Strawberries & Cigarettes

Chapter 5

March 24, 2015

"Lou! Z! Glad to finally see you around here for lunchtime," Harry chuckles, wiping the heat off of his forehead with a damp towel.

Zayn playfully rolls his eyes. "Sorry, mate, we were doing these already packed lunches with Louis but fuck, we can't cook for shit — especially this idiot."

He looks over his shoulder to motion at Louis, but he knits his eyebrows together when he finds him already sitting at a window table.

His hazel eyes meet Aurora's unfocused ones again, smile still on his lips.

"Butterfly, our usual order is three creamed croissants and two black teas with milk, but today we're feeling a bit on the edge, iced coffee would be nice to replace the tea!"

Aurora tears her gaze away from Louis and puts the order in the cashier, but stops herself when Niall speaks up behind her.

"No need to charge them, Aurora! It's on the house, lads, remember!"

Her freckled cheeks burn up, mumbling to Zayn, "Okay, I'll bring you your order when it's ready."

He flashes her a smile once more, and says, "Thank you, Aurora."

She watches Zayn walk away and seat in front of the smoker, his blue eyes insisting to stare down at his phone.

But then Louis sets his phone faced down and begins a conversation with him, features acting steady and cold like she remembers them to be.

A joke emerges between them, she can tell from the way Louis suppresses a laugh and Zayn dismisses it in a joking manner.

They look like good friends.

Almost like a mirror of Spencer and herself.

She wonders what her best friend could be doing, where he is, or how he's doing right now.

His job searching hasn't been much promising, but she believes in him that he'll get a decent job for himself.

"Here, butterfly."

I guess that's my new nickname.

Aurora doesn't know who spoke to her with the immense ringing in her ears, but she takes the tray of food from their hands anyway.

Her eyes direct her attention on the tray in her tight grip, trying her best to maintain her hands sturdy to not do a slip-up.

She needs the job and she needs to keep calm.

Louis shouldn't make her limbs shake and her heartbeat accelerate this much.

He shouldn't intimidate her this much.

Or be beautiful but daunting.

Their table comes into her view, and she nearly smiles at the impression of finally getting there.

Of not looking like a joke.

But some type of man-purse blocks her footing, her feet trip over it, and the plates and drinks fly from her hands.

Her heart sinks to the ground, burying itself alive and wishing to not confront the following consequences.

The iced coffee splashes on Louis the most, ice everywhere, croissants on the floor, and the cold coffee drips down the table, on his shirt too.

"What the fuck?"

His voice shouts out, and he stands up to snap his head towards Aurora.

She can feel the daggers piercing her chest from his glare, hands fisted and expression as cold as the ice melting.