The Truth
1/2.
The cup of coffee before me was getting cold but, since I had taken the first sip, I realized it was a mistake to even get it. At the time, the slightly bittersweet taste of a cup of French vanilla coffee sounded like the best thing in the world, but now it was just bitter, no matter how much sugar I added. I glared at it, almost wanting to throw it at the wall. It wasn’t like I was mad at the coffee, I was mad at him. Hepromised me, but hebroke yet another promise. I glanced down at my phone, sighing heavily. I just wanted him to be mine again.
____
Eight months earlier...
“Teddy!” I whined. "You promised me!" He shifted on his feet, his eyes locked on his phone. I whined again. "Teddy! Look at me!" I grabbed his phone, chucking it behind me, listening to the phone smash.
"What'd you do that for?!" he shouted at me, trying to get his phone. Every time he took a step to get passed me, I stepped in his way.
"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" I asked, grabbing his forearms in an attempt to keep him in place. He glanced over me to his phone on the ground and then back to me, giving me a desperate look.
“Can we please not do this now, Ily?” he begged. “I was in the middle of something important before you freaked out and threw my phone.” I scoffed, digging my nails into his arm,watching him wince.
“More important than me?” I asked, giving him a hurt look. He stared at me for a moment, licking his lips.
“Ily, please. This’ll take just one second,” he sighed, breaking free of my grip easily and grabbing the pieces of his phone off the ground. I shut my eyes tightly for a moment ,shaking my head.
“No,” I snapped. “I’m not second,” I told him. I turned to face him to see him staring down intently at his phone once more. “Teddy!”
“Just one minute!” he exclaimed, holding a finger up to me. I gave him another hurt look, raising my hand to the small crystal heart pendant around my neck. I could have sworn I felt my heart break a little the second the cold stone was enclosed in my hand. In six months, things had changed so drastically...I’m just wasn’t sure if I could handle it anymore.I slowly reached around, undoing the clasp. I looked around, hanging it on the coat hook on the wall before looking back at Teddy.
“Fine,” I mumbled. “I’ll begone, since you don’t seem to give a damn anyway. Bye Teddy.” With that, I gave him one last look, shook my head and walked out the door with my head held high,though my heart was sinking lower than it ever had before.
______
One year and five months earlier...
“Waiting for your lover boy?”Alex asked, chuckling quietly as she popped up next to me. I had been scanning the small coffee shop, but when she came over, my sight snapped to the counter in front of me that I had been ‘cleaning’, to her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said quickly, dropping the rag back into its rightful place in the sink. Out of slight nervousness, I went over to the latte machine and began to fiddle with various knobs. It made me feel better.
“I think you do,” she said coolly, following after me to the machine. “You’re looking for Mr. Mocha Latte with Extra Foam.” I rolled my eyes, blushing slightly.
The bell tied to the door jingled and it took every ounce of willpower in my body to not whip around to see if he was in the doorway.
“Shut up, okay?” I whined,putting all the knobs on the proper settings. Alex nudged me, nodding towards the counter.
“Go do your job,” she told me,“Go.” I nodded, biting my lip as I turned towards the counter. There, just as always around this time of morning, was Mr.Mocha Latte with Extra Foam. I gulped, glancing over at Alex before heading towards the counter.
“Can I help you?” I asked,though I was already sure of what he wanted. He smiled slightly at me, looking over at the menu like he always did. He looked back over at me, shrugging.
“Mocha latte with extra foam,please,” he said. “I know, I get the same thing every day,” he added,chuckling. I laughed quietly, typing the price into register.
“It’s okay; I’m the same way with some things. Sometimes it’s good to have a routine,” I offered. “Besides,I’m best at making lattes.” He handed me the money, in exact change today, and I put it into the machine.
“I’ll just go get that then,”I sighed, heading back over to the latte machine. I took the cup Alex was holding out to me, hitting all the right buttons and just waited for it to dispense into the cup. Once it was all out, I put on the lid and went back to the counter.
“Thanks,” he said, looking down at the cup. He looked back up, smiling at me.
“Have a nice day,” I choked out, feeling my heart flutter at the sight of his smile. I offered him back a small smile, watching him walk out, sipping on the contents of his cup. I turned to see Alex beaming at me, waving a pen in my face.
“What?” I questioned. “It’s a pen.”
She rolled her eyes.“The pen that wrote your number on his cup,” she cooed. I gasped, giving her a horrified look.
“No, please tell me you didn’t,” I groaned. “Alex. Seriously. Uncool.” She chuckled, putting it behind her ear.
“You’ll be singing a different tune when you’re in lover boy’s arms,” she chirped. “I’ll be expecting a thank you note.” I rolled my eyes, going back over to the counter to help another costumer.
________
It was just another Friday night by myself, watching a movie on my laptop in my bed. I was kind of pathetic, as Alex liked to tell me. I could have gone to do something else with the people I hung out with, that weren’t part of a couple or on a date, but that was slim pickings. People I wasn’t really fans of anyway.
My phone buzzed on my bed,scaring the crap out of me. I paused my movie, shifting around the blankets on my bed, untilI uncovered my phone. I looked at the number, biting my lip. I didn’t recognize it, but I had a good idea of who it was. I looked around, for what, I don’t know, and fought with myself before I finally answered.
“Hello?” I almost squeaked,closing my eyes tightly. There was a long pause and I had to check to see if they had hung up on me, only to see the call was still connected. “Hello?” I sighed, leaning back. I’d give it another five seconds before I hung up. I knew all about call shock, but I was kind of in the middle of a movie.
“Hi,” a deep voice finally said from the other end, “My name is Teddy.” I smiled slightly, sitting up.
“Ily,” I replied.
“Well, hi. Ily,” Teddy said awkwardly. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” I looked down at my laptop,pushing the screen almost all the way down.
“No, no. Not at all. Just finished watching a movie,” I informed.
“Oh...uh...I almost didn’t notice your number,” he told me, in an attempt to start a conversation. “Good call on a red pen.” I chuckled a little, running my hand through my hair.
“I didn’t actually do that. My mate Alex did,” I explained. “I wouldn’t have had the guts to do it myself,”I admitted in a hushed voice. Even though he couldn’t see me, I brushed my hair over my cheeks as I blushed.
“Well, if it makes you feel better, had my mate not dialed the number and thrust the phone at me, I don’t think I would have called,” Teddy told me. “And now he’s staring at me. Rather odd, really.” I giggled a little, shaking my head.
“If Alex was here, she’d be doing the same thing,” I sighed. “We have some really pushy mates, don’t we.”He laughed.
“Yeah, we do,” he answered.“But uh...would you maybe like to go to the movies to me tomorrow?” he asked quickly, the words rushing together. I broke out into a smile, nodding stupidly because he couldn’t see me.
“Sure,” I said finally. “I’d love to.” He let out a relieved seeming sigh, and then chuckled.
“Cool. Uh...the cinema by the coffee shop tomorrow say...eight o’clock?” he offered.
“Alright, I’ll be there,” I told him. He mumbled something from away from the receiver, and then came back to it.
“I’ll see you then, Ily,” Teddy said.
“Bye Teddy,” I said, waiting a second or two before hanging up. I let out a loud, happy squeal, going back to my phone to call Alex, to see if she was done with her date, and tell her what had just happened.
_____
I bit my lip as I looked around for Teddy, glancing down at my phone to check the time. It was almost eight-thirty. Though I wasn’t really the type for freaking out over things, he was almost half an hour late and I was starting to think he wasn’t coming.
“Ily?” I turned around to see Teddy standing there with a crooked smile on his face. Without the counter, we were suddenly much closer, and I noticed just how much he towered over me. His usual scruff had been shaven off to reveal a rather pale, yet extremely cute,smooth face.
“Hey,” I greeted, smiling up at him. My blue eyes met his brown ones and I had to look away quickly, biting my lip to try to stop my smile from getting any bigger. Now that the whole ‘is he not coming?’ thing was gone, butterflies were fluttering around my stomach.
“So, uh. Any idea what you want to go see?” he asked me, “I don’t really care, so whatever you pick.” I glanced over to the list of movies, looking at times.
“What about whatever one starts next?” I suggested, chuckling a little bit. I glanced back at him and he shrugged and then nodded.
“Sure, sounds good to me,” he replied. I nodded and followed after him as he headed to go get tickets. I just stood behind him as he got the tickets, smiling at him when he turned around to see if I was there. He smiled back, seeming rather flustered all of a sudden,and I could just relate to how he must have felt because that was me every time I saw him in the coffee shop.
After we got the tickets and popcorn and such, we headed into the theater itself, just in time for the previews to be over. Not that I minded, that was what I had the internet for. I half wondered what we had ended up seeing but at the same time, I didn’t give a damn. I was on a date with Mr. Mocha Latte with Extra Foam.
“Holy!” I gasped, jumping in reaction to what had just happened on screen. I wasn’t too sure what exactly,but it was bloody and there was screaming and a head rolling around on the ground. A horror, of course. You could sit me through any other type of film,even a foreign one without subtitles and I’d be completely fine, but a scary one? Oh, I was screwed. As another head went flying, I winced, suddenly shielding my eyes by pressing my head against Teddy’s arm. He tensed up for a moment or two before slowly putting his arms around my shoulders, pulling me a little closer to him. I shifted all too willingly, closing my eyes tightly. Why did it have to be this?
____
Eight months earlier...
“Teddy!” I whined. "You promised me!" He shifted on his feet, his eyes locked on his phone. I whined again. "Teddy! Look at me!" I grabbed his phone, chucking it behind me, listening to the phone smash.
"What'd you do that for?!" he shouted at me, trying to get his phone. Every time he took a step to get passed me, I stepped in his way.
"Are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" I asked, grabbing his forearms in an attempt to keep him in place. He glanced over me to his phone on the ground and then back to me, giving me a desperate look.
“Can we please not do this now, Ily?” he begged. “I was in the middle of something important before you freaked out and threw my phone.” I scoffed, digging my nails into his arm,watching him wince.
“More important than me?” I asked, giving him a hurt look. He stared at me for a moment, licking his lips.
“Ily, please. This’ll take just one second,” he sighed, breaking free of my grip easily and grabbing the pieces of his phone off the ground. I shut my eyes tightly for a moment ,shaking my head.
“No,” I snapped. “I’m not second,” I told him. I turned to face him to see him staring down intently at his phone once more. “Teddy!”
“Just one minute!” he exclaimed, holding a finger up to me. I gave him another hurt look, raising my hand to the small crystal heart pendant around my neck. I could have sworn I felt my heart break a little the second the cold stone was enclosed in my hand. In six months, things had changed so drastically...I’m just wasn’t sure if I could handle it anymore.I slowly reached around, undoing the clasp. I looked around, hanging it on the coat hook on the wall before looking back at Teddy.
“Fine,” I mumbled. “I’ll begone, since you don’t seem to give a damn anyway. Bye Teddy.” With that, I gave him one last look, shook my head and walked out the door with my head held high,though my heart was sinking lower than it ever had before.
______
One year and five months earlier...
“Waiting for your lover boy?”Alex asked, chuckling quietly as she popped up next to me. I had been scanning the small coffee shop, but when she came over, my sight snapped to the counter in front of me that I had been ‘cleaning’, to her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said quickly, dropping the rag back into its rightful place in the sink. Out of slight nervousness, I went over to the latte machine and began to fiddle with various knobs. It made me feel better.
“I think you do,” she said coolly, following after me to the machine. “You’re looking for Mr. Mocha Latte with Extra Foam.” I rolled my eyes, blushing slightly.
The bell tied to the door jingled and it took every ounce of willpower in my body to not whip around to see if he was in the doorway.
“Shut up, okay?” I whined,putting all the knobs on the proper settings. Alex nudged me, nodding towards the counter.
“Go do your job,” she told me,“Go.” I nodded, biting my lip as I turned towards the counter. There, just as always around this time of morning, was Mr.Mocha Latte with Extra Foam. I gulped, glancing over at Alex before heading towards the counter.
“Can I help you?” I asked,though I was already sure of what he wanted. He smiled slightly at me, looking over at the menu like he always did. He looked back over at me, shrugging.
“Mocha latte with extra foam,please,” he said. “I know, I get the same thing every day,” he added,chuckling. I laughed quietly, typing the price into register.
“It’s okay; I’m the same way with some things. Sometimes it’s good to have a routine,” I offered. “Besides,I’m best at making lattes.” He handed me the money, in exact change today, and I put it into the machine.
“I’ll just go get that then,”I sighed, heading back over to the latte machine. I took the cup Alex was holding out to me, hitting all the right buttons and just waited for it to dispense into the cup. Once it was all out, I put on the lid and went back to the counter.
“Thanks,” he said, looking down at the cup. He looked back up, smiling at me.
“Have a nice day,” I choked out, feeling my heart flutter at the sight of his smile. I offered him back a small smile, watching him walk out, sipping on the contents of his cup. I turned to see Alex beaming at me, waving a pen in my face.
“What?” I questioned. “It’s a pen.”
She rolled her eyes.“The pen that wrote your number on his cup,” she cooed. I gasped, giving her a horrified look.
“No, please tell me you didn’t,” I groaned. “Alex. Seriously. Uncool.” She chuckled, putting it behind her ear.
“You’ll be singing a different tune when you’re in lover boy’s arms,” she chirped. “I’ll be expecting a thank you note.” I rolled my eyes, going back over to the counter to help another costumer.
________
It was just another Friday night by myself, watching a movie on my laptop in my bed. I was kind of pathetic, as Alex liked to tell me. I could have gone to do something else with the people I hung out with, that weren’t part of a couple or on a date, but that was slim pickings. People I wasn’t really fans of anyway.
My phone buzzed on my bed,scaring the crap out of me. I paused my movie, shifting around the blankets on my bed, untilI uncovered my phone. I looked at the number, biting my lip. I didn’t recognize it, but I had a good idea of who it was. I looked around, for what, I don’t know, and fought with myself before I finally answered.
“Hello?” I almost squeaked,closing my eyes tightly. There was a long pause and I had to check to see if they had hung up on me, only to see the call was still connected. “Hello?” I sighed, leaning back. I’d give it another five seconds before I hung up. I knew all about call shock, but I was kind of in the middle of a movie.
“Hi,” a deep voice finally said from the other end, “My name is Teddy.” I smiled slightly, sitting up.
“Ily,” I replied.
“Well, hi. Ily,” Teddy said awkwardly. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” I looked down at my laptop,pushing the screen almost all the way down.
“No, no. Not at all. Just finished watching a movie,” I informed.
“Oh...uh...I almost didn’t notice your number,” he told me, in an attempt to start a conversation. “Good call on a red pen.” I chuckled a little, running my hand through my hair.
“I didn’t actually do that. My mate Alex did,” I explained. “I wouldn’t have had the guts to do it myself,”I admitted in a hushed voice. Even though he couldn’t see me, I brushed my hair over my cheeks as I blushed.
“Well, if it makes you feel better, had my mate not dialed the number and thrust the phone at me, I don’t think I would have called,” Teddy told me. “And now he’s staring at me. Rather odd, really.” I giggled a little, shaking my head.
“If Alex was here, she’d be doing the same thing,” I sighed. “We have some really pushy mates, don’t we.”He laughed.
“Yeah, we do,” he answered.“But uh...would you maybe like to go to the movies to me tomorrow?” he asked quickly, the words rushing together. I broke out into a smile, nodding stupidly because he couldn’t see me.
“Sure,” I said finally. “I’d love to.” He let out a relieved seeming sigh, and then chuckled.
“Cool. Uh...the cinema by the coffee shop tomorrow say...eight o’clock?” he offered.
“Alright, I’ll be there,” I told him. He mumbled something from away from the receiver, and then came back to it.
“I’ll see you then, Ily,” Teddy said.
“Bye Teddy,” I said, waiting a second or two before hanging up. I let out a loud, happy squeal, going back to my phone to call Alex, to see if she was done with her date, and tell her what had just happened.
_____
I bit my lip as I looked around for Teddy, glancing down at my phone to check the time. It was almost eight-thirty. Though I wasn’t really the type for freaking out over things, he was almost half an hour late and I was starting to think he wasn’t coming.
“Ily?” I turned around to see Teddy standing there with a crooked smile on his face. Without the counter, we were suddenly much closer, and I noticed just how much he towered over me. His usual scruff had been shaven off to reveal a rather pale, yet extremely cute,smooth face.
“Hey,” I greeted, smiling up at him. My blue eyes met his brown ones and I had to look away quickly, biting my lip to try to stop my smile from getting any bigger. Now that the whole ‘is he not coming?’ thing was gone, butterflies were fluttering around my stomach.
“So, uh. Any idea what you want to go see?” he asked me, “I don’t really care, so whatever you pick.” I glanced over to the list of movies, looking at times.
“What about whatever one starts next?” I suggested, chuckling a little bit. I glanced back at him and he shrugged and then nodded.
“Sure, sounds good to me,” he replied. I nodded and followed after him as he headed to go get tickets. I just stood behind him as he got the tickets, smiling at him when he turned around to see if I was there. He smiled back, seeming rather flustered all of a sudden,and I could just relate to how he must have felt because that was me every time I saw him in the coffee shop.
After we got the tickets and popcorn and such, we headed into the theater itself, just in time for the previews to be over. Not that I minded, that was what I had the internet for. I half wondered what we had ended up seeing but at the same time, I didn’t give a damn. I was on a date with Mr. Mocha Latte with Extra Foam.
“Holy!” I gasped, jumping in reaction to what had just happened on screen. I wasn’t too sure what exactly,but it was bloody and there was screaming and a head rolling around on the ground. A horror, of course. You could sit me through any other type of film,even a foreign one without subtitles and I’d be completely fine, but a scary one? Oh, I was screwed. As another head went flying, I winced, suddenly shielding my eyes by pressing my head against Teddy’s arm. He tensed up for a moment or two before slowly putting his arms around my shoulders, pulling me a little closer to him. I shifted all too willingly, closing my eyes tightly. Why did it have to be this?