off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ eighty five

A good jog in the morning always managed to clear Audrey's mind. These days, her brain had been filled with the most annoying of thoughts, constantly pestering her with interrogations and remarks and observations on something that should not have made her feel that way. At least, when she had her earbuds in her ears, and she ran, Audrey couldn't think about much more than the pace of her breathing. All those pesky thoughts evaporated, and she wished she could jog every hour of every day.

But breaks were important too, Audrey had learned that the one time she'd woken up with her knees feeling downright rusty. And so, when she spotted her usual coffee shop around the corner, she slowed down. Her energy was running a little low anyway, a little pick-me-up wouldn't be too bad. Getting her wallet out of her pocket, Audrey walked into the shop.

The first thing she saw was not the menu, or the customers waiting in line, or the workers cleaning up tables. Of course not. Fate seemed to be having a hell of a time messing with her, and had decided to pull no punches today. All of the thoughts she'd successfully pushed out came rushing back to her, as she spotted them. Taerae and Yeju, on that very coffee date they'd talked about last time. Audrey froze, her feet taking root into the ground, despite how much her body was telling her to run away. She regained control of her movements too late: Yeju had already spotted her, and was dragging Taerae by the arm. Towards her. All Audrey could do as they approached was swallow the painful lump in her throat.

"Hey, Audrey!" the girl called after her, a giant smile on her face. "I didn't expect to see you there."

It took Audrey a few seconds to answer, as she prayed for the world to end and for a meteor to crash into the coffee shop. Taerae stood behind Yeju, as if he was using her as a shield, but from the little she could see of him, he looked just as embarrassed as she felt. Audrey could only regret taking that little break from her morning jog. Rusty knees didn't sound too bad in comparison.

"Ah, well," she chuckled nervously. "I didn't expect to see you two here either."

Yeju looked back at Taerae. "Yeah, we ended up scheduling that coffee date earlier than we'd originally planned."

"Wow. It's quite early for a date!"

In that moment, Audrey knew just how fake her voice sounded. Her intonation was all stilted, she'd stressed the wrong syllables, and her jaw was clenched so tightly the words came out nearly jumbled up. Her hands balled into fists, she took a deep breath. God, she'd hated the way she'd spoken that sentence. Why was she so uncomfortable?

Fortunately, Yeju didn't seem to notice. Or maybe she didn't care."Well, Taerae has to work, so we had to fit the coffee date in the morning, before he goes." She placed her hand on Taerae's arm, and Audrey felt her blood burn through her veins. "What a gentleman, finding a way to fit me into his busy schedule!"

"Hah, it's no big deal," Taerae quickly added, his voice a little shaky.

Somehow, it wasn't the hand she'd put on his arm that bothered her. It was the way Taerae flinched, the way his cheeks turned just a bit red, the way he averted his gaze from hers. A pit in her stomach, Audrey felt her head start to spin. Maybe she'd run too much on an empty stomach, and that was why she felt queasy. Maybe she needed that break, after all. If only she'd taken it in literally any other coffee shop on Earth.

"You know," Yeju continued, "I'm a little jealous of the plants he takes care of. They get all of his days, while I only get twenty minutes!"

At that, Taerae laughed. Not an awkward laughter either. It was genuine enough, albeit a little embarrassed by the playful jab at his strange passion for plants. Audrey felt like her throat had been wrapped in thorny vines.