..And Then All At Once

Coffee Shop Surprises

Coffee Shop Surprises

Coffee was the only thing on my tired mind. I was exhausted, to say the least. My head leant against the car window, I could feel the bumps and potholes slowly giving me a migraine, but I had no energy yet to lift my head. Street signs rolled past, cars operated by grumpy drivers who obviously weren't morning people. The sun was not even up yet, it was still nearly dark.

I kept my eyes shut until my mother announced we were almost at our stop. The small coffee shop slowly came into view, my mood perking up just a TINY bit. Small, unpopular coffee shops are definitely one of my favorite places, probably ever. They're my absolute favorite during finals, though, when I need a pick-me-up on those late night study dates with no one but myself and the worker who'd repeatedly offer me sympathetic smiles here and there. She must've been in the same position once.

With a groan, I opened the car door and slammed it shut, shuffling quietly into the building. The door opened accompanied by a little ring of a bell, announcing my presence. A frail-looking old lady was seated behind the counter directly across from me. She gave me a warm smile before standing up and politely asking what I would like. The place was small, more like tiny. It smelled of cookies and dusty books, with comfortable looking recliners in the far left corner. What really caught my attention was the books litering the floor, and the wall pure of books, up and down, nothing else.

I ordered, my eyes still stuck on the amount books. The lady noticed me staring and sadly smiled. "You like books?" Her voice shook slightly.

"Yeah, ever since I was little I've been attached. Books are like my getaway," I explained. By then I was already at the wall of shelves, caressing each spine and wiping them clear of the layers of dust that was being heavily collected on them.

"Your order will be ready soon." I nodded in reply.

"how long have you had these?"

She opened her mouth to answer when the small bell on the door rung, signalling another customer.

A tall, blonde boy walked in. By tall, I mean like 6'3". He was a giant. His long blonde hair quiffed upwards, it definitely didn't help him look any shorter. A pair of dark Ray Ban sunglasses rested on the bridge of his nose. Seriously? It's like 5 in the morning with absolutely no sunlight whatsoever, why does he need glasses? A Nirvana shirt covered his torso, a red unbottoned plaid shirt draped on top of it. Two shirts? Seriously this guy is weird. Clung tightly to his thighs were a pair of plain black skinny jeans, meeting at the end with black vans. Very dark.

The worst part of all, whether I wanted to admit it or not, was that he was extremely attractive. The cocky smirk that played his lips. He definitely made girls melt under his touch, no doubt about it. He was grade A perfection on the appearance, I bet he'd beranked an F- for personality.

A subtle cough from his throat broke me from my trance, and I realized that I was still staring. His smirk only grew bigger. He yanked off his sunglasses, uncovering a deep purple-black shiner that swallowed his left eye. Well, there was my answer for the sunglasses.

"Good morning, Margie," he greeted respectfully. Must be the way he talks to all the elders.

"Boy, I told you to stop these fights! Look at what's happening to your face. Sooner or later, you'll be hospitalized, or worse," she warned him, reaching her thumb up to the bruise and gently caressing it. "Let me go get you some ice, I'll be right back," she scurried to the back room. Great, now I was left alone with the dark mysterious boy who is probably my murderer.

Glancing over at me, he introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Luke," sticking out a large hand to shake. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms and turning away. Margie came out with an large ice pack and pressed it against Luke's eye. He seemed confused, almost surprised that he'd been rejected by a girl. I must've been the first, and if there are other intelligent life forms like myself, I probably won't be the last.

"Oh, shoot!" Margie interjected, "I forgot all about your coffee, dear! It's probably cold now. I'll go make you another one, It won't take long." she gimped into the back room, leaving me alone with Satan himself once more. Arms crosses, still turned away from him, I tried everything I could to ignore the holes he was burning in the back of my head with his eyes. I did everything in my power to ignore his stare.

"Are you gonna tell me your name?" He asked me curiously.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because."

"That's not a very valid answer."

"Smartass."

"Can I at least pay for your coffee?"

My willpower obviously wasn't too strong, because at his last offer I whipped around, nearly giving myself whiplash.

"Who do you think you are? I don't even know you and I can tell that you're a pompus ass who plays all the innocent little teenage girls looking for love when you're just looking for a hook-up. I swear to god, if you talk to me one more time, I will personally kick your ass," I warned quietly through my teeth, in his face now. I hadn't realized that during my little spiel, I trudged closer and closer to him as he back away.

He grabbed my wrists, spinning me around an pinning me against the wall, arms above my head.

"I think I'm Luke Robert Hemmings, so what if I play with the hearts of inoocent little girls, what if I enjoyed you kicking my ass?" He answered, his voice a low whisper. To be honest, my heart was racing. I'd never been in any position like this with a guy before, not even Ryan. Now, here was this sexy giant, towerng over me in the most intimate position I've ever been in.

I scoffed and pushed him off of me.

"Come on, I was only playing!" I shot him a quick glare before Margie came back out, my coffee in one of her bony hands. She handed it to me.

"Luke, stop trying to pick up all the girls at my coffee shop. This is not the place for your tom foolery," she turned to me, "this one's on the house, dear."

"Thank you," I told her, and traipsed out of the shop without another look to the boy.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Love-is-lovely, ssalaja, and Ryan_Stankus for all their support! They each have amazing stories, so go read them! Thank you for reading and sticking with me.xx