Caged (Tronnor au)

Chapter 4

CONNOR 

The door opened with a slight jingle of the bell when I finally managed to escape the English morning fog. I entered the café in a rush, my arms shaking despite the jacket. The air was not as cold as it gets in England, but I was positive this was my the worst time of the day in London. If not for the great lighting and fewer people than at any other time of day and night, I would still be in my warm and cozy bed, asleep.

I looked around, surprised. The place changed since I've last been there. The biggest wall used to have the nasty white-ish shade, but now it turned into a deep, navy color. It went perfectly with wooden and red accents. It all made me want to take pictures of this interior until there was no angle I haven't tried yet. 

The short blonde was too focused on steaming milk to notice me. I sneaked near the counter and leaned on it to look at her. She gave me a short glance, came back to the milk, and then looked at me again, with a sudden realisation written in her wide opened eyes.

-Hey, Con! Didn't know you were back!- She quickly ran around the counter and into my arms for a quick hug. 

-Hi, Hannah- I said with a smile glued to my face. -Looks like someone's been busy.

She released my from the embrace and looked at the wall like a proud mother looks at her baby. The color of her hair somehow matched everything around her, like this whole place was made specifically for her, like it was just a background and she was the main theme. God, even her apron was now in the same shade of red as the fridge. She was aesthetic goals. 

-You like? I painted it all by myself! Gotta make some use of these, you know- she giggled and stretched her arm muscles. I felt the corners of my lips rising even higher.

-Me like.- We went way back, Hannah and I. She had almost all the morning shifts the previous year and so we met every time I decided to wake up at 6 am and go for a walk. She was always super excited to hear whatever I have learnt about photography. Sometimes, when no one was watching, she let me go behind the counter. I learned how to make coffee while she played with diaphragm setting in my camera to achieve "that perfect shot of the perfect shot of espresso". 

-A little late today, are we?- She was already back to the coffee machine. with a cup in her hand. I didn't even have to ask anymore, she knew what I was going to order anyway.- Slept in? You look like a zombie.

-Thanks.-I squinted my eyes for a second.- And it's not me who's late. You're just some kind of vampire who doesn't need to sleep... 

-Shhhh!- she cut me off and looked around with a fake worry on her face.- don't ruin my cover!

I loved this human. 

-Only if I get double the caramel syrup.- I smirked. I tried to look smooth, but, given the state of my everything, chances were I looked like a stoned rat, or something equally unpleasant to look at.

-Mamrie told me I must stop give free stuff to cute girls. I'm risking my career here, be aware of that!- Oh yeah, Mamrie. She and Hannah run this place, but I have only seen her few times. She worked night shifts when the cute coffee place turned into a pub with the craziest drinks. At that time, the place was filled with music, laugh, and the sound of clinking glasses. She had to look after this whole madness then and didn't have time to chat with people. 

-I'm the cutest girl around, honey, it's worth it,- I answered and gave her a last not-really-sober-looking grin before she went to warm something up in the microwave with a quiet laugh. 

Once she was gone, the urge to put my head on the countertop and rest became unbearable. I shook my head to force some blood into my brain, though. That because one, someone could get scared and call the ambulance, and two, I could end up with a small mountain of whipped cream on my cheek, the courtesy of Hannah. No thanks. In spite of that and because I had nothing better to do with my hands, I went through photos on my camera. Since I've been busy lately, most of them were taken either in our apartment or during the short walk here. Nothing great or mind-blowing. I lacked inspiration these days.