Sunny Days.

When I woke up, headache free, it wasn’t late in the morning, like I would have expected. It was actually a pretty early time to wake up, for a teenage girl who never got enough sleep during the week and had to regain it over the weekend. Of course, I did go to sleep right after I got home yesterday. That could be the reason why I was up at 7:00 A.M. Probably.

Instead of trying to fall asleep again, I got out of bed, and my arms were instantly hit with the chilly air of my house, the cold penetrating through my thin jeans as well. See, my younger sister loves when it’s cold in the house. I don’t really mind it most of the time, but in the morning when I’m only just retreating from my bed, it’s not too pleasant.

To sooner get away from the cold, I ran to the bathroom and stripped myself of the clothes that I wore to school yesterday. With the water temperature at a pretty warm degree, I hopped in and stood under the flow of the water. Two shampoo-ings, a conditioning, and a body washing later, I was out of the shower, all ready to brush my teeth and get dressed in the clothes I had worn yesterday. I didn’t bother to find a new outfit; what was the point? I had no one to impress. On that note, I also didn’t bother styling my hair, because, as usual, it was raining outside. Ah, the joys of living in Seattle...?

No one was awake besides me, so that meant no food on the table. I could attempt to cook, and probably wake up the entire house in doing so, or I could go to the nearest cafe. I chose the latter, and with my doodle covered black high tops laced up and my plaid bomber jacket zipped only halfway up, the hood over my head, I left my house and began walking.

It definitely wasn’t a long walk to The House of the Bean coffee shop, but the drizzle that seemed to get stronger with every passing minute didn’t make the walk seem short. I finally arrived at the cafe, my caramel colored, typically wavy mess of hair finally dry as well. My bangs were currently growing out, a bit too long to wear as your normal bangs, so I was doing the side-swept look.

Unzipping my jacket, I walked up to the counter and greeted the middle-aged owner of the store. “Morning Maryanne,” I said in as pleasant a tone as I was able to do, a small smile on my face. I was never really a smiler; even after my horrid braces were taken off, I could never really muster up those beautiful, toothy smiles that you see on those beautiful celebrities.

“And a good morning to you, too, Hannah!” Maryanne was definitely a cheerier person than I, even in the mornings. I guess the amount of caffeine and baked goods she was around affected her in a positive way. Maybe I should open up a cafe-bakery one day... Snapping myself out of the musings, I listened to what Maryanne was saying. “Will it be the usual?”

A half-smile on my face, I nodded and replied, “Have you ever known me to try anything else?”

My words drew a chuckle from Maryanne, and she called out my order, ringing me up as she did so. She was the finest multi-tasker alive. “It’ll only be a few minutes. Go grab a seat.”

I nodded in response and went towards my usual spot on the armchair by the windows and the small fireplace. It was a great spot to people watch, and to relax as well. The best thing about The House of the Bean was how cozy and homey it felt. It made anyone feel connected to something. Even someone like me, one who could hardly fit in with her friends and family, felt like a part of a larger something.

The music that played in the shop was always a great selection as well. Maryanne’s daughter usually helped pick out the music, and she had a knack for finding wonderful indie artists with peaceful tunes. A lot of the acoustic artists I listened to, I had found out about from sitting here in the cafe.

Currently playing was a mix of Bright Eyes, Elliott Smith, Death Cab For Cutie, Yo La Tengo, Feist, et cetera. I was singing along to the songs I knew, humming along to the ones I didn’t know too well, and listening intently to the ones I had never heard before, but wanted to remember.

As I was getting lost in the music, I was also looking out through the large windows, just observing the people who were walking by, or standing outside of the store and looking in to see if it was worth coming inside, or people who were in the process of entering. I noticed a boy with a green sweatshirt, the hood over his head, coming into the cafe, as if it was his only protection from some greater evil. He was probably seeking protection from the rain, that had strengthened over the time since I had woken up.

Looking away, I heard my name being called and walked up to the counter to grab my coffee with milk, sugar, and vanilla, along with a blueberry muffin, both warm and completely fresh. That was another wonderful thing about Maryanne’s cafe; the selections were always delicious and straight from the oven, coffee pot, tea pot, et cetera. Taking a sniff from the coffee cup, catching the wonderful smell of the coffee and vanilla, I turned to walk back to my chair. There was a problem however; the boy from before, who had been walking into the warm and dry cafe, was right there and I accidentally bumped into him, dropping my food on the floor and spilling half of the cup of coffee on both of our shoes.

I gasped quietly, before apologizing hastily. He did the same exact thing. “I’m so sorry!” was the first thing to come out of both of our mouths. After this, he began to laugh, and I could only smile a bit.

Pulling his hood off, he revealed his face and hair to me. His face was neither pale nor tan, neither oval nor circular, and it was framed by brilliant gingery blonde hair. His smile, which he continued to show, was white, but not in the bleached way, and his teeth were straight, either naturally or from braces. No matter; his smile was captivating, with one side of his mouth curling up in a playful way and the silver lip ring on his bottom lip making him look absolutely adorable. His eyes were blue like mine, but they were a much bluer blue, a much prettier hue. Even if I was on the other side of the dark cafe I’d be able to see that he was a blue-eyed boy. He was taller than I, but not so much that I had to look straight up just to see his face.

He was so beautiful that I almost didn’t listen to what he was saying. Somehow though, I managed to look away from him and actually pay attention to his words. “I’m sorry about making you spill. I can buy you another muffin if you want,” he offered, and I listened intently to his voice. It wasn’t a deep voice, but he didn’t sound too feminine either; he just sounded like a slightly high pitched male was all.

“Are you sure?” I asked, in shock. That was a nice thing to offer to a stranger who had spilled her food on him.

He nodded, smiling again and showing off his smile. “And it’d be nice if you sat with me for a while. I’m new in the city.”

I of course nodded, amazed at the opportunity. I explained to him where I was sitting and he ordered more food and drink. The whole time I was wondering how exactly I had gotten this lucky. I was pretty average looking. My smile wasn’t exceptional and I didn’t use it too often. I was an average weight with an average amount of curves, and I was only slightly under the average height. I had pale skin and freckles, normal lips and a nose with a small bump, a long face and hair that went only a little bit past my shoulders. So why me? I just couldn’t stop wondering why.

After a while, the gingery blonde arrived with a new coffee and muffin for me, and a chocolate chip cookie and hot tea for himself. He managed to get my order correct, probably from asking Maryanne. Either way, it made me smile. “Thanks so much. I can pay you back if you want.”

He waved my suggestion off before sitting down in the armchair near me. After taking a bite of his cookie and then a sip of his tea, the boy introduced himself. I didn’t even realize we had forgotten the formalities. “My name’s Sunny!”

I smiled with my mouth closed, like always, before introducing myself. “I’m just Hannah. Nothing interesting there.”

“Well I like it,” Sunny complimented, with yet another one of his toothy grins.

After the introductions, we began to talk about things. Just music and books and movies and art and life. I learned that day that Sunny’s name suited his personality, and his appearance, perfectly. His hair, such a golden color, and his smile, so bright. He exuded happiness and kindness and light. Even on this rainy day, when no one could turn things bright and cheery, he managed to do so, just by smiling or laughing his cute laugh, his slightly high pitched and cute laugh. I can recall that at one point in our conversation, I even smiled a full, real smile. He was my own personal sun.

And he was affecting me, making me happier just by talking to me, just by being near me, just by giving me a chance. His life, his energy, his wonderful self emitted in all directions. These emissions radiated towards me, seeping into me. It was the most magnificent feeling.


I couldn’t believe that someone like this existed. I couldn’t believe that someone like this was talking to me. But I didn’t care; I graciously accepted the blessing and let myself be thrown into a whirlwind of Sunny and his sunny personality.

And I was happy.