Of Reminiscing and Roses {Contestshipping}

Three

10.58 a.m., her watch read. Her hands shook slightly as she stared up at the huge, brightly painted wooden sign of the cafe. It was a quaint little place, really- a simple pleasure in the bustling city of Jubilife. It was certainly a nice place to meet old friends and catch up, after all, it gave off a cozy, peaceful ambience. Whether it was a good place for ex-lovers to talk, however, May was not so sure.

She was starting to regret her decision to meet Drew, but it was too late to back out now. She thought wistfully of Paul, Brendan and Dawn- probably having a blast at an amusement park. She had given the excuse that she had a massive headache to prevent them from asking too many questions.

The bell tinkled, signaling her entrance as the waitresses chorused a cheery welcome. There weren't many people at the little cafe because it was off-peak hour- so she had the pleasure of choosing a seat of her preference. She selected a window seat, sunlight filtering in through the blinds and casting ripples of light across the baby blue walls.

She took a seat at the small table, pulling up the blinds a little. She rested her elbow on the table. Propping her chin up with her hand, she gazed out of the window, mind wandering off to faraway places.

"Ever the dreamer, huh?" Drew pulled out the chair opposite hers before sitting down.

May rolled her eyes at him, before noticing that there was a red rose resting on the table, where it hadn't been before.

"Th-thank...you." She stammered, for she had no words to how she felt. Why give her a red rose, when he was no longer in love with her? He had always given her roses when and even before they were dating, and this sent her mind rocketing back to the past once again.

Waving to a copper-haired waitresses, he ordered a Caramel Macchiato and a cup of black coffee. She bobbed her dark-haired head before disappearing back in other kitchen. Not long after, the smell of caffeine wafted through the air, signaling the waitress' reappearance with two steaming cups of coffee.

So he still remembers, May thought.

Back in LaRousse, they had often come to a cafe not unlike this one.

"How do you stand straight black coffee, Drew?" She made a face as he sipped his coffee. "Just order a Caramel Macchiato. It's sweet. Like me!" She added with a light giggle.

"No thanks, May. I'll stick with my black coffee." He chuckled, though he did reach over the table and caress her cheek fondly, brushing a wayward strand of her behind her ear.

She frowned. She had to get a hold of her mind running wild so as to prevent these random flashbacks. There wasn't anything good that was going to come out of them.

"I still don't know how you stand black coffee. No sugar, no nothing. Ugh." May eyed the steaming cup of black coffee with thinly veiled disgust. Drew only raised an eyebrow. "You still remember that?"

She took a tepid sip of her drink, letting the warm coffee run down her throat and silently hoping that she could get out of answering that particular question. Cue the awkward silence that followed. May wrung her sweaty hands under the table nervously as she felt beads of perspiration prick her neck.

"I asked you a question, you know. Or is your memory as short as a goldfish? Would you like me to repeat the question?" He asked with mock politeness, flicking his bangs.

May huffed, blowing a raspberry. Even after all that time, he still knew exactly how to push her buttons. "Fine," she admitted. "I remember."

He hummed in response. "I do, too."

He slipped a tiny piece of paper across the table. A look of befuddlement crossed May's face.

"Wha-"

"My phone number." He cut in.

She stared at him blankly.

"You know, a series of numbers that you use to call a pers-" he started.

"I know perfectly well what a phone number is, Drew!" She cut in hotly. To her annoyance, an infuriatingly charming smirk slid across Drew's face.

May, thinking that it was only polite to return the favour, did exactly the same thing.

Though, she didn't exactly know why she decided to do it.

They made small talk until she brought up the topic once again: "Where's your girlfriend this time, huh Drew?"

"I told her to go run off somewhere, told her I had some errands to run." Drew shrugged flippantly. "She was okay with that, actually. Not like others."

"Others?" May echoed.

"I've had quite a few girlfriends, May. You surprised? Someone as devilishly handsome as me can't stay single for long." He flashed a smirk. May sighed. His ego was as big as ever.

"Looks like someone's not paying attention to his girlfriend, huh?" She retaliated in response, tweaking the subject just a little.

"What about you, huh? Where's your boyfriend, May?" He rebutted.

She paled. "Amusement park." She said, with a voice that was barely a whisper.

"So why are you here?" He pointed a finger at her.

"I- I just- I just came, okay!" She blurted out. Pushing back her chair that it slammed the wall behind, she pulled a ten dollar note from her wallet and threw it on the wooden table.

"I'm going now! Bye!" She huffed, her tone a ringing finality as she stalked out of the cafe, bell tinkling, serenading her as she went.