Latte Problems - An Aruden AU

1. Coffee Shop Chaos

Aru's POV:

I slammed the door behind me, backpack swinging like it had its own personal vendetta against the universe. Late. Of course I'm late. Classic me. Nikki's already at the counter, eyes rolling because apparently someone has to keep me from turning the espresso machine into a glitter cannon.

"Morning, Aru," she says. Yeah, morning. As if. I throw her a look that basically says, pray for me, sister.

I grab a muffin—glitter, obviously—and toss it on the counter. It lands somewhere between perfection and catastrophic disaster. Perfect. Nikki mutters something about my life choices, but I don't care because... Aiden.

There he is, sitting at the table, thermos in hand, eyes like he's judging me silently. Oh my god, why is he always so... him? I want to die and also, like, flirt casually without looking like a total idiot. Smooth. Super smooth, Aru.

He looks at me. "Late," he says. Classic. Cool. Calm. Perfect. Ugh, I want to strangle him but also kiss him. Whatever.

"Yeah, I'm late. And you're... here. Wow, thrilling," I manage, tossing glitter in the air because clearly it's my signature move.

Then—of course—Kara walks in. I hate her. Not in a "maybe she's cute and we could have a rivalry" way. No. In a "you ruined my life once and now you're trying to look mysterious while I run a coffee shop?" way. Ugh. She orders something absurd. Triple-shot, half-caramel, soy latte with a twist. I stare at her like she just insulted my mother.

"Cool," I mutter flatly. "You want that... fine. But don't expect me to like it."

Kara smirks. Oh, that smirk. Hate. Hate hate hate.

At that exact moment, Nikki throws me a we're-in-this-together glance. Bless her soul. We're on the same shift today. She's already plotting how to help me survive.

Aiden rolls his eyes at me. Of course he does. He doesn't even know what's about to hit him. Kara notices, probably thinks she's some kind of threat. I roll my eyes so hard I think they're going to escape my skull.

And then I trip over my own feet. Glitter everywhere. Coffee wobbling. Nikki muttering something about chaos incarnate. And me? I'm just... living, vibing, late, totally not obsessing over Aiden, and ready to punch Kara if she even breathes wrong.