Coffee Shop AU

Oh god, it's sooo awkward

By the next day Connor had a plan. He would get that cute blond's attention, even if it cost him his job.

Well, maybe not that far. Larry wouldn't be pleased if he was fired because of a boy. He'd only just come round to his son being gay, Connor didn't want to push his luck.

Setting up his coffee machine, Connor patiently watched as customer after customer shuffled through the door, eyes peeled for a blue shirt, or blond hair.

Finally, at three in the afternoon, the bell rang, and Evan appeared. He did his usual search of the room, before making his way over to Kleinman's counter. Connor took a deep breath, then cleared his throat in what he hoped was an inconspicuous manner.

Evan turned, and locked eyes with him. Connor leaned over the counter, and pushed a lock of hair behind his ear, giving Evan lidded-eyes, half-smirk. This did several things;

One, it showed off his several earrings, which he'd been complimented on in the past by many customers, and drove home his 'punk aesthetic'. Connor only hoped that wouldn't scare Evan away.

Two, the 'tucking hair behind ear' move was pretty well known, and should send a clear message to Evan of his intentions. Plus, Connor had taken extra care to wash it five times that morning, to make it look fluffy and soft. It would have been a sixth if Zoe hadn't almost barricaded the door down, yelling about needed the toilet. His mom had commented on it looking nice, which Connor had taken to heart. He'd nearly asked her to help him brush it, like when he was little, out of desperation. But he was pretty sure she would have had an aneurysm.

He was well aware that 'my mom said I looked handsome' was a pathetic thing to say, but hopefully it wouldn't crop up in conversation.

Three, leaning over the counter put his awesome arm tattoos on display. Yeah, it was only a lightning bolt and a tree, but that was kind of punk, right?

Back to the present, Evan was frozen in the middle of the room, stuck in a staring contest with Connor. For a second, Connor thought he'd made a mistake, and that Evan would go running for the hills. Until the door opened again, the bell rang, and Evan jumped in surprise. That seemed to break the spell, and the blond awkwardly came closer to Connor's counter.

Connor's heart leapt in his throat. This was it. The moment of truth. Him and Evan. Evan and Him.

What had he been thinking?! He had never spoken to Evan before! He didn't even know if he was gay, or liked boys, or anything! Connor was going to make an idiot out of himself, and then Kleinman would laugh at him, and he'd be fired for punching the creep, and Larry would make him work at his dumb law firm and-

"Hey-hey." Evan muttered, eyes glued to the floor. Connor tilted his head, hair falling neatly, and caught a glimpse of bright copper. Evan had brown eyes, interesting.

"What can I-er, what can I get you?" Connor asked. His chest felt tight, the rhythmic pounding of his heart almost bursting through his ribs. He was an idiot. A creep. Probably a sociopath if he thought Evan would ever like him.

"A-a small hot choco-chocolate, no-no cream." Evan's voice was so quiet, it was almost a whisper. It made a hot flush crawl up Connor's neck. He nodded silently, and moved to start working on the coffee machine with shaking hands.

What did he say? What did he say? What did he know about Evan? Oh that's right; nothing. He was friends with Kleinman, but Connor wanted to keep him as far away from the conversation as possible. He was shy; but he might not appreciate being told that. Oh god, this was a disaster.

Connor turned back, hot chocolate in hand, and gave Evan a small smile. He wasn't really used to smiling; he'd never had a reason to before.

Evan took the drink in equally shaking hands, and was about to leave, when Connor panicked.

"Wait!" he yelled, and Evan flinched. Connor felt like crying; idiot, screw-up, failure. What to do, what to do.

"Err, did you, um, want foam, or something?" he asked, tripping over his words. Evan stood there a moment, staring into his drink, before answering.

"Yes, yes please." and he handed the drink back.

Connor fiddled with the foam machine, and before finishing grabbed the chocolate powder.

"Pow-powder?" he managed to get out over a heavy tongue, and Evan squeaked out a small 'yes please' behind him.

Now, Connor didn't consider himself good at many things, but even he could admit he was alright at art. His teachers all praised and admired him, and there were even a couple of his paintings hanging in his hallway, thanks to his mum. So, making foam art couldn't be that hard.

After a few failed attempts, partly because of his hesitation, shaking and 'Evan's waiting, you're wasting his time, hurry up!', Connor managed a small chocolate heart.

He turned, handed it to the other, and hoped for the best. Evan handed over the money, looking like he was going to be sick with fear, and quickly left.

Connor watched as he walked out the door, and thought about his bed at home. A plush king-sized bed where no one could see him cry from exhaustion, and low self-esteem. What a lovely idea.

However, the next few people who came through the door had other ideas, as they all crowded around Connor's counter, eyeing his tattoos, silky hair,and earrings.

Connor sighed.