Tori|
"I thought you would be a straight black kind of coffee drinker."
Jade smirks at me as she tears open a packet of sugar, holding it above her steaming coffee and tapping the bottom, white crystals sinking. "Believe it or not, Vega, I have a soul, and I like my coffee sweet."
I laugh at her, pressing my back against the counter while I hold my cup in front of me, twirling my straw. Starbucks is busy at this time of day, buzzing with conversation and smelling thick of pastries and caramel. I suck it in and let it stir warmly in my lungs. I love the atmosphere of coffee shops; people are clicking away at their laptops, an old couple smiling at a small table by the window, high school kids - some Jade and I recognize but haven't addressed - drinking far too much caffeine, a business man jogging out of the door with his espresso - it's like the center of the world. All kinds of faces melting together for a nice cup of Joe.
Smiling into my cup, I take a careful sip before pressing the warm cup against my sternum. Jade pours two more packets of sugar into her drink before she trots toward an empty table meant for two. I follow behind her. She's wearing more of my clothes - the darkest pair of jeans I could find and a v-neck white t-shirt. I've never seen her in white before. It's quite the contrast against her dark hair and pale skin, like a painting done in all the right colors to confuse the eyes. I sit across from her, my fingers tenting around my cup. She's looking out the window, green eyes magnified in brightness by the sun streaming in at a yellow slant. I study her with my chin balancing on the humps of my knuckles. It's weird and strange and completely opposite, the way she's been treating me, the way I've been treating her - this whole scenario is so bizarre, it's hard for me to wrap my head around it. When we first met, I was convinced we'd be nothing but enemies, maybe acquaintances, but never friends. Never this. I hang out with Andre and Cat like this, even Robbie sometimes, but Jade ... I could have never hoped for a friendship with her.
My heart stirs. I smile, more to myself than to her. I mean, it sucks that it was under these circumstances, that her boyfriend broke up with her and that's what brought her here. She didn't seek me out out of kindness or the need to have a good friend or because she thinks I'm a nice girl. She came to me because she needs someone and now that it's can't be Beck, she chose me. I press my lips to the small opening on the lid and let the hot liquid splash against my tongue. I'm not sure how I feel about being her second choice - I guess it's a good thing, considering I wasn't anything before. And she must have thought good things about me previously or she would have gone to someone else, or no one at all.
I flick my gaze up to her again. She's still looking out the window. She's not frowning, but no smile generally means nothing good. I reach across, slowly, the cold tabletop chilling the skin on the underside of my wrist as my fingers brush the top of her hand. Jade doesn't look at me, eyelids half-blinking over her eyes. I can already recognize the tension in her throat, the struggle to swallow - I know all of these signs of her about to cry, of her holding back. My fingers circle around her hand and give a squeeze. It takes her a moment to respond, but her hand finally presses tightly against mine, her eyelids finally falling closed and crinkling at the corners.
I've never been in love, not like Jade was. Is. The closest I ever got was dating Steven who, for three months, cheated on me with an Internet celebrity. Or he cheated on her. He cheated on both of us - and that hurt. It hurt and it sucked and even though Carly and I humiliated him in front of hundreds, possibly even thousands of people, it didn't make me feel any better. I spent that weekend curled up in my room, breaking the charm bracelet Steven gave me into pieces. But that was it, really; a weekend of feeling like crap, eating ice cream, and then I was pretty much back to normal. I liked Steven a lot. He made me feel special, we got along really well, but once you find out someone has been lying to you for three months, every good feeling you have about them kind of disappears.
