The Only Exception (Jasya)

4

Daya had become a regular at the diner. Jasmine was more than happy about that. But she wasn't sure if the other girl felt the same way. Everyday she seemed to look rougher and more upset than the last. Nothing Jasmine did seemed to put a smile on her face, and she ordered the same exact thing every time she was there. It left Jasmine a little confused.

"Is she ever gonna drink the second one?" Jorgeous asked Jasmine in a hushed whisper one day as they watched Daya. "Or is she expecting someone?"

Jasmine had just sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't know..."

It was a particularly stormy day when Jasmine was one of the only ones at the diner. Angie had stayed home with a sick Stella and Jorgeous and Orion had taken the day off for their anniversary. It was just Maddy and Camden with her today. Which she didn't mind. The weather had kept most people inside and business was pretty slow.

Jasmine had been busying herself with cleaning, until her favorite regular came in.

Daya had been soaked by the rain. Her wet hair that wasn't tucked into her beanie clung to her face, her body shaking from the cold. Jasmine eagerly skated over to greet her, but stopped when seeing the condition she was in.

"Oh hun..." She said quietly. "Hold on, stay there. I'll get you a towel from the back."

Daya snapped out of the daze she had gone into, looking down at Jasmine with a blank expression. "A towel...?" She asked quietly in confusion.

Jasmine tilted her head a little. "Yes, a towel. To dry off."

Daya looked down at herself, not having noticed what the rain had done to her. "Oh..." She responded quietly.

Jasmine didn't know how she didn't notice the state she was in. But she still gave her a comforting smile, skating to the back to find a towel for her. Now that there weren't many people in the diner that day, maybe she could take the chance to actually talk to the girl. Not just asking her what she wanted and things like that. She wanted to talk to her for real. Maybe then she'd seem less mysterious.

Daya hadn't moved when Jasmine came back. She stared at the floor with glossy eyes. Jasmine had to fight the urge to reach out and dry her face off herself, and that was incredibly difficult. Because even though Daya was bigger than her, she still seemed so fragile. Like she needed all the care in the world but would fall apart if Jasmine made one wrong move.

So instead, she handed her the towel. Daya stared down at it before wiping the water off of her face, whispering a quiet "thank you" to the smaller girl.

Jasmine smiled a little, motioning for her to follow. She didn't bother to take a menu, just led her to the same table she sat her at everyday. "Same thing you had yesterday?"

Daya slowly sat down in the booth, shivering in her soaked jacket and holding the towel tighter. "Yes please..."

Jasmine knew that's what she'd order. And so did Camden, because when Jasmine went back to the kitchen, two mugs were already set out for her to take.

She carefully picked them up. "Are these-"

"Yes. One with sugar, one without." Camden answered before she could finish the question, turning away from the sink to face her. "You think you'll talk to her a bit more today?"

Jasmine took a deep breath, trying to remain confident. "I'm going to try, yeah. I'm not sure if she'll reciprocate much, but she just...looks like she needs a friend."

Camden nodded in agreement. "If there's anyone who can make her feel comfortable, it's you. Good luck."

Jasmine thanked her before skating back out to the front of the diner. Daya was busy writing now, or at least trying to. Her hands were so shaky it was making her handwriting messy and hard to read. Jasmine set the drinks down for her. "There you go."