Bittersweet

She liked a lot of things – sweet things in particular.

She liked the sugary taste of candy. She liked seeing people happy. And notably, there was even one person she liked.

His name was Harry.

As she was being bullied when only a little girl, he stepped in to protect her from the harsh words that were being thrown at her, even taking a punch to the gut when the bully was fed up and left. And even though he was doubled over from the fist colliding with his abdomen, he still made sure she was fine and alright before stumbling off. That was how she had come to know that Harry was different – special.

After that, it was then she realized that they grew up living a few houses down from one another, that they both attended the same primary school and even shared lessons. They'd even bump into each other on more than just a few occasions, but they only remained what they were – acquaintances.

And nevertheless, whenever she saw him, there was something that just drew her to him. And when he laughed and grinned that infectious smile, her heart would stop and her stomach would knot itself. And when his eyes caught the light in the room, it was as if she was frozen in her tracks, being absorbed into those chilly, sweet peppermint toned irises.

As time passed and they grew up, she realized her crush on the boy would stay only as that.

And when she reached her teen years, she took up a part-time job at the local cafe, making hot espresso drinks and such for the customers that arrived. She loved her job, and all that it entailed with only one exception – the coffee.

While she didn't hate the drink, it never pleased her tastes the way sweeter drinks did. In order for her to drink such a bitter liquid, she would need to thoroughly douse it with creamer and sugar to make it drinkable.

“Could I please get a cup of coffee?”

Looking up from the register, she seemed to become mesmerized by a pair of light colored eyes that seemed familiar to her. As her mind registered the entire picture, she realized that Harry was standing before her with a smile on his face.

“F-For here or to go?” She questioned timidly.

“Here's fine, love,” he answered.

“That'll be two quid, please.”

Harry handed off the money in his hand to her, her fingertips brushing against the palm of his hand as she accepted the notes. She handed him a receipt and then went off to fetch his order, grabbing a clean cup and pouring the black liquid inside before returning to the counter with it.

“Would you like cream or sugar?”

“No thanks,” he replied, looking down to her silver name tag before looking back into her blue eyes, “Brin.”

“You're welcome,” she seemed to sigh out, watching him head off to a corner table and pull out some papers to work on.

It was then when she started seeing Harry on nearly a daily basis, the lad coming in for his coffee and the corner table to work on whatever he was bringing. Each day allowed her to work up the courage to say something new – from different ways to say hello to inquiring about how he was feeling that day. It meant the world to her to be able to interact with him so normally, and it meant even more so when he would reply to her so enthusiastically and even start up a conversation on occasion.

After having become so comfortable with one another, when the shop was empty and the coffee beginning to brew in the background, she approached the boy cautiously as if to give herself some time to reconsider her actions. When she reached him, she knew there was no going back and asked, “What are you working on, Harry?”

The curly haired boy looked up from the table and smiled, sighing out, “An application.”

“Looking for a job?” She asked as she sat down on a neighboring chair.

“More like a shot at the big time,” he confessed, scratching the back of his ear almost anxiously. “It's for The X Factor.”

“Really?”

“Mhm,” he nodded.

“So what's your talent?”

“Singing.”

“You sing?”

“I'm in a band,” he replied with a laugh. “We've done a few small gigs and a Battle of the Bands type of deal – nothing too serious though.”

“Do you know what you're going to sing for the audition?”

His peppermint eyes glanced to her for a moment, the boy sitting up and giving a small nod of the head. “Yeah, do you want to hear it?”

Excitedly, she scooted forward to the edge of the chair, leaning forward as if to hear him better with eyes that were wide open with curiosity. “Please,” she smiled.

Harry laughed and cleared his throat, gathering himself before he let out the words to the song he was singing for her. “Isn't she lovely? Isn't she wonderful? Isn't she precious? Less than one minute old. I never thought, through love we'd be, making one as lovely as she, but isn't she lovely made from love.”

Throughout his small performance, both teens drew close to one another, almost compelled by the song and his voice. As Harry finished, his voice ending the song on a soft, quiet note that seemed to echo in the empty shop – even the brewing coffee silencing itself to allow Harry the floor.

Their faces were mere inches apart, Harry's eyes darting from her ocean blue eyes to her plump lips and back up again. And before it could even register, they met in the middle as their lips met hesitantly before they lost themselves to the moment.

She could taste it - the bitterness of the coffee - on his lips as he ravished her own with a heated forcefulness that made her go weak in the knees. And it may have been the boy she was kissing or the moment or both, but there was something delectably sweet about his coffee coated kiss.

And for a moment, she knew she had been right about liking Harry – he was one of the sweetest things she had ever had.

A cellphone vibrated and a ringtone followed soon after that, the two teens pulling away from one another and coming to their senses. Her face was flushed a deep red, and Harry was reaching for his phone to check who was calling, rising from his feet when his mother's name popped up upon the screen. “Damn,” he muttered, packing his things and getting ready to leave. “I'm sorry, I've gotta go. Mum wants me back home to start preparing for the auditions.”

“Oh, okay,” she replied, standing up and shaking her head. “Good luck, Harry.”

He flashed her a smile and nodded, “Thanks! I'll see you later!”

As he left the shop and her to be on her own, the once sweetened coffee turned back to tasting bitter, and she quickly drank some milk to get rid of the strong flavor. And while she had finally been kissed by her longtime crush, she had a feeling that if she saw Harry again, it might not be for a long while.

This was the most bittersweet moment of her life.



Now at the blossoming age of nineteen, a lot had changed about her. She wasn't as shy as the young girl she once was. Her once brunette hair was dyed to resemble the most gorgeous hue of blue, her eyes the same color with the only difference in them being how brightly they shone.

One thing that had remained the same, however, were her feelings for Harry – no matter how much she wanted to ignore them.

The coffee shop had closed down a year or two after he had left for The X Factor, and she concentrated on her university lessons like her parents wanted her to. And one day, on her way to school, a passerby was standing before the empty coffee shop, staring in almost longingly with dark shades placed over his eyes.

She paid him no mind, continuing on with her walk to school, but as she passed him on by, her reflection caught his eye, his form turning to face the young girl and stare inquisitively at her.

“Brin?” He questioned.

She stopped dead in her tracks at the familiar tone of voice – it may have been an octave or two deeper, but she could tell it was his and his alone. She hesitantly twisted round and looked over her shoulder, the boy removing those glasses and exposing his cool peppermint eyes.

“Brin,” he sighed contentedly, approaching her slowly and smiling down at her with affection. “I'm sorry it took me a while to come back.”

She didn't realize till he wiped them away, but she was soon tearing up, a few drops cascading down her rosy cheeks. “Don't cry, love.” He cooed. “If you'll have me, I'll do my best to never make you cry again,” he promised, adding her name breathlessly to end as if it were the sweetest thing he'd ever said. “Brin.”