I felt a slight grin come over my face at the familiar chiming of the bell behind me.

"Hurry up you snail!"

I heard panting as Ezra slid to a stop behind me, skidding on the tiled floor. He bent over, placing his hands on his knees, panting for breath.

"You know, when you said let's meet up at yours and get some coffee, I wasn't expecting you to run the whole way."
"Oh you obviously don't know me."

He straightened up, grabbing my hand. As he intertwined his fingers with mine he murmured.

"Well that's why we're here. To get to know each other, right Blue?"

I smiled. When I had suggested coffee he had asked if it was a date. After a slight moment of hyperventilation, I agreed, though we'd both decided to get to know each other first before anything official.

I again let my eyes trail over his face. When I'd first met him, he seemed unapproachably hot, yet now I noticed little things.

I could see the small lines under his eyes, a sign of someone who smiles- and a lot. His hair was messy and now I knew it was not purposefully styled, but rather a labour of absentminded laziness.

I noticed an old receipt sticking out of his pocket and reached over to tuck it in, swatting him away when he made an underhanded comment about me trying to feel him up.

Girl you are in deep.

***
"Hey lovebirds! You're blocking the doorway!"

I know that voice.

I stepped away from the door and turned my head.

"Dante?"
"The one and only,baby."
"You work here?"

I strode over to the counter, absent mindedly listening as Dante explained that after meeting Ezra "ya know while I was waiting for you to wake up after I knocked you out" they had talked a while and he had recommended this place.

"I needed a job, they had vacancies and the rest is history."

I let out a stifled snort and ordered a hot chocolate, heading to a corner table with a flippant "Don't mess up."

Ezra sank down besides me as I shifted to get a better position. I lifted my legs tucking them underneath me, intently listening as Ezra relayed how he broke his nose.

"So it was when I was 9, maybe 10 and I had made a kite. I was flying it, messing about and it got stuck on the neighbour's wall. My parents they would have gotten...angry if I told them so I tried to climb it myself. Instead I fell out and broke my nose, which ,ironically, annoyed my parents more than the kite."

I studied his nose, looking for a sign of the break. From a certain angle his nose seemed to be crooked, I noticed, with a small bump. Before thinking I reached out and felt the bump, jerking back as he flinched.

"Sorry."
"It's fine. I know my nose healed weirdly. I tried to ignore it at first, after washing off the blood, but my parents noticed. By then it was too late for it to be fixed completely."

I crinkled my nose slightly. I could tell Ezra didn't have the best family and it was killing me not to ask.

It's not your place.

I drummed my fingers on the table as I thought of a different topic to talk about. I could already see a slight sadness glaze over his eyes and I felt my heart sink slightly. Sometimes I was too empathetic for my own good.

"Do you have any siblings?"
"Siblings?"
"Yeah, brother, sister?"
"Blue, I know what a sibling is. It was just a bit random."

I was sure he could almost see the light in my eyes as I realised what he said. My brother told me that I get a very scary look in my eyes when I think of a pun.

"A bit... out of the blue!"
"Oh my god May."

The defeated look on his face was what really led to my giggling fit. I could see Dante look over as I smacked my elbow on the table and let out a cry, interspersing with my laughter.

After regaining my composure I thought back to our conversation.

"Hey! You never answered my question."
"Uhhh...no. I don't- don't have a sis- sibling."
"Oh. Okay then. I have a brother!"
"Cool."
"Yeah he's 16 and a moody teenage pain in the butt."
"Really? Why?"
"He's got this awful girlfriend, she's super controlling and doesn't let him talk to other girls even me once. She takes him to these parties and convinces him to get super drunk, trust me I was there once and..."

My tirade was cut short by the drinks being placed down on the table. I followed the arm up to a familiar face.
A grin split my face as I excitedly jumped up.

"Hey its you!"

Grinning down at me with all the proud benevolence of a mother was the beautiful bartender from the first day I came to this shop.

"Heya darling."

After a couple minutes of arguing and some introductions ("Ranae is a lovely name," "Rhymes with May too love; we're meant to be.") we convinced her to sit with us a while. After all she was the one who convinced me to go talk to Ezra.

In a weird convoluted way.

*sorry I'm busy today. here's a short one to tide you over. I'll write the rest tomorrow okay? just pretty busy around now.*
ly all
maly