S E M I  S W E E T 

        Robin Charis has always had a strange obsession with peppermint. So it seems fitting that this drove her into the local Barnes and Nobles bookstore, seeking nothing less than a peppermint mocha from the Starbucks inside. The mere thought of the beverage burning her tongue makes the wait in line all the more dreadful for her. Not to mention the small group of girls behind her, blabbering on about some boy in the line. 

She almost feels it is necessary to turn around and give them a look, but a strong whiff of peppermint calms her. Robin is already towards the front with no trouble (besides hormonal girls with no sense of filter), so she can wait out three more costumers for her little cup of heaven. 

"Oh my God, I am pretty sure he just looked this way!" 

Well, Robin hopes she will make it, at least. 

Taking one step closer to the cashier, she watches another customer leave happily. 

Soon that will be you, Robin thinks to herself. You will leave this place with a peppermint mocha in hand, not in handcuffs for attacking little girls. 

"Seriously, can you guys shut up? That guy hasn't even looked this way." 

For a brief second, Robin thinks she said that. She turns around, eyes slightly wider, mouth ajar. She almost apologizes, too, but thankfully Robin realizes she wasn't the one to break the girl's gossiping. It was the guy behind the group of girls, who looks completely uninterested in hearing more of their conversation. His hand makes its way in his heavy coat's pocket nonchalantly as his eyes are fixated on his phone. 

One of the girls, the tallest one, huffs. "I am telling mom when we get home that you said shut up." she threatens.

The guy scoffs. "I am terrified, really."

"You should be. . .  Beckett." the girls adds, looking as if  she cannot think of anything else. 

Robin is too engrossed in witnessing an amusing sibling bicker to hear the cashier calling her up to order. Her eyes lay peeled on the careless brother of the brat now going on about yet another boy in the room. Beckett, she remembers. That is what his sister called him. Robin takes notice of his scruffy cheeks first. She normally enjoys a good amount of facial hair, but this Beckett's cheeks are overboard. Albeit the annoying facial hair is one of his more prominent features, his eyes make up for it, she thinks.

"Um, hello, can you hurry up? You are holding the line up." 

It is then that Robin realizes this Beckett is directing his overly crude words to her--not to mention that she is staring at him like a lunatic. Beckett takes her staring absentmindedly though, going back to his phone. He has no time for people; especially ones who are making him stay with his sister and her friends longer.  

Tucking a loose hair behind her ear, Robin turns around while whispering out an apology. 

"I'll have a peppermint mocha." She orders while rummaging through her purse. 

The cashier's friendly smile weakens ever so slightly. "I am sorry, ma'am, we just ran out of the peppermint syrup. We should have more by tomorrow, though."

Robin almost chokes on the nonexistent peppermint mocha in her mouth. She has waited a good ten minutes for the drink, her drink, and this is what happens.

"Are you serious right now?" a voice pipes in from behind Robin. He sounds as annoyed as Robin herself. 

And truly, Beckett is. He drove the group of brats all the way from across town to the only Starbucks around. Sure, he doesn't want any retched drink from the overly cherished coffee phenomenon, but the fact he had to stand by the tweens who wanted peppermint mochas while they swooned over a not so attractive guy (at least, in his opinion) makes him furious. 

The cashier's eyes widen. "I am sorry, sir, but there is nothing we can do."

Beckett finally puts his phone in his pocket. Even when Robin does not know him, she knows that means trouble. 

"How can a store run out of ingredients?" Beckett asks, squinting his blue eyes. He isn't even directing the glare to Robin, and yet she still feels tense. "This is horse shit. Come on, guys. We are leaving."

He turns around, only not to be followed. Robin has a better plan than throw a hissy fit like him. So, she strides over to where they sell the mugs. Tonight, she deserves a treating. After a long week of uni, telling her parents she cannot make it home back to Oregon for Christmas, and sleepless nights consisting of Netflix and studying, Robin needs caffeine. More specifically, a peppermint mocha type of caffeine. 

Curious, Beckett's sister hesitantly trails behind the young woman with a mission. Then follows the two other girls. "What are you doing?"

Robin averts her gaze to them shortly, only to go back and pick out a holiday mug. She knows how to make their peppermint mocha, but she did not feel up to going through the hassle. But that was earlier today, and now that the evening is passing along with dropping temperatures, Robin most certainly feels up to making the drink. 

"I am going to make my own peppermint mocha," she answers the girls while grasping a white mug with a small Santa Claus on it.

Robin has tons of mugs at home, but she has a two-hundred dollar pay check to spend by Christmas next week, so she figured a fifteen dollar mug will leave a dent. After all, she has never been one to spend money recklessly. That is what her parents did back home, never her.

The girls gasp. "You know how?"

Robin nods, not once giving them a second glance. Instead she stares back at the long line she just stood through as it grows even longer. Sighing, she decides the mug is not worth it, and puts it back. She will just pull through with her grandmother's reindeer mug with the cracked rim. 

"You know, when I said we were leaving, I wasn't talking to Casper." 

Beckett's patience is already wearing thin from the no peppermint syrup bomb, but now the little dweebs are not listening nor respecting his nineteen year old authority? They are testing him, and they know that good and well. 

His sister is the first to speak. "This girl is going to teach us how to make peppermint mocha, Beckett!" she chirps.

Robin's brows raise when four pair of eyes stare back at her. She attempts to avert her attention elsewhere, only for her hope of blending in crashing and burning by Beckett's less than jolly voice.

"You are?" he asks in a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.

Her mouth opens to speak, only for nothing to come out. Robin never said anything about teaching, but obviously these girls are putting words in her mouth; her peppermint-mocha-less mouth.

"Well?" Beckett crosses his arms. This girl might be an answer to his prayers tonight. Beckett knows his sister well, along with her friends, and when they want something, they get it. Which means he would have to drive all the way over to the next town for Starbucks.

"Look, I never said I would. Anyways, it's online. Find it for yourself." Robin manages to speak up. She even finds herself turning around, back to the mugs she has already decided aren't worth it.

"Online?" Beckett pursues towards the girl's back. He cannot help but notice the small gathering of star tattoos on the back of her neck. "Look, you are probably a busy girl--a boyfriend, family, school, ya-da-ya-da--but you have not lived through a night with a whining sister and her friends. If you could just please direct me towards a good recipe online, it would be much appreciated."

This is the first time Robin can tell he is serious. Beckett might still sound gruff, but she can tell this is as vulnerable as he gets, and Robin cannot help but baste herself in importance. She determines whether he gets a night of annoyance or happiness this fine evening, after all.

Hesitantly turning back around, Robin meets a pair of desperate blue eyes. His hand is held out, displaying the phone he seemed impossible to tear away from. 

"Well, I have something easier. I actually just texted my friend earlier today the recipe, so I will forward it to you. How about that?" Robin asks, already in the process of getting her phone out of her pant's back pocket. Beckett does not find himself disagreeing, just retreating his hands back to his sides. "And I do not have a boyfriend."

Beckett catches the add on with surprise. He figured a girl looking like her would surely have a guy around the holiday season. It is not the fact she has those type of blue eyes on the verge of clear, or platinum blond hair, but the whole aura about her. 

"Good to know," he says slowly, catching everyone off guard, even himself. 

His sister gasps faintly. Her friends giggle. Robin just looks up from her phone for a brief second at him. Even behind his blonde whiskers she can see a tinge of a blush on his face. 

"What's your number?" she asks, deciding best to go back to the task at hand before things get awkward. 

Pressing his hands in his pockets, his fingers rub against the warm fleece absentmindedly, and Beckett offers a small hint of a smile. He quickly states his number, all the while the young girls are whispering back and forth. They know Beckett scarcely ever smiled; so it is either because he is desperate for a savior, or he might actually be attracted to this pretty girl; or at least that is how they see Robin.

"Okay, there you go, Beckett. All sent." Robin smiles, squinting her eyes over at him.

With a curt nod towards him and the girls, Robin tells them good evening, and finally manages to escort herself out of that chaotic place. 

Phew, she thought to herself. 

●  ●  ●

Beckett is unnerved. Not because his annoying little sister Annie and her friends Maksy and Kendall are sipping their long awaited peppermint mocha in the living room quietly, but because of the heroine that saved him from a disastrous night. He actually had a fun time shopping for the necessary ingredients, and putting them together with the little twerps--not even mentioning the fact Annie decided to share a cup of what she calls "heaven in a mug" with him. 

"Without your alright looks, we would have never gotten the recipe," is what she exclaimed to him. "The girl was totes into you. When you started acted nice-ish, that is."

When Annie told him that, Beckett could not help but wince. The mere thought of someone other than his ex-girlfriend, Eleanor, taking an interest in him scares him; and Beckett is nearly fearless. Or so, that is what he likes to think.

So, as he finally settles himself into the recliner beside the girl-filled couch, he cannot help but wonder about the girl who he caught staring at him in line. At the time, Beckett could careless about her staring, but for some reason, it is beginning to wreck him on the inside. 

What were her thoughts? Did she like what she saw? Or did she see a heartbroken mess bundled up in layers of clothing?

"So, how do you like it, Beckett?" Maksy asks, and for once he is thankful to hear her nasally voice. 

Wow, I totally forgot about the drink. Beckett is well into half of the drink, and he has not once savored the flavor of it. Bringing the cup back to his mouth, he takes a few gulps of the warm beverage, only to scrunch his face together. He has never really enjoyed warm drinks before, and this drink is not an exception. It is not terrible to him, but he would rather grab a cold Sprite from the fridge rather than go through so much trouble of making it.

"It is okay," he answers Maksy, shrugging. "I probably should of put semi sweet, but whatever."

Annie scoffs. "You have no taste!"

In return, Beckett scoffs and rolls his eyes. "I said it was okay. I do not hate it, Annie."

"Yeah, and that is what I said about Eleanor," she mumbles. Her eyes move away from her brother's. "And you took it the worst way possible."

There is silence, and boy is it thick. Annie was never a fan of Eleanor, mostly because she had that gut feeling the high school girlfriend of Beckett had no intention of making their relationship work after graduation. Beckett used to fight with her about Eleanor, since he was blinded by her pearly smile and infectious laugh. His three year relationship ended a few months after graduation, a little over ten months ago from now.

The worst part for Beckett? Eleanor broke it off through a fifteen-second voice mail. Albeit he deleted the voice mail months ago, his wound still feels fresh. 

"And I am sorry for that," Beckett confesses slowly. "I said that before, too."

Their eyes connect meet through heavy squints. 

If there is one thing the Bright siblings are, they are stubborn. That is for sure. 

●  ●  ●

Okay, so maybe Robin forgot to add semi sweet to the recipe she sent to Beckett. Okay, so maybe that is not enough of a reason to text his number again (probably making herself look even more like a lunatic). Okay, so maybe Robin is a lunatic in her own strange way, but who isn't one?

Or at least, that is how she tried reasoning things as she sat inside a quaint pizza place in the middle of town. The time is nearing eight o'clock, which means Beckett should be appearing any minute now.

After she made herself a tub of peppermint mocha, Robin realized she had nothing to do for the rest of the evening. Typically she goes out with her friends, but a lot of them were out of town visiting family. However, when she received a thank you text from Beckett over an hour ago, she could not help herself. While he did seem impatient, a little snippy, he was sort of nice to her. So, she apologized for not saying semi sweetener instead of straight sugar, since those girls were all ready hyped up, and the last thing they needed was sugar. Then she decided to do the daring thing and ask if he wanted to go about for a bite. 

Robin felt like no harm would be done. If he said no and laughed at her, she probably would never see him again. And if he said yes, then in return she gained a new acquaintance. 

And what is so wrong with wanting to make new friends?

Glancing down at her phone, she finds herself getting nervous once an eight and two zeros appear. Her eyes then glue on a pair of headlights from a car shining through the window displays. 

On time, she smiles softly, that's a first. Most of the people she associates with are extremely guilty of showing up fashionably late. Robin is an early bird when it comes to attending things. If she is not fifteen minutes ahead of schedule, then that prevents her from ever being tardy. Her parents saw her as complete opposites from them. If she had not have put all the clocks back in their house ten minutes, they would have been a good ten minutes late to everything. 

Robin fixates on a figure hopping out of the car, and then the three other ones following out from the opposite side. 

Not exactly what she was thinking when she invited Beckett out for some food, but Robin did not mind if the three girls tagged along. This will probably be for the best, too, since Robin does not truly trust herself and talking alone with a guy isn't one of her strong suits. 

She stands up as Beckett stumbles in--quite literally, too. He gives the girls behind him a snappy glare, but none of them can take him seriously. Especially with such a bashful, embarrassed expression on his face. 

Robin cannot help but chuckle softly at him, but in a far more discreet way than the girls. By the time Beckett makes it to the table, he is red beyond belief. For his sake, Robin just passes it over her shoulder. Just the cold nipping his face. 

"Hi," Robin speaks with a bemused expression. "Thanks for meeting up with me."

She holds her hand out politely, and Beckett does not hesitate to give it a friendly shake. "Likewise. I thought you saved me from a long night with these girls, but, well, they do not listen to me very much."

"I wanted to see if my brother still had game!" Robin recognizes the loud girl instantly. It was his sister, amused expression and all.

Beckett cringes. "Annie," he spats. "This is just a friendly get together with adults. Something you have no knowledge of."

"You are only nineteen--teen. It is literally in your age," Annie retorts back with ease. 

Robins stands back, watching the siblings exchange tight glares. While she does know this is a friendly dinner, she is not sure about the whole adult label yet, either. She is going to turn twenty next January, which is a scary thought to her. This Annie is right, teen is literally tied with a nineteen-year-old, but twenty and above? So long the child years, hello the adult ones. 

"You're nineteen? Wow, I thought you were a little older." Robin smiles at Beckett, attempting to give him some confidence at the least. 

Beckett's brows raise, looking at the girl in confusion. "You did?" He can not help but revel in the silence from his sister. "How old did you pin me down?"

He is truly curious, not only for his own ego, but to make sure the girl turned out to be a woman interested in people her age. However, Beckett is confident she is around nineteen, and at the oldest twenty-one.

"I thought twenty-one, to be honest." Robin shrugs, sitting down in her chair.

Beckett follows her actions, sitting down across from her. The table is only for two, and when the girls notice, they frown. Before they can whine, Robin reaches out and takes one of the empty tables, and scoots the two together. If she wants this dinner to go well with no bickering, she figured best to get on Annie's good side. 

Not that I want to leave a good impression or something, Robin squirms in her seat a little, making her own self uncomfortable. I mean--of course I do! Just not that kind of impression.

The girls are quiet; too quiet. Even Robin sees this as a scarce occurrence. Thankfully, for everyone though, the girls settle in beside them. Annie is a little stunned by her act of kindness. After all, she invited her brother out to eat, not her. 

"I like this one, Beckett," Annie finally confesses through a whisper and smile towards her brother. "What's her name? Hopefully not Eleanor."

It is then that Beckett realizes he has done the foolish thing of not getting this sister-approved-girl's name. He sits up straighter, and glances back at the girl who is busy peering down at the menu in her hands. 

She looks like an April, Beckett thinks with a side-ways grin. "I am sorry, you know my name but I have no idea what yours is."

He slips his own menu in his grasp, trying to look nonchalant and not like a fool. 

"I'm Robin. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself."

"Hey Robin, I am Annie!" The young girl yells before Beckett can put a word in. "Must I say, you are extremely pretty."

Beckett cannot help but agree with his sister, for once in a long time. "I second that."

Robin chuckles towards Annie, but takes the compliments to heart. Surrounding herself with sorority girls all the time is not necessarily the best thing for someone's self confidence. "Why thank you, Annie." Her eyes move over to Beckett, who is sending her a smile she cannot help but return with the same amount of blush on the cheeks. "Thank you, too, Beckett."

And from there, the meal went splendidly. As a group, they decided best to have a large pizza, half pepperoni and half veggie supreme. While Beckett is extremely against only vegetables on pizza, he decided to try a slice out for Robin's sake, and he ended up truly enjoying it. Sure, the taste was sub-par, but the surprise and happiness shown on Robin's face was enough to make the pizza delicious. 

"Well, I am stuffed," Maksy says while wiping her mouth with a napkin. "I still don't see how you guys can eat just vegetables on a pizza. . ."

Robin attempts to comment, but Annie does for her. "Beckett hates vegetables, so my guess is he just pulled through for his girl Robin here." She is still busy chowing down on her last piece of pizza crust, not doubting her words for one second. 

The look in her brother's face is enough of a sign to tell he likes Robin. Obviously she is pretty, but putting a personality to a face not only made Annie adore her, but Beckett, too, surely. 

"She's not my girl, Annie," Beckett hisses towards his immature sister. 

Annie shrugs, still holding her words. "Not yet, that is."

All the while, Robin is busy heating up like crazy. She already took off her wool jacket a few minutes ago, and yet here she is, peeling off her thin layered cardigan. 

Kendall takes notice of this, and is not far behind Annie in thought. "Look, you need to stop. You are embarrassing her, Annie! She's so red." 

The girls giggle together as the two so called "adults" are busy being frazzled with embarrassment. 

"I am sorry about them." Beckett eyes the three girls who are getting up and walking towards the few arcade games lining the back wall. "They tend to think they are right all the time."

Robin tips her head back as she sips down the last of her peach tea. "Doesn't everyone, though?"

"Very true," Beckett agrees while popping Annie's leftover pizza crust in his mouth. "But I am sorry about her. I think she secretly enjoys making people uncomfortable."

Robin looks down at her empty plate, smiling softly. "Well, she sure is good at doing it, I give her that."

"Good is understating it, don't you think?" Beckett asks with curved lips. Although he is trying his best to refrain himself from smiling like a lunatic the whole time talking with Robin, he is failing miserably. After all, her smile is infectious. 

Robin licks her chapped lips, cocking her head to the side. She has had an even greater time than she expected, and Beckett has turned out to be even more charming than she imagined--well, when his sister was not there bickering with him. Even then he still managed to make Robin smile the slightest.

Beckett begins to play with the salt shaker absentmindedly while waiting for one of them to break the silence. While he was thoroughly surprised to receive a text from Robin a few hours ago, he is glad he listened to Annie and the twerps and came. The last time he has been out with a girl other than the three playing air hockey has been since Eleanor--which feels so long ago to him, now. 

"So, what are your plans for the holidays?" Beckett asks suddenly, still fondling the cap of the salt shaker. 

Pursing her lips, Robin sits back in her seat more comfortably. Finally some friendly small talk without the girls construing anything.

"My parents live in Oregon, and I don't have enough money for the plane ticket there and back, so I figured I will just make the best of it here with my friends." 

Beckett nods in total understanding. "I have a similar story. My whole family is supposed to be in Canada by this time of year with family, but the money never came up. Plus, well, don't tell them, but I kind of, sort of, lost my passport."

Robin gasps, but cannot help but laugh along with him. She can imagine someone like him loosing such an important document. He does not scream the responsible type to her, but that is fine with her. 

"Beckett, are we going to leave anytime soon or are you going to keep flirting with your girlfriend?" Annie appears back beside the table, a smirk across her face. The more Robin sees her, the more she can see the resemblance the two Bright siblings. The only major difference between them is their eye color. "Just give her a kiss good night, and let's gooooo."

Beckett decides it is best to ignore her. 

Wouldn't want to fight fire with fire, he figures.

"Yeah, it is getting late." He stands up from his seat, finally releasing the salt shaker. "I'll walk you to your car, if you want."

His offer makes Robin feel warm inside. It might just be a friendly, polite gesture, but she cannot help but adore how much of a gentlemen he is. Such a contrast to the impatient guy earlier that day. "That would be great, thank you."

Making sure she grabs the receipt of the dinner and purse, Robin is still the least bit ready to leave. Sure, midnight is nearing, and temperatures are dropping, but she wants to chat with Beckett more. They barely had time to talk without the girls popping in their--well, what they call "observant"--comments. 

To forward his gentleman act, Beckett holds the door open for Robin, and her only. His fingers tips leave the door the second Annie starts to exit, nearly making her face meet the ever so friendly door. 

"So, you said you're staying here for the holidays, correct?" Beckett buries his hands in his pockets, the cold worse than when they went inside the pizza place. 

Robin nods, sighing. "Yep. I am stuck in a place with only one Starbucks."

"The horror," Beckett adds.

They both share a short laugh, it only to be cut short by Robin's red Sedan. Robin gets her keys out of her purse, but to her dismay. Is it wrong of her for wanting to keep Beckett standing out here to talk with her? 

Yeah, she rationalizes. He is already shivering.

"Well, the reason why I asked if you were staying is. . ." Beckett hesitates continuing, but Robin's warm smile urges him forward. "I would love to go out with you sometime this week again--without the girls, must I add."

Robin purses her lips, and her head cocks to the side. "Like, just us two?"

"Uh, yeah. Unless you have a problem with that." 

Robin grins when she notices Beckett getting self conscious. His eyes are wavering everywhere but on her, and he is rubbing the hairs on his cheeks. This was her at the table, though. Her hand was always making its way through the tip of her ponytail, and she never seemed to meet his eyes without flicking them away a second later. 

"Oh no, I don't." Robin steps off the sidewalk next to her car door. With a click she unlocks the Sedan, but turns back towards Beckett. "I'd love to go out again."

"Okay, um, how about Tuesday afternoon for. . ." It only takes Beckett a few seconds to know exactly what Robin will probably be craving for. "--Starbucks?"

Robin nods her head up and down. "Wow, I am impressed."

"So, it's a date?" He sends Robin a smile, finally growing the confidence to look her straight in the eyes. 

Playfully, Robin makes it seem like she is pondering, but of course it is a yes. Heck, she would love to head on over to Starbucks with him this instant.

"Yeah, it is most certainly a date." Biting her lip, Robin decides it is time for her to head on out. With one last wave towards him, she piles into her car, and quickly starts it up to get warmed up even though a returning wave from Beckett is enough to warm her insides.

And to think, if she did not decide to stick through the whole Starbucks line (without killing Annie, Maksy, and Kendall in the process) she would have sat alone at home all night with her tub of peppermint mocha. Now she has a date on Tuesday, a full stomach of the best pizza in town, and peppermint mocha waiting for her patiently at home. 

What are the holidays without a peppermint mocha from Starbucks?

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This is my entry for @hepburnettes Frost competition! As a cast, I imagine Max Theiriot {shown at the side} as Beckett, and Brittany Snow as Robin. I hope you guys enjoyed this little Holiday one-shot, and check out Starbuck's peppermint mocha! Haha :)

Also massive thank you to @Wattpad for featuring this story in their 'Holiday Favorites'! :DD