Dedicated to whammystyles because you are such an incredible writer and I'm proud to be able to call you my friend! Ily x

THERE WAS A STARBUCKS JUST across the road. Every lunch-time I would cross the busy street to get a drink and to eat my lunch in peace - I had no time for the canteen over at the work place, it was always too cramped and full of useless conversation that didn't interest me. Being by myself gave me an hour or so to think and sketch in peace, without the dreadful worrying of returning to work for four remaining hours of spread sheets and Fiona's never-ending tasks.

I pushed open the door to the coffee shop and stood quietly in line, shaking the coins around in my hand until I made it to the counter. It was unusually quiet compared to most work days and I wondered why - was there something different going on? Probably, I realised, when isn't there something going on in the city?

"What can I get you today, love? The usual?" asked the man behind the counter. I'd come to learn his name during my first week of working at the ERHA - Louis - and he was one of the nicest guys I knew. He was about my height with scruffy brown hair and bright blue eyes. He always had a mischievous smirk on his lips that made me nervous when accepting my cup of coffee from him. It was almost like he was an evil genius with a mastermind plan ready to unfold.

"Um, no actually," I said, smiling at him. "A small vanilla-lemon frappuccino, please."

"Coming right up. Liam, small lemon-vanilla for Jane, mate!" Louis called over his shoulder as he wrote my name on the cup.

As if someone had hit him unexpectedly, Liam whipped round to say hello to me. He and Louis were good friends from what I'd observed and their friendly service was more than I could ask for. 

"Hey, Jane," Liam said, smiling widely as he took the cup and began to prepare my order. I always left Fiona's coffee until I returned to the building, that way it stayed hot for her. I stood patiently as I watched Louis and Liam take various orders from other customers, a smile on my face as Liam handed me the drink and a sneaky wink.

"Thanks, Liam," I said with a smile before turning and heading upstairs to the seating area overlooking the streets. I scanned the room a couple of times and found myself sitting by the window at the far end in a table for two. Once sat down and happy, I instantly pulled out my sketch pad and pencils, doodling away.

The particular image I was working on was a college of my work colleagues. Rough drawings of Fiona, Tim, Jesy, Stella, Steven and Peter were scribble across the page ... as well as an extra-detailed Harry in the middle.

My drawing of Harry was OK, nothing too incredible. Well, how could it be? It was almost impossible to capture Harry's wonderfulness in a drawing. I'd worked on the curve of his jaw for hours, wondering what exactly it was that I couldn't quite get right. Was it the eyes? Probably. I'd failed to add the little gleam that was so often there when he smiled at people. His smile - was that what I couldn't quite get? Most likely - his lips weren't as plump as that. It was so frustrating and I was almost determined to give up. Just as I was about to let out a frustrated groan, a voice made me jump.

"We just keep bumping into each other today, don't we?"

In a frantic dive, I leaned across my sketch pad to keep Harry from laying eyes on my work. The last thing I needed was for him to catch me trying to draw him, especially after I congratulated him and wished him the best with Sally. It would almost seem like I was obsessing over him ... which I was, only he didn't need to know that.

"Harry!" I gasped, smiling up at him. "Hey."

"What are you trying to do, intentionally spill your drink across the table?" he laughed before pulling out the chair opposite me. "May I sit here?"

I nodded while the little voice inside my head insulted me for being not so subtle about the whole situation. It was obvious that I was hiding the paper from him. "No one else will join me. Sure."

"Thanks," he said before sitting himself comfortably before me. He shrugged off his long, black coat and placed his coffee down on the table  next to my own, his long, ringed fingers tapping the cup absent-mindedly. "What brings you up here? Don't you normally go to the canteen over at the ERHA for lunch-times?"

I shook my head as I quickly closed my sketch book, stuffing it back into my bag before telling him, "No. It's too stuffy and boring there at lunch. Useless chatter."

"Is coming here a way you ... how did you put it? Clear your head?" Harry asked as he brought his coffee to his mouth, his beautiful mouth. I found myself entranced as his lips sealed over the rim of the porcelain, his eyes remaining on me.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, I suppose so. I like to draw here."

"I noticed," Harry chuckled. "Who was that handsome looking chap in the middle of the page, eh?" He sent me a knowing grin and my cheeks turned scarlet. 

"You know very well," I mumbled, defeated and unable to help the grin that formed on my lips.

"So, you agree he's handsome?" Harry questioned, leaning forward ever so slightly. When he noticed my pink cheeks, he chuckled and said, "Jane, I'm just screwing with you."

I wish you would screw with me.

"Oh," I breathed. "I knew you were but still ... sorry. I'm unbelievably, ridiculously awkward. As if you didn't know that already."

"And clumsy," Harry noted. "But don't feel awkward about the drawing, it was actually amazing. Usually when a friend draws me, I can never tell that it's me because they are terrible doodles. Your work, however, is amazing."

"Friend?" I questioned. "So, we're friends?" Please say yes even though I wish we could be so much more.

"Of course," he told me. "I consider everyone suffering at the ERHA a friend. Friends help each other and the way I see it, everyone in that work place needs a helping hand. It's so frustrating."

"Tell me about it," I mumbled. "I've been there for a long enough period of time to know the exact time that Tim enters and exits each day. Yes, I'm that sad and bored throughout the majority of the day."

Harry laughed again, and I still couldn't get over how wonderful that sound was, Harry laughing. Almost like music to my ears, I smiled as his eyes crinkled at the corners and his teeth came into view, unable to not flash a grin. "That is pretty sad," he admitted with a small nod.

"Guilty," I said, lifting my drink to my lips. I suck up the vanilla-lemon goodness through the straw, my mind betraying me and conjuring dirty images of Harry and I. Suck on that straw, Jane. That's the way to make a guy fall for you. I pushed the irritating little voice away and wiped my lips with the pad of my thumb, hoping my cheeks had returned to their normal paleness. 

"So," Harry began, "why here? Do you not like to draw in your work cubicle or even at the top, quiet part of the canteen?"

I shook my head. "No, it seems a little childish and rude to sit and doodle while working in a very mature environment, don't you think? Here is my kind of picture, anyway. I like to see the city alive and bustling with excitement."

"OK?" I heard the confusion in Harry's voice and I smiled before pointing down upon the streets. 

"Look there," I told him, gesturing to a small convenience shop at the corner of the building across the road. "See that woman on her mobile? See her body language, how she looks frustrated and a little upset? You can interoperate  that in anyway you want; she could be on the phone to a partner and they are fighting ... or she could be talking to a doctor about a test result. Perhaps arguing with a sibling or a friend? You can use her image as anyway you wish when converting it to paper and you can focus on her physical and emotional states. If I wanted to imagine her fighting with someone on the phone, you think of what connotations there are to fighting. So, things like sadness or loneliness may come to mind. Colours like grey or blue... I'm boring you, aren't I? Oh, God, I am so sorry."

Harry was watching me speak the entire time with one facial expression throughout. We'd already spoke earlier in the day about art and the last thing I wanted was to was bore him further with my crazy ideas and ways. He shook his head drastically when hearing me speak.

"No, no, no," he assured me. "I'm just listening quite intently. You've peaked my interest and I'm intrigued, Jane."

He was intrigued? I couldn't believe it - after the awkward encounter in the resources room, he still wished to engage with me about my interests. I had to make sure to talk to him about his hobbies and interests more. Unfortunately, art took over almost every time.

"So, what's got you intrigued, exactly?" I pondered. 

"The way you see the world is quite unique," Harry told me, smiling, his long fingers playing with the coffee cup as he continued to observe me with his jade glance. "Most people just live to work, make a living and then one day die without any thought as to what more there could have been. Whereas you seem to be able to make the best of situations. I like that, it's refreshing to meet someone who thinks that little bit differently."

I couldn't help but smile widely, glancing down at my fidgeting fingers. "Most people would normally tell me to stop being silly or to be more realistic if I told them how I see things and like to convert it to paper. Thank you for not, Harry."

"My pleasure," he told me. "I just think it's amazing what you do. I'll definitely need to see more of your work someday. Do you have a gallery or an exhibition anywhere?"

"I'd love to have one," I said to him, jumping slightly in my seat as the idea crossed my mind for the hundredth time. The idea of opening a gallery of some sort for people to view and critique my work was what I'd craved and longed for since my early teenage years. I'd welcome it all - the confused bystanders, the lovers of unique style, the onlookers who didn't quite understand what was on the canvas but loved certain aspects of it, the suggestions people would give me on how to improve or even business cards to do personal work. All of it was good enough for me. After all, I didn't work with just one style, my work varied.

"I'm surprised you don't have one!" Harry said, his eyes widened momentarily as he spoke. "You have an amazing talent and I know for sure that people will want to see it. I'd definitely come see your gallery."

He wants to see your gallery, Janey. Invite him home and he'll get to see multiple things of yours.

"The only gallery-like place I have is my art room at home. It's actually a guest bedroom but my lack of guests was the only push I needed to turn it into my own personal gallery. It's all cluttered though," I said, shaking my head as I recalled the mess.

"Well, I'd love to see all of your work one day," Harry told me before he checked his phone for the time. "Well, we have twenty more minutes before lunch ends. Tell me more about your work. I never really asked what you liked to work with in any sort of depth."

We spoke for the remaining twenty minutes of our lunch break about my work, Harry's interests and what we all enjoyed outside of the ERHA. I learned only a few more things about Harry - extra hobbies and what he wished to be when he was a kid. To begin with, we spoke about my art and the different techniques and colour schemes I preferred. I told him about how some of my paintings and drawings were realistic while other were abstract. Some were black and white while others were colourful. Some were sketches and others were detailed pieces I'd worked extra hard on. Harry seemed overly engrossed in my speech, asking questions like, "What kind of paints do you use?" or things like, "Where do you get your supplies?"

"Amazing," I said after Harry told me about one of his childhood accomplishments - fitting fifteen whole oreos in his mouth. "A gold medal should have been offered to you, Harry."

"I know, right?" Harry laughed as he downed the rest of his coffee, which was probably cold by the time he announced it was time we started to head back. I quickly headed back to the counter and gave Louis a wide smile as he looked up to see me back in the line.

"Another? You know they'll make you feel sick if you have more than one? I found out the hard way," he told me as he handed an elderly gentleman a take-away cup. 

"Not for me,"I laughed as I told him what Fiona wanted and handed over the money she had supplied me with.

"Ah, Fiona," I heard Liam laugh next to Louis as he set two coffees on a tray. "I remember when she used to get off her lazy arse and get her coffee herself."

"Be nice, Li," I laughed. "She's been stressed over her work lately. Family issues going on at the same time isn't helping her either."

"Oh," Liam said, biting his lip awkwardly. "Still no excuse for her to make you fetch her beverages."

"I don't mind," I told him with a small shrug. "If I'm coming over here every lunch time then it's the nicest thing to do."

"Yeah, Liam," Louis said, stressing out each word dramatically. "It's the nicest thing to do! Always getting involved in other peoples business, you are."

"Shut it, you," Liam snapped back. "You're just as bad when something has peaked your interest."

"Ready to go, Jane?" I heard Harry ask suddenly, making me jump. He'd pulled on his coat again and wore his signature, knee-weakening smile. "Hey again, lads."

"Harry," Liam said, nodding a hello. "It was good to see you again, it's been a little while."

"More than a little while," Louis retorted. "Good few months, I believe. Where you been? Too whipped with that woman of yours to even consider visiting your old friends, huh?"

The talk of Sally lead me to exhaling a frustrated sigh but that's not what caught my attention the most. Old friends, had Louis said? I had no idea that Harry was close with the two guys. "Oh, you're all friends?" I asked, shocked.

"Yep," Louis said with a grin. "Sneaky bastard has been avoiding us more and more since he's started dating that Sarah chick."

"Sally," Harry corrected. "Lou, you know very well it's Sally."

"I know, mate but I like irritating you." Louis turned towards me with Fiona's coffee in hand. "There you go, Jane. Tell Fiona to get off her backside from now on and to do this herself."

"I will do," I laughed before thanking him and looking at Harry. "Shall we?"

"Yep," he answered before waving a quick goodbye to Liam and Louis before we walked back towards the ERHA with smiles on our faces. Although our time together in the coffee shop had not been connected romantically in any way, shape or form, I couldn't help but feel like it would have been the perfect first date.