Cole watched Jane take a sip of her coffee, the steam coming from the cup making her glasses blurry. It was fascinating, really, when he thought about it. How was it possible to find someone so attractive and endearing and yet absolutely irritating and frustrating?

He didn't really know if they should be talking, but at least the sound of the rain splattering the window next to their table inside of the cozy coffee shop, along with the surrounding conversations involving other guests, filled the tangible, uncomfortable silence between them.

After Jane had more or less calmed down, he'd felt like the right thing to do was to stay by her side a while longer and make sure she was ok. When he'd suggested that he'd treat her to a cup of coffee, she hadn't said no.

So here they were and things were no less awkward than he'd anticipated.

"How are you feeling?" Cole asked, placing his chin in his hand as he leaned forward.

She snorted derisively. "Like a truck ran me over?" She winced and he guessed the concern he felt had shown on his face. "Don't worry. Not like it's the first time it ever happened to me."

He crossed his arms over the table, curious to know more, despite himself. "No? You don't look like someone suffering from generalized anxiety."

"That's because I'm not," she grumbled before taking another sip of coffee. "Believe me, my parents had me tested when I was a kid after my first panic attack. Turns out, it only happens whenever I feel stuck in a very small space. Basically, I have claustrophobia. But only under certain conditions." She kept avoiding Cole's eyes, as if she felt ashamed to admit this.

"What kind of conditions?"

"Like earlier. I'm fine taking the subway, but as soon as it breaks down, I shut down too." She propped her elbow on the table and hid her eyes behind her hand. "It's just my luck that you happened to be there. It doesn't happen all that often and I've learned techniques to manage it, but still, this is so damn infuriating." She let her head drop to the table, her forehead giving a thunk as it hit the gleaming surface, and for a moment, Cole worried that maybe she'd passed out. But no, the muffled whine of frustration that came from her meant she was still conscious.

"Any reason why it happens?" Cole asked her.

She shrugged, her head still resting on the table. "No idea," came her faint reply. "I've always been this way. But it got worse since..." She groaned, then sat upright, her eyes wary. "Why am I telling you this?"

"Because I asked?" He answered innocently.

"You don't care about me, so I don't see the point in telling you all this."

"What? You think I'm gonna judge you for this? And ok, you're right, we might not get along overall, but that won't stop me from being a decent human being. I know it might be better to have company after what you went through."

"Yeah, how do you figure?"

"Well, first, if you want to trade truths here, I'll tell you that I have someone very close to me who does have generalized anxiety, so I know what to do in those situations. But also, even if that wasn't the case, anyone with a conscience wouldn't leave you alone right now."

"Hmm," was all she said as she pondered what he'd just told her. "Thanks for telling me, but you really didn't have to."

He leaned on his arms, wanting to make sure that everything he'd said, Jane understood that he meant it. "No, but if it makes you more comfortable, then I don't mind."

She chuckled. "This is ridiculous. How did we end up here?"

He shrugged. "That's life for you, right?"

"You tell me," she said, rolling her eyes, but she seemed a little less blue than a few minutes ago. After a lengthy pause, one Cole thought would never end, she resumed speaking. "So... What? I'm guessing that person doesn't have claustrophobia."

Cole went along with her switching the focus of the conversation onto someone else. He could relate. He'd probably react in a similar way if it had been him.

"No, she doesn't. But that doesn't mean it's any easier."

"No, I can't imagine it is. At least, for me, it only happens sometimes."

He nodded, then when another silence filled the space between them, Cole asked for something else. Something that obviously blindsided Jane, judging by the way her eyes widened at his request.

"Here," he said. "Give me your number, I'll text you mine."

"What?" She said, seemingly dumbfounded by his offer.

"You don't want to? It's ok if not."

"Are you trying to pick me up again?" She asked and her cheeks definitely had reddened. It was a good look on her, one he would've wanted to see more of if it hadn't been for the fact that it definitely meant more trouble than it was worth.

"Believe me, you'd know if that was what I was doing," he assured her and damn, she just looked more embarrassed, which made her look even more adorable to him. "No, I'm offering to lend an ear if you need to talk."

"I don't..." She hid her face in the rim of her cup, gathering her thoughts. "You don't like me."

"Not really, no, but you don't really like me either."

"And I told you my claustrophobia doesn't often makes itself known," she insisted.

"Doesn't mean it won't happen again."

"What I'm trying to say is that," she said, "you don't need to do this. I don't know why you would want to."

"Isn't it obvious though?" He asked, tilting his head.

"Not to me, it isn't."

"You have any friend you can talk to about this? In case it comes up again?"

"I..." She appeared to think hard about this. Then, she sighed. "I don't. I have a friend, but she... she doesn't know. But really, it doesn't matter."

"It does matter. You shouldn't have to deal with that kind of stuff on your own. But if it can make you more comfortable, it might be for the best too. That we get to know each other. Maybe, that way, we won't spend our time trying to kill each other at work."

She laughed. "Ryan would be relieved to hear that."

"He would. I don't go out of my way to disappoint a friend who gave me a chance. So, really, it's as much for me as it would be for you."

She sighed once more, as if relenting on this was costing her an arm. "Fine. I guess you would've come to find out my number through work eventually anyway."

He smiled. "You're not wrong."

After telling Cole her number, he sent Jane a text to which she replied with a happy now?

He felt a grin tugging at his lips, one that could very well turn into a laugh if he didn't watch himself. And right now, the situation between them was fragile enough as it was.

"Very," he confirmed out loud. "Are you gonna be ok on your way back home? Do you need me to stay?"

She gave a quick shake of her head, as if the thought mortified her. "No, I'll be fine. See you at work, ok?"

He nodded. He took a sip of his own cup of coffee that had remained mostly untouched until now. Maybe Jane wasn't so bad after all.

That didn't mean he'd let his guard down around her anytime soon.

                                                 ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

So, after thinking long and hard about this, this novel will go on hiatus for approximately 1-2 months max (no more than that, don't worry, there's no reason for me to give up on this, I love this story too much to leave it unfinished). That's because I've realized that for me, writing a chapter and publishing it weekly doesn't really work for me. I'd rather the whole thing be written down already and then I'd just have to revise as I publish the chapters. So that's what I'm going to do now. 2 months is the maximum, but it might not take as long if I'm really motivated and writing a lot on weekends. Like, say, one day, I wrote 10000 words, that'd be amazing and I'd be back sooner than planned. I'm just being cautious here.

And after that, I'd go back to regular updates. No more stress. :)

If you don't want to wait that long, I'll understand. And if you do and read it once I'm back with the rest of the story, then I'll be overjoyed! :)

Also, if you've enjoyed this chapter, please like and/or leave a comment, it would mean the world to me!