Weathered Pages
Coffee Stains
It was already well into October and a bitter wind had made itself known to any who dare venture outside their warm homes, it filled the air with the smell of damp earth. Athena was one of the unfortunate victims of said wind. It cut through her black leggings, making her wish she'd worn pants today instead, and nearly blew off her grey, knit cap. She wrapped a wool coat closer to her body and tried to hide her face inside her cream colored scarf. She rubbed thin pale hands up and down her arms in a vain attempt to warm herself and quickened her steps towards her favorite coffee shop, pounding her brown boots into the ground.
It was a quaint little shop with a cozy feel and it wasn't nearly as crowded as Starbucks, her main reason for going there instead. On Fridays they held poetry readings and on Saturdays they let local bands play. Today, however, was an ordinary Thursday and she ordered her usual drink and sat down in her usual seat shrugging her backpack off and retrieving a book from its contents. Athena took languid sips from her warm drink, desperately wanting the heat to sink into her veins, as her eyes scanned the words that put her in such a spell that she hardly noticed any of the other patrons. It wasn't until she heard a voice speak up from beside her that she broke out of her reverie.
“That’s a pretty good book.” Blue eyes clashed with hazel then wandered across the rest of the man’s features taking in his whole appearance. Beneath tussled, messy hair there was a long forehead, intelligent eyes, high cheekbones and a dimpled chin. He was a tall, thin, stick of a man, really. In short, he was incredibly handsome. Her brain knew there was only two ways to react to this, be charming and witty and win him over or completely shut off leaving her to fend for herself. It chose the latter. She desperately grasped for any shred of information it might've left but everything was swept away by his gorgeous features.
She bit her lip nervously grasping onto her book as if it was a lifesaver that would guide her ashore. “I enjoy the premise behind it.” She finally forced out, mentally berating herself for not saying something cute or more indicative of how aesthetically pleasing she found him but she always did manage to mess these sorts of things up. Social situations were not her strong suit, to be certain. “It’s set in a dystopian society. The first known use of the word “dystopian”, as recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary, was in 1868 in a speech that was given before the British House of Commons by John Stuart Mill, in which Mill’s denounced the government's Irish land policy.” She stared in awe, jaw slightly open, and book terribly forgotten by now. “Sorry, my colleagues tell me I don’t pick up on social cues very well.” He coughed, looking away to grab a tin of sugar to pour into his coffee. “Oh, no, I honestly don’t mind. I have a weird fascination with random trivia. I’m one of those people who like to watch Jeopardy for fun.” It was then that she realized that he was still awkwardly standing next to her. She quickly blushed and was silently grateful that he appeared to be fixated on the increasingly growing amount of sugar he was pouring into his coffee. Unbeknownst to her, he was actually quite aware of her reddening cheeks.
“You can sit next to me if you’d like. I don’t expect any company and well, ‘my idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.’” She scooted a little to the right offering him more room on her bench seat, which he quickly filled much to her pleasure. “Jane Austeen.” He whispered, but she caught it and brought her coffee cup to her lips to hide the smile that graced them. “It seems I chose the right company. Does the clever man have a name?” She sent a coy smile his way. “Dr. Spencer Reid.” He smiled politely back and she’d be lying if she said she didn't want to make him smile more. “Athena. Athena Greenwall.” She stuck her hand out for him to shake and jumped at the tingle she felt down her spine when he grasped her hand, blushing as she did so. “Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.” He said with a light blush matching hers. Good company indeed.
It was a quaint little shop with a cozy feel and it wasn't nearly as crowded as Starbucks, her main reason for going there instead. On Fridays they held poetry readings and on Saturdays they let local bands play. Today, however, was an ordinary Thursday and she ordered her usual drink and sat down in her usual seat shrugging her backpack off and retrieving a book from its contents. Athena took languid sips from her warm drink, desperately wanting the heat to sink into her veins, as her eyes scanned the words that put her in such a spell that she hardly noticed any of the other patrons. It wasn't until she heard a voice speak up from beside her that she broke out of her reverie.
“That’s a pretty good book.” Blue eyes clashed with hazel then wandered across the rest of the man’s features taking in his whole appearance. Beneath tussled, messy hair there was a long forehead, intelligent eyes, high cheekbones and a dimpled chin. He was a tall, thin, stick of a man, really. In short, he was incredibly handsome. Her brain knew there was only two ways to react to this, be charming and witty and win him over or completely shut off leaving her to fend for herself. It chose the latter. She desperately grasped for any shred of information it might've left but everything was swept away by his gorgeous features.
She bit her lip nervously grasping onto her book as if it was a lifesaver that would guide her ashore. “I enjoy the premise behind it.” She finally forced out, mentally berating herself for not saying something cute or more indicative of how aesthetically pleasing she found him but she always did manage to mess these sorts of things up. Social situations were not her strong suit, to be certain. “It’s set in a dystopian society. The first known use of the word “dystopian”, as recorded by the Oxford English Dictionary, was in 1868 in a speech that was given before the British House of Commons by John Stuart Mill, in which Mill’s denounced the government's Irish land policy.” She stared in awe, jaw slightly open, and book terribly forgotten by now. “Sorry, my colleagues tell me I don’t pick up on social cues very well.” He coughed, looking away to grab a tin of sugar to pour into his coffee. “Oh, no, I honestly don’t mind. I have a weird fascination with random trivia. I’m one of those people who like to watch Jeopardy for fun.” It was then that she realized that he was still awkwardly standing next to her. She quickly blushed and was silently grateful that he appeared to be fixated on the increasingly growing amount of sugar he was pouring into his coffee. Unbeknownst to her, he was actually quite aware of her reddening cheeks.
“You can sit next to me if you’d like. I don’t expect any company and well, ‘my idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.’” She scooted a little to the right offering him more room on her bench seat, which he quickly filled much to her pleasure. “Jane Austeen.” He whispered, but she caught it and brought her coffee cup to her lips to hide the smile that graced them. “It seems I chose the right company. Does the clever man have a name?” She sent a coy smile his way. “Dr. Spencer Reid.” He smiled politely back and she’d be lying if she said she didn't want to make him smile more. “Athena. Athena Greenwall.” She stuck her hand out for him to shake and jumped at the tingle she felt down her spine when he grasped her hand, blushing as she did so. “Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.” He said with a light blush matching hers. Good company indeed.
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Welp, I had actually intended this to be an original work but Spencer honestly seemed like the kind of guy she'd be into so he kinda just wormed his way into the story. Eh...I'm incredibly rusty so this isn't up to my standards quite yet. All facts are from wikipedia and the characters physical description is kinda based off Kat Dennings (Babies, why aren't you together anymore? *Rolling in the Deep playing in the background* We could have had it all!!!!) Feedback is much apreciado. (Word Count: 800)