Have you had any of those 'numb' days? Days, where everything you do or perceive seems empty, lifeless. Those where you feel like you're not in control of your life. It's just........empty, you know? All you can think of is a void of nothingness. You feel like everything is far away, even when the very thing is clutched in your own hands. Like you're zoning out of the world, temporarily. Whatever you read feels too empty, as if it's just a couple of random senseless paragraphs, and whatever you watch seems like it was planned to be boring, just for you.

I'm having one of those days, today. I'm walking in a crowded street, people walk past me, but I feel like I'm in my own world. All I can feel is muffled incoherent mumbling. I ignore it all, and continue to walk, forgetting the very purpose. I'm barely aware of my surroundings, I just try to move, not wanting to stand in the same place for more than a moment.

I've just heard something I'd never even dreamt of hearing. I'd just lost the job I'd been having for the past two years. Sure, it hadn't been paying me much, but still, it felt like losing something which felt like a part of me. Something I thought was inseparable.

It's probably my fault, though. I shouldn't have spoken to my boss that way. He's always harsh, but I shouldn't have let my ego get the better of me.

A job at a tiny bistro doesn't seem permanent for the others, but it is the very source of sustenance for me. Or should I say, was.

Living alone is a pain, but it's better as you don't have to share your pain with others. It's not right to take advantage of others for your selfish needs. It would be a consolation if you have a companion at times like this, yes, but the mere thought of burdening them makes me extremely guilty. I'd rather suffer alone.

Now, you may think, why don't you search for work somewhere else? That wasn't the only existing job!

True, but getting another job is not an easy task for me. Why, you may ask. A very valid question indeed. Do you want the truth or the lie?

Okay!

I'm too lazy to work somewhere else.

Okay, that was a lie. My conscience wouldn't let me lie.

The truth is, I have a severe case of ADHD and mild depression. Now you know, happy? Ughh, you people love to force things out of me. But, what can I do? You're my only outlet.

Talking to invisible people inside my brain is ridiculous, I know, but atleast I can trick myself into thinking that people can actually hear me and they care about me. It's not like I can write a Wattpad story about my boring life, is it?

Okay, back to the topic. It's funny how I can get distracted so often when I'm already just speaking nonsense to myself. I'm just this weird soul. (A/N : I relate with this person wayyyy too much)

The thing is, my ADHD wouldn't let me work anywhere else, it's pretty severe, you see? This job was the only way I could always keep my hands busy. I try my best not to mess up, but it occasionally happens. There're a lot of people working there, so it's not very hard to cover up.

The only reason I got this job is because the owner is my uncle's childhood friend. Yep, I'm talking about the guy who just kicked me out. He's got a pretty bad temper, and it's me saying this, I have a bad temper myself.

I'd been living alone for the past two years, and I was using the money I got from here to pay both the rent and college fee. Life's going to be hectic for the next few weeks, but I'm definitely not going back there to apollogise.

I quickly grab a cup of coffee with extra sugar from a nearby shop, and continue doing what I was doing before (I was doing nothing other than lifeless walking).

Don't look at me like that! I know very well that caffeine aggravates my ADHD brain, but at times like this, it's an essential component for my survival! Sure, I'll be hyper after this particular cup, but it would at least distract me from my depressing thoughts.

I look down at my phone to check for notifications, but I'd gotten none. I had messaged my mother about this situation, but she hasn't replied yet. I honestly don't know how she'd react. She shouldn't be too mad, it wasn't my fault! Okay, it was 'partly' my fault, but anyone reading the message I sent wouldn't think so.

I continue my almost sleep-walk, happy that the caffeine is acting up and making me forget it, but in less than a millisecond, the disruptive thoughts plague my mind again, and in full force this time. I should've gotten a double shot.

My thoughts resurface again. What would I do for a living now? What would happen to my dream of becoming an architect? What about -

CRASH!

Someone slams into me, spilling all my coffee to the ground. I look up at them with red-hot fury in my eyes.

"HOW DARE YOU -", I start, but as soon as I look up to meet their eyes, I'm turned off as if someone had poured ice-cold water on my burning anger.

He looks down at me, with so much remorse and guilt in his big, brown eyes, so much that I'm tempted to say it's alright and give him a tight hug. I shoo away the thought. Coffee spilt is coffee lost. No one gets forgiven, yes, NO ONE.

But this one time, my brain says, he's too adorable to stay mad at.

Shut up, I say to my brain.

'Huh?', he asks. Apparently, I had said that out loud. I seriously hope that my brain hadn't said what it had said out loud too.

You wouldn't mind though, says my brain.

Get out of my head, I told my brain.

My brain refused to get out of my head. Inconsiderate brain.

I look back at him, and only now I realise that I had spilt my coffee all over his white jacket. I look up in shock.

"I'm so sorry", we both say, at the exact same time.

"No, it's me-", we say again, perfectly in chorus.

I look at him, and I burst out laughing. He started laughing along with me. We laughed for almost a whole minute.

He wheezed, and said "I'm really sorry for spilling your coffee. I wasn't looking at where I was going. Totally my fault. I'm so sorry."

"No, it's me who needs to apologise. I wasn't looking at where I was going too, and your hoodie is ruined because of me.", I say.

"Nah, that's not a problem. I can wash it. Do you want to grab some coffee? I can pay as an apology..?", he says, as he removes the coffee-stained jacket and dumps it in his bag.

Oh, like a date?, I think. I really need to shut up!

"If you want it to be.", he says, smirking. I had said that out loud too.

I cover my creeping blush with my hands, positive that I now look like a bright red tomato. He chuckles at my expression.

"It wasn't meant to be said out loud!", I mumble, barely audible through my hands.

He smirks down at me and says, "It's totally fine with me. So, wanna go? I know a place nearby."

I nod, and he starts walking, leading the way. I stumble behind him, to keep up with his pace. Gods, he's fast!

"So..", he casually attempts starts a conversation, not realising that I'm technically running behind him to not lag behind. "I never caught your name."

"You're-" wheeze "walking-" wheeze "too fast!", I say, panting like I'd just climbed the Everest.

He looks back at me and realises the state I'm in. "I'm so sorry! I walk really fast when I'm nervous.", he says, not looking very nervous, while I'm here, trying not to blush and failing miserably. Yeah, I know. I'm a mess.

"I'm Hannah. Nice to OFFICIALLY meet you. What's your name?", I ask.

"Hannah. That's a pretty name. I'm Adrien. And no, I know exactly what you're thinking."

"Hey! You actually look a bit like him! Tall, check! Blond, check!" Handsome, check! "The eyes are the only difference. Yours is brown and his is green. Other than that, you're a perfect clone!", I laugh.

He blushes and stutters, "Uhhm... O-okay..?" He looks around and exclaims, "We're here! My favourite coffee shop!"

It's cute how he gets all flustered when he's excited. I stare at him as he fiddles with the door's handle, until I'm rudely interrupted by an old lady behind me.

"Stop gaping, young girl. Now move, I need my herbal tea. Ughh, People these days", she sighs as she shoves me away and gets in.

I ignore her and quickly skip into the shop. I'm greeted by the smell of freshly ground coffee and delicious muffins. My mouth waters as I search for Adrien in the crowd. I spot him standing near a table for two, waving. I wave back, signalling that I'd seen him.

I walk over to him, and he pulls up a chair for me. I snort, but mumble a quick thanks.

"Now, what do you want? I'm going to get a hazelnut cold coffee, it's amazing here.", he says.

"Oh, I'll get the same. And.......a muffin too?", I ask, with pleading eyes.

He chuckles and replies, "Anything for you.", and walks off towards the counter.

Time passes like it's fast forwarded, and within a blink of the eye, he's here, carrying a tray having two cups of cold coffee and a blueberry muffin. I quickly grab the muffin and take a bite.

"This muffin! It tastes heavenly!", I say, fascinated by the taste.

"Wait until you taste their cold coffee, this is nothing compared to that."

I frown at him, and take my cup from the tray. I insert the straw in the cup and take a sip.

"Gods! You were right! This is the best thing I've tasted in my entire life!", I almost squeal. The mild taste of hazelnut in the rich coffee is intoxicating. I take another sip, closing my eyes to relish the flavour of the drink completely.

He chuckles, and replies, "Now, do you understand why this is my favourite place in the whole world?"

"Mmm...", I mumble, between mouthfuls of coffee and muffin.

"Do you want to walk as we drink our coffee? The weather's kind of cool.", he says.

In the meanwhile, I had already finished my coffee and was eyeing the counter.

"Huh..? Oh, right!! Sure!!! Come, let's go!", I say, my ADHD brain highly caffeinated and bored from sitting in the same place for more than five minutes.

He looks at me, confused by the sudden enthusiasm, but smiles nonetheless. Oh, did I mention? He has a lovely smile. Not just his smile, his eyes are very beautiful too, like melted chocolate. I could drown in them for days -. Wait, what's wrong with me? I'm probably sick.

My thoughts are interrupted by a loud shuffling of chairs. I look up and realise that he had already gotten up, and was looking at me now. I couldn't help but blush when our eyes met. He noticed me blushing and just smiled coyly.

I got up and we walked towards the exit as he threw his empty cup in the bin near the glass door. We walk out together, side by side.

As we're strolling down the street, I feel something warm touch my hands. I look down to see that he had intertwined my hands in his. I blush and smile shyly, and look up and notice that he was blushing too, turned to the side and averting his gaze.

I look back down at our intertwined hands, and now, I couldn't help thinking.

Could life get any better?

Word count : 2041

Hey there, peeps! An updatee!!

Now, now, that was my second attempt at a short story, the first one being a stupid but funny story I wrote for a play three years ago. I know it's very cliché, but you can't blame me! I wanted to try this out.

So, how was it? While rereading, I felt it was a bit rushed, but what can I do? It's supposed to be a short story, and 2000 words is already a bit too long.

I know very well that the beginning and ending make no sense, but this was not exactly how I had intended it to go. In fact, I had no clue as to how to end it, and it wasn't supposed to be romance at all. 😂 Well, my brain decided to deliver this, so this is what you have.

Don't forget to let me know what you think! Comments are highly anticipated. 😍 If you have any idea for any other story, please let me know. I'd love to try it out.

See ya in the next update, peeps! Until then, signing off,

Fan