Snippets of a Spiders Non-Spidey Life

Textbooks are Expensive and I'm Running Out of Coffee (Part 7)

Walking side by side down the corridor and out onto the street, the pair remained in their usual in-between comfortable and slightly uncomfortable silence. It must have been one of their talents. Michelle watched as Peter's hands seemed to retreat up into her (well, his now) hoodie before making a reappearance a few seconds later, almost like a robot with only one coded action.

'You alright there, Peter?'

'Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking about stuff.'

'Thinking can be dangerous.'

With a light chuckle, he replied, 'very.'

Their arms seemed to swing by their sides like a mirror image of the other but their hands were too timid to approach their reflection. The cool air of the morning wasn't unbearably cold unlike some of the recent ones. But instead it provided a waking up to anyone still drowsy but didn't nip and bite at fingers and toes.

As their feet kept their steady rhythm, the streets began to morph from the more accommodation centred region to the pair being surrounded by the shops and buildings that came with heading towards the heart of the city, before they took a sharp turn heading back out towards the outskirts. The library, that had become their neutral meeting place (and a reason to be in the presence of one another, even if neither of them would admit it), stood tall among the other buildings before moving past them as they rounded the corner to the coffee shop.

As the coffee shop door gently swung open, the little bell gave out a small tintinnabulation. Peter and MJ were immediately wrapped in the warmth of the shop as the door closed behind them, a greatly appreciated change to the temperature of their morning. A few customers were dotted around the tables; the majority of them doing their own little things, apart from two boys who were quietly debating about the book that was sat in the middle of their table. The whole café had a very homely feeling and the scent of coffee and old books drifted around the room.

MJ turned slightly turned her head and came face to face with a large book shelf containing a wide range of books, including many of those that sat on her bookshelf at home but also ones that had caught her eye several times but a college budget sadly didn't allow for.

'You want your normal tea or do you want to try something else?' Peter asked, drawing her out of her daze reading all the book titles.

'Normal, please.'

'Ok. You know, you can read the books while you're drinking your drinks in here, if you want to go and find a table, I'll order the drinks then come find you.'

'Ok.'

Michelle grabbed the book that had initially grabbed her attention. It had a relatively medium sized width and its font size was not overly large or small. Its cover contained two colours that conveyed a pleasing contrast, almost a quiet conflict between the two colours. She gently placed the book down at one of the table for two before sitting down herself.

'...so that's MJ.' One of the baristas voices spoke a bit too loudly, the volume catching MJ's attention.

She looked up towards the counter where Peter was standing to see him trying to get them to shut up entirely or at least quieten down. A small amount of heat rushed over her cheeks before settling itself down, bringing a slight rosy tinge to her face. She opened the book and tried to get herself to focus on the words staring at her from the page but to no avail. Her brain wanted to lock onto the conversation Peter was having, ignoring all of her silent pleas to just read the damn book.

'...please just stop.'

'Sorry, Peter but what else are we supposed to do when you finally bring in the girl you freaked out about not knowing the name of the other day?'