Fading Echoes

Chapter 23

The afternoon sun cast a warm, golden glow as Grace and I walked into the coffee shop, the bell above the door jingling softly. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, mingling with the sweet scent of pastries. We both had a ton of chemistry assignments to complete, and since working on them together seemed like a good plan, we walked to this café near our school.

As we scanned the cozy interior, our eyes widened in surprise.

"Liam?" I blurted out, spotting him behind the counter.

He looked up, a smile spreading across his face. "Hey, Eva! What's up?"

Grace and I approached him, mirroring his smile. "Do you work here?" I asked, my curiosity evident in my tone.

Liam shook his head, laughing. "No, it's actually my grandparents' shop. I help out sometimes."

Grace shot me a glance, her eyebrows raised in intrigue. "That's so cool," she said, nudging me slightly with her elbow.

"So, you guys are here to study?" he asked, eyeing our bags with interest.

"Yeah," I nodded. "We have a chemistry assignment. We thought we could do it together."

"That's cool!" He smiled. "Get comfortable and I'll get you two coffee," he winked, causing my cheeks to warm up, a blush creeping up my face.

"Thank you," Grace said, grabbing my wrist and leading me to a cozy corner.

We soon found a quiet spot and spread out our books and notes. As we settled in, Grace couldn't help but tease me. "Is he the senior you told me about? The one you have a crush on?" she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.

"Lower your voice!" I hissed, my cheeks burning even more as I glanced around nervously.

Liam approached our table with our coffee orders, "Here you go, ladies. Enjoy."

"Thanks, Liam," I managed, trying to keep my voice steady and suppress the butterflies in my stomach.

He left with a smile, leaving me flustered.

Grace looked at me, a smirk playing on her lips as she raised an eyebrow, clearly enjoying the scene. "He's cute though," she whispered, winking at me.

"I know, now shut up!" I said, playfully throwing an eraser at her. She caught it with her left hand, her reflexes impressively quick.

She stuck out her tongue at me, and I couldn't help but chuckle at her childish behavior. We both decided it was time to get serious and turned to our work, the atmosphere becoming more focused.

We had just started when suddenly Grace's phone began vibrating. She picked it up and stared intently at the screen before bursting into laughter.

"What's so funny?" I asked, curious.

"Daisy sent me her cat's photo in a pink gown," Grace said, still chuckling.

"Since when did she own a cat?" I asked, confused.

She didn't answer my question and kept laughing. I checked my phone, expecting to see the same message, but there was nothing from Daisy. Maybe she only sent it to Grace.

"Wait, I'll be right back!" Grace said before running outside, still laughing.

I watched her go, feeling a little left out, but quickly tried to refocus on our assignment. I was biting on my pen when suddenly two plates of chocolate cake were placed down on the table. I looked up and saw Liam smiling down at me.

"Coffee alone is boring, especially when you're studying. So why not have some chocolate cake?" he said, pulling out a chair from a nearby table and sitting down with a relaxed demeanor.