Coffee Break

Part One

Hey there! This is a short story I wrote my perfect friend, Alicia. Yeah, it's basically fluff but that was a goal of mine. This is pure indulgence on my part so none of it is realistic, but I do what I want. Enjoy!

Harry + Alicia = Halicia. There shall be no other name.

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She sits at one of the small tables near the back of the nearly empty Starbucks, typing away on her laptop and sipping at a warm white mocha. She is always here; it’s one of the only sources of peace that she gets from the crazy university life. She wants to go unnoticed and for the most part she does…

Harry manages to escape the throng of crazy fans and enters the small, hidden coffee shop. He just wanted to explore this lovely place called Seattle, but what’s an exploration without a little bit of running around? He glances around the place and is grateful to see that it is almost empty, even though he quite enjoys a bit of Starbucks every once in a while. He looks over to the counter to order something and then maybe ask for directions to the “Space Needle” or whatever Niall said it was called. He wishes he hadn’t lost Paul when he was running, Paul has his phone.

When he finally gives up because no one is coming to help him, he glances around again. He sees that now there is only a girl, maybe his age, sitting at a back table and focused on her laptop. Silently hoping that she won’t go crazy on him, he approaches her.

“Excuse me, do you have a second? I need directions,” he asks after tapping her on the shoulder.

The girl jumps a little and looks up at him, “Um—yeah, what do you need?” Recognition flares in her eyes, but she manages to keep a straight face. “This is going to sound weird and you probably get it a lot, but, you look like— ”

“I’m Harry Styles, yeah,” he answers with a sheepish grin. “But, do you think you can you wait to tell people until after I’m gone, maybe?”

The girl laughs and the sound is music to his ears, “Harry, that’s right! I’m Alicia, and I won’t tell anyone you were here, I don’t like ratting people out whether they’re famous or not. But, you said you needed something?” she—Alicia—rambles to him. To be honest, he had completely forgotten what he was going to ask her because he was too caught up in admiring the way her blonde hair falls down her shoulders and the way her blue-gray eyes flitted around as she rapidly spoke to him.

“Eh—yeah! I was hoping you knew the best way to get to the Space Needle? I have to meet my friend in a few hours and—I mean, you live here right? I mean, I shouldn’t just assume things, I’m sorry—” It was Harry’s turn to be nervous. Alicia notices how deep his voice is in person and that, wow, his accent it thick. It’s all very soothing to her for some reason.

“Woah, slow down,” Alicia giggles, “Yeah, I live here and I go to Seattle Pacific University. I can point you in the right direction.”

“That would be fantastic!” Harry replies and then listens when Alicia begins to explain the most efficient way to get to the famous Space Needle while avoiding crowds of people.

“Thank you very much, Alicia,” Harry says gratefully. He should go and get a head start, but there is something about this girl that draws him in and makes him want to know her better. So he goes with a subtle: “But you know, I don’t have to be there for another two hours and it sounds like it’ll only take ten minutes to get there. Niall will probably be late anyway. Do you mind if I stayed around with you for a while? I mean—unless you have somewhere to go or don’t want me to, I mean, that’s cool. Don’t feel bad!” Dammit he’s rambling again.