Number one and only. [Nicholas &team]

Chapter 9 - A Smile at Dusk

The last period was homeroom. Miss Lia stepped in, her arms full of papers. Setting them down on the desk, she adjusted her glasses and scanned the class.
“Two weeks from now,” she began, “you’ll have your first class test. Make sure you’re prepared.”
A collective groan rippled through the room.
Beside Nicholas, Harua slumped forward with a theatrical sigh. “I’m dead,” he muttered, turning to Nicholas. “Hey, you’re a genius, right? Help me pass.”
Nicholas didn’t answer immediately, eyes still on his notebook.
“Come on,” Harua pressed, poking his arm. “Please. Please, please, please. I’ll even pay for coffee.”
Nicholas gave him a sidelong glance. “Fine.”
“Deal!” Harua grinned, already fishing his phone out. They exchanged numbers, Harua beaming like he’d just won a prize. They decided to meet after school at the café where Nicholas worked — that way, Nicholas could do his shift while helping Harua study.

By evening, the café’s warm lighting glowed against the fading sky outside. The soft hum of indie music floated through the air as Harua slipped inside, shaking the early autumn chill from his jacket.
Nicholas was already there, wiping down the counter. Gone was the uniform from school — instead, he wore a loose charcoal-grey crewneck, the sleeves pushed to his forearms, paired with black jeans and simple white sneakers. Over it all, his café apron was tied neatly, the deep brown straps snug over his shoulders.
They settled into a corner booth with notebooks and steaming mugs of coffee, the quiet scrape of pens against paper filling the space.
Then the bell above the door chimed.
Nicholas glanced up — and stilled for half a beat before moving again. Ava had stepped in, her long hair loose, Christine beside her.
“Surprise!” Christine chirped, her voice carrying easily. “Harua invited us to the group study too!”
Nicholas hid whatever flicker of reaction he had, turning instead to the espresso machine. “I’ll get more coffee.”
Ava and Christine slid into the booth, Ava taking the seat beside Nicholas’s empty spot.
When he returned with two more mugs, Nicholas sat down next to her, the faint scent of coffee beans clinging to his sweater.
The four of them studied — or at least, three of them did. Harua yawned every few minutes, and Christine distracted herself with little doodles in her notebook. Nicholas’s focus never wavered, though he rose occasionally to take orders from new customers before slipping back into the booth.
At one point, Ava glanced up from her notes. “When are you done with work?”
“Nine,” he said simply.

The clock’s hands crept forward. Eventually, Harua rubbed his eyes, already packing up his things.
“I’m tapping out,” he said, standing with a stretch. “Christine, you said you’d drop me home?”
“Yep,” she replied, grabbing her bag. “See you two tomorrow.”
And just like that, they were gone.
Nicholas returned to the counter, clearing away empty cups. Ava lingered in the booth, her chin propped in one hand, watching him.
“You don’t want to go home?” he asked, untying his apron.
“Let’s go home together,” she replied easily.

The night air was crisp when they stepped outside, streetlamps casting pools of golden light onto the pavement. They walked in a comfortable quiet, the soft sound of their footsteps filling the space between them.
Halfway to her street, Ava broke the silence. “I like your outfit.”
Nicholas glanced down at himself. “What’s so special about it? It’s just casual.”
“It suits you,” she said with a small smile, eyes still forward.
He wore a charcoal-grey crewneck that fit just loose enough to be comfortable, black jeans that were clean but slightly worn at the edges, and white sneakers that looked well-kept. Simple, but something about the way he wore it made it… him.
They stopped in front of her house — a tall wrought-iron gate framing a driveway that seemed to stretch forever. The lights from inside glowed faintly through the front windows.
“So this is where you live,” Nicholas remarked, his gaze travelling upward. “It’s huge.”
She smiled lightly. “Since you came this long way, how about having dinner?”
He shook his head. “No… my mom might be waiting at home with dinner already.”
She didn’t push. “Then maybe I’ll visit your mom sometime.”
Something shifted in his face — and then, for the first time since they’d met, Nicholas actually smiled.
It wasn’t a smirk or a polite curl of lips — it was warm, genuine, a fleeting crack in the armour he always wore.
Ava noticed instantly.
Nicholas adjusted his glasses, the faintest trace of that smile still on his face.
“See you tomorrow,” she said, stepping back toward the gate.
He gave a small wave. “See you.”
She watched him walk away before disappearing inside, still thinking about that smile.