Caffeinated Love - ShirabuxReader

Chapter 3

I was panicking for all sorts of reasons. I was way too excited for the movie date, or whatever it was with Shirabu. Turns out my next day off was the next night. Which was right now, tonight! "Have you seen my black purse, mom?" I shouted as I ran around my room turning over my covers for a bag to match my outfit.

"I saw it hanging behind your door," my mom being my saviour. I grabbed it and stuffed it with all my necessities. I was gonna be late. He said he'd wait for me at the front gate at 11pm. And it was already 10.55pm. It takes at least 8 minutes for me to reach the gates from here. And I live on campus too, right above the cafe.

"Okay bye mom, bye dad! I'm heading out now," I slipped on my shoes and called out. I shut my front door behind me and started jogging to the front gate. Please let it be me, please let it be me. I prayed all day for it to be me, and not some other girl. I hope it really is me that he was supposed to meet.

He should've left his phone number, should've left some sort of communication platform. I should've given him my phone number from the start. Gosh, darn it! I ran straight with muddled thoughts. But my worries were washed away when I saw him standing there alone at the gates. 11.03pm, if anyone else was supposed to meet him, I wouldn't be seeing him there right now.

Shirabu noticed me and broke into a gentle and relieved smile. I did too, as I slowed down my jog to a slight skip in my steps. "Please tell me you aren't waiting for another person," I had to ask, embarrassed or not. He raised his hand and fixed my brazen hair. His touch was soft.

"I wasn't expecting anybody else other than you. I was barely expecting you to show up too," he nervously adjusted his fringe and glanced at me. He looked at my outfit, before saying, "I see you in your apron at work every time I see you. You look great tonight, (Y/N)."

Overwhelmed, I couldn't control my smile and covered it up with my hand. I stole a peek at him, his attire consisted of a simple white top, with a small pocket on the left side and black jeans. He wore a sleek brown loafer that totally exuded the definition of "class". "Y-you don't look like a haggard medical student for once too," I joked around, trying to brush away all the mushy awkwardness.

He laughed, which sent butterflies to my stomach. His smiling face was more than enough to brighten up my whole night. And it hasn't even started. "I erm, booked a movie at 12.30am. Shall we grab a quick bite before going?" He checked his phone, which explained why he was so flustered about it last night.

I giggled and he looked at me with a worried expression. "I mean, I hope the movie is to your taste. We talked about our favourite genres last time, so I figured this movie would be okay," he showed me his phone screen that had the movie's name. It was an absolute joy to see him plan it all out.

And an absolute relief to know that he was feeling, or felt the same way I did. I knew his class schedules, his favourite drinks, his favourite dessert. His sleep schedule, his circle of friends, his high school. I even knew what his class notes and handwriting looked like. Now I know, he knows about me too.

"Sounds like a perfect midnight date to me!" I beamed, not hiding my excitement. Which seemed to perk him up like a small puppy too. With that, we walked out of the campus gate. Midnight movie dates were hard to plan; transport was out of the equation, so one had to find a mall or cinema within walking distance.

-JW-

Thankfully for us, there was a mall nearby. It didn't take long for us to reach. It felt even shorter when we were chatting so happily. Shirabu may seem like a difficult person to get along with judging by his cold outer appearance, but he's surprisingly talkative when you get to know him.

"I didn't know that there would be this many people coming for a midnight movie," I mentioned as we walked into the theatres. With popcorn in my hands, and drinks in his. The theatre was half-filled with students from our university. "It is a hotspot. And I told you, we know when to take breaks," he said as we found our seats.

I scoffed and settled down. "I told you to take a break during the day. What're you going to do about your sleep schedule now?" I whispered to him just as the lights dimmed. He inched closer and whispered back into my ear. I could feel his breath tickle my ear, "I'd mess it all up for you."

I spin my head to look at him, my eyes crazy wide that he straight up flirted with me. "You-" I got shushed by him before I could start my sentence. "The movie's starting," his playful smile emerged and turned his attention to the big screen. I felt blood rush to my cheeks and I patted it down to cool it down. He can't just pull one out of the bag like that. It isn't good for my heart.

During the movie, my attention was pretty much on the screen. But Shirabu's every movement still distracted me. We shared a bucket of popcorn, and would very naturally graze each other's hands when we reached for it at the same time. I could feel that he was nervous too. Or I was just lying to myself to feel calmer.

At some point, the movie got so intense that my attention wasn't on him at all. And when we had finished all the popcorn, and when the movie was less thrilling, my senses all returned to him. My right hand, his left hand. Side by side. A very cliche moment where we both expect something to happen. And it did.

I initiated it, by moving my pinky to touch his hand. And very quickly, yet smoothly, he intertwined our hands together. I almost squealed but I caught myself in time by covering my whole face. I heard him chuckle softly beside me and I glared embarrassingly at him. "Focus on the movie, (Y/N)," he leaned over and whispered.

I gulped and tried my best to sit through the movie. Our hands were firmly pressed against each other. His palm and fingers were so much bigger than mine. A setter's hand, I recalled as he mentioned about playing volleyball back in high school. But to me, these hands saved me 2 months ago behind the cafe.

I couldn't remember the movie's ending as soon as we stepped out of the theatre. And he was still holding my hand. I wasn't even thinking straight anymore. "It's a little over 3am. This is the second time I've stayed up past 3am," he glanced at his watch on his left wrist, pulling my right hand together with him.

"The movie was nice," I made small talk as we walked through the semi-operated mall. Some 24hr food stalls were still open. "I bet you don't even remember the ending," he grinned to himself, fully knowing why I couldn't. I clicked my tongue, not denying his statement.

"Ah, I gotta go to the washroom. Do you?" We made a pit stop at one of the washrooms. I shook my head and he went in, my right hand suddenly feeling cold and empty. I leaned on the wall as I waited for him. Several people walked past me, they were also from the same theatre slot as us.

I spotted a group of guys hanging not far from where I was standing. They were on the outside of the mall, separated by a sliding door. I could hear their laughter and chatter from here. They were smoking and their gazes were in my direction. I looked around me in the corner of my eyes, there wasn't anyone standing close to me.

So that meant they could only be looking at me. Crap, I better look away. I shivered as I recalled what happened last time with big, scary-looking guys in the alleyway. "Shit, they're coming in," I muttered to myself as the glass doors slid open and the group stepped into the mall. I stopped leaning on the wall and started to walk away.

"Babe!" I almost jumped out from my skin, ready to hit whoever just screamed that word.

- JW.lazrendo