Noelle
Saturday September 28 2018
5:23pm
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Fuck you too.
I hate people who don't signal! God...
I took my car since when I decided to check how far the cafe was, I would have been late if I walked.
I still vividly remember when I got the car. It was last years Christmas present, and god was that a great Christmas. My parents did that cliche thing, the thing where they blindfold you and lead you outside to see the car with a big bow on it. It's an old model, a 1998 Toyota Corolla, but it's actually a pretty good car.
I think that was the best Christmas we'd ever had. Calvin was so, damn, happy then. I wish I had actually known why then.
Too bad I fucked that up.
I park near the cafe and take a breath. I'm about to go work with William, fucking, Jeans. I really can't decide my thoughts on the guy.
The cafe's designs are pretty simple but nice, a kind of subtle vintage aesthetic, the name in simple lettering, The Hideout. I open the door and hear the little jingle of a bell, a pleasant, "hello!" following after.
The place isn't that big but it seems very cozy. "Hello," I say walking up to the counter.
"What can I get you?" The woman chirps.
"Could I get a cappuccino with a croissant please?"
"Sure! That'll be $7.80."
I quickly pay as she reaches through the display to get a croissant.
"Here's your croissant, and just take a seat, I'll bring your drink to you."
"Thank you!"
I look around the cafe to find a place to sit. Wait... I almost forgot I'm meeting William. I spot him seated comfortably at a small table by a window. He has a drink already, and his laptop out. Why didn't he wave me over?
I walk over and take a seat opposite to him, but he still doesn't look up from his laptop. Jerk.
"Ahem." why do I feel embarrassed?
"Hmm..?" He finally looks up, peering at me without lifting his head. "Ah, you're finally here. Took you long enough," He snickers.
"Wha- it's 5:36! What do you mean, 'took me long enough'?" I huff. Great, already fucked up my mood.
"If you're not in time, you're late," he replies.
"God, can we just get on with this..." I grumble, getting my laptop out of my bag.
He chuckles with the slightest hint of a smile. "Ah, sorry if I was a little too crude earlier and offended you. We've gotta work together to get a good mark on this assignment, so don't flip your shit too early on me, okay?" He teases.
I find myself laughing a little. "Yeah, yeah, whatever."
At lease he apologized.
"Now, shall we get on with this your highness?" Fuck you. And your damn smirk.
I raise my eyebrows with impatience, signalling him to start explaining the assignment.
"Okay, so we just need to make a PowerPoint with a short essay about a historical figure that impacted literature in some way, shape, or form. It doesn't matter how big the impact was, just something recognizable." He explained. I got my cappuccino as he continued to explain in further detail, and his recommendations on who we should do our assignment on.
We bounced ideas off each other, figuring out who's researching what parts/details, but the conversation always seemed to drift...
"Do you talk to anyone?" I blurt out.
"Pardon?"
"That may have come out wrong, sorry. I never see you talk to anyone besides the professor. Is there anyone else you talk to?"
I never intended to get involved with William in any way possible, but I can't help but succumb to my curiosity with him here.
"Well yes, I speak with my family and other professors."
"That's not what I meant." I huff. "Do you have any friends here?" Fuck, that sounded pretty mean.
"Wow, you really have no discretion do you?" He chuckles. "But I do have a friend, though I'm not sure why that would concern you."
"What is that supposed to mean."
"Judging by what I hear most people say about me, I'm not sure I'm someone you would associate with. So why bother being curious?" He states, a little too blunt.
"Hmm.." I'm not sure why. I just am.
"Can you blame them though? You never talk to anyone, nor do you give any hints that you want to. You always act so gloomy and shit, and dude, you're drinking straight black coffee." I flare my hands out to some how emphasis my point.
"I just don't really care for having many friends like you, and why does my coffee have anything to do with this?"
I groan in annoyance as I try to ask something else. "Is it true you're here on a scholarship?"
"Yes. Is that unbelievable?"
"Not really, just wanted to confirm that." I clear my throat.
"Are you one of those people who have their whole life set and pre-planned too?" I continue.
"Not exactly. I do have some idea of what I'd like to do in the future, but nothing's set in stone just yet." He pushes his glasses up before he continues.
"Is it that strange? Well I suppose, no offence, but I doubt you have a clue what career you want to pursue."
I laugh. "Definitely not. No clue, whatsoever. Well, what general areas are you considering?"
He gives a strange look before leaning forward.
"Since you're asking me so many questions, may I ask one about you?" He raises an eyebrow.
Can I trust this? Though I feel like I have been unintentionally interrogating him a bit. What the fuck would he even ask?
"Ookay..."
"Don't get all defensive. I was just going to ask why you chose to come to this school."
Oh. That's not that bad but...
"It was the school I wanted to go to since junior year. It's got some good programs, not too far from home, and some friends were coming here as well. Though I haven't been doing as well as I had hoped, as you can see." I mumble the last part more to myself than him.
"Maybe it's because you've been too focused on being oh-so-popular, instead of working." He teases with a smirk.
"Oh shut up, asshat!" I grumble.
"Which reminds me, we should get back to ours." I see his smirk change into a faint, but what I think was a genuine smile, for just a split second.
I check the time. 7:14pm. Time went by fast.
"I guess, but we should probably be calling it a day soon." I peer over at him as he hums an mm-hmm, then goes back to working.
I watch as he takes a sip of his second cup of black coffee, focused intently on his laptop. He lets out a little huff as he types furiously, his eyebrows scrunching up ever so slightly, biting his lip occasionally. I never noticed he had such a cute concentration kind of face.
I shake my head as I focus on my own stuff. What am I even thinking about. I must be going crazy.
We work for maybe another half an hour before packing up.
"Alright, we'll work on your part, and we can meet up again after classes on Monday, sound good?" He asks as he finishes gathering all his things, swinging his bag onto his shoulder.
"Sure, sounds good," I reply, still shoving my things into my bag.
I should come here more often on my own time. It really is a nice place.
The worker at the counter waves as I walk through the door, William already outside.
"How'd you get here?" I ask curiously.
"I rode my bike here," he says, gesturing to the bike not too far away.
"I-I have a car, I could drive the both of us so you don't need to take your bike," I stutter out. What am I saying? Giving him a ride?
"No thank you," He answers a little uncomfortably quickly.
"A-alright then." I blink.
"Well this wasn't too bad. I hope our next meetings are just as pleasant." The corner of his lip quirks up.
What, oh wow, he just used the word pleasant to describe this. I don't know how to feel.
"I'll-" he starts before we both notice the cat on the windowsill, playing with the daisies.
I hear him audibly gasp. What.
He reaches out his hand, and the cat starts to rub its cheek against him. He picks up the cat with this look of awe. I hear the faintest "hello".
Holy shit. What the fuck is happening right now.
This other cat comes out of no where and goes right behind his feet. Not wanting to step on the cat, he ends up tripping over and landing surprisingly softly against the wall with a surprised "shit!".
I can't help but laugh. Oh my god. He-he's just sitting there with now two cats on him, this is too fucking ridiculous. He's scratching behind the ears of one of the cats, rubbing the head of the other one.
"Is this gap moe?" I mumble, still laughing.
"What?" He blinks, finally looks back up at me.
"Oh my god," I mumble into my hand as I try to turn away. Emphasize on try.
Somehow just realizing the state he's in, William gets up from the ground, clearing his throat.
"Pardon me," he mumbles, looking down.
Holy shit, this is just so fucking funny. Who knew cats were his weakness? I laugh a little too loudly and I realize I’m probably making him even more uncomfortable.
"So you like cats?" I say, trying not to smile too much.
"That may be true," me replies, his voice muffled by his hand. "I think I'll get going now." He give one last wave, making sure to pet one of the cats one more time, as he walks away towards his bike.
I am just speechless. What did I just witness.
The drive back all I can think about is William falling over with a cat in his arms, yelling shit.
Okay. I have to admit. That may have been a little, slightly, just a teeny-tiny bit cute.
Ugh whatever! Still an overall prick.
I get back to my dorm and- Blaire's not here! Of course. I toss my stuff down on my floor as I flop on my bed. So tired.
I should probably look over the work I did with a William today, but all I can think about right now is sleep for some reason.
I don't even bother to take my clothes off or anything. My eyes fall shut and...
Peace.
...Till the next day.
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