I Know You Care (Brooklyn Beckham Fanfic)

Chapter Two

Elle woke up to the sound of traffic outside the family room window. The city of London was alive, and it contained beautiful, unfamiliar faces and places. She looked across the couch to find her mother snoring softly, still in blissful sleep. She threw her body back down on to the couch, but then she remembered her promise that she had made to her mum the night before. She had to go get some coffee for her. 

Elle smoothly slipped away from the couch, trying to be as quiet as she could, and she headed up to the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. The bathroom was bigger than her old one. It had a shower and a bath. It also contained a sink and a vanity. The floor was cream colored marble unlike the rest of the flat's dark, wooden floors. 

She found her skincare and makeup bag in the cabinet underneath the sink, and she slowly started to get ready. She washed her face and applied moisturizer. For makeup, she put on some concealer, powder, mascara, blush, brow gel, and lip gloss. After she was finished putting her face together, she took a step back and looked at herself. She decided that after a few minutes of staring intently at her face that she looked fairly decent, and she went downstairs to rummage through the boxes until she found her clothes. 

She grabbed some high waisted rustic red skinny jeans that had rips in them, a long sleeved striped black and white crop top, her black combat boots, and a grey beanie. When she finished getting dressed, she looked at herself closely for another few minutes until she finally decided that the outfit was suitable enough. 

She spritzed some sea salt spray in her dirty blonde, wavy hair that cascaded down her back and ended at her waist. She then shoved a beanie on to her head in hopes that it would help hide the bed head that had appeared overnight. 

She grabbed her black backpack that she always wore, and she slung it over her shoulders. She grabbed her wallet from the side pocket of the bag and found that she had about sixteen pounds in there that she had left over from when she went shopping earlier that week. It would definitely be enough for coffee.

She skipped down the stairs, and she peered into the family room. Her mother was still sound asleep on the couch, her face buried into one of the cushions. Elle left the room, and she picked up the keys to the flat that were near the front door. She opened the door as quietly as possible, and she closed it very slowly, so she would not wake her sleeping mother. 

Elle exited the building within two minutes, and she found herself on the streets of London. There was a constant stream of cars moving past on the roads. Elle decided to go to the left to find a coffee shop or a Starbucks. 

As she walked, she noticed a cool breeze. It was the start of the cold season. Her school started late this year, in mid-September. Elle loved Summer, but Autumn and Winter had the best holidays. They always made her so cheerful.

She walked with her hands holding the straps of her backpack for a few blocks until she discovered a cute, little coffee shop that was on a corner. She almost missed it because of how small it was. Something about it comforted her because it was so small, and the city was so big. It was a nice juxtaposition. 

The coffee shop was fairly close to their flat. It was in West London, and it looked quite promising. Elle crossed the street, and she opened the door, peering inside before she actually entered. The coffee shop had a refrigerator and some cookies and muffins. It had chalkboards all over with handwritten names of food everywhere. There was definitely a lot of choice in the coffee department. They also had tea, which made Elle very happy, as she did not enjoy coffee that much to be perfectly honest.

There were only about four customers in the coffee shop: an old married couple, eating muffins and enjoying coffee together, a man who was drinking some coffee and reading a newspaper, and a woman who appeared to be in her mid-thirties who was ordering her food at the counter.

Elle's entrance had made the door chime, and everyone in the shop turned to look at her briefly before returning to their lives. She looked at the chalk writing on the boards before deciding that her mother would most likely prefer an iced coffee with two sugars and extra cream. It was what she always ordered whenever she got coffee. And Elle would get a chai tea latte. 

Elle stood in line for a few minutes, waiting for the woman to receive her order, until it was her turn.

"Hi, what would you like?" the barista asked. 

Elle was trying to get her wallet out of her bag, so she looked down as she told him the order, "Can I get an iced coffee with two sugars and extra cream and a chai tea latte please?" 

"Sure." he said, beginning to get the coffee and the latte ready. 

Elle held her wallet in her hands, waiting patiently for her order to be ready. When the barista finally turned back around with her order, she noticed that he was very young. Probably only fifteen or sixteen. He was far too attractive to be just a barista at a small, unknown coffee shop around the corner. He should probably be a model or something, in Elle's opinion. 

He had clear skin that wasn't too fair, but it wasn't too tanned either. Light freckles covered his sharp cheekbones, and they also went on to his nose. His eyes were a light brown color, and he had the most thick and long eyelashes Elle had ever seen. His eyebrows weren't too bushy, but they weren't too thin either. And his medium brown hair was shaved on the sides and the back, but it was long and gelled up in the front. He was quite a bit taller than her, and he dwarfed the uniform that he was wearing. His fingers wrapped completely around the cups of tea and coffee that he was holding, and he appeared to bite his nails as they were extremely short. 

Whenever Elle was around anyone that she felt was attractive, she had the tendency to blush for no apparent reason at all. She tried her level best that day to stop her cheeks from burning bright red as she looked up at the alluring barista. 

"Here you go." He said, smiling as he handed her the cups, "Be careful. They're hot."

"Thanks." Elle smiled in returned, her voice small and soft. 

"No problem. It's three pounds." He told her.

Elle set the cups down on the counter, and she handed the barista the money from her wallet.

"Thank you." He said, smiling at her once more as he took the money and put it in the cash register.

Elle picked up the cups again, and she turned to exit the coffee shop. She could feel his eyes on her as she left. 

She hurried home as she didn't want her mum's coffee to go cold before she even got to drink it. When she unlocked the door to the flat, she could hear music playing in the other room. The once full boxes that had been scattered across the hallway that morning were empty and stacked in the corner. 

"Mum?" Elle called out.

Mrs. Parker came skidding in from the kitchen, "Yes, dear? Oh! You remembered! I thought you had just gone on a walk or something. Did you ask for two sugars?" 

"Yeah, here you go." Elle answered, handing her mum the cup of iced coffee. 

"Oh my god, you are a saint. Thank you so much, love." her mum said, sipping her iced coffee through the straw. 

"No problem, mum. So, uh, what's going on with all the empty boxes?" Elle asked.

Mrs. Parker looked around the room like she had no idea what Elle was talking about, "Oh, yeah! I, uh, I decided to get a head start on the unpacking. I already put all your clothes away in your wardrobe and stuff. And I made up your bed. The rest, you can do yourself. I did my room. I started with the family room, and I'm in the middle of fixing up the kitchen." 

"That's great! I'm guessing you woke up like two minutes after I left, then." Elle said.

"Yeah, I guess so. You weren't gone that long, were you?" her mum asked.

"No, probably only, like, a half an hour... at most." she told her mum.

Her mum smiled, "Okay, well, you can help me unpack." 

Elle rolled her eyes and groaned, "Fine."

They spent the rest of the day unpacking and decorating their new flat. Elle was going to tell her mum about the barista boy, but she forgot about him amongst all the decorating.