Juniberry Delight

Chapter 2; "Missing Blue Eyes." 💙

~Hunk's POV~

   The next day, I got ready a lot faster than usual. I made small talk with Pidge during breakfast and left her to take care of the house while I was gone. When I stepped outside, a blast of cold wind suddenly hit my face. I pulled up my hood, adjusted my beanie, and snuggled my nose into my scarf. It was really weird how yesterday was fairly warm, but today it was freezing . Luckily, though, my urge to see Lance again pushed me to run to the café instead of walk.

   I opened the door to the shop and walked in, pulling down my hood and taking in the warm atmosphere. So far, Allura was nowhere to be seen. I walked over to the back of the café and took off my sweatshirt to reveal my yellow long sleeved shirt. I tied on my apron, walked back out to the counter, and looked around. The sweets were in place, ingredients in the correct cabinets, and the chairs were all pushed in.

   The bell rang, signaling somebody's entrance. I turned around and saw Allura walking in, shivering. "Hi, Allura! Ready to start the day?" I asked.

   "Uhh... y-yes.." She looked very cold as she walked to the back, which I followed her into. I surprised her with a hug from behind to warm her up, which seemed to work, seeing that she stopped shivering. "Thank you." She sighed in relief. "It's supposed to be the end of winter, why in the world is it freezing outside?" She muttered as she tied on her apron.

   "No idea. But hey; at least more people will huddle up in here, right? It's warm, with nice hot drinks, you know?"

   I gave her more reasons as to why cold days are always some of the best days in the shop when the bell for the door rang. "Oh, first customer! I'll take care of them, try to warm up before you catch a cold, yeah?" Allura sat down on a comfortable chair in the corner of the room and pulled out her phone. I walked back out to the cash register and greeted today's first customer. "Hello! Welcome to the Alattéan coffee shop, home of the Altean Juniberry Delight! How may we help you?"

   After about three hours, the place was starting to look full. People were filling up the seats and the long sofas stretched out underneath the large windows. Coffee tables were situated in front of them with about a foot and a half distance between them. As Allura and I took care of the customers' orders, I waited eagerly for Lance's arrival. So far, no sign of a car with the blue-eyed boy in the driver's seat crossed my vision.

   An hour passed. It was 10:00 AM. Four more hours until the end of my shift. I started to think that Lance forgot about the shop when the door opened. I nearly ran out of the back room. It wasn't Lance. Instead, it was my best friend, who takes care of the house: Pidge. I hoped I didn't look too crestfallen as I took her order. "Hey Pidge! Good to see you around, what can I get for you?"

   "Come on, dude, you know me by now."

   I sighed and nodded. "Alright, one extra caffeinated iced coffee, coming right up."

   I quickly made her order and gave it to her. She grinned as she took a sip.

   "Thanks, Tsuy!" She said cheerfully before going and sitting down at a table, pulling out a laptop and setting it in front of her. I just smiled and kept working, trying not to think of the blue eyed boy who had yet to visit today.

   He ended up not visiting at all that day. I frowned to myself as I put away my apron and locked the shop up, but I tried not to feel too bad. I shouldn't expect him to come in again, really. He probably didn't even think about the shop again, after he left.

   Oh, well. Not a big deal. I sighed softly, making sure the shop was locked up properly before turning and heading home. I got there quickly and said a quick hello to Pidge before going to my room to rest a bit. As I was sitting on my bed, my mind wandered again to Lance. I wondered if he did think of the shop.. Or not. But either way, I shouldn't get my hopes up. He might never come back to the shop.. Still, why was that such a big deal to me? I guess he was nice to be around.. Not to mention nice to look at.

   I needed to stop thinking like that, though. I need to let it go. So I took a deep breath and decided to just move past that. And these weird, random feelings.

   Just then, Pidge knocked on my door. "You decent?"

   "Yeah." I answered softly, looking over at the door as she came in and following her with my eyes as she moved to sit next to me.

   "You alright, man? You seem kinda down.." She asked carefully, looking me over.

   "Yeah, just.. I dunno. Weird feelings, I guess." I avoided telling her about Lance, and how I strangely missed him.

   "Hm.. Wanna watch some space documentaries? Science documentaries? Maybe some good old 'Kitchen Techtastrophes?'"

   "I'm always down to watch people fail at cooking." I joked, standing up with a grin. Pidge copied me and followed me out to the living room, where we sat and turned on Kitchen Techtastrophes.

   It was a pretty simple show, similar to most cooking shows, but the chefs had to use technology in every step of the cooking process. We both loved it, and watched all the episodes together. I quickly turned on the newest episode and sat down, Pidge cuddling into my side immediately. I smiled and skipped past the advertisements so we could watch the show, with occasional laughing and comments from the both of us as we watch the contestants fail (and, less often, succeed).

   The episode ended after a bit, and Pidge shifted to look up at me.

   "Y'know, I think you could beat every single contestant on this show." She commented, a small grin on her face. "You can cook, and you know how to work with tech.."

   I laughed softly and shook my head. "I doubt it? But.. thank you.."

   She smiled and nodded. "No prob."

   We both went quiet, listening to the post-show advertisements go on.

   "Wanna watch another show for a bit?" She asked quietly.

   I smiled and nodded, handing her the remote.

   We continued watching tv for a couple of hours, until Pidge's stomach growled.

   "God, I'm hungry.. Wanna go get dinner?" She looked up at me, pulling away and leaving the part of my body she was leaning against feeling cold.

   "Definitely." I grinned and stood, helping her up and shutting off the TV before we both go to get ready and leave.

   When we were ready, we walked out to my car. We got in, and started it up before I drove out of the driveway. "So where do you want to eat?" I asked Pidge as we drove through the neighborhood.

   "I don't know, man. Pizza Hut sounds good to me right about now." She suggested, leaning back in her seat.

   "Alright, Pizza Hut it is." I started a course for the nearest Pizza Hut to us. While I was driving, we made small talk.

   "So what's your favorite part about working in that coffee shop?" She asked me. I shrugged.

   "Dunno. Probably chatting with the customers, I guess." I said, turning the car to park in front of Pizza Hut.

   Pidge scoffed. "You and I could not become any more of polar opposites when it comes to our social life, huh?"

   I questioningly looked down at her, laughing a bit before I stepped out of the car.

As we were walking towards the entrance, I ran into somebody, making them fall over.

   "Oh my goodness, I am so sorry, are you ok?" I frantically helped them up.

   "Yeah, it's alright, no biggie- Hunk?"