adoration.

a little bit.

"i think i'm a little bit, a little bit; a little bit in love with you.."

edward nashton..no fucking way, your head perked up, staring at the man in front of you, placing your hands on the counter. it's finally him.

"uh are you alright?"
he nervously asked, adjusting his clear frames and pushing his coffee to the side. you stood there analyzing every little detail of his face, he looked the same, yet different; puberty' did wonders for nygma.

"you wouldn't happen to...lived at the old wayne manor would you?"
you tried your best to not sound insensitive, you knew there was a lot of tension surrounding this topic, but you just needed to know if this was the man that occupied your mind every second of the day, you need the confirmation that this was your friend. but even if he was; who's to say he remembers you?

"uh..yeah i did? very specific question."
he mumbles, scratching his neck in response. shit. shit, fuck, fuck. he didn't remember you, and not only did you come off as a creep, you just made this interaction one hundred times more awkward. you clench your hands slightly, moving them off the counter and onto your waist. you knew it was too good to be true, you avert your eyes, still feeling his on you. should you say something? nothing can really save the situation now. you open your mouth to apologize, he cuts you off.

"w-wait a minute."
you quickly look back at him, face flushed from embarrassment; what was he's gonna say? maybe he wanted some food? a refill? no, he definitely remembered you, right?

"d-do you guys have any sweets available? i'm uh a little hungry hahaa.."
he said sheepishly, placing both hands on his lap. face red. you felt your body tense up, shell shocked; no way, he didn't know you, you felt like an idiot, you felt small and nieve. of course he didn't know you, it's been over five years.

"ah y-yes sir. we have a large range of desserts, would you like me to get you a menu or-"

he says your name. your name.

"i know who you are. you were the girl who use to visit me everyday, right? as if i could forget, you haven't changed a bit."
your face flushed, heart beating like crazy, he remembered you.

"uh yeah, we use to talk through the bars"
he laughs slightly, brushing his hands through his hair. you've never seen him like this, so mature; you wish you could've seen him grow up and sprout into the man that he is today. he was the same, but different; same looks, same awkward personality, but something was off with him, you just couldn't put your finger on it.

"you make me sound like i was a prisoner"
he rolls his eyes at you resting his head on his hand, looking up at you for a quick second before looking away again; the way he looked at you almost made you melt, staring at you like you're the only person in the world that mattered; he made you feel like you were a teenager again.

"well it looked like one"
he smiles, jerking his head to the side; you hope that didn't make him feel uncomfortable or anything, you shift your eyes around, trying to think of anything else to talk about, eventually they landed on the almost empty coffee cup.

"ah are you done with your drink?"
you nervously tap on the counter.

"oh uh yeah, sorry for not saying something about it earlier"
he smiled slightly; ah his smile, the smile that's taken up space in your mind for years, and finally you can see it in person. the atmosphere was so awkward yet, calming, you felt as if you could let your guard down with him around.

you grab the plate off the counter, and make your way towards the kitchen, mouthing a soft 'i'll be back' before you made your leave. you could feel your heart pounding in your chest, you never thought you were gonna meet this man again and here he was; just as awkward as ever. the way he looks at you made your heart skip a beat.

"uh are you ok?"
quickly snapping out of your daydream, being greeted by a larger man. the chef; he was an above average male, standing at about five to six inches above you, a little stubble out lined his chin, while his white bleached medium-ish dreads tried escaping from the hair net. cam, slabbed on his name tag; you've haven't been formally introduced to him yet, just a quick 'this is the chef', but, to be fair you literally just started. he was quite pretty, but nothing could beat edwards boyish looks, ah edward.
i give him a quick nod and place the cup in the sink, rinsing it out and washing it.

"good. a lot of chatter coming from outside, it's usually dead at this hour"

"i just reunited with an old friend"
you smile widely; you don't remember the last time you felt like this, so lively, so full. you dry the cup and place it on the shelf. watching cam walk over to you.

"we have to close up in a minute, you know how to fill out the time sheets right?"
he asked nonchalantly.

"oh yeah, i've filled it out already don't worry"
you grab a spray bottle filled with chemicals from the one of the bottom cabinet's and started making your way out of the kitchen, grabbing a cloth before leaving.

"do you have some way of getting home?"
you stood still in the middle of the door way, spinning back on your heels, facing up at cam who held his car keys in one hand, the other holding a firm grip on a sweater.

"ah no i was just gonna walk"
you bluntly stated. did that come off as rude?

"do you need a lift?"
he threw the sweater over his shoulder, taking a couple steps towards you. from what you could sense, cam wasn't a weirdo, and he was no where near a creep, at least that what your brief interactions gave off, however you don't know how you felt about getting in the car with basically a stranger.

"oh are you sure? i don't wanna be a burden or anything, i don't even live that far, i-"

ed calls out your name.

"if you feel unsafe walking i'll be more than happy to walk you home"
you glance back at him, a closed mouth grin laced his face, his hands formally clasped together on the counter.

"oh uh"

—
authors note:
(*'ω'*) are you happy to see me? hihihii im back! ik i haven't updated in a hot minute, but i promise this month is the month! ♪(๑ᴖ◡ᴖ๑)♪ !!this chapter be has not been proof read  so mind any mistakes !!