How To Save a Lost Soul (Rewritten)

3. Walking on Sunshine

Regret punches Zane right in the gut the moment he steps through the doors of the cafe. The cafe definitely remains true it's name. The outside was painted a sky blue and a large yellow sun painting adorned the side of the building. The inside of the building had windows almost everywhere you looked. The cafe was so lovely and colorful and people were chatting cheerfully. Zane definitely stands out in this place.

      "Hello! Welcome to Sunny Shine cafe! Would you like to taste our newest Ocean Wave  Tea? It's guaranteed to have you walking on sunshine!" The lady at the front counter greets. She has bright blonde hair, she's fairly tall, and her apron is a pastel yellow with smiley faces on each pocket.

      Zane clears his throat and returns, "Um no... Can I just get a hot chocolate and a chocolate cupcake?"

"Mhm! Will that be it?"

"Yeah."

"What is the order name?"

"Zane"

"Okey-dokey! Your total is $5.53!"

Zane pays the cashier and finds a seat in the back of the cafe. It's not the cleanest table out of the others, but then again, Zane assumes not many other loners come here. He opens his phone to see that of course, he has zero messages or no notifications. He scrolls through his different apps and still doesn't find anything worth really looking at.

       He sets his phone down and realizes, the pink haired meif'wa sitting directly across from him.

       "Hey, Zane Kun, right?"

        Zane sputters, "Y..Yeah. Where- When did you get here?"

"It's Kawaii Chan's lunch break! What is Zane Kun doing here?" Kawaii Chan replies, resting her head onto her palms and tilting her head, smiling kindly at the dark-haired male.

Zane clears his throat, "Aphmau actually recommended this place to me. She said it was good."

"Kawaii Chan is very thankful that Aphmau Senpai has recommended this place! We don't normally get new customers!" Kawaii Chan admits.

I wonder why, Zane thinks to himself. Obviously, Zane is more brooding than the average person, but he doesn't imagine there are that many cheerful people who would be at this cafe.

Zane hums in response and begins tapping his foot under the table. He's really not great with social interaction and it causes him to get anxious. Kawaii Chan hums to the cheerful tune playing on the radio and she says, "Kawaii Chan loves this song!"

       The brooding male groans at the upbeat pop song and he rubs his temples with his fingers. Kawaii Chan notices his response to the song and can't help but grin at how dramatic the male is. So silly..., She thinks to herself. She pulls a pen and paper out of her pockets and begins writing, then she stands up from her seat and hands Zane the paper.

       "Kawaii Chan thought that because her and Zane Kun keep running into each other, Zane Kun should have her number! Kawaii Chan has to head back to work now! See you later!" Kawaii Chan waves with a smile on her face and she disappears to the back room.

       Zane stares at the digits nervously. He doesn't know why she would give him her number, considering they don't know anything about each other. He shoves the number into his pocket and stands up when he hears his name being called from the serving counter.

———

"Hold on, you have Kawaii Chan's number?" Aphmau asks, obviously shocked by the idea. She adjusts the toddler, Lilith, sitting in her lap. On certain days, Aphmau has to babysit for a woman, Ms.Olivia, because her boyfriend, Aaron is too busy.

Zane shrugs and sets the little slip of paper on his lap, looking at it closely before replying, "Why would anyone give me their number? Did it look like I wanted it? Does she know who I am?"

Aphmau giggles and leans back on the tan, leather couch. She moves her hair to one side of her shoulder, noticing Lilith was started to chew on it. She says, "Maybe she knows you need friends."

"Oh, shut up."

Aphmau chuckles evilly and suddenly, she's gasping at the tv, "Zane! My Little Horsies is on!"

        Yeah, you heard that right. My Little Horsies. That's a show that constantly comes on when Aphmau is babysitting and Aphmau and Zane are hooked. It's one of those kids tv shows you can't help but watch, even though you know it's embarrassing. They've even went through the struggle to start at the very first episode to catch up on what's happening.

        "Horsies!" Lilith exclaims, bouncing up and down before Aphmau steadies her, giggling.

       Zane leans back and places the phone number down on his lap. His eyes glue onto the tv and he asks, "So, what exactly happened last time again?"

Aphmau catches him up on the details of the show and they watch a few episodes together. These are Zane's favorite days. These are the days where Zane doesn't feel alone or anxious because he has his best friend with him. Ms. Olivia finally stopped by after the 3rd episode that played and she picked up Lilith with much difficulty. Lilith always bawls her eyes out and screams so loud, then Aphmau will always rush to her side to attack her with hugs and kisses before they finally let the toddler go.

      Aphmau flops onto the couch and lets out a cry before expressing her pain, "I want to keep her!"

        Zane rolls his eyes with a chuckle and responds, "Babies are a pain. Did you hear how she was crying?"

       Aphmau smacks his arm before pouting and crossing her arms, "Hmph. Of course you wouldn't understand. You're heartless!"

        Zane nods in agreement and pulls his mask down a bit to breathe a little. Aphmau stops pouting and stares at the freckles that adorn her friend's cheeks and hums in admiration, "Zane, you know, if you stopped wearing a mask, maybe people would approach you more often. You're freckles are honestly adorable!"

         He blushes in embarrassment and covers his face again before replying, "Yeah right... I got made fun of for these."

        "In like, high school! We're grown ass adults now!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

Aphmau lowers her brows in annoyance and walks into her kitchen to grab something. She's always hated how stand-offish her friend is. He never tries to communicate with other people because he's afraid of something happening because of his past. Zane stays sitting down on the couch and he finally decides to put Kawaii Chan's number into his phone. He stares at the contact before building up the courage to type:

Zane

Hey, it's Zane...

He drops his phone and Aphmau hollers from the kitchen, "Popcorn and a Disney movie?"

To this, Zane chuckles and responds, "Sure!"

———

I'm so so so sorry for leaving you guys waiting for so long! School started up again a while ago and it's been super stressful! I hope you guys are still enjoying the story and please continue to leave feedback! Love you guys! ❤️