UNBREAKABLE ↠ BRANDON ARREAGA

FOUR - THE ONE WHO SNAPPED

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"Eliana!" The barista called for me. "Our best coffee for our best customer."

"Thanks." I smiled at the barista before I took my coffee and sat down at a table.

"Elena?" I heard someone say. "Elena, is it?" The voice sounded closer. I turned back in confusion and realized the guy actually meant me. "Wait. It's not Elena, is it?" The guy, who I remembered to be Austin, chuckled awkwardly. "I'm so sorry," he genuinely apologized. I could tell he was slightly embarrassed.

"It's Eliana," I told him with a light chuckle. "Austin, is it?"

He nodded and scratched the back of his head. "How embarrassing that you remembered my name, but I didn't remember yours."

I waved away his nervousness. "It's alright. Nothing to fess over about." His personality reminded me of... well, me.

He sat down with me and ruffled his long blonde hair. "Nice to actually meet you," he told me. "I've heard a lot of things about you." He sipped his coffee.

My heart rate picked up. "Really?" I perked up. "Fr-from who exactly?"

He winked at me with an amused smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?" He chuckled. "I've honestly heard stuff here and there from multiple people, more often from one person than the rest, but..." He shrugged, acting quite nonchalant.

"Oh," I mumbled. "That's nice." I nodded.

"So do you like our friend, Brandon? Because I think you two would make a great couple. I mean, it'd be a good-looking pair if I do say so myself." He scratched his chin and tilted his head to the side.

I blushed profusely. "We're not-we're not even friends," I corrected him, hissing my face from him in embarrassment.

He raised an eyebrow at me and leaned closer. "From what I've heard, I wouldn't say that."

I let out a dry laugh. "Trust me. We're not. Brandon made that clear."

Austin shook his head back-and-forth. "That boy doesn't know what he's saying." I looked at him in confusion. "He has... problems, you could say."

I picked up my coffee cup. "Um, what do you mean?" I paused. "Wait, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to. It's not my place."

"Let's just say that this business hasn't been the kindest to him." He looked over my shoulder we if he were staring into space. He seemed lost in his thoughts for a moment before he put his attention back on me.

This topic didn't seem like a topic I'd be lucky in getting answers from, so I moved onto another one. "So if you guys are famous and all, why are you staying here? I mean, this town is a small one. You can't really do much here."