Gabriella's POV:
The final bell rings and loud cheering is heard all across the long hallway. I try to move past the sea of bodies gathering outside every class. The sight of crazy juniors and sophomores whistling and playing fight is hard to ignore. I sigh when I am able to spot my friends waiting for me in Addison's car.
"So.. what are our plans for today?" wondered Ben while I fastened my seat belt. Our traditions go all way back to sophomore year. It's crazy to think how far we've come. I sigh and try to fight the smile creeping onto my face.
"What's with the sighing Gabs?" asked Addi with a questioning look on her face. "Is it because of this boy?" her eyebrows wiggled.
What? No way.
I abruptly turn my gaze to her and quickly deny her speculations "Hell no. I was just going down memory lane." I explain. Silence falls between us and I see my best friends look at each other with puzzled expressions.
"Is this because of.."
"No!" I cut her off before the name slips from her lips. They sigh in relief and I shoot them a reassuring smile. "Can you please drop me off by the coffee shop? I promised Lee I'd meet her at 4." worry takes over their faces because of my lame excuse "I'm sorry, I just need some time." I apologize and they nod, dropping the matter. "I'll meet you guys later at my house."
"Sure!" Ben chirps after a moment of awkward silence. "We love you Gabs, remember that." he says with a soothing tone and rubs my back gently with his big hands.
"I love you too." I mumble and a genuine laugh escapes Addison's lips. She can never contain her laughter during serious situations and even worse when we are being all corny with one another.
She pulls to the side and I get jump off the car. "Get some pizza before you drive to my house?" I pout and they both chuckle at my food obsession.
"Pineapple pizza?" Addi jokes and Ben chokes on his breath "I'm kidding, I swear" she gushes and raises both of her hands in innocence before Ben kills her for joking with that.
We found out Ben was allergic to pineapple at a sleep over and he had a rash and extreme pain for the rest of the night. It was an awful thing to watch and guess who had to baby sit him for hours and bring him stuff because he claimed it made him feel better? Us.
"Bye bye" I shout and wave them goodbye. They honk the horn and leave. Some people inside the coffee shop turn their heads, but I ignore their stares.
Coffee.
I make my way to the counter and ask for a regular black coffee. It's a bit past 4, which means Lee's shift ended a while ago. A brunette I don't know takes my order and I sit down on my regular place in the corner of the shop.
I'm confused when I look around and see other new faces, some of which I had never seen before. After scanning my surrounding I take my books and start working on a "small" assignment our English lit teacher gave us.
Dear students,
For this assignment I'd like you to keep a journal for what is left of the year. I will send you writing prompts now and then and you'll present your journal to me when by the end of the year. Meanwhile, to start on this task I want you to write about Love. What does love mean to you? Have you ever been in love? Is it possible to suffer from love? Give me your personal opinion and do your best. I will be giving extra points to those who work hard. Choose your words wisely. If you don't feel comfortable about a topic you can send me an email and we can reach to an agreement.
Enjoy!
"Really?" Luck is definitely not on my side today. How I'm I supposed to write about something that was taken away from me without warning. I groan and the brunette girl appears with my coffee in her hand. My mouth waters at the sight in front of me while I mumble a thanks and she goes back to the counter, taking her apron off and leaving shortly after.
Coffee makes it all better.
Memories of that night come flashing back and I force my eyes shut, feeling overwhelmed by the odd feeling forming in the pit of my stomach. I take a sip from my coffee, wanting the image to disappear from my mind, but as soon as the drink reaches my tastebuds I almost spit all over my school work. "What the actual fuck?" I groan and stand from my seat abruptly.
Unbelievable. Could this day be even worse?
I go back to the counter with no intentions of being polite, while steam blows from my ears I'm so done with this.
The girl just gave me hot cocoa. Do I look like a 5-year old to her?
I feel a small pinch in my chest and then my stomach starts cramping, which means my period is close. You've got to be kidding me.
"Excuse me? I asked for black coffee" I growl impatiently.
The tall guy in the counter turns around and his eyes meet mine "Sorry sweetheart, be right back" I recognize him from school, Finn Dankworth, the creep from Chemistry. He winks at me and I fight the urge to gag when his fingers graze mine as soon as he touches the cup.
He's new here too, great.
The pool of ocean waves notices my annoyance and smirks at himself thinking I didn't catch that. His brown hair is messy and pushed to the side. I take a minute to scan his body. His toned muscles are perfectly hugged by the white t-shirt he is wearing and I can't take my eyes off his broad shoulders. "Oh my god" I gasp when I look up and he is staring deeply into my eyes, leaning on the counter, with a hand on his hip and a crooked smile. I cover my face with my hands to hide my red cheeks. Embarrassment flooding through me because he caught me checking him out.
"I don't like being stared at" he mimics my words from earlier at school and I roll my eyes. I know that's not true, he definitely likes being stared at. "Here ya go, babe." he mumbles and hands me a new coffee cup. I want to roll my eyes again, but I just take the cup and sit down. Out of all people he decided to start working here.
"You should've at least thanked me." he teases in a humorless voice and I shake my head a little, not wanting him to talk to me. Everyone knows about Finn Dankworth's one night stands, the girls he's played and the ones he broke. I don't want him to think he can do that to me.
"Thanks" I murmur while taking out a pen to start writing my journal. I catch Finn looking at me from across the shop, but when I look up, he looks away. I notice his blushing cheeks and a smirk tugs at my lips.
I take a sip from the coffee and feel like I'm taken to a parallel universe. "Wow." is all I manage to say. I was definitely not expecting it to be this good. I gulp down the whole burning liquid in the cup and wipe my mouth with a napkin afterwards.
Glancing down at the paper laying on the table, I rest my head on it and sigh.
What does love mean to you?
A/N: New chapter yay! I love writing this story so much.
Don't forget to vote and tell me what you think! x
-V
YOU ARE READING
By The Coffee Shop
Teen Fiction"She is kind, heart made of honey. He is reserved, the opposite of sunny. No one would ever think they would be together. But they are the moon and the sun for each other." -Romana Rubyy *** It was Sophomore year and Gabriella Robinson had everythin...
