| 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 | 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 | 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 1 - The Coffee House

I walked around the crowded city, dodging people left and right. I talked to myself under my breath, something I did just about every hour of the day. I played music in my head as I neared the local cafe.

It was a chilly day in New York City, the wind hitting my body as I walked through the car filled road. The cafe was about a block away and I sped my way through people layered with coats.

"Sorry," I muttered as I bumped into a man who looked to be in his mid forties. "Go ahead, dear." He opened the large oak doors to the building, gesturing me in. "Thank you." I hitched my thumbs to the pockets of my jeans as I entered the small cafe, the warm air from the heating system curing my goosebump covered skin. I sighed of relief as the door closed behind me and the cold air ceased.

I looked around the room, seeing every inch just about filled. Women and men huddling together near the doors, desperate to escape the chilly air. People lounging on the green, floral embroidered sofas in the corners, their coffee in hand and their jackets draped on the channel back of the couch. I stood on the tips of my toes as I examined the area for an open seat. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted an open stool at the coffee bar.

"Hey y/n!" Betty waved to me as she spotted me standing in the crowd of rowdy people. Betty was a close friend of mine that had worked at the cafe. She had glowing blonde hair and shining blue eyes that stared into your soul in a kind, comforting way. Her figure like and hourglass and her skin like porcelain, her beauty stunned men of all ages who entered the cafe. She wasn't all that smart, but she sure did make up for it with her beauty. Sure, she always got your order wrong, but no one minded, as all they cared about was seeing her stunning features.

I squeezed through many bodies before I came to her front.

"Ya get much sleep last night?" She asked, her light New York accent showing through her kind voice. "Nope, but maybe tonight I will." I answered as I sat between a large man and a small woman. She grabbed a pot of coffee halfway empty and poured some into a glazed white mug, then proceeded to hand it to me. "Thanks." I took large gulp of it, the warmth traveling through my throat, my body temperature rising.

"Cold out there huh?" She questioned as she filled another mug, handing it to the man sitting beside me. "Yep, had to take out my mittens today." I took another large gulp of coffee. "Well it is November." She came to my front, leaning on the counter with her elbows, her head placed delicately in the palms of her hands. "Seventeen now?" She furrowed her eyebrows. I nodded my head in response. "Ever since Monday." I looked to her eyes. "Welp, good for you."

"Easy for you to say, I hate growing up." I took another gulp. She playfully rolled her eyes at me. "Don't get to sad, it'll just make it worse." She gently tapped her fingers against her pale skin. "Take it from a twenty two year old working at tiny cafe who gets paid like shit." She put her hands to the counter, her head lifting up from her palms. I chuckled at her words.

"Well at least you have a job. I still don't have a clue what I'm gonna do." I pouted, tracing the edge of the coffee stained mug. "I wasn't doing anything when I was your age." She shrugged. "I guess." I looked back up to her. "You'll be fine. Probably better than me honestly, with all those extra curricular's you've been taking." She smiled. I laughed through a breath as I glanced to the ground then back up to her. "Yeah yeah." I once again took another gulp.

"I'm sure you'll get payed better today, assuming you do well with all these customers." I looked around the cafe full of people. "We'll see." She said as she grabbed my empty mug. "Even if you get their orders wrong, they'll still look at your face and tip you twenty bucks."

She laughed at my comment. "You're real nice y/n." She rolled her eyes as she filled another mug to the brim, handing it to a man two seats down from me. I giggled at her sarcastic remark. "Just saying, you could be a bit better at your job." I mentioned. She looked down to me with a disregarding expression as she flipped a stained white towel over her shoulder.

"Thanks for the coffee. I'll let you get back to work." I stood up from the stool. I squeezed through the sea of shivering bodies as I headed to the front. "See ya later!" Betty yelled as I opened the door to the cold outside world. I waved her goodbye before the door shut behind me. Chilly and numb once again, I headed through the large crowds of people, tucking my face deep into the collar of my old leather bomber jacket.