show me your scars and i won't walk away.

Louis was late for his job at the coffee shop, again. He was purposely trying to arrive late, though he knew he'd get in trouble, because he didn't want to deal with Emerson again. Emerson Abrams was sexy, Louis had to admit, but Louis wasn't interested in dating him, much less flirting with him, as it seemed Emerson wanted to get inside his pants. Hoping Emersib was gone, Louis made his way inside the coffee shop, weaving through the tables toward the employee area in the back. He greeted Derek with a wave, before slipping in the break room to put his apron on.

-

Derek wasn't sure why his sister had agreed to let him work in the coffee shop. He wasn't the best with people, preferring to keep to himself than talk. But as his sister was kind enough to get him the job, he didn't want to say no. He stood behind the counter, taking people's orders and preparing the orders, as he waited for Louis to arrive. Louis was better at talking to people than he was. He smiled faintly when he saw Louis finally walk in, late as usual.

Emerson sat at the corner of the cafe, paging through a history book that he had been working through and found that this was the perfect spot to do so. He scratched at his neck, frowning at the stupidity of people as he recounted the effects of capitalism's crippling growth and its effects on society from centuries. He sighed and felt his stomach grumble, signaling that it was time for a scone and a bit of tea to soothe him while he continued reading. Not only did he love the scones and tea here but well, there was a super cute barista who Emerson couldn't help pine after. Emerson was quite a go-getter and that applied to his love life as well - if he saw someone who he was attracted to and thought would make a good fit, he had no problems pursuing and putting his pride on the line multiple times. Hearing the bell on the door ring and picking his head up, Emerson saw Louis walk in and then weave his way around tables to go to the back room. Emerson couldn't help but smile as he leaned back in his chair. Louis was just cute without trying.

--

Stiles was running on 3 hours of sleep in the past two days and felt like absolute shit. He had thrown on a gray shirt and dark green flannel and some ripped black skinny jeans that his best friend had approved of because "Wow, Stiles. Your ass!" was a good response to get in the fitting room. Nonetheless, he needed a place to sit down and write after being stuck in meetings all morning and having to socialize. Of course, matters were even worse because not sleeping did nothing to help his ADHD and anxiety wracked nerves. His fingers tapped restlessly against his leg as he walked and seeing a cafe that he had walked past many times but had never walked in on, he slowed down his frantic footsteps and walked in. Stiles relaxed at the warm air that hit him as soon as he walked in, smelling the cinnamon, coffee, and fresh bread and hearing the low buzz of some kind of slow music in the background and quiet conversations at some of the tables. His eyes jumped over to a very attractive barista as he walked closer and blushed seeing a built looking guy with dark hair and stubble. His eyes flitted over to a tag that said 'Derek' but he averted his eyes and instead stared at the menu, not quite knowing what he should get and standing off to the side so if another customer came up they wouldn't think he was in the line or in the way.

The moment Louis came up front to clock in for his shift, his eyes landed on Emerson. The barista swallowed slightly, clocking in quickly and gently moving Derek out of the way so he could start taking orders. Why was Emerson still here? Louis couldn't understand if. Didn't the older, handsome (though Louis would never admit this out loud) have a job? He took the next person's order, with a genuine smile and happy voice, hoping Emerson had already ordered.
-
Derek was relieved when Louis took over taking the customer's orders. Derek was better at preparing the drinks anyway. And it didn't require as much talking as taking orders. His eyes landed on a young male who was deciding what to order from the menu. Even without seeing the other's face, he had a feeling he was cute. But Derek had had too many failed relationships.

Emerson grinned when Louis' eyes landed on him upon the start of the other mans' shift. Seeing the way Louis seemed to bristle Emerson chuckled slightly and went back to chewing on his highlighter and continuing upon the passages he was on. Glancing up, he figured he would wait for the 2 or 3 people who were getting their drinks from the front of the cafe. Emerson checked his phone after he got to the end of the page and saw a few notifications from his friends. One invited him to a party that was going on later tonight, and another was strangely enough a funny cat picture from another friend. He smiled at his phone, not being able to resist the little kitten dressed up in a bowtie and glasses. Hearing his stomach grumble again, he figured it was time to go pester order from Louis. Seeing that there was a guy who was still making a decision on what to order, he got a nod to get the go-ahead and send a smile to Louis. "Let me get my usual caramel macchiato and whatever flavor scone of the day it is, if you would," Emerson said with a crisp $10 already between his fingers.
-
As a tall girl ordered before him, Stiles leaned over the counter at the barista that was making drinks while the other employee behind the counter happily asked the other customer what she would like to order. Stiles caught the green-eyed man's gaze after Stiles couldn't make up his mind and offered a shy smile to the barista that wasn't ringing up the girl. "Hey, I need something with caffeine and not too sweet, any suggestions?" Stiles asked him, wincing after he heard how quickly he was speaking and the tapping of his fingers against the counter. He couldn't help but be pent up from not sleeping much at all, and for the fact that the barista was very attractive and Stiles hadn't tried to talk to anyone who had piqued his interest in a while. That being said, this guy probably wouldn't give two shits about him and might already be annoyed by his presence, because (1) the barista had the grumpiest expression and eyebrows and (2) even Stiles' own father had a cap for Stiles' antics.

(Sorry. I didn't get notified about this reply.)

Louis looked up when Emerson stepped forward toward the register. "Emerson," he spoke coolly, ringing up the other's order. Gone was his happy smile and cheerful attitude. He didn't want Emerson to get any ideas that he was even remotely interested in going out with the other. He took the $10 from Emerson and handed back the correct change a few moments later. "Let me get your scone." He reached for one of the fresh chocolate raspberry scones, and deposited it neatly in a pastry bag, before handing it to Emerson, as he called out the drink order.
-
Derek's eyes widened slightly when he realized he was being spoken to. "The hazelnut mocha is good," he said finally, after debating on how, and if, he should respond. He looked grumpy, but he really wasn't. He stepped away to start making the drink Louis had called out, but he couldn't help thinking that the guy who had just spoken to him was pretty cute. Stop that, he scolded himself, thinking of his past relationship failures.

(no worries!)

Emerson hummed softly, amusement in his eyes as he watched the demeanor change quickly in Louis' appearance. Well then, unwanted again. Emerson watched the other man quickly grab the scone and smiled pleasantly as he deposited the spare change in the tips jar to the side of the cashier spot. "Thanks, Louis," he said with an authentic smile and stood to the side, waiting for the other barista to make his order and then call out his name and drink. He absentmindedly let his eyes flit over Louis, deciding not to try and distract him while he was at work and there were other customers. Plus, Louis seemed to be extra unappreciative of Emerson's existence today but it didn't really make Emerson angry or anything, he just liked being around Louis and if the cute young man didn't want to hang out well then, there was no reason why Emerson couldn't purchase a drink and get to enjoy the atmosphere of the cafe - this was a nice place after all.
=
Stiles had absentmindedly brought along his pen from his previous meeting and was chewing on it slightly (yes, he had somewhat of an oral fixation and was somewhat working on it, thank you very much) and smiled widely at the barista's answer. "Sounds delicious, thanks," Stiles responded, his stomach doing a weird flip flop at the sound of the other man's voice. Stiles had met a lot of attractive people in his lifetime but they always brushed him off so he just kind of blushed and nervously let the barista turn back to his work. He was also awful at flirting and just didn't bother trying. When the previous person had finished being rung up for their purchase, Stiles stepped forward and asked for a large sized hazelnut mocha, saying that his name was Stiles and then handing over a $5 bill to the pleasant seeming cashier.

Louis felt slightly bad (only slightly, though) after Emerson had left. He didn't have much time to dwell on this, though, as another young man placed his order. "Thanks. Have a nice day," he said after handing the other his change. His eyes flickered over to Emerson, and he bit his lip. He watched Emerson for a moment, eyes widening when Derek accidentally dropped Emerson's coffee order, getting it all over himself and Emerson.

-

Derek exhaled slowly, watching the cute male order from Louis. So caught up was he in this, though he knew things would never work, he didn't notice as the caramel macchiato he'd made slipped from his hands and hit the counter, splattering himself and the guy who had ordered the drink. He gasped after it had happened, realizing how much of an idiot he was.

[did you want Emerson to have a specific job? I'm not sure if we talked about it or if I just forgot lol]

Emerson was on his phone again, just checking on his social media and liking some pictures that had just been posted on his instagram feed, hearing the murmuring of Louis voice talking to another man with moles on his young face who had ordered some mocha or other. He looked up and saw Derek lean over the counter and leaned over as well in order to reach his hand out but before he could, the drink fell out of Derek's hand and hit the counter. The hot liquid immediately splattered over his chest and he let out a small hiss at the feeling of the heat on his skin through his t-shirt. Seeing that the drink was still spilling, he picked it up and righted the cup, reaching over to grab napkins from the counter and putting it up to his where the drink had spilled. Thankfully, most of it had spilled on the counter. Seeing Derek's shocked face and the gasp he had let out, Emerson partially shrugged since he knew he would be getting the drink remade anyways. "It happens," he said to Derek just so the other dude didn't freak out.

---

Stiles had thanked the young man who had rang up his order and moved to the side as well, figuring he could make some more small talk with the barista and hope that he wouldn't say anything while his sleepless brain didn't say anything too horrendous since he talked a lot and didn't really censor as much as he should. As he had moved to the counter, he was noticing how nicely Derek's pants fitted him and hung low on his waist, as well as how his arms looked great as he made drinks - that is until one of the drinks he had made spilled out on the counter. Stiles winced, the movement registering a little late in his mind since he had been too busy admiring Derek's arms but he hastily grabbed some more napkins and handed them to the two guys, both the one who had ordered the drink and the barista since the coffee had spilled out to both sides.

@ slumflower

(Oh my gosh. I seriously thought I had replied to this. I'm sorry. Work has been so crazy.)

@ JurassicLover
(it's cool! would you still like to continue or would you rather not?)

@ slumflower

(I'd love to continue. I'll probably reply tomorrow.)

(We never discussed Emerson having a specific job, no. Also, I know I said I'd love to continue, but I'm just not sure where to go from the point we're at this moment. Hmmm...)