Stray Serendipity

Brewing Emotions

"She did what?!" Hans exclaimed, nearly spilling his drink and drawing the focus of the entire café, yet he remained unfazed by the sudden attention.

Asher replied slowly and softly, "She prepared a creamy shrimp dish..." His gaze softened as he glanced at Valencia, who was shielding her face from the onlookers. A sweet smile played on his lips, finding her embarrassment endearing yet slightly awkward.

"No shit! Vallie, you cooked for him?" Hanny turned his head towards Vallie, who slowly met Ash's gaze, who was attempting to avoid the conversation.

"Yeah, so what?" Vallie retorted, attempting to sound confident and nonchalant, but her voice betrayed a hint of nervousness.

"You never cook for me, but suddenly you're chef-ing it up for him? No shade, Ash." Hanny gestured towards Ash, who sat quietly sipping his iced coffee, subtly sinking into his chair.

"None taken." Ash responded with a nervous chuckle. He does find Hanny's manner of speaking about him rude, yet he's also curious about the underlying reasons. He suspects Hanny might be jealous of their date and harboring feelings for Vallie.

Despite the obvious signs, like a glass closet, he remained unaware of Hanny's homosexuality. It's not that he's naive; he simply refuses to judge others based on superficial factors like behavior, speech, or attire, deeming it crude and offensive. Nonetheless, Hanny is in fact, very gay.

"He was just a guest! Quit whining like you're my jealous boyfriend." Vallie remarked, her tone dripping with sarcasm. Her words elicited laughter from both her and Hanny, leaving Ash bewildered as he attempted to force a laugh along with them. The two couldn't help but notice the force of Ash's laughter, which only fueled their own amusement.

As they laughed, Vallie found herself stealing a glance at him, suddenly realizing just how cute he was? She struggled to ignore the strange allure of Ash's charm, but deep down, she knew she couldn't evade it forever.

"Girl, it ain't that deep." Hanny chuckled before taking another sip of his chocolate shake.

"Anyway... Ashy, what's it like being an architecture student? Do you spend all your time drawing, or is there a lot of math involved too?" Vallie paused briefly after rolling her eyes at Hanny, her words flowing out as fast as lightning, which drew a small chuckle.

"I'm sorry, I'm just really curious..." She continued in a soft voice, feeling slightly embarrassed by her too interested behavior.

"Very curious." Hanny teased, nudging Ash with his shoulder and playfully raising his eyebrows at him.

"It's not just about drawing; math plays a significant role too. We explore into subjects like structural mechanics, building physics, and sustainability, all of which involve complex mathematical calculations." Ash explained deliberately, pausing between sips of his drink to soothe his throat.

Vallie fixed her gaze on Ash, absorbing every detail of his explanation about architecture, nodding in agreement with each point he made. In contrast, Hanny seemed uninterested, his attention solely on his phone screen, oblivious to the conversation happening beside him.

"How about you? I've heard Civil Engineering is pretty tough." Ash asked, turning his attention back to Vallie after finishing his explanation.

"Honestly, it's mostly chill for me, but sometimes it gets super annoying—like, I almost flunked one of my core classes." She replied quickly, taking a sip of her matcha tea. She found it difficult to maintain eye contact with Ash, who gazed at her with admiration and genuine interest. It wasn't that no one had ever looked at her that way before, but with him, it felt... different?