Daybreak [Weak Hero] Alex Go X Reader X Wolf Keum

5. Loneliness Together

The shop is big, spacious, and refreshing.
The windowpanes take up most of the wall space, dousing the entire café in golden afternoon light and complementing the cream and brown wallpaper and flooring.

The light purges the heavy thoughts from your mind. It's an ethereal sensation, and the combination of the serene atmosphere and Alex's presence help even out your breathing.

You stay close to Alex when he speaks to a waitress. There was a gentle hum of pop music over the speakers, you appreciated the way the songs blended into the sparse chatter and gentle tinkering of metal forks on ceramic plates.

You wondered how you didn't know a place like this before, perhaps it opened recently? Your fingers raise to skim the engravings on the front desk. The discoloration on some of the dark wooden chairs told you otherwise.
The divots in the polish whisper that you've been left behind, that time keeps going on, no matter how much you retract into yourself.

A small sigh slips from your lips and you divert your gaze to the floor, eyes sweeping over the pretty marble tile, catching the light through the windows and winking at you with a flourish.

Since that dreaded day, you had lived your happy afternoons in miserable loneliness in your bedroom, curtains pulled close to keep the sanctifying light off your cursed skin. You always knew the world would move on without you, but you had no idea it would hurt so much.

A gentle hand brushes your elbow and you look up.

"Come on," Alex smiles at you, "Let's grab a seat."

You're both seated in a corner booth, right by the windows. You like it because the way the sunshine hits Alex's face makes his eyes glimmer with yellow flecks. His smile doesn't seem half as blinding when the sun is right beside him.

"Haha, we got a good spot!" He laughs.
His unending excitement with life is refreshing and the radiant energy that emits from him is amazing. So why can't you get that damned streetlight out of your head?

You push it back again, but the darkness still seeps out, spilling over the table, the chair, the marbled floors.

"I really like how much sunlight we get in here." You say, ignoring the tingling in your fingers. "I hope the food is as good as the vibe."

Alex chuckles and hands you a menu from the stack propped up on the side. "Oh trust me, the food is the only real reason I keep coming back here."

He pops the menu open and you eye the way he pours over the food selection, a wide smile on his face as he hums along with the tune overhead.

He's so happy it's strange, so happy you can't understand it.
Being so carefree was something you could barely remember. It was a breath of an old memory, calling out, beckoning and begging you to come back.
But you can't and you can only watch, enchanted, as someone else bathes in that blissful peace.

"Truth be told, Ben and I always get take-out here but this is the first time I've dined in. It always seemed like somewhere people studied, or took someone to impress them."

He chuckles, scratching the side of his head.

"So I never had a good reason to eat in, until now." He peeks at you shyly and your stomach flips at the expression he's making, soft, endearing, and something else.

"Well, unless you brought study guides with you," You raise an arm and prop your cheek on your palms, eyes meeting his with a spark, "I'm impressed."

He ignites like a firework, all smiles, sparks and red coloring his cheekbones, and it's amazing to watch, to feel, to know he's so close you could almost touch him.
Your fingers rebel, flexing out, but your arm stays anchored to the table.