prompt requested: 5. "I need just one date." ; "You think you can woo me with just one date?" ; "Absolutely."
notes: it's an au and marcus is a barista at starbucks :)
—
today was your first day of university, and to say you were afraid was an understatement. you had moved to christchurch, new zealand to pursue your studies - and now you were 5 million miles away from everything you had ever known (okay, maybe 5 million miles was an exaggeration, but it was still far).
why did you even decide to come here all on your own? sometimes you seriously questioned your life decisions.
while walking around the city last week, you noticed that there was a starbucks present along the route to the university, feeling some comfort in the fact that your daily coffee would remain a constant.
walking into starbucks, you approached the counter, where a guy around your age stood.
"can i have a mocha frappuccino with no whipped cream to go please?" you ask, and he takes down your order.
"your name?"
"y/n."
"pretty name for a pretty girl like you," he says, scribbling down your name on the cup, a smirk forming on his features, a pink tint colouring yours.
maybe studying here wasn't the worst decision you'd made.
—
as the weeks pass, he memorises your order, not even needing to ask before he takes a cup and writes your name down.
you couldn't lie to yourself - you were kinda crushing on him. he was cute, and the assured manner with which he flirted with you every morning sent your stomach into flutters.
today, even before you reach the counter, he picks up a cup, scribbling down your name and passing it to his co-worker.
as you take out your credit card to pay, he begins to speak.
"you're not from around here, are you?" he questions, eyebrow raised as he scans your card and does what is required. it seemed your accent had given you away again.
"yea, i'm from ||hometown||, but i moved here to attend university," you reply honestly, seeing no reason to lie to him.
a smirk spreads over his features - a look you were used to, yet it made your heart flutter just a little.
"so, you're not just a pretty face - i like that," he replied, and you could hear the sincerity in his voice beyond his flirtatious nature, making you smile - yet the colour rushes to your face, and you can't look him straight in the eye.
suddenly, a small burst of courage surges through you, causing a question to unintentionally fall off your lips.
"i don't think it's fair that you know my name and i don't know yours, is it?"
he smiles as he hands your credit card back to you, your fingertips brushing his for longer than they should.
"marcus, marcus armstrong - your local starbucks barista," his smile turns into a smirk, before he calls for the next customer and you have to leave the queue.
as you pick up your mocha frappuccino that day, there's a heart signed next to your name, that is on every single cup from that day on.
—
today was the final day of the first semester, and you were glad half the year was over. you'd enjoyed studying her - new zealand truly was an amazing place.
it also marked half a year crushing on your local starbucks barista.
even through short snippets of conversation at the counter, he made you fall for his relaxed nature, his smile, his signature smirk.
you had begun to keep some of the cups he'd give you each morning, some with little notes when you came in with piles of notes in hand ('good luck for your test' was written on those days), some with absolutely stupid things (one said 'are you sure you want a mocha frappuccino every bloody morning?'), and some with sweet little compliments ('you have pretty eyes' showed up on your cup one morning).
the little notes on the cups often gave you something to discuss while paying for your drink the next day, keeping the conversation going, and it seemed to do just that.
until today.
this morning, he'd already prepared your cup before you entered the shop - he knew what time you walked into the store at this point.
it was the usual - you began talking about yesterday's cup note - it was some pun that wasn't even funny, which you had to point out - while paying at the counter, and him wishing you a good day before calling the next customer over.
however, when picking up the cup for the day, you were shocked.
below your name - with it's accompanying heart - was a phone number, along with the words 'call me maybe?' written in marcus' messy scrawl.
firstly, you were kinda shocked that it took him a whole semester, but above all else, you were shocked that he'd passed his number on to you.
but since the message said to call him, that's exactly what you chose to do.
"hello? this is marcus, who is this?"
you giggle over the phone when you realise he had no idea it was you.
"it's me, y/n, the starbucks girl, remember? your number was on the cup this morning, so i took you up on the offer to call you."
he laughs, and you smile. his laugh was something you could get used to hearing.
"glad you took my offer up. left my number for ya because i wanted to take you out for a day, maybe make you my girlfriend by the end of it?"
you felt as if you could hear his smirk through the call, and decide for the first time, maybe it was time for you to keep your ego from inflating further.
"making me your girlfriend after the first date?" you question, and yet you know his smirk does not faulter.
"i need just one date to make you fall for me, love," he responds, making your heart flutter at the nickname, but you won't let it go so easily.
"you think you can woo me with just one date?" you shoot back, but at this point both of you were just messing with the other, the smile on your face widening.
"absolutely," he replies, confidence oozing from his voice.
not wanting him to get the satisfaction just yet, you teased, "we'll see about that."
he laughs on the other end, and you swear your smile becomes brighter than it has ever been.
"we'll settle the details over text, yea?" he asks, and you nod, forgetting he cannot see you, before replying.
"yea, we'll do that. see you tomorrow morning?"
"see you tomorrow, darlin'," he replies back, before hanging up.
and oh, was he right about you falling after just one date.
—
a/n: i'm sorry for disappearing for so long, but i'm back! the other requests will be completed slowly, and i hope to finish them all before starting school. hope you enjoyed this one, i had fun writing it :) soph :)
