❝all you have to do now, is to listen to your heart.❞
SPENCER REID NEVER THOUGHT HE WOULD FALL IN LOVE AGAIN. But, that notion changed quickly when he met Magnolia Huang. He believed in second chances. He hoped the universe had sent him some good lu...
SAFE HAVEN i. SPILT COFFEE AND STAINED SHIRTS ❝WHAT HAS YOU SMILING, PRETTY BOY?❞
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
SHE WAS THE PERSONIFICATION OF SUNSHINE ITSELF ━━ that much, everyone could tell. Magnolia Huang was never seen without a smile and damn, it was a contagious smile. Her life wasn't perfect by any means, but she always found a way to make each moment seem like perfection. Some believed that Magnolia Huang wasn't as golden as she appeared, but she paid them no mind. She had heard it all before when people found the need to recall every tragedy that had occurred to her or mention the unfortunate state of the world. But, Magnolia was used to their words and continued to smile anyway.
Magnolia walked down the same busy street that she always did at ten o'clock in the morning. She was on her way to work ━━ a full-time job as a cartoonist for a publishing company. Her job was one of the best things about her life. When she was younger, Magnolia loved to draw and paint. Her parents, while they were proud of their daughter's artwork, wanted her to have a more stable career. But, Magnolia chose to follow her dreams. She was discovered by the publishing company about two years ago when they found her cartoons online. Since then, Magnolia's been drawing for writers and creating originals of her own. It didn't make her rich beyond her wildest dreams, but she was comfortable.
In one hand, Magnolia held a cup of coffee from a locally owned café and the other held her sketchbook. Her purse hung over her shoulder, feeling heavier than it usually did. But, she paid it no attention as she kept walking.
However, her attention was quickly grabbed by a man that played a folksy tune on his guitar. She stopped in her tracks, spending several moments watching the man. He looked up at her, flashing his pearly whites before sending a wink in her direction. Magnolia felt her cheeks catch on fire as she averted her gaze to the concrete floor. She laughed, pulling out a five-dollar-bill from her purse before dropping it into the guitar case.
Magnolia turned to leave, but didn't get far when she bumped into somebody hard. She heard the person hiss in pain, causing Magnolia's eyes to widen. Her piping hot coffee had been spilled across the man's white shirt, staining it a dark brown. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Magnolia explained, rushing forward to take a closer look at the damage she had caused. Her sketchbook, coffee cup, and his files were scattered all over the ground, but she had her eyes on him. Her eyes looked up, meeting his wide light brown ones. "Are you okay?"
"I think so," he replied, looking down his shirt to see if the coffee had left any burns. But, fortunately for him, the coffee had cooled down just enough to not leave any lasting burns. He looked over Magnolia's concerned expression, giving her a small smile. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay but I owe you a brand new shirt," Magnolia glanced down, wincing at the stain that seemed much larger than before. Her eyes widened as she slapped a hand across her mouth. "How much was it?" She asked immediately, shaking her head. "Are you hurt? I know hot coffees can give a person up to third degree burns and I just spilled the whole thing on you and━━"
He smiled, shaking his head. Shy vibes were what Magnolia felt from him, watching as he prepared himself for what he was going to say next. "Hey, don't worry about it, okay? Just take a deep breath, it's fine."
Magnolia did as she was told, taking in a deep breath. "I'm sorry," Magnolia breezed out, smiling at the man. "I didn't catch your name?"
"Spencer," he replied, shaking her hand.
"I'm Magnolia," she replied, turning her attention back to the ground where loose papers of her sketchbook and papers from his file had scattered all over the ground. The two quickly reached down to pick up the pieces of paper. She shoved them into the sketchbook before looking back at the man. "I'm sorry again, Spencer. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"
He was about to respond when his phone began to ring. He looked down, pulling it out of his pocket. She didn't miss the brief frown that marred his features as he stared at who was calling. "Don't worry about it," Spencer replied, giving her a smile as he tucked his phone away. He cleared his throat, placing his papers into his folder. "I have to go, but it was nice meeting you."
Spencer rushed off, knowing he was already late for work. But, luckily, he was able to catch a taxi that would take him to the BAU headquarters. Within twenty minutes, he was taking a seat at the round table where the team had been waiting for him. Most of them glanced over his unruly appearance, but made no note of it as they continued to look over their debriefing papers. Garcia started the presentation and Spencer went to open the case file he had received the night before, but frowned when he noticed the sketches of superheroes instead.
"What you got there, pretty boy?" his co-worker and friend, Derek Morgan, asked as he peeked over to see the drawings in Spencer's folder. For a moment, his eyes flickered to the stains on his shirt and a small chuckle left his lips. "Wanna tell me what happened?"
Spencer couldn't help the small smile that appeared. "Well, it all started with a girl that spilled her coffee all over my shirt."
♡
I'VE HAD THIS CHAPTER WRITTEN FOR A LONG TIME, but I had drafted the book before I ever got the chance to publish it. But, here is the first chapter to Safe Haven! It's a little short (not even 1000 words), but I think it works because this book is a collection of one-shots. They'll vary in length, some may only be 500 words-ish while others may push 5000. For now, I am not too sure how this book will go but the first act is all going to be about Magnolia and Spencer falling in love!
Also, there is a possibility of characters being OOC because what I'm doing is writing these characters through lenses (if that makes sense). For example, we're seeing this chapter through Magnolia's eyes and she has no idea who Spencer is or what he's been through. So, in her flustered state, she's probably thinking 'woah, this boy is so cute' and just thinks he's cool. Reality may be a bit distorted in this fic, but it also serves a purpose.
But, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! More will be out soon!
