Catch Fire (A.I.)

Chapter 2

After about 15 minutes of listening to the professor review the syllabus and sipping on my coffee (which had finally cooled down), I felt a sharp jab in my side and looked over to see Scarlett staring back at me with wide eyes.

"What?" I whispered in annoyance, rubbing my ribs tenderly.

"Three rows ahead of us, far right," was all she said, looking down so I followed her gaze curiously. Sitting there was a tall blond boy dressed in a red flannel, doodling on the back of his notebook. I snorted a little and looked back to Scarlett, who clearly was infatuated.

"Tori he's literally perfect," she breathed, blinking as she tore her gaze away from him to gauge my reaction and see if I agreed with her assessment of him.

"You haven't even seen his face," I snickered, picking up my pencil to resume my notetaking

"I don't need to," she huffed, clearly annoyed I wasn't drooling over him with her.

"Mhmm, why don't you just talk to him after class then?" I suggested, arching an eyebrow.

"Maybe I will!" She countered and I smirked, excited to see how this went. Scarlett had always been more confident and extroverted, and I loved watching her on her boy-endeavors.

We both turned our attention back to the professor until class finally ended. Somehow time always seemed to pass so slowly during lecture, and I struggled to focus. My eyes kept drifting down to my now-empty coffee cup, while my mind drifted to the boy who wrote on it.

Finally, we were dismissed from class and Scarlett frantically tossed her books into her bag, standing up and waiting for me impatiently. "Hurry, before he leaves!" She hissed, and I stood up alongside her, following her out the doors of the lecture hall.

I spotted him first and subtly gestured in his direction, hanging back while Scarlett slowly made her way over, taking a sip of her drink as she approached. I had a clear view of him now and took note immediately of his bright blue eyes that contrasted perfectly with the black lip ring he was wearing. Scarlett was right, he definitely wasn't bad-looking.

She had almost reached him and I watched in anticipation, when suddenly a sound that vaguely resembled a siren pierced my ears.

"LUKEEYYY!!" A girl ran by me squealing and threw herself into the boy's arms. He hugged her back and smiled down at her, but I couldn't help but notice the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. How intriguing.

My attention turned to Scarlett who had made a sharp U-turn at the sight of the "happy" couple, and she navigated her way back to me quickly. I could already tell that she was fuming.

"Of course he already has a girlfriend," she hissed under her breath when she reached my side, angrily turning so we could watch them together across the sea of people making their way to their next classes.

The girl was clinging onto him so hard I thought he might suffocate, and I suppressed a giggle as we watched them. "C'mon Scar, you know you could treat him so much better than that," We both stared in fascination as he gingerly untangled himself from the girl and they started to walk off. She was a good bit shorter than him with perfectly curled dirty-blonde hair and perfectly applied make-up. Of course.

"I don't know about that," Scarlett frowned, finishing her drink. "She looks so perfect."

"It's okay, there's plenty of other boys on this campus. There's gonna be 100 frat parties this weekend and I'm sure we'll both find someone there," I reassured her with a laugh and the smile returned to her face.

"You're right Tor. Also, can we please get more coffee? I could use a refill right about now."

I felt a shiver pass over me as my mind returned back to the boy who made my coffee this morning, wondering if he's still working. If I went back in today I'd look so desperate...but also I wanted to see him again. I'd only interacted with him for a few minutes, but I already missed the sound of his laugh...

"Alright, only for you, since you got your heart shattered today by 'Lukeyyy!'" I imitated the annoying girl perfectly and we both laughed. "But you have to pay this time, heartbreak girl," I teased her and she rolled your eyes.

"Fine. Where even is the Starbucks on this campus? I swear I'm never gonna be able to learn my way around." She sighed and started off in the wrong direction.

"Do you want coffee or not?" I grinned as she realized her mistake, and we headed the correct way towards Starbucks.

After about a 10-minute walk we reached the coffee shop, which was conveniently located right at the edge of campus and the start of the main city. I felt my heartbeat accelerate as we approached it, wondering if he was still working or not. Most likely yes, since class only lasted an hour.

We both stepped inside and were greeted by the smell of fresh pastries and coffee being made. A bell hanging over the door jingled pleasantly as we entered the warm building. The morning rush had died down and it was relatively empty, and my eyes darted behind the counter to look for him. There was only a girl with silver-dyed hair and an older man working, and my heart sank. I definitely shouldn't have gotten my hopes up so high. At least he wouldn't see me coming in twice in one day though, that might have been embarrassing.

Scarlett and I stepped up to the register to order, waiting patiently for someone to notice we were ready. The girl was wiping down tables out on the main floor and the older man seemed to be busy restocking the pastry display. He glanced up and gave us a friendly smile. "Someone will be with you in just a moment," he said kindly, then glanced over his shoulder. "ASHTON! Customers!" He called out, and I felt my cheeks flush.

The door to the backroom swung open and then there he was, his face breaking into a warm smile when his hazel eyes met my blue ones.

"Back for a third time?!" he smirked as he approached the register, tapping his longer fingers on the counter absentmindedly. "And this must be the friend you mentioned?" he nodded at Scarlett, who smiled warmly before giving me a quizzical glace that translated to "you've got some explaining to do."

"You can never have too much coffee," I shrugged as I ordered for both myself and Scarlett yet again. "Especially on the first day of classes."

"First day here and you're already a regular, I like it." He typed in our orders and brushed his hair out of his eyes gently. My heart skipped a beat yet again at his words. "We'll have your order out in just a minute," he said, giving me yet another smirk.

"Thanks, Ashton," I smiled back, feeling bold for using his name. Scarlett and I headed over to wait for our drinks and watched as he got to work making them.

"TORI." She whispered to me, her eyes wide, but I just shook my head abruptly.

"Later," I whispered back, though she looked like she was about to explode with excitement. After another minute of waiting Ashton came over with our drinks, handing them to us individually.

"See you around," he said in a friendly voice and then turned back to his work, and the two of us shuffled out the door quickly. I was a little disappointed he didn't say anything more when I left, but I was just another customer and I shouldn't expect anything more.

"TORI who was that?! Why didn't I hear about him?" Scarlett practically screeched the moment we were outside and the door was closed behind us.

"Shhh it doesn't matter! He's just a barista." I felt myself blushing yet again.

"Yeah, one who was definitely flirting with you!" She insisted excitedly.

"He was NOT, they're nice to everyone like that. It gets them more tips." I said matter-of-factly, rolling my eyes.

"Oh yeah? So does he just write his number on everyone's drink too?" She smirked victoriously.

"What? He didn't do tha—" I looked down at my cup. There, in the same messy black handwriting, were 10 tiny numbers, signed with an "A."

 A/N: Okay I know this is moving super fast oops but I literally am just so excited to write this story, so I really hope you guys enjoy!! Thanks so much for reading and remember to vote and comment, I love you all so much!