Portraits [On Hold]

Chapter 23- Barista

Not edited

***

Going to parties had been a big no since the accident. I hadn't attended one ever since. But as I looked down at my phone screen with a text that read: We will be there at 6pm sweetie! I couldn't help but think anything sounded a lot better than having to spend the entire evening with my mom.

Dealing with my parents the entire weekend was the one thing I dreaded more than having to attend that party, and I needed any possible excuse to get away from them as much as possible—even if it meant showing up at Charlotte's the next day.

"Yeah, I'd love to come!" I said, my tone almost as high pitched as hers, part of me fearing she would notice just how fake I was being in that moment.

"Oh, great!" Charlotte grinned. "You can bring your friends too if you want. Everyone at the art course will be there," she told me as she stepped out of my apartment.

"Sounds good." I smiled one last time before closing the door and letting out a sigh of relief.

Finally, I turned around, slowly, already dreading what was about to hit me.

"So..." Blue looked at me with huge disappointment. "Are you ready to tell me why you broke up with your boyfriend?"

I swallowed my nervousness down. "Nope, not ready."

She narrowed her eyes at me.

"June, what has gotten into you?" She studied me, as if looking at my face long enough was going to magically help her decipher me.

"The usual," I replied bluntly, casually beginning to walk back to my room. She took a step and grabbed my arm.

"Oh, you're not going anywhere, missy." I gave her a look.

"Who are you? My mom?" She looked taken back at my tone, and I immediately felt a little guilty when I realized just how bitter I had sounded.

"June, what happened?" She asked. But, this time, she just looked genuinely worried.

"I don't want to talk about it," I mumbled.

We both stood there, a tense silence filling the air, and then I spoke again.

"You know what? Actually, I do want to talk about it. But if I talk about it, I'll just get lectured over something I already know. So I'll just save both of us the trouble and go get some coffee." So I walked out of the apartment, leaving her just as dumbfounded as I had left Aiden back at the restaurant earlier.

--

I pulled the door towards my body, expecting it to open it just like it always had. But when it didn't open, I immediately knew something was wrong, resulting in me frowning at my own reflection on the door. I tried pulling it open over and over again, stubbornness taking over me. But after several abrupt attempts, I finally accepted the fact that the coffee shop was closed, letting out a small groan. It didn't make any sense. The coffee shop was always open at that time.

I let a few seconds pass, hoping maybe someone would notice I was outside, and they had simply locked it by accident. However, I knew Jack. I knew he would never lock the shop by accident. He would've had to make his way towards the door, pull out his keys, actually find the shop key in the midst of the hundreds of keys that he, for some unknown reason, happened to have on his bright green keychain, and then lock the door. There was no way it could have been accidental.

And so I turned back around, disappointed in failing to find peace at, yet again, another one of my safe havens. But as I began walking, I heard a jingling noise, making my eyes brighten up, hoping it was what I thought it was. I quickly turned around, a smile instantly appearing on my lips when I saw the blue-eyed boy standing there with a bright green key chain in his hand.

"Now, what did that door do for you to attack it that way?"

"Jack!" I ran towards him and engulfed him in a big hug. He began chuckling, amusement written all over his features, evidently taken back by my actions.

"June!" He mimicked my voice, grinning.

"What's up with the shop? Since when do you close this early?"

He let out a sigh.

"My dad says we're going to close once a week. Apparently we're losing money..." he stuffed his hands in his pockets, "we haven't had many customers coming in the past months."

"Oh." We stood in silence for a few seconds. "But, it's only once a week, right? I mean, at least you get a day off. That's a good thing!" I tried lifting up the mood.

He shot me an appreciating smile, but it quickly faded, shaking his head lightly.

"I'm not really sure. He mentioned something about possibly relocating at some point."

"What?" My smile was replaced with a frown. He didn't say anything.

"You can't do that! This...this is my spot! If you relocate, well...I don't know. I guess things will be better..." I paused. "But you'll lose your favorite customer!"

He stared at me with saddened eyebrows.

"June..."

"Relocating where?" I asked.

He scratched the back of his neck. Guys and their neck scratching...

"SoHo is the main option."

"No!"

"I'm sorry!"

I looked down at my feet, frowning at the paint splattered all over them. I hadn't noticed that before.

"Everything sucks right now," I mumbled.

"What's wrong?"

"My mom's coming to visit. She's not exactly my favorite person to spend time with. And I kind of broke up with my boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"I used to. For like two days. But I kind of messed it all up. You probably know him; the guy that always comes to the shop."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Aiden, you mean?"

"Yep."

"The guy with all the girlfriends?"

"Turns out they're his work partners...long story. Anyways, now I have to go to this stupid party tomorrow and—" an epiphany hit me, "hey! do you want to come?"

"I don't know, I'm not really into—"

"Me neither. But you could keep me company; we could be party poopers together," I insisted.

He let out a laugh, staring at me for a few seconds in deep thought, and shaking his head lightly at me.

"Fine, but just this once!"

"THANK YOU! You're the best coffee barista in the world, you know?" I told him, grinning widely. He rolled his eyes, but a smile didn't fail to make its way onto his lips.

"Yeah yeah. Now, I really gotta go. My dad's waiting for me. See ya later, just text me the details." He quickly gave me a hug, and I nodded.

"Will do. Thanks again!" I smiled.

If only I had known what inviting your favorite coffee barista to a party would cause...

A/N:

Hi again. Yes, I know it's been a while since my last update & that it is shameful to even post this chapter bc literally nothing interesting happened and it's shorter than any chapter should be allowed to be, but I felt too bad and decided to update anyways.

School is absolutely killing me, and I barely even have time for anything besides homework. It's horrible ugh. I'm so sorry & upset bc I know this will cause me to lose readers probably, but thanks to anyone who has actually stuck by.

Please forgive me for this.

Love,

M.