Next day. Sunday morning. Me: still in bed, messy hair, phone dying next to my head. I scroll. Social media? Dead vibes. I sigh at my ceiling like it'll give me answers.
Me to myself: "Bro, move. Breathe air. Drink overpriced coffee. Maybe today's your day."
So, yeah — plan made. I drag myself up. Shower. Soap. Deodorant that screams 'trust me, I'm clean'.
Pick a fit: casual enough to say 'I'm chill', sharp enough to whisper 'notice me.'
Perfume. Two spritz for luck. Journal tucked under arm — my emotional sidekick.
I hit town. Coffee place — my little haven. Slide into my corner seat. Order my usual. Sip.
Headphones on. World off. Just me, my caffeine, and my scribbled thoughts about her.
Couples around me doing that eye-gazing, giggling nonsense. Good for them, I guess. I watch, half-jealous, half-dreaming.
Pen dances over paper. I'm not even writing anything deep — just distractions from the Lexi loop spinning in my head.
Then it happens — cosmic prank:
Perfume. Sweet. Familiar. Better than the beans boiling behind the counter.
I look up. Back first. Hair perfect. Clothes simple but ugh. She's a vision.
She orders. Turns around.
Lexi.
My jaw? Somewhere on the floor. Heart? Not mine anymore.
She glides past, oblivious to the storm she spins inside my ribcage. Parks herself at a table across from me — not too close, not too far. Universe laughs: "Good luck, lover boy."
I pretend I'm fine. I'm not. I sip cold coffee. I doodle hearts in my journal. I glance up like every 10 seconds.
Then plot twist:
A friend arrives. Another pretty face. They hug, gossip, whisper secrets that ain't mine to hear but — headphones or not — I'm tuned in.
Name? Got it: Aria. Cute.
So yeah, sitting there, sitting there, just minding my own goddamn business, as if I am. I'm busy looking at them. Yeah, I know that. And apparently, I also get to know a friend's name. Her name? Aria. Classic, huh? Beautiful, simple, interesting, I guess. And all that. I keep on talking. I pretend like I'm listening to music coming in my headphones, but nope. Music of me locked in their conversation, though I can't get it clearly, but I can get a glimpse of it and all that kind of stuff, you know? So, there she is. They talk, they talk. And after that, well, they get up. And they leave. So, there's me again. Looks like another day where I don't seem to get the courage to walk up and talk to her, but, well, who knows? Maybe soon, soon enough, I might get to talk to her, you know?
So, Lexi and Aria. Oh, okay.
The End Of Chapter There 🌄☕