Us Against the World.

I pulled the beanie off my head and stuffed it into my sling bag as I entered the Starbuck. The smell of fresh coffee hit my nostrils immediately and I smiled widely when I saw there’s not really many people at the shop this time. There were a young couple sitting at a table near the window, chatting. The girl was doing all the talking and the man just listened with a smile on his face. And not too far at the other table, an elderly man was drinking his coffee while reading the morning paper. Aside from them and myself, there were two other patrons that sat at the far corner of the room, head close together as if they were sharing a big secret.

Combing my bangs that got messy after I pulled off the beanie, I made my way straight towards the counter, the smile on my face getting wider when I saw Quinn behind it. “Hey,” I greeted, standing right in front of her and adjusted my bag so it wouldn’t fall off my shoulder. Quinn was my best friend since we were assigned as roommates in college and then we decided to rent a flat together. She worked here as a barista.

“Here,” Quinn said, handing me a cup of coffee even before I ordered anything.

“I haven’t even placed my order.” But I still dug around my purse for the change. Quinn smirked and leaned against the counter.

“You always order the same thing at this time of the day. You’re the most predictable person I know, Mel.”

“Well, who knows maybe I want something different this time?” I replied indignantly just for something to say but I still took the cup and pushed the money towards her. She shook her head, putting the money in the cash register machine. “See you later.” With a last wave, I started to walk out but I rolled my eyes when Rory, Quinn’s boyfriend walked through the door.

“Morning, Mel,” he greeted with a smile but I could tell that he wasn’t sincere. We hated each other and that wasn’t such a secret between us. I just flipped him off, wondering why Quinn still stayed with a man like him. He’s a jerk! ‘But I love him!’ That’s what Quinn always told me but really? That man? She really could do better. “Always a charmer, aren’t you, Mel?” he said, smirking sarcastically at me.

“Only for you, love. Only for you,” I replied dryly, waving towards Quinn who was giving me a warning look one last time before walking away. Taking a sip of the coffee, black, no sugar, no milk, just coffee (I needed the strong caffeine to help me to get through the morning), I stepped out the door. The weather today was nice, cloudy and windy, just my favourite. It’s too bad I had to work. This would be a nice day to just stay at home doing a bit of reading or going to the park and take a walk. Holding the warm cup in one hand and stuffing my other hand into the pocket of my jeans, I began walking towards my work place. “Sorry,” I muttered when I bumped shoulder against someone. I tried balancing the cup in my hand so the content wouldn’t spill over. However, when I lifted up my head, my eyes widened.

“Hey!” the man exclaimed, his face broke into a wide smile, his blue eyes twinkling in delight. Just like me, he was holding a cup of coffee but his other hand was pointing towards my direction. He looked at me in disbelief and laughed a little. “Mel! God! It’s been so long.”

“Louis… yeah… yeah… five years, is it?” I responded, feeling excited. Louis was my childhood friend. But five years ago I had to move to another state due to my father’s job. I just moved back to the city about half a year ago with Quinn after I graduated college and got a new job as a technician at a nearby computer store. “Wow! I never thought I’d be seeing you again.”

“Bollocks! You can always call, you know,” he replied, flipping his hair and let out a sigh. “You haven’t changed.” He was referring to my choice in clothing, I know. Ever since I was younger, I was always more comfortable being in t-shirt, jeans and Chucks. It’s more practical and I can move a lot easier. “Coffee, black?” he guessed, quirking his eyebrow towards the cup in my hand.

“And you’re still with that complicated hot beverage you always had. Besides, I didn’t call because I bet you’re super busy now being in a famous pop boyband, eh?” I teased, wriggling my eyebrows. He just laughed and flicked my forehead. “Oi!” I exclaimed, rubbing my sore forehead and smacked his shoulder lightly.

“You’re a friend and me being famous won’t change that.” As he said this, I noticed that several people, young girls to be exact were watching and some of them were whispering with each other and pointing towards Louis. Oh, these girls probably recognized him. I wondered briefly why one of them hadn’t started attacking or screaming yet. “I really miss you, you know.”

“I miss you too. Erm… listen. I’m getting kind of late for work,” I began, glancing around nervously. I really hoped these girls won’t attack or anything. I knew how crazy some fans could be. I was one of those crazy fans when I was younger. I grimaced, trying to push the image of me almost passing out in front of Joel Madden when Good Charlotte was having a show at my town and I had a backstage pass.

I pushed my cup towards him and he took it with a questioning look. I just ignored him and rummaged through my bag to look for a piece of paper and pen. When I found what I was looking for, I wrote down my number and handed it to him, taking back my coffee. “Here’s my number. Call me? And maybe we can hang out and catch up,” I spoke quickly, noticing that one of the girls was beginning to approach us. “Bye, Tommo. See you later,” I continued, smiling and waved before quickly walking away because even before he could reply, the girl was already standing next to him and asked for a picture and autograph. As if on cue, all the other girls screamed and crowded around him, leaving him no space to run. Really, I felt sorry for him, I thought and brought my coffee cup to my mouth and took a sip. My face scrunched up in distaste as I realized that in my haste, I had accidentally swapped my coffee with Louis’ and now I had his complicated hot beverage thing with me. With a shrug, I threw it into the nearest bin and continued my walk to work.