Chapter Text
The walk to your favorite coffee shop is short and familiar as the heels of your boots click underneath you from meeting the concrete sidewalk. It's late May, and the air is sickly warm, probably because of the progressing global warming issue. The topic sticks in your head briefly as you recount what you recently learned from your ecology class. You curse global warming silently, quickly moving on from your thoughts as you see the fancy carved writing in a wooden sign with lights illuminating the letters 'Bean Haven.'
Despite the cheesy name of the shop, you had to admit that you had many caffeinated mornings and nights thanks to this place. It's only 5 minutes away from your dorm, and after the hellish week of constant final exams, you managed to convince yourself to get a sweet drink of your choice, of course as long it would help jolt you awake.
Sure, it wasn't the healthiest option, especially after surviving on instant ramen and frozen foods for the past two weeks and becoming a hermit and shell of yourself to spend every day just studying, sleeping, and eating and repeating the cycle till it was time to go to the testing site and pray to the academic gods that your GPA stayed consistent to meet your standards.
However, with the semester ending and the last final completed (although you weren't confident about the score), you could finally get a breath of fresh air and treat yourself like the princess you were.
When you push the door of the shop open, there's a jingle of the bell that announces another customer has entered or left the building. You hold the door open for some poor rushed soul trying to deliver a doordash order for what you think will be a measly $1 tip. The guy thanked you running out as you turned to approach the register with a smile, ordering your usual.
A delicious mocha frappe with no whipped cream because you hated how the texture of the white topping didn't mix well with the drink due to the ice ruining the solubility.
Okay, you needed to stop letting chemistry concepts run your life because you didn't want to think about solubility for the next three years. However, that was unlikely since organic chemistry and biochemistry were a part of your required classes for the animal science program.
You can only cry silently to yourself about it, thanking the barista as they call your name and hand you your drink. You swirl the straw a bit, mixing the chocolate syrup, humming with delight when you take a sip.
Yup, you can already feel your brain releasing that sweet, sweet dopamine because you are semi-sure you accidentally created a caffeine addiction. Your first year of college was long, and it was the one thing that made things so much easier, especially those torturous 8 AM lectures.
You're about to turn and leave with your drink, satisfied with the sugar content of the mocha frappe, but before you can even take five steps out the door, you bump into a total stranger.
A weird grunt leaves your lips as your wide eyes watch the coffee you're holding up to your chest spill as the plastic cracks from the force, causing the lid to pop off. You can only cringe in horror seeing the brown color stain a nice white button-up.
Apologies are already spilling from your lips as you look around, hair swishing around from your quick turns.
"I'm so sorry!" You say, slightly mourning the loss of your coffee and the five-dollar bill. You're pulling out stuffed napkins you've pocketed from shops and restaurants you've visited over the years trying to dab out as much of the precious liquid out of the shirt without pressing into the person's torso and crossing a boundary.
"I could give you some money for dry cleaning. I wasn't looking where I was going, so-" Your ramblings slowly stop as you take in the stranger you accidentally split coffee on, and oh my god, he is dreamy.
Suddenly, the sickly warm air is even warmer. He's got medium-length black hair that runs down to his shoulders, and some of it is tied back into a cute bun. His bluish-green eyes are staring back at you as he rubs the back of his neck before putting up the hand in front of him to wave it off.
His voice is just as distracting, and you have to force yourself to listen politely and not get lost in the sound as he speaks, "Oh don't worry about it. It happens. I'll just get a new one."
The reassurance doesn't comfort you as you still want to make up for the damage and small scene you had caused. You untie the jacket you had put around your waist, which you had only worn to deal with the cooler morning temperatures, quickly shoving it into his hands.
"Please take it, I don't want you to walk around with a brown stain all day because of me." You say with a guilty look, slightly glad you enjoyed wearing oversized outerwear because the gray beloved jacket fits perfectly for his taller stature as he slips it on.
He grabs his phone, putting it into your hands with a new contact page open. You stare a little dumbly, slightly unsure why he wanted your number. His eyebrow raised, accentuating the scar that ran across the bridge of his nose as he smiled.
"So I can give you back your jacket another time." He says like it's a matter of fact.
You let out an oh , before your fingers tap away on the glass screen, entering your number and name. When you hand back the phone, he stares at the name, repeating it in that nice rasp of his. You think you could throw up from sheer embarrassment for getting excited over something like that.
"Names Sebastian. I'll text you about returning your jacket sometime in the week. See you around?" He says, stuffing the phone into his pocket. You can only nod and agree as he walks past you to get his drink.
The barista at the cash register is about to ask if you'd like another drink to make up for the one you lost, but you're already speeding out of the shop, face too pink and red from the encounter.
With that, three days have passed since your random encounter with Sebastian, and you can't believe you managed to nurse a mini-crush on him. You assume it's because of your lack of action since you started attending university. Sure, you made time for the occasional hangout with your friends but never even tried to date because you always had assignments to work on, clubs to attend, and research to get involved with. That offer from your animal science TA to work with the cows was too good to pass up, so could you blame yourself for being so busy?
So yeah, when an attractive-looking guy smoothly gets your number, it lingers in your mind like glue.
When your phone dings with a rare text message, you're hastily already opening it, hoping it's from you know who. You let out the breath you're holding when you see the random number introduce itself, and you're typing a reply as quickly as you read the message.
' Hey it's Sebastian. I managed to wash out the coffee and also washed your jacket. Was wondering when it'd be good time to return it.'
'Anytime is good! I live on the west campus dorms though. If it's easier, I can just come by and grab it.'
'Sure that could work. I have a 6 PM lecture I have to get to later. I'll be home till then.'
With that, he sends his address, and you're scrambling to get ready. You had prepared a batch of apologies, and by prepared, you mean that you had stopped by the local grocery store to buy a box of chocolate chip cookies, still not feeling amazing at the fact he didn't take up your offer for a free dry cleaning.
The walk is over 30 minutes, so you take the bus instead, holding onto the cookies in their plastic casing carefully on the bumpy ride. It's only noon, almost 1 PM by the time you reach his apartment complex.
It's simple and works for a college student, and you ring the intercom, hitting the room number he provided. He buzzes you in, and your knees feel slightly weak once you reach his floor and see him open the door when your knuckles rap against the wood.
He's wearing a nice black plain tee, which pairs well with jeans. You smile nervously, holding out the box of cookies.
"I got you apology cookies." You explain, seeing the slight surprise behind his eyes.
"You didn't need to do that. Here, lemme get your jacket," He says with a chuckle in return, still taking it out of your hands, beckoning you inside as he sets it on the kitchen countertop and takes a cookie to eat. He pads off to the hallway as you take a seat on the couch, feeling strangely stiff.
You can hear him opening the dryer, and whilst he gets your beloved jacket, you take in how simple his apartment is. It's small, and you can see it's been probably well-lived in for a while now. There doesn't seem to be anyone else around, and you supposed that made sense considering how small the space was.
There are a couple of cat toys strewn around, like cute torn mice and fish plushies, which piques your interest in the culprit responsible for the mess. There's also an electric guitar in the corner, with the case sitting next to it wide open. You think your eyes probably sparkled when you see black and white fur peeking out of the container.
Against your better judgment, you get up and walk over to the sleeping feline, unable to resist petting someone's animal companion. You kneel, making sure not to make a sound as the side of your knuckle brushes against its flat head.
The cat's ears twitch in response but still seems to be sleeping soundly. You take that as a sign to continue your affectionate gestures, slightly forgetting why you were in Sebastian's apartment in the first place.
Sebastian notices you are gone from your spot on the couch as soon as he has your jacket in hand. He looks around, padding up silently behind you, seeing you enamored by his feline friend.
"Oh looks like you met Bradee." He says with an amused laugh, holding the jacket over your head.
You stand up, dusting the fabric hanging over your knees.
"Oh sorry for snooping. I saw him and couldn't contain myself." You blurt out, grabbing the jacket tightly as your thoughts run wild at the sight of Sebastian.
"No problem, he likes the attention."
There's a bit of an awkward silence after that because as much as you like Sebastian, you don't like socializing. You cough into a fist awkwardly, trying to think of something to say, not wanting to leave so early. Let's be honest, if you didn't, you wouldn't have the courage to speak to him again.
"You play?" You ask, referring to the black electric guitar that's in its stand.
"Oh, this thing? Yeah, time to time." He says, grabbing it with one hand and plugging it into the speaker. He adjusts some settings you don't understand before strumming the strings.
You sit on a stool that's been left in the corner, feeling pulled in by Sebastian even more. He plays some random songs he knows, and you give little cheers and applause every time he finishes one. Soon enough, you find yourself engaged in a convo with him after 30 minutes of playing.
He did the usual questioning a college student trying to break the ice would ask, like your majors, hobbies, and career interests.
That's how you learned he was an engineering major in his fourth year and about to graduate in the winter. You supposed he was going into his 5th year, which was becoming normal with the rising prices in tuition and all that gross stuff with inflation. He already had a job lined up, some military company he wasn't allowed to name. It seemed like he already had his footing in life whilst you still had no clue what to do.
"Animal science huh? Trying to be a vet?" He asks. There it is, the question you always get asked when you admit you're an animal science major. You rub the back of your nape, slightly unsure.
"I mean, it's an option... I'm not sure just yet. Still in my first year after all." You mumble.
Sebastian tilts his head but nods in understanding, "Oh yeah I get it. You have plenty of time to figure out what you want. But now I understand why you were all up in Bradee's business." He says in a teasing tone.
Your arms cross, somehow finding the banter enjoyable as you smile in return, "Hey can you blame me, it seemed like he was the better musician out of the two of you." Sebastian lets out an amused laugh at the retort.
"Got me there. He's a star." He muses.
"A Grammy-award star at that." You add, correcting Sebastian with a wiggle in your finger.
The day feels like it ends too soon, getting lost in sharing random animal stories and facts Sebastian seemed to enjoy listening to. He explained to you how his scar came to be, describing an accident where he had a mishap when messing with some parts in a project for one of his engineering classes.
He seems passionate, similar to you in a way, and his specialization in electronics is pretty interesting as he talks about wiring, power systems, and the maintenance that goes behind supporting an entire city.
You think, funnily enough, maybe that's why he likes electric guitars specifically.
When you say goodbye to him, he gives you a wave, holding Bradee in his other arm as you give one last long scratch behind his ears, making the cutie purr and meow for more.
Sebastian even adds, "It was fun, we should hang out sometime over the summer."
And with that, you leave, going back home through another bus ride, face red as you feel like you've made your first real connection in a while, and it leaves you feeling jittery and excited for the possibility that you'll see more of Sebastian soon.