From day one, Max knows she's going to love this coffee shop. Well, she knew already; it had all started when, during the orientation camp she'd attended, they'd offered free samples of their coffee complete with the syrup concoction they referred to as "Secret Sauce". Max was hooked. After settling in and doing her best to acclimate to her dorm for a few days, she finds herself taking the short walk over to Two Whales Coffee at long last, lugging her laptop, camera bag, and sketchbook with her.

There's a bell over the door, and as coffee shop door bells go it's a pretty nice-sounding one. The second she's inside, Max breathes in the atmosphere of the place – wood floors that thump slightly under her feet, brick walls, the obligatory merchandise, the cold-brew setup constantly going, all twisting glass and glinting a bit in the light from the window.

"Welcome to Two Whales Coffee!" greets the barista currently lounging behind the counter. He's got messy brown hair that falls over his forehead just a bit, and a wide grin, and a shirt with the Triforce on it, half-hidden beneath an apron. His voice is easy-going but at the same time eager and excited.

Max smiles back, heading up to the counter and fishing through her camera bag for her wallet.

"What can I get for you?" he asks, his attempt at professionalism not half-bad.

Squinting up at the hand-written menu, Max considers her options. "What's best here?"

"Everything," he replies, and she can tell it's not a scripted response; he really means everything is good. He does seem like one of those people who'd try everything on the menu to find out so he could do his job well.

Max laughs a bit. "Okay, narrowing it down. What's the best thing that's got espresso in it?"

He drums his fingers on the counter, considering. "My personal favorite is the No Bull. Basically a latte, but we add in our Secret Sauce. I recommend the 20 oz, personally. The more, the better."

"Sold," Max says, pulling out her card. The barista grins, accepting it and swiping it through the reader connected to what looks like an iPad. He spins the apparatus around, producing a cup almost at the same moment.

"Sign here – oh, and what's your name?" he asks, uncapping and then deftly spinning a sharpie between his fingers.

"Max," she replies. She uses a finger to scrawl her name on the digital dotted line.

"Cool name." He scribbles it down on the cup. "Nice to meet you, Max. I'm Warren."

She gives him a friendly handshake across the counter, and then Warren's off to the machine. She watches, replacing her card and dropping the wallet back into her bag, as he presses the espresso, then sticks it into the machine. He steams the milk with one hand while pulling a double shot with the other. Max gets the impression that he's worked here for a while, although his apron says otherwise – she's been in enough coffee shops to identify a veteran barista by how well-loved their apron looks. Warren's is pristine (maybe he's just washed it, but it looks pretty damn new).

"Here you go!" He's suddenly in front of her, sliding the drink across the counter with another grin. "See you around, Max."

"See you around," she replies, smiling back, picking up the cup, and heading outside to find a comfortable table near an outlet.

Outside, in the deck area, she spots a perfect corner and drops her bags onto the seat, making herself comfortable on the worn cushion. She drags out her laptop, plugs it in as it boots up, then opens a word processor with a scowl.

The coffee shop's good – the paper that's due in a couple days not so much. She straightens her glasses and gets to work.

The caffeine seemed to have helped her focus, and the drink with secret sauce was as fantastic as she remembered, so when she goes back the next day it's her plan to order the same thing.

This time, Warren's not working. Instead, the barista's a tall, thin girl, beanie covering most of what appears to be bright blue hair. She's got a tank top on, which reveals a tattoo all down her right arm, spiraling flowers and vines surrounding a skull. As the bell above the door chimes, her face lights up and she grins at Max. "Hey," she says simply.

"Hi," Max replies, trying not to blush – this girl is cute, and really, she can't blame herself for that observation.

"I'm Chloe," she offers immediately.

"Max."

"Hella nice to meet you, Max." She idly spins the iPad setup around a couple times. "What can I get for you?"

Max glances up at the menu, although she has the order memorized already. "Can I get a No Bull? 20 oz."

"No Bull it is," Chloe responds, tapping the display a couple times. Max hands over the card, Chloe swipes it – Max notices her nails are painted the same blue as her hair – and hands it back to her, indicating for her to sign. Max does so as Chloe scrawls "MAX" on the cup in large letters and immediately sets to work.

She's even better than Warren at balancing all the steps involved in making the drink, and Max watches in fascination as she pours the espresso and the milk at the same time, leaving a leaf-shaped pattern on the top of the foam.

"Here you go!" Her voice is cheerful as she hands Max the drink. Max jumps; she'd been studying the leaf pattern closely, fumbling blindly through her bag for her polaroid camera. The others in her photography class had called it "way too old school" until she'd gotten the top grade in the entire class on their first project, and then their second, and so on. One of them had even tried getting a polaroid camera of their own, but their grade hadn't come close to Max's.

Chloe laughs a bit when Max pulls the camera out and snaps a picture of the leaf pattern. "Cool camera," she says, and Max thinks she's being sarcastic until she sees the sincere look on Chloe's face and processes the tone she'd used. Surprise, not derision. "My dad used to use one of those. Brings back good memories. Haven't seen one in a while, though."

"I like it – it's, well, old school. There's something different about the way the pictures come out."

"That what you're studying?" Chloe asks. "Photography?"

"And art, yeah."

"That's hella cool."

Max smiles, snapping a lid onto the cup with a bit of regret. The picture's nearly developed, and she examines it for a moment. Chloe bends over it as well. "That really is a nice shot."

"Thanks."

"Well, guess I'll see you around, then?" She sounds hopeful, and Max nods. She likes Chloe; she feels comfortable here at Two Whales even though she's only briefly met two of the baristas. More comfortable than she feels in her dorm, anyway. Once she's out the door to the deck area she makes a face, hoping Lisa will be asleep by the time she makes it back to the dorm. Max really doesn't want to deal with 'the doommate', as she's dubbed her, any more than she has to.

She glances over her shoulder at the sign displaying the shop's hours to confirm that the place closes at midnight. It does, and she breathes a sigh of relief, once again settling into her already-preferred corner.

Not a bad day, she thinks, even as she pulls up the half-finished paper. Taking a sip of her coffee, she blinks. It's definitely the same drink as the day before, but it's somehow better. She's not precisely sure why, but it's on another level than Warren's. With a shrug, she sets to work.

A/N: I know, I know, the college AU and the coffee shop AU have been done a million times. But I have a weakness for it, and for Pricefield. I've also got some stories from my (short) time at college and my equally-short time as a barista. Figured I may as well put them to good use. I shamelessly stole the drink's name and the "Secret Sauce" from the coffee shop I frequented at college.

Hopefully I'll start writing everyone better as I get used to it. Also, I apologize for any mistakes I wasn't able to catch - if you see any, feel free to point them out.

Title is from the song Destination, by Imagine Dragons.

Planning on updating twice a week (Sunday / Wednesday), although life may occasionally intervene.