"𝐖𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐔𝐏 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 you're late." Whispers the old voice of Ava's grandma as she attempts to shake her granddaughter awake gently. It doesn't work at first, but Ava stays persistent in her sleep — rolling over with her pillow and placing it over her head. Her grandma would have to shake her again until she lets out a defeated groan, removing her pillow and staring up at the older woman with frustration.

Ava believes her grandma is being dramatic. But as she wipes the cold from her eyes she checks her phone to the time that proves she's an hour late to work.

She springs up from her bed without a second thought of making it up, running to her closet to pull out random clothes before rushing to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"Why didn't you wake me grams?" She calls as she slips on the skinny jeans and black tee she'd mindlessly picked.

"You're a grown woman now Avelyn! I shouldn't have too!" Her grandma calls back.

Ava rolls her eyes as she moves onto her hair, taking it out of the ponytail she had it in before. But she only runs through it shortly before moving to her teeth, brushing them harshly before spitting the soaked paste into the sink.

She then runs to the door, stopping in its hall to put on shoes she doesn't pay attention to. Her grandma manages to stop her before she exits their apartment, holding a sage green tote bag in her hands,

"Forgetting this?" She scoffs before looking down, "And your shoes don't match Ava."

Ava groans again, looking down at her shoes. She was about to walk out of the house with a shoe with a cheetah print and the other with silver.

She really had to get her alarm fixed.

Ava slips off the two shoes and replaces them with black slip-ons. She then jogs to her grandma for her bag.

"I hope you've at least washed Avelyn." Her grandma says as Ava grabs her bag. And instead of answering her, she kisses her cheek, saying goodbye before running to the door and exiting it swiftly.

When Ava is out into the hall of their apartment, she is spotted by her neighbor, Mrs. Patty. The lonely cat lady that everyone else in the apartment tries to stay away from.

Loudly she greets Ava, stopping her in her tracks, "Hi Ava!"

Mrs. Patty is utterly startling, making Ava jump and almost fall down the stairs she was about to run down.

Reluctantly, Ava turns to Mrs. Patty with a smile. And just like her voice, her style is just as vibrant and blinding. She wears a lot of pinks and pastels and her cats do as well. The one she holds in her arms wears a hot pink diamond collar making Ava wonder how much it costed her.

Ava turns with a fake smile, "Hey Mrs. Patty."

"What do you plan on doing tonight? Any plans with a boyfriend?" She asks, careless at the fact she was being overly interested.

Ava chuckles awkwardly, figuring that if she starts walking down the stairs the interaction could end quicker, "Nope. Just going to work." Ava responds just as she turns to focus and not fall.

Mrs. Patty doesn't know how to take a hint. She still follows Ava when she's halfway down the stairs, "Well my nights free if you and your grandma wanted to come over?"

This is when Ava puts a bit of pep in her step, Yelling out an okay before rushing down the next flight of stairs onto the apartment exit.

When she's out in the streets of New York City it's instantly overwhelming. Ava rushes through the crowd on her street, saying sorry a million times and continuing the process of freshening herself up before she makes it to the intersection separating her home from her work.

She'd stop at a corner and do one short sweep of the road before entering it through the crosswalk. Instantly she finds that was a bad idea, as soon as she crosses she is almost run over by a taxi driver.

"Watch where you're going, dude!" She yells as through his window he shakes a fist at her. Ava would roll her eyes and do it back, two can play at that game, she thought.

Even though she had almost got run over Ava still ran across to The Brew her place of work presented boldly in golden letters on the corner.

Ava walks in with a customer in the suite, her only thought being to clock in. This is when she catches her breath, walking behind the counter to see her best friend Mia preparing a latte. She smiles, thinking she'd walk off to the back first before greeting her, But Mia notices her anyway.

"You look awful." Her friend comments, as she hands her customer her latte, "She looks awful doesn't she?" She jokingly asks the customer, pointing to Ava who stands rolling her eyes.

Ava watches as the customer smiles awkwardly, "Ignore her she's just the worst person ever." She says, walking off to the back as Mia follows.

"Yeah, But I'm the same person who clocked in for you on time again." Mia states after her, "Why are you always late?" Ava doesn't bother to respond, shrugging Mia off as she heads to her locker.

Ava and Mia have been best friends since high school. They'd gotten the jobs of baristas at The Brew simultaneously and stayed just as close. At first, they'd thought about using the money from their jobs for college. Mia wanted to study fashion and Ava just wanted to be with Mia. But things fell in, Ava's grandmother had a heart attack and made them start all over in their shared savings. College was still an option though, the girls would say they were solely in their gap year.

Ava sighs as she shoves her bag in her locker. And just as she closes her locker a pair of broad hands scoops her up from behind in a hug. She already knows who it is, her other friend Josh who she kinda of had a thing with.

By catching her off guard, Josh makes Ava giggle as he presses his cheek to hers. Mia makes gagging noises in the background but Ava ignores it, melting in Josh's touch like they had something real.

Ava and Josh had a thing, but more of a situationship kinda of thing. They'd act like a couple even though they weren't. Which was fine with Ava, she knew in this day and age it was pointless for her to expect flowers and cheesy love notes. She'd just accept their relationship as it was which was anything far from bad.

Josh kisses her cheek, "Why are you so late today?" He asks as Mia scoffs, "I just asked the same thing."

"My alarm didn't wake me up," Ava answers as she closes back up her locker.

"Well, maybe you need to get a new one." Josh suggests as he goes to stand with Mia who nods, "I agree."

Ava looks between the two before she scoffs,

"Are you two gonna buy me a new one?" She looks between the two, getting nothing but silence. She hums, "I thought so."

Ava goes to walk away to the rack at the door empty with aprons but one. Ava grabs the lone one as her two friends follow her,

"What if Lonnie catches you the next time you're late?" Mia questions, referring to their boss. Ava rolls her eyes,

"There will be no next time," Ava assures as she enters the cafe, "And Lonnie is as old as the Statue of Liberty, he isn't catching anyone."

Josh laughs as Mia shakes her head, "I'm just trying to help you, Ava."

Just as Mia expresses her concern, a customer sits in front of Ava to place an order for a black coffee and croissant.

"I understand," Ava says, "Can I work now?"

Mia sighs, "Do as you wish."

Then they all scatter amongst the cafe, working the morning hard. And when the afternoon rolls around in comes the prince, Sahil.

Since Sahil would land to New York on his secret flight he'd book a hotel, have its breakfast, and dress himself for the day. Things he hadn't done before. And Sahil was ready to continue his train of independence with a stroll along the streets of New York City by himself.

It wouldn't be long until he made it to The Brew. He's always wanted to try coffee.

He walks in, admiring the establishment and its homely interior. The first to spot him is Mia as she stands beside Ava who is wiping down the main counter.

"Who is he?" She whispers to Ava curiously, causing Ava to look up briefly to see who she's talking about.

"Mia, it's not nice to st —" Ava stops unconsciously at the sudden eye contact between the two. Even from afar, Ava thought he had enchanting eyes. And she'd instantly understand Mia's curiosity from his attire to insanely good looks ...

Mia hums, looking down at her best friend who's in obvious awe, "It's not nice to stare you said?"

Ava breaks their eye contact to clear her throat and continues cleaning, "That's what I said." She defends as the guy walks up to the counter. And Ava didn't know why, but her heartbeat increased every step he took in their direction.

When he's finally at the counter and sits, he smiles warmly, "Hi." He greeted to reveal the most beautiful accent the girls had ever heard. He looks between the baffled two, but Mia is the only one to actually speak and greet him back. He would softly chuckle and turn his attention back to Ava, furthering their eye contact.

Ava tries to hide her attraction through a scoff but Sahil however thinks almost instantly that she is beautiful and he wasn't shy in showing that.

"Hi." Ava says, her voice cracking embarrassingly, "What would you like to order today?"

Sahil thinks to himself for a moment, curating a charming yet laid-back response, "I was hoping to try some coffee. Um ... what do you recommend?" He asks, dangerously leaning closer to Ava with a flirty smile,

Ava took a deep breath, in an attempt to steady her racing heart, "Well, our house blend is pretty popular," She said, "But I like Rogue Brew, one of our specials."

He hums, "Then I'll have that please."

Ava smiles nervously, responding with a soft sure before only moving inches to make his drink. She doesn't know, but the prince watches her carefully, unknowingly admiring her. Sahil never felt this way with a girl, to become so easily infatuated with someone he had barely known, but as she made him his drink his desire to talk to her grew more intense.

When Ava is finished she turns back to him, unknowingly snapping him out of his trance. She places the cup of coffee in front of him and just when he gets it he takes a sip — instantly hurting his mouth in the process.

Ava winces, "I'm sorry! I should have warned you it was kinda hot."

The prince nods, concealing the scream he threatened to let out, "No it's fine." He assures, his voice strained  as he squeezed his eyes shut to the foreign to the pain. He'd never gotten like this hurt before — maybe a scrap here and there while playing as a kid, but never as extreme as what he felt on his tongue.

Ava can't help but laugh at him, letting out a little giggle. But she quickly covered her mouth in fear he'd become embarrassed. Sahil, however, had never heard anything so beautiful besides his mother's laugh. It would bring back memories, but for the first time in a long time, good ones. So, the prince decided to laugh with her and they'd laugh until it died down due to Ava's own abrupt embarrassment. She'd tilt her head to the counter, laying a blanket of awkwardness over the two.

He watches her intently, opening his mouth to say something until she picks her head back up,

"Enjoy your coffee." She'd say quickly, before rushing off to clean one of the empty tables in the cafe. The prince is left however, sitting confused.

As Mia tended to a customer she watched her best friend clean, giving another latte before walking up to her, "You, an ogre, have two men hopelessly in love with you." Mia sighs, shaking her head, "Life is truly unfair."

Ava sucks her teeth, "I don't have any men hopelessly in love with me.." Ava goes to defend herself but Mia still rambles,

"Like, you walk in to work like you just walked out of hell and still have the most handsome man ever staring at you like you're the best piece of ar —"

"Honestly M, I'm starting to take offense." Ava stops her best friend instantly, turning around to her with raised eyebrows.

"What was that?" Mia whispers, reverting the conversation quickly. Ava cringes at herself for knowing what Mia is referring to.

"You have your priorities messed up." Ava shames, shaking her head before going back to cleaning. Mia sighs, "He is into you, Ava! If you'd stop being so attached to Josh you'd find that a lot of guys are into you."

Ava scoffs, spraying more table cleaner to then wipe off, "I am not attached to Josh."

Mia groans, "All this lying you do to yourself is gonna catch up to you one day." She says before walking off to another table of waiting customers.

Ava rolled her eyes, finishing her cleaning and walking to the back of the cafe. She'd put Mia's words in the back of her mind completely, planning not to think much of it again as the prince still sat at the counter.