TW: strong language.
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- I'm Will. - He says, smirking, with a cocky tone.
Seeing Robin's not happy expression, I elbow Will on the stomach.
- OW! - he let go of me and bend in pain. - There was no need in doing that!
I ignore his complaints. I turn to Robin and nervously smile, trying to make things less weird.
- Robin, this is Will. He's me... Friend. - I say, unsure. - Will, this is Robin.
- I'm ________'s friend. - Robin says.
- Only a friend? - Will asks, smirking. I clear my throat. Robin looks at him emotionless but with a fire of rage in his eyes. A fire that only the closest people would recognize. I gulp.
- Is Chris here? - I ask Robin. They nod.
- Who's Chris? - Will asks.
- Our manager. - Robin answers. - What do you need?
- Will needs a job. And here I can keep an eye on him. We're needing more people anyways. - I say nervously smiling. Robin nods. I sigh. - Alright. Will, go down this hall and knock on the last door. Say I told you to go there and that you're here for an interview.
- Okay! - Will says, smiling.
Soon, he disappears down the hall. I sigh. I, then, feel someone tapping on my shoulder. I turn around and see a cute brunette with big blue eyes looking at me.
- Hey, Emma. How are you? - I ask, smiling.
- I'm good! - she answers smiling.
- What do you need? - I ask.
- Uhm... Is that guy your boyfriend? - she asks shyly.
- What?! - I almost gag on my saliva. - No. Ew. Never.
- Oh... Alright. - she says with a slight smile.
- Why? - I ask, raising a brow.
- Oh... He's cute. - she giggles. I grab both her shoulders.
- Emma. Pay attention. Don't do this to yourself. You deserve better. Believe me. He's the worse guy you will ever meet. - I say, trying to make her understand how serious I was. She looks at me a bit terrified.
- Alright... - she says, unsure, and goes back to work.
I sigh and lean back on the counter. I yawn, tired. It was a tough night and morning. Will is a difficult person to deal with. It's tiring. Robin seems to notice my tiredness and leaves behind the counter. They turn me to the side and place their hands on my shoulders, slowly pressing and squeezing them. I take deep breaths, relaxing. A smile spreads all over my face as I felt more and more relaxed thanks to Robin. Unfortunately, it soon ends and Robin steps back. I turn around and look at them.
- Feeling better? - they ask, smiling.
- Definitely. Thank you, Robin. - I say, smiling back.
Since the cafe was quite empty, Robin and I lean back on the counter, side to side. I yawn and lay my head on their shoulder, Robin soon leaning their head on mine. I close my eyes and relax, taking deep breaths. The delicious smell of coffee filled my lungs and the cold breeze coming from the open window caressed my cheek. I was close to falling asleep when I hear footsteps coming from the hall. I knew it was Will, so I kept my eyes closed.
- How did it go? - I ask.
- I have no idea how I got hired. - he admits, making me laugh.
- Me neither honestly. - I say. - What did Chris say? When do you start?
- He said I'll start in the afternoon and that you'll teach me everything. - he says and I sigh.
- Alright. - I open my eyes and step away from Robin, who seemed sad. - Are you hungry?
- A bit. - he says.
- Good. Let's go then. I have to go somewhere and then we eat. - I say. - See you later, Robin.
- Bye, ________. - they say. I wave.
- Bye, ________'s friend. - Will teased while following behind me.
We leave and I slap the back of Wills's head.
- Ouch. - he complains.
- Why do you have to be so annoying? - I ask.
- I'm not! - he defends himself.
- Ugh. Let's go already. - I say, entering the car.
- Where are we going? - he asks while entering the car.
- Soon you'll find out. - I say, smirking.
I start the car and drive to the place I needed to go. During the whole ride Will kept asking where we were going and what would we do. What an annoying motherfucker. I roll my eyes. Soon, we finally reach our destination. I park the car and leave it. The fresh air and the smell of nature fill my lungs. The sun was shining beautifully and the wind made the tree leaves move. The brick building looked the same as the last time.
- Where are we? - Will asks. I point to the sign at the entrance. - Orphanage.
I nod. We walk up to the doors and I knock on them. We hear the sound of footsteps and soon the door opens.
- _______! - the old woman says, smiling.
- Good morning, Mrs. Nieto! - I say, smiling back.
- Oh my! Who's this handsome boy? - she asks, looking at Will. I almost make a face of disgust but keep my posture.
- This is my friend, Will. - I say.
- Hello. Nice to meet you, madame. - he says, sweetly smiling.
- What a polite gentleman! - she giggles. - Please, call me Miranda. You too, ________! You know you don't need to be so formal with me!
- I know, I know. - I laugh.
- Please, come in! - she says.
We enter the orphanage. It was cozy inside. Well decorated and smelled like vanilla. I smile.
- Kids! ________'s here! - Mrs. Nieto shouts and soon we hear loud layered footsteps coming.
- ________! - the children yell happily.
- Hey, guys! - I say, smiling.
They all embrace me together. I manage to remove my arms from their grip and pat some of their heads.
- We missed you, ________! - a little girl says.
- I missed you all too, Kate. - I caress the little girl's cheek.
- Hey, ________! _________! - a toddler calls me.
- Yes, Noah? - I ask, smiling.
- Look what I got! - he shows me a captain America toy shield.
- Woah! It's so cool! - I say. - Could you, by any chance let me borrow it someday?
- Of course! - he says, smiling, and I laugh, patting his head.
- _______! Is this your boyfriend? - a cute girl called Thalia asks.
- Oh, no no. This is my friend, Will. - I say and he waves.
- Does that mean that I still have a chance to be your boyfriend? - a sweet boy asks and I pick him up.
- Yes, Daniel. But only in 20 years, alright? - I say, giggling.
- Okay! - he nods happily. Will watches me carefully, with a little smile appearing on his face.
- Alright, everyone. It's time to go to the playroom. - Mrs. Nieto says. I put Daniel on the floor and all the children run to the other room.
- Hey, ________... - I hear a soft voice calling me.
- Yes, sweetie? - I ask, caressing the little girl's hair.
It was Annie. A 6 years old girl, with short blond hair and dark blue eyes. I never told this to anyone but she was my favorite. She was delicate and sweet. Unfortunately, she had been diagnosed with cancer some months ago. The orphanage didn't have enough money for her treatment and no one had wanted to adopt her yet. If I could, I would adopt her or pay for her treatment, but, for one I'm not ready, and for the other, I don't have enough money. All I can do is contribute a little bit a month, but nothing more. I felt guilty for not being able to help more.
- I want to show you something... - she says, grabbing my hand and pulling me.
I follow her and Will does the same. She takes us to "her" room. Her bed was the last one on the left. She takes us to it and gets a cute bag from under the bed. She opens it and takes a paper out, giving it to me. It was a drawing of a blond girl holding hands with... Me. I open a sad smile.
- It's me and you holding hands when I grow up. - she says shyly.
- It's beautiful, Annie. - I smile. - In the future, let's take a picture just like this.
She smiles and nods. Even though I couldn't do much for her at the moment, I promised myself, I would do anything to keep this girl alive. She deserves the world and I'm not letting anyone or anything take her away from me.
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