A/N: I mentioned this in my story 'Kind is better.' , and I decided I wanted to write it. So here it is. You don't have to read 'Kind is better' first, this is a standalone piece.
Ram laughed loudly as he swung the door open, letting Tanya into the shop first. She was giving him a wide grin, as she looked around for the rest of their group. "There." She pointed to the booth in the corner and they made their way over. Quill was sat on the single chair on the out side, looking at cats on her phone. April was on the left, with Charlie on her right and Matteusz curled up next to him. Tanya slid in next to Matteusz, and April moved to let Ram sit with Charlie.
"What does everyone want to drink?" April stood, waiting to take requests. "Black coffee, no sugar." Miss Quill said quickly and then went back to her phone. They all chuckled at her pouting face. "A hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallow." Tanya spoke up. Matteusz nodded.
"Same please." April looked to Charlie and Ram.
"Cappuccino for me." Ram bit his lip as he looked at the bored.
"Uh... an iced frappe please." April nodded and checked the table number before walking to the bar. Ram watched her with a gooey smile until Charlie playfully elbowed him. "Checking out my best friend?" He asked with a cheeky smile. Ram slapped him back playfully. "Maybe..." Charlie smiled at him, and looked over at April, who was ordering. "Is this the part where I'm supposed to threaten you about 'if you hurt her'..." He asked.
Ram smiled back. "Yep." Charlie nodded.
"I know how to throw a knife with deadly accuracy. There, done." They all laughed as April returned. "What's so funny?" Tanya giggled again.
"Charlie was just protecting you by doing the whole 'best friend threat' thing to Ram." Matteusz explained, still laughing. April blushed, which caused Tanya to start giggling again. She sat down and bowed her head. Ram brushed her hair out of her face. The others let out a collective "Awww!", which made April's blush worse and caused Ram to go red.
Before anything else happened, two waitresses arrived with their orders, causing Quill to look up for the first time. She immediately grabbed the drink before it was handed to her and took a long sip. She sighed happily and went back to her phone. The others shook off the strangeness as they were handed their drinks. The hot chocolates were monstrous, with a straw and spoon each. Matteusz and Tanya dug in eagerly, big smiles on their faces. Charlie delicately sipped his cappuccino, while Ram wrapped his sleeves around his fingers to stop them from freezing because of the condensed container. April just held her mocha, watching Matteusz and Tanya devour their whipped cream mountains and marshmallows.
Tanya ended up with a whipped cream moustache, which looked so comical that it made them all laugh so hard that they had tears in their eyes. Tanya went to wipe it off, but Matteusz stopped her. " Hold still." Tanya froze, then immediately giggled as Matteusz stuck out his tongue to lick it off. By the time he'd finished, Tanya was in fits of giggles. Matteusz smiled, and Charlie leaned in for a quick peck. They got an "Aww!" that time, and while Charlie blushed, Matteusz laughed and put an arm around him.
Quill looked up at them, and for a moment, Charlie swore he could see a soft, fond smile when she looked at him and Matteusz, but then the scowl was back in place, and her eyes were back on her phone. As Charlie snuggled further into his boyfriend's side, he looked over at Ram and April, who were also curled close together, and whispering. Charlie looked to his other side to see a sad smile on Tanya's face. He nudged Matteusz, who got the message. Suddenly, he snuck his other am around Tanya and grabbed her. She shrieked as she was pulled into his right side so quickly that she couldn't get away. April and Ram laughed, and Charlie chuckled at her surprised but happy expression. Matteusz, for his part, looked very smug, and as Tanya cuddled into his side, he smiled fondly at her.
Ram scooted closer to Charlie, and pressed up into his side, April following, seemingly attached to him. Ram shifted and put an arm around his shoulder's, resting it on Matteusz's. Charlie beamed up at him, and Ram suddenly felt worth something. He had made his friend smile, and it gave him a sense of pride. He looked over at Miss Quill, still sitting on her own, while they all cuddled up together. He leant down to whisper in April's ear "Miss Quill looks lonely." April chanced a glance at the woman in question and as Ram was right. "Miss?"
"What?" Quill looked up, her face transforming from mournful to irritated. April wasn't fazed. "You can come and sit in the booth with us Miss Quill. You don't have to sit thee on your own." Quill looked down for a second, then back at April. "I like being on my own." April nodded.
"Okay Miss."
She purposely shifted, just to make it clear that there was space next to her. She turned back to the conversation that the others had been having. Apparently, it started off about The Lankin and had evolved into teasing Ram about last night before they'd got to Tanya's flat. Matteusz and Tanya were grinning at a witty comment which was making Ram turn scarlet while Charlie was patting his hand in mock sympathy, smiling ear to ear.
As April started to speak to defend the poor guy, she felt a pressure beside her and turned to see Miss Quill sitting beside her, still staring at her phone. April smiled at her and turned back to make her comment. Out of the corner of her eye, she was sure she saw Miss Quill smile back. But you could never be sure. And Miss Quill would deny smiling at all that day, even though she smiled as she denyed it.