☆ Unexpected Coffee ☆ ~ A Saimota Fic

Chapter 1: Encounter

High school is stressful, to say the least.

Shuichi Saihara was trying his absolute best in all of his assignments, yet everything always drained him. It's not like he got bad grades or anything, hell, his scores are one of the best in his class. Although, he can never push away the feelings of dread and how much he felt like an outcast while at school. Was it because he had no friends? Or was it all just something about him? Did everyone dislike him?

Shuichi hates having to argue with his mind about these situations. It gives him bad thoughts, to say the least.

Which is why he is currently going to one of his favorite comfort spots. A bookstore cafe.

Shuichi has always loved to go to calm places when he was stressed or when his anxiety was getting the best of him, but this one cafe was different. Shuichi didn't fully understand why he loved going there as much as he does, but he came to accept it. The whole vibe of the bookstore cafe made him feel at ease. It always played soft jazz in the background. The smell of all the different kinds of coffee relaxed him, and all the people paid little attention to him (in which he loved). The furniture and overall theme consisted of vintage and old-timey aesthetic. All the books in the sections were neatly fixed, and most importantly, they had one of his all-time favorite mystery series in stock.

Today, he's going there to finish one of his independent assignments. It was supposed to be a group project, but before he knew it, everyone already had a partner. So he took it upon himself to finish the project on his own. He honestly didn't care much about the matter that no one asked him to be his partner. In fact, he was relieved to know he wasn't working with other people. Yet of course, getting pretty lonely is natural.

Once he stepped in, he was greeted by the small jingle of the cute bell above the door. The barista gave Shuichi a pleasant smile and nod, in which Shuichi returned. He immediately took note of the fresh aroma of coffee beans and the jazz that was currently playing. The barista was a kind old man with a friendly atmosphere. Nobody knows how he does it, but the barista truly adds his vibe to the cafe.

Shuichi then walked over to the counter and ordered himself an expresso. The barista nodded and proceeded to make his drink. There aren't many people here today Shuichi thought. He then took note of his surroundings, there were a few people drinking coffee on the counters, and only one other person who seemed to have their head buried in a book. They had extremely spikey purple hair, and they had a fashionable jean jacket with a NASA logo on the back. They had a plain white sweater under their jean jacket, and they had a plain pair of black sweatpants. Oh yikes, I'm still in my uniform, I should've changed at home, Shuichi thought. He caught himself staring, so he quickly paid back attention to his drink.

~ First Person POV~

(Shuichi)

That person looked pretty annoyed, I wonder what's up with them?

"Charming boy? Eh?" Said the barista while handing me my drink. I blushed, he caught me staring! How embarrassing.

"He showed up not too long ago, he said his name was Kaito. He's having trouble with his missing schoolwork." Oh, so his name is Kaito?

"Oh! Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." I said. The barista nodded again as I paid for my drink. Might as well start studying. I went over to one of the window seats near the book section of the cafe. I took a sip of my expresso while I was at it. Delicious as always. I looked outside the window. Even though its barely 5 pm, it's getting pretty dark outside. All the passing cars and the ambiance of the outside was surprisingly calming. I finally took a seat, and grabbed my laptop out of my backpack and put it on the counter. Ah, finally some work time. Just when I was going to start my project, there was a tap on my shoulder. I flinched and looked over to who it was. It was the boy named Kaito.

"H-Hey! Sorry for scaring ya, but do you perhaps go to Hopes Peak?" He asked. OH GOD SOMEONE'S TALKING TO ME.

"Y-Yeah?" I said back. He immediately burst into one of the brightest smiles I've ever seen. Now that I could finally see his face more clearly, I realized he had a goatee. It honestly looked kinda cute.

"Aw sweet! I barely just transferred a few weeks ago, I'm in class 1A, but I had to skip school today." He said. So he's in my class, I never even noticed him. Gosh, I really am detached from my classroom huh?

"We're in the same class, right? I could've sworn that I caught a glimpse of your face once." He asked.

"Oh uh, yes. I'm pretty sure we are." I'm getting pretty nervous, this is the most I've talked to someone since the first day of high school...

"Ah! Great! So, I kinda just wanted to ask you a question? I got an email about the group project we're having, so it's about that." Kaito asked. His mood completely crushed after his remark about the group project. I wonder what's wrong?

"Yes, what is it?" I said back.

"Well, you see, since I was absent today, I wasn't really able to pick a partner. I don't really do well on big assignments on my own so, can I be your partner? O-Only if you don't have one yet, if you already do, I understand." At this point, I was completely bewildered. A guy like him is asking me to be his partner?!? This type of situation has never happened to me before. Ever since I was little, people avoided me for being too timid, I was never able to grow up with friends. And now, for the first time, someone asked me to work together... I can't let this opportunity go to waste!

"N-No Uhm, I don't have a partner. We can work together if you want." and just like that, Kaito became light itself.

"Thank you so much, man! You can leave it to me! Oh crap! We haven't even introduced ourselves yet. Well, I'm Kaito Momota!" He had a huge grin on his face. And somehow, once I saw it, all my worries went away. Call it a hunch, but, I feel as if I can trust Kaito. I don't know if its something about him, but, my mind is completely relaxed.

"I'm Shuichi Saihara, nice to meet you, Kaito." I smiled at him.