Chapter One: Verde Café
Verde Café was much as he remembered it, Oliver reflected.
The little local coffee shop was situated directly across from Queen Consolidated in center city Sterling City. Oliver had frequented it in his pre-island days (their iced lattes were the best cure he'd ever found for one of his late-night party-induced hangovers), but until today he hadn't actually gotten around to stopping in.
The cliental seemed pretty much the same: students sipping iced coffees while cramming for their upcoming exams, lovers holding hands across the round wooden tables, and old friends laughing and catching up at the coffee bar. And Oliver was pleased to note that the atmosphere remained almost completely unchanged - the sound of mugs clinking from inside the kitchen, the smell of roasted coffee beans and bergamot and wood, the warmth of the sun streaming in the floor-to-ceiling windows of the southwest wall, and photographs of local artists lining the wall opposite the counter.
All of these familiar sights and sounds blended together comfortingly, triggering nostalgia and an actual smile from Oliver as he made his way up to the counter. He'd been so busy ever since coming back from the island - being named CEO of Queen Consolidated was a hefty commitment, and then add the social troubles of trying to rekindle old friendships and patch up a broken family - he'd barely had the chance to catch his breath. Today was the first beautiful spring day of the year, and as he'd been gazing longingly out the window of his new office, he spied the green umbrellas of Verde Café and decided to take a walk.
Oliver glanced over the menu, wondering idly where the barista had wandered off to. He chuckled, realizing that he'd probably had a raging hangover the last time he'd been here. Not needing the fix that he'd needed then (five years on an island is one hell of a way to kick a caffeine addiction), he had just decided on an iced tea when a girl wandered out of the kitchen, smiling and wiping her hands on her apron.
"What's your poison?" she asked as she deftly swiped a card attached to her wrist to open the cash register.
Oliver did a double take. The last barista he'd seen here had been a dreadlocked guy who wore the same Nirvana t-shirt every day and who'd smelled vaguely of weed. This girl could not have given a different first impression. Her blonde hair was done up in a high ponytail, revealing her many ear piercings and accentuating her spunky square glasses. Her A-line dress was bright orange with triangle cut-outs on the side, which were only slightly covered by the green apron. A tiny rectangular badge on her left breast read Felicity.
As she arched an eyebrow Oliver realized he'd been staring instead of responding. "Ah - an iced tea, please." he stuttered.
A tiny, knowing half-smile appeared on her lips as she keyed in his order. Her nails were lime green, and he couldn't help but notice that she barely even looked at the register as she typed. Had she been here a while or was she just quick to learn? It had been a while since he had harmlessly flirted with a cute girl, and he found himself at a loss for what to say.
"You don't strike me as a student... you work over at Queen Consolidated?" she asked as she started making his drink.
Don't be distracted by the tattoo on her shoulder. Don't be distracted by the tattoo on her shoulder. Don't be distracted by the tattoo on her shoulder.
"Hmm? Yeah, just started actually. Couple of tattoos ago."
"That so?"
"Mmm."
She handed him his drink, cocking her head to the side and regarding him with an amused glint in her eye.
"Well I guess I'll be seeing you around then," she said with a smile.
"Definitely," Oliver replied.
"See ya."
He watched her as she walked away, not coming out of his reverie until she rounded the corner into the kitchen. He shook himself, reflecting that that had probably not been his finest moment, and then started making his way out of the shop back into the sunny spring day.
It wasn't until later, when he was back at his desk slurping the last remaining drops of his iced tea, that he realized that he'd already decided he'd be going back tomorrow.
(And maybe the day after, who knows.)
A/N: This story was originally supposed to be a one-shot coffee shop AU, but I'm instead fleshing it out to be about 10 chapters. It's my first published story - I've only ever written little one shots on tumblr - so go easy on me. ;)