Caffeinated Love - ShirabuxReader

Chapter 5 (Shirabu's POV)

Flashback (Shirabu's POV)

Man, I knew university orientation parties were wild. But I never expected it to carry over to the second day, AND night. We already had a pretty dang tiring afternoon. I can't believe the games would continue past midnight. And it's already 1am in the morning!

"Let's go freshmen!" Our camp leader was still as hyped, "we'll now be showing you our one and only student dormitory cafe!" A cafe? Now that sounds peaceful. They did mention it was the last activity. The activity was just to order a nice cup of drink and mingle with campmates. I am way past my usual bedtime, a coffee would do me wonders.

When we arrived at the cafe, it was utter chaos. The room was almost filled to the brim. I spotted the cafe counter after squeezing my way through the crowd. Everyone said that the cafe was run by a family business. That they were famous for their lattes, fruit blends and handmade desserts.

And all I got from the past two days were surprises after surprises. The family I saw behind the counter was just an adult man with a girl probably my age. I spotted an adult lady in the back kitchen. So father, mother and daughter, huh. How were they going to handle this amount of people?

Miraculously, they were able to do everything smoothly. Yeah, they were busy to the max. But there were no hiccups or complications. The girl especially, her hands were nimble, she brewed coffee after coffee. Her latte art was amazing every time. I was astonished, not just by her skills but also by her composure.

I could never work under this pressure. The stress from being a volleyball setter couldn't compare with what she was under. The way her voice called out the names of those who ordered, it sparkled and caught the attention of everyone in the room. She communicated with her father extremely well, with minimal interaction. It was amazing seeing her work.

"That's (Y/N). She makes THE BEST macchiatos I've ever had. And she gives a killer smile every time she serves. You don't see her smiling now because of the massive crowd, but she does regularly," my senior caught me staring too much and came over to talk about her. I gave an abashed chuckle and finally made my way over to order.

Did I wait for the time when it was her turn to take orders? Yes, I did. "What could I get you?" She asked promptly as I stepped up, her eyes never looking up from the screen. "A caramel macchiato," I ordered and watched as she tapped the screen of the register. Her fingers were elegant and looked so soft.

I made payment and stepped aside while others ordered. She didn't spare a look at me, nor did she with the others. Which made my heart feel a little better. At least nobody is getting special treatment from her. Wait, what? Was I expecting special treatment from her? What was I thinking? It must be the lack of sleep. It's god damn 2am in the morning.

"Caramel macchiato for Shirabu-kun!" She called out brilliantly over the crowd. I stepped forward and claimed my drink. "Thank you, enjoy!" I looked up just in time to see the brightest smile I've seen anyone give. My heart skipped a beat, and I knew this feeling before it sunk in. I didn't even get to thank her in time before she turned away. I probably looked like a statue amidst the bustling crowd.

I made my way back to my orientation group where my senior gasped at me. "You're so lucky! She gave you that killer smile I was talking about! Look at you! You're all red!" She teased and everyone laughed along. I, myself, couldn't care less about what they were talking about. I sat there in a daze for the next 2hrs, sipping on the sweetest macchiato ever.

"We're going to head back first. See you later Shirabu," my friends all headed back to their dorms at around 4am in the morning. The macchiato I had was already gushing through my system. I felt so awake. There were almost no big groups in the cafe now. Only pairs and trios. Why was I even still here?

Right. I'm gonna go and get (Y/N)'s number. Okay, I'm sure it's normal. I can do this. I hype myself up, body and brain running on caffeine. Which was probably not the brightest idea. But who cares. It was university and orientation. I just can't forget her smile, with her apron loosely on her shoulders. Her hair, though slightly sweat-smitten, still so perfectly framed her face.

I walked to the counter and spotted her head out the back door. "Oh I can just catch her there," I didn't give it much thought that I would look like a massive perv, but I ran out and behind anyway. It turned out I wasn't the only perv waiting for her behind. (Y/N) was trapped among three guys. They looked like those guys our camp had training with.

Large muscles and all bigger builds than me. I gotta find a way to get her away from those guys. One of the guys started twirling a strand of her hair in his hands. They were terrifyingly close to her and she was almost trembling in fear. I was mad, pissed, that they were planning to attack her.

I didn't even think of a full plan, I couldn't have the time. I have to stop them now. "This is why I hate campus dorm parties," the words came out of my mouth before my plan had any structure. This was so unlike me, and I blamed it on the caffeine. My body and brain are going on autopilot.

And as expected, the three guys were not pleased by my appearance. Fair, because neither was I with them interfering with me trying to get (Y/N)'s number. "I was wondering why she wasn't answering my call, so I came out to check. Could you all please step back? That's my girlfriend you're trying to assault," I rage talked. It was the most logical way to get out of this situation.

Taking the opportunity that those drunkards were stunned, I swooped in and grabbed a hold of (Y/N)'s wrist. Which was way smaller than I anticipated. The whole situation went downhill after that. They started throwing punches at me. I couldn't get (Y/N) hit, so I pulled her behind me.

Thankfully for my quick reflexes, I developed during volleyball training, I amazingly avoided the first punch thrown at me. But of course, I sucked and got hit by the next punches which were thrown by the other guys. I could see (Y/N) trying to help while I was getting beaten up. But I couldn't even handle my own.

Thankfully her father came to the rescue and resolved everything in a few minutes flat. He then helped me back into the cafe, where (Y/N) took out the first aid kit to treat my bruises. "Thank you for helping me back there," (Y/N) immediately thanked me as soon as she started on the treatment.

My heart was already pumping from the fight just now, so how was I supposed to handle being NEXT to her right now? I gotta close my eyes. I need to calm down. Just focus on the pain from the cut on the corner of my lips. Yes, just control myself. "I'm done," (Y/N) finished up and I fluttered my eyes open.

"It's nothing much. I was just passing by when it happened. I am so, so, so tired right now. I am in desperate need of sleep, so goodbye," ohhhhh my godddddd, opening my eyes was a mistake. I just saw the most beautiful face up close. I PANICKED and left. I'll never recover from this embarrassing moment.

She called out to me to ask for my major and name. I tried to fix my mistake and properly introduced myself before I left. The days after that? I spent it looking for her in the afternoon but learnt that she recently switched to the night shift. And I would head down after school to study in the cafe just to see her. I would stay for as long as my body could handle, which was a maximum of 2.30am according to her.

And the rest was history.

- JW.lazrendo