VARSITY 9 | BL

NINE | EIGHT MONTHS

"Your shots are dying."

Gabbi's warning brought Wen out of his thoughts. "Hm?" Looking up from the espresso machine, Wen looked at Gabbi with blank eyes.

"Oh, thanks," Wen thanked as he snapped out of his daze. Tilting his head down, Wen quickly poured the shots into an empty cup and finished making a latte that had been requested by a client.

"Something happen?" Gabbi inquired as she gave Wen the next order.

Thoughts of Kean asking about Yywren just hours before flashed through Wen's mind before he shook his head and denied, "No, nothing out of the ordinary."

"You sure?" Gabbi checked as she completed the transaction with the latest customer.

"Mm," Wen confirmed, taking the cup and starting the espresso shots for the lavender latte before grabbing the coconut milk from the fridge next to his station.

"Okay, well, if you ever need to talk about anything, I'm here to hear you out. I can't promise to offer good advice or anything, but if you just need to unload, well...I'll be here."

Wen smiled at Gabbi's offer and nodded his head in thanks as three customers entered the café. "I'll keep that in mind," Wen said as he gestured to the new clients. Gabbi shot Wen an encouraging smile before turning to assist the customers.

"What's this I'm hearing?" A sing-song voice floated to be beside Wen as Mel joined the brown-haired at the hot bar. Mel smiled up at Wen as she asked, "Having trouble with your nemesis again?"

Mel's accuracy shocked Wen, but he brushed it off with a playful scoff. "What? Nahhh. What made you think that?"

Mel squinted her eyes as she studied her co-worker. Mel, Gabbi, Eddie, and Wen all being students were naturally close and often shared stories of their personal lives during downtimes at the café. So, Wen's co-workers had somewhat of an idea about Wen's life and his battle with the basketball jock at his school.

And anytime Wen was feeling down or spacing out, the others could guess it was either family worries or issues with his arch nemesis, the jock. So, Mel asked about Wen's trouble with Kean should not have shocked him as much as it did. But because it was accurate, Wen became more flustered than he would have been should Mel have been wrong in her assumption.

"Oh! I bet it is!" Reading through Wen's disguised reaction, Mel clapped her hands once as she called Wen's bluff. "So, what happened? Is it because he found out you're a xaiyon?"

Again, Mel's accuracy impressed Wen, and he ended up confessing. "Sort of...he...asked about someone...so..."

"The someone that started the bad blood between you and him?"

"...Mm," Wen confirmed with a nod. Wen had not opened up to his co-workers regarding Yywren and the whole situation that had happened two years ago, but Mel could still guess the cause of Wen's distress by placing together the pieces of what Wen had told them.

A moment of awkward silence settled between the four employees until Mel chirped, "Well! I don't really know what's going on, but I hope you can get things worked out."

Wen smiled at Mel's kindness. "Thanks."

Eddie, who had been manning the cold bar where the smoothies and frappes were made, walked over to Wen once he had delivered a smoothie to the 'pick up' counter. "Wanna hang out after our shifts are done?"