Some Days

Mia stared unhappily at the phone in her lap as she fingered the rim of her coffee cup. Maybe this was just a waste of time. Maybe he had forgotten he was supposed to meet her here. The barrista who was supposed to be making and serving coffee for the many other customers in the small corner coffee shop kept glancing over at her and she took notice. Not as subtle as you think you are..., she thought to herself.

Mia's head snapped up as the door opened and yet another mass of people came through the entrance, adding to the sloppy "line" of eager coffee addicts. She glanced back to the counter to see the barrista from before leaving the register as another worker came and took over, probably so he could take his break. Mia caught herself staring and quickly averted her eyes, finding her phone, and the fact that he hadn't shown up yet, interesting again. Much to her disappointment, the barrista held his steady pace as he strutted over to the small table she was sitting at. He smirked devilishly and her heart raced involuntarily.

"I couldn't help but notice you were sitting alone and thought I could spend my break keeping you company," he said confidently.

Mia frowned.

"I'm meeting someone actually," she said in a bored tone, rolling her eyes.

The barrista shook his head.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded her head.

"Of course I'm sure!"

"But you still don't mind me waiting with you?"

He didn't wait for an answer, but went on talking, talking, talking... He hardly even took a breath between sentences, but rather let it all come out as one long continuous one. Mia hadn't come here looking for friends, let alone relationships. She had come here for one reason and one reason only. Mia covered her eyes with her hands, sighing as the door opened once again. Looking up, she saw a group of boys about her age, the perfect escape from this neverending one-way conversation.

"Oh look!" she said suddenly, causing the barrista to jump in surprise. "There are the friends I was waiting for," she said pointing to the group of boys, a completely fake, but believable, smile making its way across her face. "Nice meeting you!" she called over her shoulder, walking toward the group that had just taken its place in line.

Mia watched the disappointed looking barrista walk back to the front counter and sighed in relief until she realized she would have to play it off as if these guys were really her friends. She silently cursed herself for being so stupid.Lying to cover up more lies. She approached them, squeezing in between two of them. She frowned at how tall they seemed to be. They towered over her small frame. They stopped talking for a moment, giving her strange looks and sideways glances.

"You a fan?" one of them asked cautiously.

It was the one to her left, tall with messy hair and a pair of Ray Bans on even though they were inside. She could just see part of a tattoo, most of it hidden by his blue v-neck.

"What? No, no, no, just act like you know me," she whispered harshly, wondering what he had meant by a 'fan'.

They all raised their eyebrows and she sighed heavily, resisting the urge to run from the place.

"Please?"

She leaned around, seeing that the barrista was still staring, quite upset at this point, and they followed her gaze.

"Ohhhh," they all seemed to say at the same time.

"Right," she mumbled.

"Bad date, huh?" the one to her right asked.

Mia shook her head quickly.

"Just clingy and desperate," she replied.

"Been there, done that," said the shorter one in the group.

Mia still wasn't as tall as him.

The four other boys nodded in agreement, thinking about past memories that they most likely shared with one another. They seemed to be a pretty tight knit group.

"We've got your back," the one to her left said suddenly, letting his arm drape across her shoulders lazily. "Just play along."

By the time they reached the counter, Mia had relaxed and the others snickered silently as John, as she had learned the one to her left was named, glared at the barrista as if out of jealousy. John's fingers were intertwined with Mia's at her shoulder and she leaned into him as he ordered his coffee. She smiled sheepishly as John and she stood to the side, allowing the others to order their coffees, and then they made our way out of the shop and around the corner. Mia let out a small laugh, as did the rest of the group.

"I guess I should say thank you," she said to them.

They shrugged it off.

"No problem," John said, smiling widely.

She bit her lip and looked down at her black Converse with their bright shoelaces.

"I guess I better get going then," she stated, backing up a few steps.

"Wait!" John said quickly.

Mia stopped suddenly, her eyes widening just a bit before she relaxed again.

"Yes?" she asked cautiously, seeing the others elbowing each other playfully, hardly even paying attention.

"Would you, I mean, I don't know if you, but I thought, maybe if you wanted to... Hang out some time?"

Mia opened her mouth, but didn't get a word out before John was at it again.

"I mean, not just with me, but with me and the guys..." He pointed to the group behind him. They were beginning to run around, screaming and being rowdy, hopping onto one another's backs and pulling on Pat's long hair.

Mia smiled weakly, barely shaking her head.

"I'm actually not going to be in town for very long. I'm just here visiting my brother..." she trailed off.

"Oh," John said quietly. "Well just in case you change your mind..." He pulled out a sharpie and took her coffee cup, scribbling down a series of numbers and handing it back to her.

Mia smirked.

"You just carry a sharpie with you at all times?" she asked, laughing.

"You would be surprised at how much I use it," he said in response, smiling.

His smile reminded her of someone else she had known... That's when the feeling, the one she hated with all her being, the one that kept her up at night, the one she had nearly forgotten about until now, hit her. Mia brushed the hair out of her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"I have to go," she said, turning around and walking quickly in the opposite direction.

She heard her name being called, by several different people in fact, but she ignored them all. She was here for one reason, and one reason only. Mia frowned at the coffee cup in her hand and tossed it in the next trash can she passed without a second thought. Much better.