Another Dumb Romance Fic || ColeyDoesThings (Barista/Employee)

Chapter Seven: Impromptu Journalism

"You...want to befriend Nikki?"

Bella nodded, clutching her notepad close to her chest. Her heart was fluttering a little as the lab coat-wearing technician eyed her.

"What makes you think I can help with that?"

"Well," the barista began slowly, "you know her personally, at least better than I do, and... You're just on better terms with her than I am, okay? I thought you might be able to help me."

"Hmm." The scientist crossed her arms and put one hand on her chin, thinking. Bella could almost literally see the gears turning in her head. "I'm not a people person, ya know."

"I know, I know, but please? You must have some idea where I can start? I'm trying my best here, Kelsi, I really am."

Kelsi sighed, putting one hand in her coat pocket and fixing her goggles with the other. "Do ya want some gadgets to get her to like you? Cuz I can do that."

The barista grumbled a little. "No, that's not the right solution to this."

"Welp, I got nothin'. I should really be getting back to work, sooooo..." Kelsi made a shooing motion with her hands. "Scoot. Can't have any more lawsuits from stray explosions. Pesky things, lawyers. You know how it is."

For a moment, Bella forgot her frustration and remembered why she liked being around Kelsi -- despite the technician being awkward and not very people-oriented like she was, she was still funny and entertaining to talk to. The problem was getting her to talk to someone in the first place. If you could coax Kelsi out of her lab, you were revered as a god, no exceptions.

It was one of the minor reasons that people were impressed by Gigi.

"Kelsi, I'm really sorry if I'm bothering you, I'm just...trying to finally get along with Nikki, you know?"

"Nope," Kelsi responded, already immersed in whatever mess of scrap was lying on her work table. Bella noticed the electric sparks and took a small step back, just in case.

"Do you know any of her interests? Like, maybe some ships she likes, or any particular fandoms that she likes to talk about? Anything?"

"I dunno, she said something about Zutara once," the lab director responded dismissively.

Once. It wasn't much, but it was something. Nikki never changed up her orders (except for the recent fluff incident), and she always talked about how she hated shipping and romance. Bella could never understand that about her. But hearing that Nikki mentioned a ship once gave the barista hope.

"Did she...elaborate...on that at all?" Bella pressed. Kelsi shrugged, clearly more invested in her current project.

"Eh, not really. She didn't sound angry about it or anything."

Perfect.

"Thank you, Kelsi, that's exactly what I was looking for. You're very helpful."

The technician's cheeks turned an adorable shade of rose pink, and she looked up at Bella incredulously. "Helpful? Thank you, that's very sweet, now SHOO. I'm working with dangerous materials here, very potent."

"Of course," the barista responded with a smile. She began backing out through the doorway, shutting the door as she left to be polite. "Have a good day, Kelsi! Don't forget to drink water!"

"Yes, yes. Hydration. Good day, Bella."

Bella left the room and shut the door, sighing a little. She grabbed her notepad and, on the back page, wrote down the word Zutara so she wouldn't forget.