heartbreaking [✓] | wholesome [✓]

♪  𝓘'𝓶  𝓳𝓾𝓼𝓽  𝓪𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻  𝓸𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷  𝓯𝓸𝓻  𝔂𝓸𝓾  ♪

'tear me to pieces and break my heart'

"Damn the world and everyone along with it," Atlantis Singer watched as the woman who'd just taken a seat at the high table in the cafe downed her large hazelnut latte whole.

Blinking, he whipped up another, placing it in front of her. "On the house," he winked. "You look like you could use it." She simply nodded and took a sip. "That obvious?" she groaned, slumping down on the table.

"No, I mean, I get customers who walk through the front door, cussing out the world every day," he teased. "Well, I feel bad for the newly single customer then, and damn is NOT a cuss word," she mumbled.

He stared at her. "Surely you're joking," he raised an eyebrow. "Who's the idiot?" she lifted her head and pointed at the cafe next door and the boy (Al refused to call someone who let such a catch getaway a man) staring across the road.

"That's the idiot," she told him. "Well, he certainly looks like one. How he managed to score you, I'll never know," Al rolled his eyes and moved to take the order of another customer.

"Hello, welcome, what may I get you today?" he asked. He was generally a soft-spoken guy, calm, quiet, and charming. His personality was perfect for his job, where people usually appreciated his soft and gentle voice. It was amazing the number of frustrated customers that walked through the door in search of caffeine.

"Just a cappuccino please, the name is Kiana," the brunette smiled. Based on the bags under her eyes, the girl had obviously been pulling all-nighters. "Late night?" Al asked.

"Insane, trust me, the amount of work I have to do, especially since I'm trying to get into Ray and Chanel Winter's exclusive course."

Ah, a med student. Sis, you have no idea how many times I get the same remark, he mentally laughed.

"Chanel would be glad to see that you're working so hard," he told the girl, whose eyes widened. "Nice to meet you, I'm Atlantis Singer, brother to Chanel Singer-Winters and brother-in-law to Ray Winters," he grinned.

Leaving her gasping in awe, he moved on to the next customer, who ordered an americano. Taking a couple more orders, he started up the coffee machine.

"Wanna tell me about it?" he asked Miss Newly-Single, who was typing away furiously on her phone. "Well, he asked me to marry him." Al turned his head towards her so quickly he was afraid his neck would snap.

"And you broke up with him?" he spluttered.

"No, he broke up with me, after I refused to say yes. Well, I didn't actually say no, it was more like I asked if we could take things slower, and he told me that if I loved him, I would've said yes," she told him.

"Damn well, if he loved you, he would've waited," Al retorted, unable to believe the nerve of the guy. "How long were you guys together for?" he questioned. "Two weeks," she told him.

"He asked you to marry him after two weeks of dating? Well, that's something," he laughed at the insanity of it all.

"And three dates," she rolled her eyes.

"Good dates?" he whipped the milk frother with a quick swipe, pouring the foam into the takeaway cup and placing it onto the pickup counter, calling the name of the customer.

"As if, he brought me to an Italian place, which was nice and all, then he ordered the most expensive bottle of wine, which was fine, then he ordered for me. Red flag, because he didn't ask if I was alright with it," he tsked and then picked up the order ticket for the next customer.

"Asking and communication are key in a relationship," he agreed. "Why am I telling you this again?" she asked, cocking her head to one side, her honey-brown eyes clear and warm.

"Because I'm the guy who just bought you a cup of coffee and is on your side."

His sapphire blue eyes darted up, smiling softly. "Good point, when's your shift over? Wanna grab a bite?" she asked. "You're asking me to grab a bite with a stranger when I don't even know her name?" he teased.

"Well, her name is Seraphina, Seraphina Queen, but you can just call her Ser," she said. "Now can she grab a bite with you? As a repayment for the coffee you bought her?"

Al found her adorable. Although she exuded a sassy and likable aura, he could sense some sort of self-conscientiousness in her attitude, her words didn't exactly scream 'leave me alone.' If anything, it was the total opposite.

"Depending, do you like Japanese?" he asked. "More than Italian," she replied.

He laughed and nodded, "Well, there's a fantastic place around the corner. Let me warn you, I won't be getting the most expensive thing there, because that's not the best thing on the menu." She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"We wouldn't want that, now would we?" she grinned. He chuckled and headed back to the counter to take a couple more orders.

Glancing at his watch, he noted that time had escaped his clutches faster than ever, and his shift was nearly over. Ophelia, the girl who took over his position during the next shift waved as she walked in, ducking quickly into the staff room.

"Alright, these are the last couple of orders before I'm done," he whizzed past her, his hands moving quickly.

"Take your time, I'm in no hurry," she said leisurely, grabbing her phone.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Ser's ex held the door open for another woman, a brunette with baby-blue eyes, eyes he knew all too well.

Laughing to himself, he wondered if this was fate playing with him.

As Ophelia took over, he walked into the staffroom and grabbed his backpack. "Shall we?" he smiled, holding the door open in an imitation of her ex, not that he'd ever tell her. "It'll be just a short walk," he smiled. "Oh, by the way, I'm Atlantis Singer."

She nodded, eyes lost in a world beyond their own. He let her be, placing his arm on the small of her back, not directly touching her, but hovering just above, a detached anchor that would ground her body to reality while her mind drifted away.

As cherry blossoms fell in their wake, they made their way towards the small shop. Over dinner, they bonded, chattering as night fell and the stars came out to play.

Strangely enough, for a place where it was almost always cloudy, there was not a single cloud in the sky tonight, giving them a full view of the beautiful night sky. Not that they noticed, as their attention was fixated on one another.

If you paid attention, you could just hear their laughter over the lively music.

'I know I'm doing better cause I'm alone'

✎...A/N: for all my cafe loving readers,

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xxx