned in my own pool of tears when my indignation inflated out. 

I so resented him, i wanted to walk out from this conversation.

Please not now. Please holy heavens, no nervousness was invited here. 

"An eye for an eye. I'm letting you ruin me the double of what I did." a dredged smile then occured on his face. I didn't want to understand him. 

I was so tired of him–––  holy Jesus, was, was that snowflake on his head?

Snowfall in December? We were two months early? 

"Don't–––" before considering anything, my gaze went back to his just to notice his pupils dilated at me, it darkened and when it did, he pulled me towards him and... 

His lips drastically crashed onto mine, kissing me without any consent, without any alarm, his rough hands on my jaw, stroking it compassionately in the middle of snowfall. 

I threw my fists at him, prodded him in the chest, did everything i could in the universe to pull away from him. I couldn't. 

My heart refused the thoughts in my mind. 

A different feeling in me didn't want to push him away although my thoughts were sure that they didn't want affection or whatever that was from him. 

But I did feel different sudden rush of dopamine and norepinephrine surfacing up in such a way that it felt like glaciers ice sheets were floating up on the surface. 

I wasn't in... Was I?  No, no, no, no, no! Not him! Christ please. Impossible. 

Yeah we could go with that cheering board for hope. I didn't know what this meant to him. 

I didn't even know if he was drunk or not but he was down for some drastic measures. 

Why was not I doing anything? Why heart? Why were you taking his forced kisses in? 

When I gradually opened my eyes, which i shouldn't have closed in the first way, his straight long nose feathered and tickled mine before pulling away slowly. 

I thought his madness would kick right back in when he pulled away, but he had seemed this crisis credible. 

His madness didn't kick in, but aloofness in him did. 

The same expressions as before were back onto him that said 'what ya looking at? Get going bitches'. 

"This was the first installment, second is on it's way." the exact prep time i took to instantly freeze on the spot was something six to nine point nine when he dipped his height to mine, stepped his foot towards me and whispered sotto voce before he tugged the small strands of hair behind my ears forthwith an inflated smile on his face.

But this just wasn't all, he made up his mind to peck me on my cheeks and that was the last glance of him I saw before he chose to hide his face and walk out in his own pace. 

That very minute, I took a moment of silence to process the whole thing surrounding me. 

Ice crystals were waltzing around and falling on everywhere but before it fell on us, it went through the trees and then at us. 

Anyone like me who were first shocked when experienced snowfall, the very next instant they were walking, making tik toks across the streets, holding hands and were capturing memories of beauty in the portrait mode of their phones with just right amount of peart in their hearts. 

This rare snowfall was going to be a big smash-hit news of all time. 

And if it was going to be so, it was only a matter of time before reporters came running like zoo species to alert everyone and put the snowfall on live coverage. 

Whether or not it was going to benefit me, the flashes of previous events clicked my mind. 

And the temperature of my cheeks were absolutely not going the way I  had wanted them to. 

Afraid of looking like a tomato puree, I tried to detox it down by touching them with the back of my hands. 

That was the most stupid thing. But then he wasn't too far to not catch him up & ask about it. 

"Hey, you can't do this to me. Do you hear me? Shit!" I called him out, but no response from him.

Unbiasedly, condensation was doing it's job with me.

But I swore on my latest designs, only he possessed that much power to ruffle up my feathers.

I wanted to pluck out my hair, scream and murder my feelings that did not made any sense after i came directly to my senses!

But that would've been me going before than him to get mental therapy.

Just saw his back with hands in his pockets, but instead of going back to the coffee house, he went some other way and just like that he fled from there in the mist in no time. 

I had the answer to the aforementioned question.

This was going to be a long winter vacation & a stupendous christmas of this year with lots and lots of... anything and everything.