mango boba | unOrdinary

03

strange encounters & spilled tea

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three
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IT WAS AT times like this that John felt the universe had something against him.

Because, of course. Of course this would happen to him. And of course, Seraphina would look so... y'know, and John would look like a feral raccoon that just crawled its sorry way out of the Woaba Boba dumpster.

John forced himself to make eye contact, cursed every God out there that he could think of, then steadied himself by gripping the counter.

"Good morning," he forced out, lips twitching into a smile that he hoped didn't look as crazed as it felt. "Welcome to Woaba Boba. What can I get for you today?"

Seraphina tilted her head to the side, amusement glinting in her eyes. "It's two in the afternoon."

John blinked. That was not even remotely close to what he thought she was going to say.

"What?"

"You said 'good morning.' It's not morning."

"Oh," John said blankly, still not quite understanding what was happening.

"Oh."

John chewed on the inside of his cheek. "So, are you gonna order, or—"

"You kind of look like Doc right now."

"Pardon?"

Seraphina bit the inside of her lip as if trying not to laugh. She was getting a kick out of this. "Y'know," she gestured aimlessly, "cranky, eyebags, slightly threatening aura..."

"I'm not cranky," John said defensively.

"You sure? You're grabbing that counter pretty hard. I think your hands are turning red."

John moved his hands off the counter and folded his arms across his chest. Seraphina shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"You haven't changed at all," she said softly. If John didn't know any better, he would've thought she meant it in a good way.

He didn't know how to respond to that, so he said blandly, "You've changed... a lot." It was a half-truth. Honestly, Seraphina looked the same to him besides the fact that she'd grown her hair out and lost the extensions. And he supposed she looked happier now, too. That was definitely a change. A good one. He was glad.

So maybe it wasn't a half-truth. More of a three-quarters truth.

John watched as her sleeve slipped off her shoulder, then mentally kicked himself for staring.

Not three-quarters, he decided eventually. Just half. He allowed himself a small smile. Seems like some things never change.

John didn't realize they'd been standing in silence until the bell on the door rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

"So... are you gonna order or not?"

Seraphina sighed, shifting her weight. The movement looked a little nervous.

"...Look," she began eventually. She took a breath. "I'm gonna be in town for a while. Remember when I accidentally knocked on your door last night?"

John lifted a brow. "What does that have to do with your drink?" Seraphina gave him an unimpressed look. He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Yes. I remember."

"Wonderful. Well, I actually meant to knock on the door across the hall." Seraphina shifted her weight again, and this time it looked more nervous than before. "Evie moved in there recently. She's looking for a job around this area, and I'm helping her. Well. Not just me." Seraphina vaguely gestured to the Royals behind her, and John's stomach dropped as he shifted his gaze toward their booth.