Alorah Reagen

"I would say that I am surprised to see you guys here, but I figured that the first two people to know about the grand opening would be you guys," Julian said, aiming for the fries sitting between Amelia and Layla.

"Dude! Get your own, and why are you here anyways? How did you know that Alorah's family owned this cafe?" Layla watched the fry floating above her and glared at him, possibly for his presence and him taking it without permission.

"Well, I was taking a late-night walk when I stumbled upon a familiar last name," he said, glancing at me before returning his attention to Layla to continue, " I thought that perhaps it was a coincidence. To confirm my curiosity, I went in to find a member of the Reagen family, and funnily, I found one behind the counter."

I looked down to hide a smile forming on my face and then slightly tilted up to peek at their exchange. My eyes widened when our gazes met, prompting me to look down.

"That doesn't mean we invited you to hang out with us," I sighed as I heard how unfriendly Layla was, despite our conversation back in school.

"Layla, be nice," Amelia commented, voicing what was on my mind.

"But–"

"Layla," I joined in, staring at her disappointedly. She looked at us back and forth before settling on her drink and fries. I fried a new batch of french fries for her as I prepared the following order.

"Btw, the place looked amazing! Your mom did a fantastic job decorating this place," Julian complimented as he surveyed the cafe.

I also joined him in surveying the cafe, and he was right, without a doubt. I didn't think it would be this eye-catching. You have a long table with tall chairs facing out of the window, and there are options to choose between the sofa-like area or the wooden chair. The color combination is white and palace green, and I suggested decorating some of the places with fake vines to go with the color combination, a gold square border with miniature flowers on four edges placed on the right side of a white wall, and a small library area for the guest to read to their desire.

The sight of this place is quite comforting and addicting to gaze at. It doesn't make it tiring to the eyes as there isn't much going around that would make one feel overwhelmed.

"I'll be sure to relay your compliment to her. I know she would be moved by it," I said, chuckling at the image of Mom bursting into tears and then preparing a batch of cheesecake for Julian to take home as a thank-you gift, "Now, what would you like to have? Desserts? Drinks? A meal?"

"Hmm...I already ate dinner, so I guess I'll go for dessert. What do you recommend?" He asked while staring at our dessert selection displayed in the transparent case. I'm not sure what you called that.

"I would recommend the blueberry cheesecake. You would not regret it," I responded, the amount of excitement evident in my voice.

Julian chuckled and nodded at me. I noticed he was about to leave his seat to go to the cash register, and I stopped him before he moved a single muscle.

"Sit back down. It's on the house. You don't need to pay," I said, going to grab a slice of blueberry cheesecake out of the display case.

"No. You don't need to do that. I'll pay," Julian insisted, and you know what I did? I also stood my ground that he didn't have to pay.

We went back and forth with this banter until I set down the blueberry cheesecake in front of him and then turned my back to grab the french fries that I almost forgot were cooking.

It was strange to see a friend or classmate paying for their food in your store. This is why, a while ago, I insisted to Amelia and Layla that they didn't have to pay because we'd been best friends forever.

"Alorah–"

"Give it up, Julian. She won't budge. She didn't when we were in your shoes," Layla said, leaning against the chair and crossing her arms over her chest. Her position changed, and a smile crept up her face when I grabbed the empty plate and replaced them with a new batch of fries. "This is why I love you, girl."

I stopped what I was doing and stared at her in disbelief, even though I wasn't offended and only wanted to tease her.

Layla grabbed three pieces of fries and was about to eat them when she noticed my expression. We stared at each other for a couple of seconds which felt like hours, and it seemed like she was slowly feeling uncomfortable when she dropped the fries and had this pleading look on her face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. You know I love you even if you didn't give me a plate full of fries, but that feeling will grow if you do," I'm not sure if Layla was assuring me that her love is not measured by how much food I give her anymore.

"Hmm... I see," I responded with disappointment before returning my attention to my task. The rest of the evening consists of me trying to get the orders done so I can join in their conversation in between.

It took a while, but thanks to Amelia for letting Julian slowly ease himself into their convo, I didn't have to worry about him feeling lonely for the lack of companionship.

Julian and Layla getting used to each other's presence to the point where their energy matched perfectly warmed my heart.

I love seeing the three people I care getting along.