COFFEE

VERA'S P.O.V

"Where are you heading? Are you waiting for the next class here?" Ellie asked.

Quickly, I turned to her direction, giving up looking for Hunter. He had probably left already.

"I think I'll wait in here," I replied.

My final class was in the next hour, and I had nothing to do but wait.

A few unfamiliar students trooped into the lecture hall, their voices loud, backpacks new, and their laughter a little too eager.

"Freshmen. They have a class here," Ellie stated the obvious.

"Well, we can't wait here anymore," I said, gathering my things.

"So, coffee shop?" Ellie suggested.

It was raining outside, the showers were light, and the air was cool—coffee was brilliant for this weather.

"Coffee sounds nice, but can we drink it somewhere quieter?" I asked, remembering how busy and loud the coffee shop normally was.

"Sure, somewhere I don't have to shout just to hear myself," Ellie agreed, swinging her handbag over her shoulder.

We left, and just as I had presumed, the coffee shop was in fact rowdy and loud. Students coming and going, talking over the awful background music playing from the speaker. Most weren't even here for the coffee or pastries; it was more of a popular hangout spot.

"I swear people don't even know why they're here," Ellie comments, annoyed at how crowded the place was already. "Hardly anyone is here for the coffee," she added, eyeing the crowd.

"The queue for the pastries is kind of long, though," I pointed out, gesturing at the line.

"Yeah, I should line up."

I left to order the coffee, while Elle stood in line for the cream-filled croissant. It wasn't t long till I had two cups of coffee in each hand.

I looked around for Ellie, hoping she had already gotten the croissants, so we could be out of here on time. I did not want to take a table. Luckily, she was already being attended to. I watched her swipe her card, trying to pay.

The door chimed as it opened; it could be anyone coming in or leaving the shop. I stood pouting as I waited for Ellie.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I noticed the tall shadow blocking the rays of light from the windows. I stepped out of the way, muttering the word "sorry".

It was Hunter.

My mouth opened before my brain could catch up.

"Hunter..." The word almost left me-almost.

He walked past, looking at me over his shoulder. Everything stilled, the chatter of the students, the hiss of the espresso machine, and the smell of coffee and pastries. It all vanished, and all I could see was him—it was just him and me.

He did nothing, not a smile, a nod, a casual "hi". No reaction from him—nothing. His face was stern, making our fleeting eye contact more intense.

If it weren't for the break, I'd be in his truck now, while he got coffee for us both. One cup of black hot coffee, no cream for him and an ice cream-filled one for me, just like the one I had now.

We'd sip and talk in the back seats while waiting for my final lecture. He didn't offer it because it was an elective course, but he'd wait for me till I was done.

Now, things were different.

Like in class, I still have the strange mix of longing and hurt inside me—did he not notice me?

Of course he did. He noticed but just didn't care, choosing to ignore me.

Why was I upset about this anyway? I'm the one who wanted the break and needed time away from him, and now he was giving me all the time I could ask for, yet I was deeply offended by it.

"Vera," someone called.

I quickly averted my gaze to the speaker. It was Ellie; she was back, but with no croissants in her hand.

"Couldn't you hear me? I've been calling you from the line for half a minute now," she said, frustration clear in her voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. What's wrong?" I asked.

"I need your wallet, the cards aren't working, we have to pay in cash," she quickly explained.

"Oh, okay," I said, handing her the cups of coffee so I could search my bag for my wallet.

"Quickly, I'm holding up the line," she said impatiently.

My hands rummaged through my bag searching for anything that resembled my wallet. I found it soon enough, taking the coffee back from Ellie. She took my wallet, going through it, taking out a five-dollar bill before hurrying back to the queue.

"Sorry, so sorry," she apologised to the other people waiting in line as she headed straight to the front.

"I need change for a five," she told the attendant who had patiently been waiting for her.

He nodded, going through the cash register searching for change. He hands her the change, also passing the croissants wrapped in a napkin to her.

"Thank you so much."

Ellie was coming already, holding on to our croissants.

Hunter walked past her, already with his cup of coffee, he saw her and stopped. I watched her speak briefly to him, giving him a small, clumsy wave.

He gave her a nod, followed by a forced smile. Forced, but still a smile regardless, and yet just moments ago, he looked at me, expressionless, cold even, if I wanted to exaggerate. His behaviour was intentional, and it hurt me so much.

Ellie was returning, with Hunter, just right behind her, both heading in my direction.

I panicked, walking to the nearest empty table, even though I had decided earlier not to. I set down the cups of coffee, tugging my bag off my shoulder, and setting it on the table also. I pretended to search through my bag. I found my phone and took it out.

"Vera," Ellie called, coming to join me. " I thought you didn't want to drink it here."

I looked up, and to my surprise, Hunter was not with her. I looked towards the door and there he was, already on his way out.

"No, we're not drinking it here. My phone rang, I couldn't answer with all the things I was holding," I lied so naturally I felt ashamed.

"Hunter's here, I think he wants to..."

She turned around, also realising he wasn't behind her.

"Oh, I swear he was just here. I thought he followed me here to meet you?" Ellie explained. "Didn't you see him?"

"No, I didn't," I lied again.

"Oh, I spoke to him less than a minute ago," she said.

I know, I saw when you did.

"Really?" I asked.

Of course, he'll speak to anyone who wasn't me.

Ellie's mouth opens, about to say something else.

"Our coffee's getting cold already, let's find a place to drink it," I said quickly, giving her her coffee, then taking one of the two croissants in her hand.

"Your wallet is still with me," she reminded.

"I'll get it later. Can we go? I think I know a place we can sit."

"Sure," Ellie agreed. "I want to tell you something, but I don't want to upset you more than you already are."

"What? I'm not upset," I protested, avoiding Ellie's stare.

"What do you want to tell me anyway, that you took a little bite out of my croissant already?" I asked, a smile forced its way through my lips as I inspect my croissant.

There was a tiny bite at the end, I laughed when I saw it. Ellie always did this, claiming the taste of my croissant was better than hers, even though we'd get the same ones.

"You know me so well," she said, laughing.

Soon, the smile on my face faded, as I didn't feel the need to be happy. Ellie noticed this.

"Somewhere quieter," she reminds me.

"Yeah, let's go."