Chapter Text
The bell rang and Zoey looked up from the dishes she had been cleaning, spotting the five boys entering the cafe. They were new, or at least not regulars, she would recognize them otherwise. As the group made their way further inside her eyes caught on the yellow beanie the one in back wore. He looked familiar, turquoise hair, rounded face, she knew him from somewhere. Where could it have been? Was it..? It couldn’t be… could it? Feeling the growing tightness in her chest, she paused her task as it clicked, he was the boy from last night! It was supposed to be a one-time thing! He was the one she had gone up against in a rap battle under the canal bridge! He wasn’t supposed to find her here! No one was!
Despite that, here he was at the one place she couldn’t escape, she couldn’t leave, not when she was supposed to be working. Dropping the glass she had been cleaning Zoey crouched behind the counter. Maybe they would just buy some drinks and leave? She could get Mira to make them for her, sure she would have to offer to close the store with her, but, better that than be exposed. But, how to ask her? She could hear Rumi taking their order, perhaps she could text her, Mira was on break, she would surely be looking at her phone. Reaching for her own, Zoey found only emptiness. Trying to ignore the growing tightness in her chest, she checked her front pockets as well. After all, she had mistakenly placed it there before, maybe she had done it again? Empty. Her phone wasn’t there, and her moment of safety was burning up. Any second now Rumi would be asking for a name and someone would need to be starting their drinks. Zoey wracked her brain, surely her phone must be nearby?
Zoey was so deep in thought she didn’t notice Mira until she spoke. “Drop something?” Mira teased in a whisper.
Zoey flinched, whirling to look at her pink-haired friend, finding the girl crouched beside her. Zoey had never been more glad to have her train of thought derailed. “Mira! Thank God! I could practically kiss you right now” Zoey excitedly whispered back to her friend. Mira was here, like the answer to a silent prayer, or a fairy godmother sent to save her from her problems (instead of causing them for once).
Just in time too, Zoey could hear Rumi recount the group's order saying, “To verify, you want a latte, 2 cappuccinos, a mocha, and a double shot of espresso Mr…?”.
“Jinu, J-I-N-U” she hears one of the men say. It doesn’t sound like the boy from the bridge, it must be one of the others.
She gave Mira her best puppydog eyes, Zoey began to plead her case, “Please make those drinks for me! I know you’re supposed to be on break, I swear I’ll stay late and help you with closing up, just- just make them for me” she pleads. She could feel her heart beat as she waited for Mira’s reply.
One heartbeat.
Two.
Three.
“Fine, you can drop the look, but you’re giving me the story of why I’m making them for you. Especially why you’re bailing at the chance to make latte art. You have been lamenting the lack of a chance to show off your ‘Artistic Prowess’ all day.” Mira snarked as she stood up to begin the task.
Her knees hurt, the boys hadn’t left as quickly as Zoey had hoped they would, instead staying to talk to Rumi and Mira, and now she was paying the price. Luckily Mira had saved her once again unbidden, telling Rumi she had gone on an early break when the older girl had asked after her. Zoey had sat there crouched behind the counter until Mira had signalled to her it was clear to make a break for the storage room. In the few hours left before close, she had been wracking her brain. She couldn’t tell Mira the real reason she was avoiding the boys, she needed an excuse, a good one. Perhaps she could say she knew him from classes, and they didn’t get on well? That should work.
“Zoey!” Rumi called out, taking off her apron and donning her hoodie to leave “Closing time! Want to get some food? Ramyeon? Kimbap? I’m famished!”
Zoey closed her eyes, the images of the food waltzing through her brain, “I can’t, I promised Mira I’d help close up tonight, next time maybe?” Zoey replied mournfully.
Rumi nodded, saying, “Next time for sure!” Rumi practically skipped out of the door and Zoey felt cool air wash over her, for one glorious moment she could put the upcoming task out of her head, then the door closed and the moment crashed down around her.
Zoey braced herself, turning to look at Mira, an awkward grin already plastered to her face. “So! Closing time! Let’s get to it!” she exclaimed, throwing herself into the work with gusto, “Chairs to rack and espresso machines to clean, and all that” she continued.
“Zoey… you promised me answers… and I will have my answers” Mira vowed as she began the process of preparing the machines for work the next day. Zoey sighed, she hated lying to her friends, she had wanted friends like them for so long after all.
Drawing a deep breath to steady herself for the lie, she heard herself say, “That turquoise-haired boy, from earlier? He-, he was in one of my classes a few semesters back, and we didn’t quite get along? I didn’t really want to run into him here”. Zoey winces as she hears the crash of dishes and feels Mira’s arms begin encircling her, “It’s okay it wasn’t that big a deal, just a jerk you know? No need to make it a Thing just maybe, help me hide? If he comes back?” She rushes out.
This was not how this was supposed to go, not at all. The tightness threatens to come back, but the feel of Mira’s around her, and the weight of their bodies pressed together keeps it at bay for the moment. For a moment, it was like time was frozen, then she looked up and noticed that Mira’s eyes were narrowing. “You should’ve told me! I would have thrown him out right then and there! Gang of boys to back him up or not, I could take them all with my eyes closed.” she hears her friend say.
Zoey looked at her, the tightness getting pushed further back, as she hugged her friend. “I know you would, but you don’t have to do that, just, let me handle it, in my own time. Please?” she asked her friend, tears threatening to well in her eyes. “I know you would do it for me, but I think I just need you to be here to give me strength enough to fight my own battles”.
Mira stepped back moving her hands onto Zoey’s shoulders, for a moment she just stared intently before nodding at her and migrating back towards the sink. As she walked, Mira looked back over her shoulder saying, “If you ever do need someone to introduce him to how the floor tastes, just know I’ll be glad to.” as her lips quirked into a small grin, Zoey felt her heart soar.
Zoey just laughed. Feeling now like all was right with the world once more, the two began to finish the few tasks keeping them from home.
It was late. Zoey had been tossing and turning for hours. No matter what she did, she couldn’t fall asleep. Counting sheep, breathing exercises, music, documentaries, warm milk, she had tried it all. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she stood up and stalked to her door. If she was going to be up, might as well let off some steam.
She had to be quiet. She didn’t want to wake Rumi and Mira, luckily she should still be able to use the dart board they had hung up a few weeks ago. That should be quiet enough right? Snatching a handful of darts from the storage cup, she started throwing them at the board.
Thwack.
Why had that boy had to show up at her work?
Thwack.
What was she going to do if he came back?
Thwack.
Zoey stepped forward to recover the thrown darts, before beginning again. Maybe he didn’t remember her?
Thwack.
Even if he did, she would never see him again… right?
Thwack.
It was a large city, and there were plenty of cafes out there.
Thwack.
Besides, even if he was a student, campus was huge, chances were they wouldn’t run into each other there either.
Zoey stepped forward, collecting the darts to begin again. At least, if he did recognize her she could convince him otherwise. She rather liked her friends not knowing that she wrote song lyrics and rapped. The last time people had found out, it, well…
It hadn’t gone well to say the least.
She went through the cycle of throw, collect, throw, collect again until her arms felt like they were made of lead, and her eyes began to burn. As the sun peaked above the horizon, she stumbled to her bed to get what sleep she could. At least her thoughts were no longer bouncing around her head like a toddler on a sugar high.
Zoey hated the school library, it was too quiet, the kind of silence that buzzed in her ears and gnawed away at what little focus she had managed to grasp for studying. It was why she rarely studied there, but she needed a place where she could be alone so she could complete her research in solitude. Lyrics don’t write themselves after all. Of course, things always find a way to go wrong. She hadn’t been at the library long, and her eyes were still burning from the late night. Zoey had only just managed to wrest some focus towards reading through the thesaurus, dictionary, and encyclopedias she had found when it happened.
“Fancy finding you here… trying to find words that rhyme in latin?” Zoey froze when she heard his voice. All that effort in the cafe to avoid him, and yet here he was. Fate must hate her.
She stiffened in surprise when he spoke. That was him, the boy from the bridge, they’d run into each other… again. “You’re the girl from the bridge right? I don’t think I caught your name that night.” he said, “You can call me Baby, it’s a shit nickname I know, but it’s what everyone calls me”.
Zoey slowly turned to face the boy, Baby apparently but like hell was she going to call him that, “Get lost, wasn’t me” she stated. Sure it had been her, but, perhaps he really would believe he had the wrong girl? She waited with baited breath hoping he would take the hint. He didn’t.
She watched as he opened his mouth to press the issue, “I’m certain it was–”, out of the corner of her eye Zoey saw a flash of purple hair and a brown hoodie. Rumi. She couldn’t get caught with him! Who knows what her friends would do. Thinking quickly she grabbed at his shirt, and taking advantage of his surprise pulled him under the table to hide. She quickly covered his mouth with her right hand, to stifle any noise he might make. “Not. A. Word. Not a single move understand? Blink twice if you do.” she growled. She watched his face closely as his eyes widened in surprise before he blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Good, maybe she could just make it out of this unscathed. “Look, I don’t know what you want but just leave me alone okay?” she whispered. It didn’t sit right with him it seemed, as he chose that moment to try and get free. His hands came up and tried to free his mouth. They fought for a moment, Baby pulled at her hand, and Zoey twisted his arms away trying to keep him gagged. She sat on top of him holding him down breathing a sigh of relief when he stopped struggling. That was when she noticed the tightness in her chest was back.
Okay Zoey, Okay. You know how to handle this.
Deep breath in.
Deep breath out.
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
She felt his hips twitch, felt him shift beneath her as the world inverted. She was on the ground, his hand in her hair keeping her from receiving a nasty bump. She laid there frozen for a moment, staring up at him for a moment, before she realized she was staring way too hard for way too long. She scrambled to sit up, and tried to use the same breathing exercises she used for anxiety to instead calm down the embarrassed blush overtaking her face. Just when she thought she had calmed down, he chuckled and said “If you wanted to get me alone, all you had to do is ask.”
The blush was back. That asshole.