AN: Do not own GA. Excuse the short chapters.
Thursday Afternoon: 19:45
In the last hours of hot water spilling and creamer being mixed into drinks, the time was always Mikan's best friend when it starting getting dark outside. She was all too excited when the clock that sat over the sepia canvas of a coffee mug seemed to pick up speed.
"Thank you, come again!" The last customer of that hour walked off mug in hand, keys jiggling in the other. It was getting closer and closer to that point of Mikan's day when everything took a turn for the better, and she got closer and closer to giving anyone the finger if they chose to come in now.
The expresso machines hummed, relieving the brew from the day as dishes clinking and glasses clanking sounded from the kitchen in the back. Mikan decided it was best to act as if they already had turned the neon 'open' sign in the window off, impulsively wiping down the counter and tossing more dishes to the crew in the back.
Her focus gone on the late-night movie binge she was planning for the start of the weekend, since she had been given friday off and conveniently had one class scheduled for the next day that didn't start until noon, the doorbell ringing against the vintage entrance way flew in one ear and out the other. While the bits and pieces of coffee beans got swept up into the cleaning towel she was using, Mikan's mind was being swept up by sexy bare chests in one of those foreign movies she had ready on her favorites list.
Oh the sight of that handsome Alejandro, she could just-
"Hello."
Mikan jumped, swiveling around coming in eye contact with a young, dark-looking guy. Well, maybe not dark looking but the fact that his hair was jet black and he was sporting a heavy leather trenchcoat with an as equally heavy looking dark sweater, she couldn't help but think the man had a Johnny Depp thing going on. She was a little taken off guard because all- in-all, the guy was still quite...cute.
"H-hi..." She strode up to the counter, logging into the register. "Sorry about that...Lost in my thoughts, haha...you know."
The man acted as if he didn't hear one thing she said, let alone was up for hearing an excuse when he spat out his order. He didn't even bother to laugh.
"Coffee with nothing in it."
Mikan stood for a minute before processing his order in the register system. If this weird, rude of an attractive guy thought he was gonna walk into her job, less than an hour before they closed with that attitude, he had another thing coming. She simply let her anger calm itself down and handed the man his receipt. Now was not the time to be getting fired. School fees and rent...all that 'good' stuff.
"It'll be up in a sec." She let a sneer pull at her lips when he could no longer see her face. While she stared at the black liquid tumbling into the heat resistant cup thoughts of squeezing the dirty cleaning water along with the coffee plagued her mind. Of course she wouldn't think- actually do- anything like that, but he didn't catch her on the best day and who knows. If the guy stops looking, she just might accidently drop the towel in the coffee pot.
She did away with her thoughts, securing the plastic lid on the cup and placed it on the counter infront of the customer.
An uneasy heavyness fell in the shop when the guy stood still, making no effort to reach for his drink. She noticed he hadn't even looked at it and was staring straight through her direction like he was upset about something she obviously made a dumb mistake about.
"Umm...here?"
The shop grew even more unsettling when his eyes actually locked onto hers. She couldn't help but feel taken aback. Not only were his eyes this deep rogue that kind of freaked her out, but his was still standing there not speaking a word. She flicked a finger, finding it strange that it felt like she was under some hold and couldn't move herself.
The heavy atmosphere finally broke when he shifted and put his hand on the counter. Still not picking up the cup but placing his hand close enough to it.
"The cardboard."
One of Mikan's wing-tipped eyebrows lifted just below her copper bangs. "Cardboard?"
"Cardboard. The Cardboard!" The guy snapped back at her.
Look, any other time if she had just gotten on her shift or was in a particularly happy mood that day she would've let that slide and respectfully asked what it was he was referring to. But today, unluckily for both of them, was not that day. After her car breaking down, having to walk to campus and 15 blocks to work, failing a surprise quiz from one of her stupid professors who's barely in class and getting called out by this prissy-little-rich girl, who by the way annoys the hell out of her, she has already up there on the angry meter.
And this guy was about to have it.
"Listen you, I'm tired. I'm ready to leave, and I have no idea what you're talking about. So unless you're gonna act whatever age you look and use real descriptives so I can get whatever the hell it is that you want then you can step out of my face and walk right out that door!"
The other employee who had been working up until Mikan started yelling, stood a few feet away from his enraged coworker, gawking at the outburst. His gaze left the heated girl to the customer standing behind the counter with his hand still sitting patiently by his probably lukewarm drink.
Mikan let out a long exhale, leveling back down to some sort of calm mixed with irritation. Her eyes opened to the guy continuing to stand there blank faced, frowning and silent. Mikan threw her hands up, she gave in. Forget it.
Just before she turned around to finishing closing up the shop, and let that creep finish out his duties, a low pitched rumble came from the other side of the counter. After a few seconds went past she realized it was coming from the customer.
He was...laughing?
A disturbed look etched on Mikan's face as the guy's rumble flowed into a hearty, man chuckle.
If this guy didn't leave in about 3.5 seconds, the red button hidden underneath the register was gonna get some action for the first time since this place had been built.
"Look.." Mikan started, putting her hands infront of her chest in protection. "I don't have any money, we're closing soon and...and, yea"
That just seemed to make the guy laugh more. Mikan looked over to her coworker making a similar weirded out expression. He chose a safer route and strugged before getting back to work.
"You're good." The strange man finally chose to respond with something other than a rude address or histerical laugh.
"Excuse me?"
"No, Excuse me." Mikan had eventually lost her anger when it formed into this pure confusion. Why did this have to happen today? She never got fridays off, let alone free time to be a lazy slouch all weekend long. Why did this pathetic excuse for a Johnney Depp have to come and put all her plans on hold.
"Look..." Mikan started with a defeated sigh.
"No, no. Don't- Look here. My name is Hyuuga Nastume. I'm a professor at Yazawa, a Psychology professor."
Mikan rose another brow. "Ok?"
"I know it's...strange, but I'm conducting a study on situtional response and emotional feedback."
Mikan didn't move a muscle aside from bringing her other brow to join it's twin at the top of her forehead.
"Basically, I want you to be my muse."
She took another look at this guy. If she thought about it real hard, she still couldn't remember ever seeing this creep on campus before. Yazawa was an Art school after all. Why they decided to add miscellaneous majors like Psychology and Engineering would never make since to her. But she guessed they could be forms of Art too. Depending on how you practiced it.
Her thoughts went back to the customer, Mr. Hyuuga, who hadn't chosen to leave yet but finally start sipping at his by now cold coffee.
Aside from the strange encounter, he was a good looking man. He was tall, at least a foot taller than her, with fair skin and an average body size. Average through the heavy outerwear, she thought. Her view of his lower half was obstructed by the counter but she could tell he might've had it going on all the way down because his dark jeans slimmed on his hips pretty nicely. She noticed too that he had a belt with a gold CC buckle with one of the C's facing the opposite direction. He was snazzy she could say, but creepy she could say too.
l|l
