Wenclair One-Shots

Coffee Stained Smile (Part 1/2)

Summary:

A beat passes. Enid forces herself to keep strong, until a bottom lip is jutted out in a pout, looking up through her long eyelashes like a wounded child. And then her chest aches with the barely-concealed pounding of her heart against it.

Or

A coffee shop AU :)

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Winter was just around the corner. It was Enid's first semester at Nevermore University, as well as her first time in the biggest (and only) coffee shop in the sleepy town of Jericho. She could see the cheerful and brilliant lighting of the shop as she traipsed across the street with her bones near rattling in the early season chill, passing by people with wide smiles painted on their faces and that spark in your eye you only ever get when you're out of the hustle and bustle of an overpopulated, light polluted city.

There were tables littered outside the shop each with a brown vintage style umbrella quirked open, a heat lamp warming the few stragglers that sat with their snacks and coffees to enjoy the clear afternoon.

This particular coffee shop isn't a cafe at all, aside the sales attribute, instead it's a literal coffee shop. One of those that sell the finest coffee from all over the world, some notably made in a neighbouring region by a group called the Addams Family Roasters, who grow their own coffee beans right in their yard.
It also has a book corner in the left hand side of the shop where you can't purchase the books, but you can sit and pour over them for as long as you like. Some have been noted to be original copies that didn't sit behind glass cases, but were able to be actually held and felt like their author's intent had been. They make the best roasts, and is an ideal spot for students and employees alike to wind down. (All of this according to TripAdvisor, where Enid frequented during her gap year).

As she made her way through the transparent glass door that chimed her arrival, a blanket of warm air carrying the rich aroma of coffee hit her, and she wanted to collapse in a jellied heap to the floor. She'd spent the better half of the week settling into her dorm room, and drilling the syllabus into her skull. She was a first generation university student, and was sure as hell going to make good on her scholarship.

The flow of conversation was steady from the nearly maximum capacity of customers, who offered her pleasantries and smiles she offered back while trying to stifle the surprise at the friendliness.

She made my way to the coffee bar at the end of the shop made of reclaimed wood, one she was steady enough in her confusion. A barista stood before her, with long slick backed hair and a charming smile that thankfully didn't seem suggestive in the slightest.

"Welcome to the Raven House. What can I get ya today?"

Enid scans the menu with a hum. Her eyes settle wide on the delicacy. "A caramel mocha, please. Large." She offers at his shake of a small and large display cup.

He nods, punching the order into the register. Looks up with kind eyes. "Anything else for you today?"

She shakes her head, fishing around her purse for the bill and an extra for the tip jar that he beams at in thanks. He's fast in his craft— the coffee taking naught before it was delivered with a small bird's feather reflecting back up at her.

Blue eyes casted around the room in search for an open spot, and gleefully took off for the comfy looking burgundy lounge chair that she all but wanted to curl up and nap in. The aged wooden floor creaked beneath heavy footfalls on her journey to the spot, her gaze flickering down to her purse that she struggled to fit her wallet back into.

And then— she's bathed in the hot coffee. And she had never been so thankful for the thick wool she used to make it, when the steam is billowing up at her from its spill against the ground and in her purses contents. The culprit murmurs out something in Spanish— an apology or swear, Enid couldn't hazard—, swooping down to upright the half empty cup. Enid clicks her teeth, the bitterness of coffee thick in the air a heady aroma, a frown twitching at her lips when she sucks them into her mouth.