Although Keith liked to groan about it constantly, he actually didn’t mind working at the coffee shop in town. The guys he worked with were relatively nice, he got to interact with some-and some not-nice customers and make good coffee. Plus it got him out the house some weekdays and every weekend which for Keith was always a positive thing, and, to top it off, he got free coffee which was pretty sick. Working also managed to distract his mind from overthinking, even if it was only for a short amount of time. 

He had started working around two years ago when his father forgot to pay his school fees. Keith thought it was just a one-off accident, but, it kept happening until his father decided to stop paying all together, and not just for Keiths education, for everything. It sucked, but he was lucky enough that the cafe agreed to hire him, and working there made him enough money to pay his semester fees as well as food and other things, so it could always be worse.

“Yo! Keith, you’re on break now. I’ll cover front until you come back.” Keith looked up at the clock, his eyes widening slightly when he realised it was already one o’clock. On cue, his stomach gave a small growl causing him to chuckle.

“A break would be great,” he said, smiling at the other boy behind the counter as he undid his apron and made himself a coffee and a toasted sandwich. Keith didn’t see the point in leaving during his break, so usually, he just made himself a coffee and sat down in one of their comfier booths, reading or sometimes writing. It was nice, relaxing. “I’ll be back in half an hour if that’s okay?” he said, grabbing his coffee and food before walking to the front of the counter. 

“Of course, man, we’re not busy so take your time.”

“Thanks, Blake, I appreciate it.” Keith took a sip of his latte and grabbed his notebook from his bag before making his way round to his usual booth. It was right in the back, hidden away and hard to see from the entrance if you didn’t know it was there, covered in cushions and a comfortable throw.

He sat down and moaned as he bit into his toasted sandwich, not realising how hungry he was until he took the first delicious bite. He rubbed his hands free of crumbs before opening his notebook and beginning to write. He wrote for a little while about home and work, before moving onto write about a pair of blue eyes and warm hands. Whenever he wrote, it was like he went into his own little world, where nothing could distract him. Which is why, when a familiar voice crept behind him, Keith jumped, startled as he spun around.

“This seat taken?” Keith glanced up and swiftly shut his notebook with a small smile as he noticed Sam standing by him. He nodded politely and scooted over to make room for the boy to sit down.

“Should’ve come sooner and I would've made you a delicious coffee.” He smirked, setting his notebook by his side before wrapping both hands around the warm cup.

“Shame, guess I’ll just have to wait until you get off break to make me one.” Keith scoffed in fake annoyance before smiling as Sam chuckled wholeheartedly.

“Thought you were working today?” Keith asked, munching on his lunch with a content hum.

“No not today, tomorrow. I had a tutoring session this morning, some guys taking advanced mathematics as a college entrance subject and couldn’t even tell me what the quadratic formula was.” Sam huffed, shaking his head as Keith looked at him, eyebrows furrowed in utter confusion.

“Tha fuck is tha?” he mumbled around a mouth full of food.

Sam looked at Keith with disgust before scowling lightly at him. “It’s-never mind what it is! I’m just saying if you don’t know, you probably shouldn’t have chosen a specialized math class!” The older boy huffed.

There was a reason Keith flunked out of math as quickly as he could. He sucked at it. “Well, that sounds like an incredibly fun morning,” Keith said sarcastically watching as Sam shook his head in annoyance, his eyes rolling.

“It wasn’t. Anyway, it finished early so I thought I’d swing by, grab a coffee and have a chat.” He smiled before looking down at Keith’s lap. “You’re doing homework on your break?” He said, nodding toward the book innocently. “That’s a surprise.”

Keith blushed and shook his head, placing a warm hand on top of the cover in an attempt to hide it. “Uh, no. Not homework. Just, writing stuff.” He shrugged casually, “nothing major.” Sam had seen the book before, Keith did carry it everywhere he went so it would’ve been hard not to notice, but he had never let him read it. Hadnt let anyone read it.

Sam narrowed his eyes in suspicion, glancing down at where Keith’s fingers were wrapped tightly around the pages before humming and sitting back. “So, when do you have to get back to work?” He asked with a soft smile.

It was moments like these that Keith was incredibly grateful to have Sam around, not pushing him to talk. He looked up at the clock hanging behind the counter and hummed. “I’ve got around twenty minutes or so depending on whether it gets busy.” He shrugged, pushing his plate aside as he finished his lunch and reaching for the hot cup of heaven. 

“I came at a good time then.” Sam shrugged off his jacket and hung it on the chair before standing up with a small stretch. “I don’t think I can wait for that coffee though, so, I’ll be back in a minute.” He smiled before walking round to the front counter, disappearing out of Keith’s view.

Keith smiled before he returned to his book, continuing to write with a small hum as Sam got his coffee. He brought his feet up, tucking them under his legs and relaxed against the booth as he held the book close. He sighed softly and picked up where he'd left off before Sam arrived, Lance the forefront of his mind. It was something he couldn’t help but do. Even when he tried to write about something else, without even realising, he would somehow relate it back him. It was rather annoying at times, but, it did help.

A few moments later, he hummed as he heard footsteps approach the table and moved over once again, taking another sip of his coffee before it went cold. “That was quick, mustn’t have been that bus-” Keith looked up and coughed loudly as coffee slid down the back of his throat in surprise.

"L-Lance?"