The Things I Can't Take Back [Michael Afton x F! Reader]

Chapter 23 ~ Eventually

A/N: the second to last chapter 😨😨 also this chapter is giving very much Old Friend by Mitski (but I already used that for the title of a different chapter ☹️)

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     The Purple Rain Café was a tiny little coffee shop near the busier part of town. It doubled as a coffee shop and also a tiny library; with the back right corner having large bookshelves that lined the walls, and a few chairs and couches to sit on. They didn't sell many fancy or extravagant drinks like at a Starbucks, but they still had a pretty decent selection.

     The place was usually pretty busy during the weekdays; frequented by college students while they studied for exams, and also the working class on their lunch breaks. However, early on a Sunday morning, it was relatively quiet.

     The bell above the door jingled as you walked inside, and one of the baristas greeted you with a kind smile and a nod. You smiled back, but shook your head to let her know that you weren't interested in ordering anything at the moment.

     Your teeth gnawed on the inside of your lip nervously, so hard that you had started to faintly taste blood, as your eyes scanned the almost empty café in search of the man you agreed to meet. You found him sitting at a small, two-seat table near one of the windows. He had a small cup of coffee sitting in front of him, and from the dark looking liquid inside, you assumed it was just a regular black coffee. He was wearing the same uniform that he had been wearing the other day, and you remembered how he mentioned that he needed to go to work later on in the day. You still felt curious about where exactly he was working, since his previous answer had been rather vague.

     His body was facing towards you, yet his eyes were gazing intently out of the window beside him. Anyone who saw him could clearly tell that this man had a lot on his mind, judging by the tense expression on his face; eyebrows knitted together and lips pulled down in a soft frown.

It took him a moment to process the jingling sound of the bell from above the door, before his gaze slowly shifted away from the scenery outside of the window, and over to where you stood by the entrance. His expression immediately switched to one of pleasant surprise, before he offered a tiny, awkward grin, as he waved you over to join him.

All you could do was offer another awkward, tight-lipped grin in return, before hesitantly making your way over to his table. The sound of your heels clicking against the tiled floor faintly echoed around the quiet café, and the silence was almost deafening.

"Good morning," Michael's soft-spoken voice greeted you, much different from the loud and outgoing boy that you used to know, "you... actually showed up."

"Were you not expecting me to?" You hummed in reply, carefully slipping into the seat across from him. You kept your feet tucked underneath the chair, not wanting to risk the chance of your legs accidentally brushing against his own underneath the tiny table. Did he really have to pick the most inconvenient spot in the entire building?

     "Honestly, no," Michael shook his head in reply, lifting his cup of coffee up to his lips as he took a quick sip, "I was honestly expecting you to just... ghost me, I guess."

     "Well, if I'm being honest, I considered it," you shrugged in reply, pretending not to notice the way the man flinched slightly at your bluntness, "but... I also couldn't help feeling a bit curious."