The Devil Wears GUCCI || Larry Stylinson

Chapter 12.

It seems to be a nice and promising day, taking into account the bright sun.

Louis drives while humming the song he heard on the radio, laughing at himself when he tries to reach a high note and doesn't hit it. It's not like someone else was hearing him, so it didn't matter.

He moves his fingers over the steering wheel when he sees the picturesque place, heading there without thinking twice about it. He's greeted by the sweet scent of freshly-baked biscuits as well as the chime of a bell that announces his entry.

The journalist smiles when he sees Fiorella, the teenager that has become his new friend in the last week since he found the small cafe. She was an architecture student who worked half time in The Sweet Station and that for some unknown reason to Louis, had been gone the last couple of days.

"What a surprise, missing girl!" Louis exclaims once he's in front of the counter, letting his palms fall with a muffled sound against the plain surface.

The teenager, who was engrossed placing the fresh bread in a display case, jumps startled when she hears him.

"Lou!" Fiorella lets a smile grace her face when she recognizes him, with the tray and thongs still in her hands, "Hi."

Without being able to keep his serious face, Louis ends up copying her happy expression, "Hi, love, how've you been?"

She lets out a huff of air before placing her utensils in the counter behind her, they fall with a loud sound since they're stainless metal clashing with stainless metal. Louis is thankful for the place being empty except for an old man reading the newspaper in one of the tables near the windows. He doesn't seem affected by the scandal while he sips his steaming cup of coffee.

"Honestly?" Fiorella shuts her eyes tightly. Then, she hangs onto the counter while her shoulders drop defeatedly, "I'm dehydrated after crying so much at night and haven't slept because I've been asking myself whether I chose the right major or not. I haven't eaten properly in the last few days and the throbbing in my head hasn't stopped bothering me. In few words: I'm physically and mentally devastated, but hey, thank you for asking."

Louis lets out a laugh, knowing that the talkative teenager won't feel offended. He had liked her since the first moment he met her, precisely because they shared the same sense of humour, being surrounded by sarcastic comments from his first order in the cafe. Seeing Fiorella laughing with him confirms that his theory isn't wrong.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Louis' smile crooks with some sympathy, "Is that the reason I've been served by Jerry these last few days? It's not that I don't like Jerry, it's just that he's a little too serious.

Actually the boy, in charge of the afternoon shift, was liked by Louis. The problem was that the few occasions Louis had seen him in the mornings were enough to let him know Jerry wasn't interested in having a pleasant courtesy chat. He served Louis with not a single smile and without revealing anything about himself. He knew the boy was a student too, but he hadn't been able to figure out which major he took.

"Yeah," Fiorella's cheeks took an unexpected pink tint, letting her lashes cover her eyes when she looked down. Her voice was now an octave softer, "He offered to cover me so I could catch up with my schoolwork, and even though I refused, he insisted," she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear with a dreamy sigh, "That day we talked more that we have in the last six months we've been working here. It's a step forward, isn't it?"

Oh, young love.

Louis remembers it well. That sweet and exciting love that left your body vibrating with anticipation.

The second time Louis had gone to The Sweet Station, Fiorella, as talkative as she is, had confessed the slight crush she had with her co-worker. She had bragged he was a mysterious guy with a good heart who worked the afternoon shift during the week to pay for his studies himself. Since then Louis had been giving her advice and helping her know something about Jerry's life outside of the cafe. However, the boy hadn't made it easy for either of them.