====
Zi's Extra Notes:
{ From four days, it slowly turns into a week. Then those week become long everal weeks. When is enough, becomes more than enough, I decided to post today.
So, here's the long awaited new chapter that I've been working on for the past couple of days. Hope ya'll enjoy reading it!! }
{ P.S. I've been hearing that particular artist whole discography for weeks now. And that song have been playing throughout my writing process of this chapter. }
Warnings: mentions of smoking (kinda), hot and heavy making out sessions, and just fluff for the most part.
Word counts: 5k++ (I swear I tried my best to trim it down)
====
( E N Z O'S P O V )
At the Side Stop Food Truck Area
Strings of bright light bulbs hanging above my head. And here I am, sitting at a table, in the middle of the crowd waiting for Derek. He insisted that he would pay for our food. The loud chattering of the crowds brings the whole food truck scene into a more liveable one. People talking with the other person while enjoying their meal.
I turn my head and face to the right side. A family of three having their dinner, the parents listening attentively to the boy as he talks animatedly to them. I smile at the sight of a cute domestic scene of a family. My eyes then travel to a food truck that's behind the family. I spot Derek talking to a guy that is standing inside the aforementioned food truck.
My hand then slip down into my pocket and taking out my phone. I move my arms here and there as I quickly take his pictures. Speaking of him, he takes the tray from the food truck and turns around as he begins to walk back to me.
I swear I can see his lips widen with every step he takes. I quickly put my phone back in my pocket.
"I hope I haven't been keeping you waiting for long. Tonight seems to be a lot more packer than usual."
My stomach has been rumbling three times before, but ouh well. "It's fine I don't mind it at all."
He clears his throat before putting the tray on our table. My mouth starts to water at the sight of food that is displaying in front of me right now; delicious falafels, cheesy nachos, beef gourmet burgers, and what seems to be that two ice milk tea. "I did try and look around for coffee but there isn't any. Plus, they wouldn't taste good as yours anyway."
Chuckles escape from me. "Well, tea it is then. Wow, there's a lot of options for me to choose from."
"I don't know what kind of food you like, so I kind of bought a bit of everything." He nervously rubs his neck, which I find very endearing.
"That's great then. We can share a bit of everything." My hands hover beneath the tray like I'm casting a spell over the food. It's not until my hand stops at the delicious falafels. I pick one from the tray and shove it into my mouth.
A moan then escapes from me when I'm munching the crispy balls in my mouth. "This is so damn delicious. I love it." I say to Derek before shoving the whole falafel into my mouth.
"Yeah, I can see that." I look up and see a grin is tugging in the corner of his mouth. We look at each other for a while before he goes to take a bite of the cheesy nachos. I soon move away from the falafels, as I grab the ice milk tea and taking a sip of it.
As I'm sipping the refreshing ice tea, I notice something sticking on his jaw. It's a cheese stain from the dripping cheesy nachos.
"What?" Derek asks me. I guess I've been staring way too long cause now he's looking at me.
"Huh? Ouh, there's a--" I circle my hand around my jaw area. "something is underneath your jaw."
"What? Where?" Derek squints his eyes as his hand roams around his jaw area. "Is it still there?"
I wave my hands no to him as I take out my phone. "Here, lemme help you." I then point the camera lens at him and begin to take a pic of him. "All right, see."
I hand the phone to him which he gladly takes. "Ouh, wow. My hair looks so messed up."
"Really? I think it's adorable--" Yup, I knew the moment that I said it out loud. "I mean, you're probably the only person who can pull off that look."
A beat of silence then comes between us.
Ouh, god, have I mess u this up? Even when it's not halfway to the date? Wait, is this a date? I pull my eyes away because I can't bring them to look at him, not after what I said. And suddenly, a loud chuckle
I "Adorable, wow. That's new." He gives back my phone which I gladly take.
"Well, don't get used to it." I cheekily say.
Derek chuckles which get me as well to join with him too.
====
( J U N E'S P O V )
Back at the still renovating Gang's Coffeehouse
The streets are slowly dying down. The lights from the shops also beginning to fade out. All right, Enzo is off the table, for now. Understablely, cause a night out is more than deserving for him. One man down, well at least I still have another one hanging around.
I and Spencer are currently in the back. He's sitting on one of the free chairs while I pace back and forth with my phone, scrolling through a furniture website.
"ALL RIGHT, LISTEN UP!" I point my finger at Spencer, who is shocked at the sudden loud voice. "We have about a week or so to fix this dying coffeehouse into something more brand new. So, we need to make every second count if we want to finish before the dateline."
"Umm-- I need to head home for that new mystery movie that is airing tonight. So..."
"Nu-uh. Didn't you hear what I just said 10 seconds ago? Time is precious, so forget about your silly show and focus on the now."
"First of, it's an acclaimed tv show. Secondly, we need all hands on deck if we want to get things done." Spencers rises from his chair and is now standing right across me.
I push both of my hands behind my back as a smirk crosses my face. "I knew you were going to say that. And that's why I have called us a backup."
"A backup? From who?"
Speaking of the devil, the front bell rings loudly.
"We're out in the back!" I turn away from Spencer and shout at the arrival of the not-so-mysterious backup.
Spencer and I look at the back door with full-on anticipation. The sound of heavy boots thumping across the wooden floorboard gets nearer and nearer. And that's when he finally appears.
"Ryan? Wait, you're the backup that June was telling me about?" Spencer's voice lifts a notch.
"Yeah, the one and only! Construction at Denverhill ended pretty earlier than usual. And I was about to drive back home when June called to ask me down to the coffeehouse. So, where's Enzo at?" He tilts his head to me.
Before my mouth can throw out a word, Spencer beats me to it. "Ouh, you've actually just missed him. He's out with Derek now."
Ryan then looks from me to Spencer curiously. "Derek? Derek who?"
Spencer moves from looking at Ryan's face to mine. And at that exact moment, I shot him a deafening glare that always manages to make people shivers in fear. Spencer knows what's up when he sees my face. He responds by clearing his throat as Ryan looks at him, waiting for any answers.
I roll my eyes. I then grab Ryan's shoulders, he then looks at me with millions of questions running across his face. "Come on, let's head back inside. I'll promise to explain it to you later."
Ryan lets out a gruff. And with that awkward moment behind us, the three of us end up back inside the coffeehouse. Both Spencer and Ryan stand at one spot while I go and roll the whiteboard from my jeep; that has all the steps for the renovation project.
"What's all this?" Ryan waves his hand at the whiteboard.
"This is the plan that will be set in motion, once we are ready to move with it."
"Umm, what's project killswitch?" Spencer chimes in.
"That is of course," I tap my finger aggressively at the board. "if the current plan doesn't work out and everything goes out of the window. But, don't worry, I'm confident that we don't have to use plan B."
"Man, I don't know why but I suddenly feel all my hairs just rise, all at once." Ryan voices out after what feels like a minute of silence from him.
"Don't worry, if there's anyone that can stop her from going further, it would be Enzo." Spencer winks as he starts to cross his arms over his chest.
"Hello! You guys know that Im standing in front of both of you?" I pull my right hand to rest on my waist while the other one still holding tightly onto the whiteboard. "Look, I don't want to see you guys get to sweep and roll under the carpet. Just because a shiny and brand new cafe comes along and decides to open itself at Denverhill. People of Denverhill will sure be sad to see one of its pride to go under."
"Wow, I might have slipped a tear or two after hearing your passionate speech." Spencer brings his hand to his chest while a frown hanging from his lips. I quickly grab one of the markers and throw it over his head. Sadly it misses his head. And before I can get ready to throw another marker, Ryan holds up both of his hands and looking between me and Spencer.
"Look, I think what June just said makes kind of sense. We know to get our craps together and help save this coffeehouse from being closed down." Ryan slowly sets his hands down and looks back at me in a reassuring manner.
"All right, June. What should we do now?" Spencer says as he begins to unravel his arms and sets them beside his hips.
"Well, boys. Let's go ahead with the first step then, shall we?" I say with a silent smirk silently creeping behind my lips.
====
D E R E K'S P O V:
MEANWHILE, DRIVING ALONG THE EMPTY HIGHWAY
After the sweet but lengthy dinner; a huge part of it thanks to us keep ordering from one food to another. The only that stopped us from staying and keep eating at the food truck is the closing time itself.
Now, we both find ourselves drive down the empty highway with the windows roll down. The fast wind manages to sweep both of our faces away. As well as the slow but consistent sound of the car engine humming as the wheel rolling through the tar.
I have my left hand on the wheel while my right arm drapes over the open window. Air gushing over my arm as my fingers tap rhythmically to the sound of the humming engine. My fingers have been fidgeting and tapping has been keeping the hounds at bay.
I look over beneath the stereo which showcases the red number of the time. It's barely past midnight, 12:09 am. My eyes then travel to him, Enzo.
He is leaning his frame closer over the roll-down window. He looks so ethereal with thep[assing wind blowing his hair to all over the direction, totally straight out of those music videos.
My eyes go back to the never-ending straight and long highway. But then, the clicking sound coming from his side piques my sudden interest. I look back at what is he doing; taking pi of the flickering streetlights and the rows of trees that the car is passing by.
"Hey, what are you doing there?"
"Not much. Just taking snapshots of today's events." He tilts his head and looks over my side. "So that I can look back at it and remember how it is. Some might said that it's too much."
"I think it's cool if you ask me."
"Yeah? You think so?" He sounds bemused with himself. I don't need to turn and look to know that he's hiding his smile.
"I do." It's a cool way to look back and for you relive the moments, like how it's the first time."
"Exactly. It's also a therapeutic way of cataloging things and put them in their places. Speaking of places, where are we particularly heading to?"Enzo curiously asks.
"You'll see, sooner rather than later. It's a small surprise and kind of a good place for taking pictures."
"Colour me interested. Can't wait to see it already."
That's when I glance at him. Our eyes coincidentally meet when the orange streetlights hit our weary faces. My shoulder slumps back to normal as the driving begins to ease my knuckles. Suddenly, it seems like the air of the night feels lighter, and the distance feels shorter as the car continues to drive ahead.
====
( S P E N C E R'S P O V )
So... I guess my arms are not working anymore. Especially after I took millions of boxes out of June's jeep.
What the hell did I agree to? Also, lemme check if that pizza place still opens? Holy, hell it's 12:34 am? I turn around to see June holding dear life to the cashier register, behind her, an already sweating Ryan holding onto the humongous coffee machine and dropping it by the front door.
"So, I guess we are done for the night, aren't we? Technically, it's the next day but I'm too tired to comment."
"Spenny, you barely let out a sweat. We just need to let down the paintings and put them into those boxes." She points out the empty boxes that are on the pastries section. "After that, we can call it a day then."
My body then slouches like a dying koala when she mentions more work that is to be done. "And in the meantime, I ordered us pizza. The guys said he would be here in about 10 minutes or so." Ryan pops out of the coffee counter.
"Pizza? Hell yeah! Now I'm pumped up!" I jump to my feet and stand as straight as I can.
June then chimes in. "Not gonna lie, pizza sounds really amazing right now. Cheese and pepperoni is--"
"Now see who is slacking off work now." I chuckle. June then huffs in frustration as she throws the sugar packet at me. I successfully dodge her incoming attack before grabbing a napkin and throw it to her.
Before the fight can get any more heated, Ryan stands in between the both of us and list up his hands. "Okay, all right, all right. You two stop it." While Ryan is talking, a coffee filter hits his cheek.
"Sorry..." June says shyly like how a child is caught in her lies.
And in that exact moment, a loud knock from the front door interrupted the three of us. June turns her head to me before moving to greet who is behind the front door. She cheerfully thanks the delivery guy and pays him for the pizza. Not before leaving a tip, she grabs the boxes and closes back the door with her arm.
"I smell mushroom. Im guessing Ryan ordered this one." June puts the boxes on the table and begins to open the boxes one by one; mushroom, pepperoni, and cheese pizzas fully display on the table.
"I call dibs on the cheese one." I hold my hand up as I try to take one slice of it.
"Pace yourself. There's more than enough for the three of us." And with that Ryan pulls the box of the mushroom pizza towards him.
Me and June eye him like a bunch of judgemental teenagers. He takes a slice and put it into his mouth before mumbling something. "It's n-- like you-- guys di-g the mushroom," Ryan says in between munching the pizza inside his mouth.
"True. But we can pretend to like it just not to want it." I say.
"All of this talk got my throat thirsty. Spenny, can you grab one of the drinks from the fridge." June asks as she taking a slice of pizza with its cheese still sticking onto it.
"All right. What about you Ry?"
"Just a cold water, thanks." He mumbles before grabbing another slice of pizza.
"Okay, mister goldfish. One soda for the lady and one ice water coming right up."
I stand up from my stool and start to head towards the fridge. Just as I'm about to grab the handle, the whole fridge door creaks and falls onto the floor. I try to move away but my feet still glue to where I'm still standing.
"Dude, what the hell just happened?" June's voice breaks the sudden trance that I was having. I turn around to see her and Ryan behind her, look worryingly at me. And with that, I start to walk away from the scene and towards them.
"I don't know! I was about to open the door when it fell close to my leg!" I look back at the fridge and see all of the stuff spilling on the hardwood floor. " I guess we are a pretty long way from calling it a night," I say smirkingly.
"Im gonna go text Enzo." Ryan says before turning back to sit at the table.
June crosses her arm as she looks back disappointingly at the wake of the mess that the fridge left. Not me, the fridge itself. did it.
====
( E N Z O'S P O V )
After quite some time, we arrived at the mysterious spot that I've been dying to see myself. Derek told me that it's a good spot for taking pictures and my heart giddies up at the word picture like a 5-year-old. So, once we parked the car, we switched to walking on foot as the spot is up on a small hill. Along the way, me and Derek exchange laughs and weird stories with each other. I was nervous when he asked me out to eat beforehand. But now, Im not so nervous any longer.
"No way, I love the Midnight Goblins too! They're like in my top 3 of fav bands, ever!" I exclaim excitingly.
"Really? Wow, I don't think I've met someone who's a fan of them before."
"Maybe you have been hanging with the wrong crowd?"
"Yeah, probably." He says with hanging his head slightly low.
Our feet move in front of the other for about half an hour as they step on the cobblestone trail. My breath hitch in awe, admiring the amazing view that is perfectly displayed in front of me.
I feel like I'm floating in the air as the humongous bridge takes almost of the view. The lights that emit from the bridge are enough to make your eyes squint, especially with how much the tiny lights passing on it. Cars and other such vehicles drive to, and away from Denverhilll to Brackford.
I pull out my phone and begin to take pictures of the gorgeous sight of the bridge.
While I was capturing the pictures, I haven't notice that Derek is looking at me, a small smile tugging near his lips. I tilt my head to look at him. "Is this the spot that you were telling me about?" He nods. "It's beautiful. I've lived in Denverhill for almost of my life, and I didn't know about this spot until now."
"Well, now you know." I noticed from the corner of my eyes that his hands are fidgeting. Before I can point it out, he places both of his hands into his jean's pocket. "Let's go over there." I look to where he points his finger at. I didn't notice that there's a gazebo, not far from where we are standing.
I soon move my feet and walk over towards the gazebo. Derek closely following me from behind. The nearer I get to it, the more details that I see engrave into the gazebo.
Derek walks past behind me and sits at the free seats. His back behind the blinding bridge. He pats the empty seat beside him. And so I walk into the small space of the gazebo and sits beside him.
The moment my body rests on the bench, I can feel my heart stops beating for a quick second. His face is slightly visible to the naked eyes, sharp nose, and perfect jaws. I look away to the bridge and hope he doesn't stare.
"So, do you always bring your friends or date to this spot? To woo them with the pretty lights."
"No. You're the first person that has been here. Besides, no one offers me an amazing coffee."
"And also, someone who loves the Midnight Furies."
"And that too."
Soon, words run out between the two of us. We don't feel threatened by the silence, well I hope he's not.
My eyes look downwards to his lips. He scoots closer to me and I can feel his hot breath on my face. I then look upward at his face, his eyes already glue into mine. He looks at me for a moment not before I give a shy nod. I can't believe this is happening so I close my eyes and await the moment to happen. Our noses brush against each other before he closes the distance between the both of us.
I'm a bit surprised with how soft his lips are around mine. His facial hair tickles me every now and then but I can't help to focus on anything but his mouth. I grab his right arm as he continues to kiss me deeply. It's not when we both break apart for some needed air that I let out an exhale.
"W-wow. That was--"
"Amazing." I chime in.
We both let out a chuckle as we both still stay in the same position, holding each other. My hands holding his arm while his other arms snake around my waist. His hair is a bit disheveled so I promptly touch the edge of it. He looks at me intensively with every move that I make. My fingers run through his curly hair as I try to untangle it. I lick my lips out of habit and that's when he pushes his lips onto me. My hand from his hair soon drops into his shoulder as I let his tongue in.
Suddenly, I forget where we are, as we continue to keep kissing each other. Right until the air leaves our lungs and that's when we look at each other with the bridge's light hitting our figures.
We're about to head in for another kiss when a buzzer sounds off in my back pocket. I let out a groan as I take my phone in my hand begrudgingly. I turn on the phone and several messages pop up in my timeline. Most of them were from Ryan.
Derek still sitting near me. His hands drawing circles around my leg as I continue to read the recent messages. I put down my phone and Derek instinctively looks at me with a mixture of confusion and worry.
"Hate to break the moment that we're clearly having right now. But... I got a text from a friend and they want me back at the coffeehouse."
"Is everything okay back there? Do you want me to come with you? O-or not, if you don't want me to?"
He looks so adorable when he's worry. Especially when those alluring brown-- All right, focus Enzo!! This isn't the time nor the place... well, not yet.
"Nuh, I'm fine. Just some renovations thing that they need me to see. But, don't worry, I'll text you if anything else comes up." I reassure him with a smile that manages to ease the lines from his forehead.
We continue to hold each other, not wanting to let each other go. Not just yet. Soon, after quite some time, we walk back to the car which we park below the steep hill. I feel like I'm living on air the whole ride back to the coffeehouse. I just can't believe what happened up there but I'm sure I don't regret it.
====
( D E R E K'S P O V )
What seems like a long journey is actually a short drive back to the coffeehouse. We both say our farewell and made promises to meet up with each other, soon. Well, it took us about 10 minutes or so before all things are said and done. We couldn't get our hands off each other and apparently our lips too.
All through the drive back to my house, all I can ever think of is how right our first kiss went. And how amazing your lips taste; all while driving, my free hand tracing my own lips, feeling the ghostly sensation that you have left me with.
Now, the car is slowly passing by the various now-empty buildings with the dead silence of the night playing in the background. The car continues to drive ahead until a familiar building comes into the view; the clear sign for the car to start slowing down.
I move the car to the curb and park it right in front of the apartment building. I grab the handbrake before putting it in its place as well as turn off the ignition key. A sigh slips out as both of my hands drop from the wheel to my lap. I look back to the building, specifically where my room resides. Surprisingly, the lights are left turn on which is weird cause I swear I had turned it off this morning.
I quickly get out of the car and check twice whether I've locked my car or not. I run off the stairs leading to my level, two steps at once. The moment I reach the third floor, I bring my hands down to my chest as I try to regain composure. I walk to one door that is beside mine. With my breath trembling, I knock a few times on the door.
From the other side of the closed door, I can hear something rustling and someone's voice. And seconds later, I stand upright and try to look presentable as the sound of the door being unlocked reaches my ear. The door then swings open as Renee - a longtime neighbor - has her hands full with Mr. Pesto wrapping itself around her.
"Ouh, hey Drek. You're okay? You came back pretty late today."
"Huh? Yeah, yeah everything is good. Renee, did you happen to see anyone that goes into my door?" I bring forth my hand in which she drops Mr. Pesto onto.
"No, I haven't. I've mostly been inside my apartment, playing with Pesto. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, just asking." I can't bring myself to tell her the truth. It's must've been Marcus since he's the only one who has a spare key to my apartment. But he would usually text me if he wants to come by from the workshop. Or it could be...
I push the thought aside and walk a couple of steps until Im standing in front of my door. I take the handle in my hand and turn it to open it. Unexpectedly, the door swings open, and a couple of light streaks coming from the kitchen area.
I enter the dark apartment after shutting the front door with my heel. I continue to steps forward while holding onto the giant furball in my hands. My heartbeat thumping in anticipation as I call out whoever is inside the apartment. The only reply is the silence itself so I put on a brave face and walk towards the kitchen area. The closer I'm about to reach the kitchen's arch, the more that I noticed a person's shadow sitting on a stool.
The orange lights coming from the ceiling soon hit my face and now I'm standing under the kitchen's arch. What happens next leaves my throat searching for words. I feel like my mind playing tricks on me. I mean, it could've been when the time from the clock shows 3:43 am.
Hours must have passed when the mysterious person speaks for the first time.
"I would have told you of how much I've missed you. But, we both know that would only make one of us. Besides, I'm not as subtle when we first met before, not anymore." Her eyes travel to my shaky hand, the one that is still holding onto the cat. "So, you haven't stop smoking, I see."
"What do you want Anita? H-how did y--"
"Save your breath, darling. I believe we have some catching up to do." She crosses off her leg as it drops to land on the footrest. All while a coy smirk is playing in the corner of her lip. She then flashes her signature smirk that half of Brackford known of.
And here I am, thinking that I can sleep off the exhaustion. But ouh, boy am I far from it right now. And we indeed, have a lot of catching up to do.
TO BE CONTINUED...
======================================
{ Woah, what a better way than to end it with a dramatic cliffhanger. The next chapter will explains who is this mysterious Anita. And what is her relationship with our guy, Derek.
Aside from that, we'll get to see how the gang are dealing with the new rival coffeehouse, as they steal the gang usual customers.
And also, we'll get to see how Derek and Enzo navigate their newfound relationship. }
{ Feel free to tap little star button, comment your thoughts on today's newest chapter, and share it with your friends and other people who might like it. }
▪︎ Written by Ziyad of Ziyadatullah
▪︎ Images credit to
======================================