From Mine to Ours

4: I got you.

Noah POV

I've been avoiding the café for about a week now for no particularly sensible reason. After that last conversation with Sebastian and Asher, I've been feeling this subtle tug on my heart at the mere thought of them. It reminded me too much of the feeling I had during my last relationship with the ones who shall not be named, but this feeling is somehow even stronger than I've ever felt.

And I don't know how to handle it.

So, my next solution is to simply put off visiting the café for as long as I can manage, which clearly isn't longer than a week, seeing as how I'm begrudgingly on my way there before they close. I love their teas and functioning without them for a whole seven days is seriously starting to give me some withdrawal symptoms which are mildly concerning. There's that, and I also really miss Jasmine, she's my friend and I can't just force myself to not see her.

The chiming sound that I'm very familiar with brings me back to reality and I quickly tug my coat off. A sigh escapes my lips as I force myself to look up and see who's behind the counter. A mixed feeling of relief and confusion hits me when I see Ruby behind the counter.

"Oh hey, long time no see, Noah," she places her phone down, adjusting her apron as she stands up from the chair she always places behind the counter during her shifts.

"I wonder why,"

She laughs at my words, even though I wasn't really making a joke about it. Her bright blue hair indicates she must've just gotten them done as she had red hair last time I saw her, which was a few weeks ago.

"How are you?" She asks me, slowly starting my tea. It still surprises how well she remembers my drink even though our paths irregularly cross.

"I'm doing good, how are you?"

"Same; that Asher guy is really taking a huge load off my shoulders when we share the same shifts," she sighs slightly at the end of her sentence, a faraway look in her eyes as she turns back around while the water boils.

"What do you mean?" I eye her, already feeling a suspicious feeling bloom within me.

"Well, I've just been showing him the ropes and what better way to practice than by doing it,"

"Has he been doing all your work?" I cross my arms. Despite my current actions, I would actually call Ruby one of my friends, as are all of the employees here. But sometimes she really makes me question her work ethic.

"Well, when you put it like that..." I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose at her aloof expression as she finishes up my tea.

"Is he here?" I find myself asking.

"Yeah, he's out back trying to fix the lock I accidentally broke this morning,"

"Lock?"

"Yeah, the lock on my locker,"

"Can't you buy a new one?" I just about manage to stop myself from rolling my eyes at the shorter woman in front of me. Her eyes scan the room before plopping back down onto her chair.

"Yeah, but I really liked that one and he was asking me a lot of questions. I needed a break." she waves me off, indicating the end of our conversation. I make a mental note to talk to her about this later as I know that sometimes she needs some words of encouragement in order for her to see what some of her actions do to others.

I shake my head at her, already rounding the counter to find a certain someone being taken advantage of. I push open the wooden swinging door, cringing at the slow creaking sound coming from the rusting hinges.

"Asher?" I find myself in an empty room that's oddly becoming rather chilly for some reason. I look around the place, noting the open locker that I know is Ruby's. Right beside the rows of lockers is the private backdoor only employees are allowed to go through. A familiar lean figure is sitting on the threshold of the open door, his back hunching as a frustrated sigh escapes his lips.