virgo, infatuated (h.s. au)

01

he jammed the keys into the door of the coffee shop, breath visible due to new york winters. it was four a.m. he switched the lights on, illuminating his workplace. he looked around the café and scanned the empty wooden tables, each with a number of chairs stacked on top of them. it was such a pain bringing every chair down, but he knew it was his job to do. so with one deep sigh followed by cracking his neck, elliott began pulling each chair off its table.

after the unbearable sixteen chairs and nine barstools, elliott rested against a wall which held many potted greens and petals. he saw a written-on napkin standing against one of the flowerpots. it was from his boss and it read:

ell,

my phone is dead right now and i'm just about to board on a fourteen hour flight to santorini with asher. shop's yours while i'm gone, vera asked for the week off to catch up on her coursework but if you need the extra hands she said you can call her in whenever. water the plants and mop behind the counter. see you in a week!

xx,

poppy

"sweet," elliott muttered under his breath, the corners of his mouth meeting their corresponding dimples. he stuck the napkin into pocket of his apron and then made his way to the counter. the shop didn't open until six and it's only been forty-five minutes since he first arrived. he took a chocolate croissant from one of the shelves and leaned against the back counter. his right leg crossed over his left out of instinct and he started taking bites out of his breakfast. in-between chewing and thinking out loud, he realized that it was much too quiet. elliott connected his phone to the café speakers via bluetooth and immediately started scrolling through his music library. it was too early in the day for elliott's usual dose of early 2000's alternative rock. he liked matching his background music to his mood or the ambience. right at this moment, his mood was tranquil and slightly sleepy and the ambience was the same. after heaps of thumb swipes, elliott settled on the 'the rip tide' album by beirut. slow piano keys and the sound of an, air-quotes, generic indie voice radiated off the speakers and into the shop. elliott was now pleased with his successful atmospheric music choice and chocolate croissant, which he was halfway done with.

he stood there, eating while listening to the folky tunes. the café doors swung open, and a girl walked in. elliott quickly took in her physiognomy. her hair was loosely curled and it was a chesnutty-brown color. icy blue eyes stood out against the warm eyeshadow look she was going for, and her lips covered in a deep burgundy shade of lipstick. she wore a camel-colored trench coat and her heeled boots making clacking sounds against the wooden floorboards as she made her way to elliott.

"you know we're not open for another hour, right?" elliott spoke out at her, swallowing the last bits of his breakfast.

she looked even more flustered than she did when she first walked in. "you're not? oh, i'm sorry. i've never been here and it's my first day at this really important internship thing and i'm already running late and i got barely any sleep and i just really need a latte." she rambled on all in one breath.

"woah, slow down. this internship thing starts at four in the morning?" elliott's eyebrows raised as he began making her coffee. "sorry, the machines take a little while to get ready, i don't turn them on until i open up shop."

"no, i start at seven but i planned to get ready early so i can easily get past anything that pops up that could make me late." the girl sweetly smiled at him, however tapping her fingers on the counter out of impatience. elliott caught this, so he kept talking to her to keep her at ease. "so what's this internship for?"

it worked, she loosened up her muscles and slouched over the counter. "i'm going to be an intern at this fashion house called 'carlisle collins.' it's not too far from my college, i go to pratt."

"hmm..pratt's one of the top fashion schools in new york..that, along with your new fashion internship...so you're a music studies major, right?"

she giggled. it was bubbly, the kind that would make you smile. elliott smiled.

"i, for one, go to nyu; if you were wondering." elliott added, finally starting on her coffee.

"ooo, look at you. what're you majoring in?" she bent over the counter so that she could see him, given that he was now to the left of her and covered by the pastry selection.

"comparative literature and creative writing," elliott hummed. he was putting the final touches to her latte now.

"wow, i've just met the next bukowski." she grinned and placed her palms over her heart jokingly. elliott stared at her with a blank look, refusing to give her her cup of coffee. "hey, i was kidding. what's the look for?"

"do you like read minds or stalk me or something? because bukowski's my favorite poet, and you happened to compare me to him out of the millions of other, more popular writers. i'm kind of freaked out." elliott's facial expression remained the same.

"shut. up. bukowski's my favorite poet. that's weird," she exclaimed, a small silence lingering shortly after. "ahem." she narrowed her eyes at her latte, which was still in elliott's grip.

"oh, sorry!" elliott gave her her drink. "do i get to know your name, andy sachs?"

the corners of her mouth widened in an ear-to-ear grin, "i don't run into many guys who reference 'the devil wears prada.' girlfriend, sister, or mom?"

now elliott smiled ear-to-ear, "sister."

she took a sip of her coffee, lightly flinching from the temperature of it. "i'm lux, by the way."

"i'm charles bukowsk-" both elliott and lux laughed. "kidding, i'm elliott. and you're going to be late, lux."

lux's eyes widened, tugging elliott's wrist to check the time on his watch as she rapidly said her thanks and goodbyes to elliott and rushed out the door. elliott propped his elbows on the counter, he replayed the moments shared with lux not too long ago. he couldn't help but chuckle at them. he smiled while shaking his head left and right. elliott repeated her name; saying it slowly this time, letting the phonics travel across his tongue, "lux."