Timothee.

chapter four. adele.

All I could do was listen to the strong yet soft voice of Hozier ring through my ears. I watched every step I took on the sidewalk with glances up every now and then, careful not to bump into anybody.

Up ahead was the coffee chop. No fancy name, but it was just labeled 'Cafe'. My hand wrapped around the cold metal bar that would pull the door opened and I breathed hard force pulling it. I spotted him sitting in the far left corner. It was darker and more secluded though nobody was really around anyway.

He still had the scarf wrapped around his lower face. What was up with that? I remembered to take my earbuds out of my ears so I wouldn't seem too disrespectful and before I knew it I was standing next to the table. I made sure to tastefully unbutton my mother's trench coat and set it gently on the back of my seat.

"Hey Timothée..." I was too shy to mention anything about the scarf just yet. I couldn't get over his eyes and I was stupid to think I would be ready for the rest of his face.
He stood up and walked over to me. "I would kiss your cheeks but..." He pointed at his scarf and then shrugged.

Sitting we both stared at each other for a few minutes, me mostly trying to figure out the rest of his face; him mostly staring at my odd features. Everything too big where it should be small, everything too small where it should've been big. I understood.
"The coffee should be coming soon..." He added, "just incase you were wondering." I nodded and just let out a slight giggle.

"So the scarf?" I finally asked, "what's— I mean not to be rude or anything... of course... but why do you wear it?" My heart pounded against my chest and to cover it up I crossed my hands together on top of the table. Maybe I thought that showed I felt confident, but there's no way in hell he felt the same way. His eyes looked down at my hands on the table and back up at my neck as I gulped. I heard him muster up a small laugh. He shook his head slightly still laughing a bit.

"You are the most nervous girl I have ever met. I mean that..." He sighed after letting his small laughter die down. I had joined for a bit. My mind was racing and all I could think of was how stupid he probably found me. He seemed extremely mature, and put together. He was most likely older, while I was still a freshman in college. "I wear the scarf because... I'm not happy with the rest of my face— I guess you could say. I'm afraid it might bring some bias into whatever we have right now. Our friendship."

FRIENDSHIP? It wasn't a date. Of course he wasn't interested in me, he saw me basically eat the sidewalk yesterday. I squeezed my hands together as they sat closed together. I felt the sweat begin to form in between the two and it felt like they were on fire. Embarrassment was all over me, except for my face.

"Why would your appearance alter our um... friendship?" I asked curiously, "i don't care about looks in any situation." The coffee had arrived at the table in the middle of our conversation and the employee who had seen the utter seriousness over our conversation, had backed away quickly.
"It's not like that... you wouldn't understand..." He huffed and ran his fingers through his hair. His nose peaked from underneath his scarf a bit, but quickly he pulled it up.

The top half of his face looked painfully familiar. I searched through my mind at the speed of light trying to figure out who he looked like, but I couldn't figure it out. At least in the moment I had just been shocked by his sudden melancholy.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to bother you about it. I was curious and—"
"Don't worry okay? You don't need to apologize. You can't see it, but I'm smiling now. There's no need to worry."

I felt my cheeks warm up and I had to look anywhere else but at him. My eyes drifted down to the coffee and I picked up the mug sipping. It was the perfect temperature. I set it down after a few gulps and he did the same. He looked back into my eyes.
"So you're in college... right?" He inquired. He was the type to lean in whenever asking an important or intimate question. It made me feel important.

"Yes..."
"Smart girl?"
I chuckled shyly at that remark and rolled my eyes playfully as well. I cupped my cold hands around the warm mug once again to lift it up to my mouth and sip some more coffee.

"Do you live alone?" I asked him a question as well and examined his eye color more in depth. There was so much going on and not just color wise. I just wanted to kiss him, but I didn't even know what his lips looked like.