A/N: A college au of sorts? Enjoy this short abruptly ended oneshot I threw together for the holidays. Lately, I've been finding myself adding way too more content than I can fully reveal in a oneshot, but oh well. Haffun I guess?
Piles of newly shoveled snow blanketed the side of the road. The icy white landscape glistened from the light of the early morning sun beating down from above. The sound of children laughing filled his ears as he made his way over to the local coffee shop.
The building looked as unimpressive as ever, blending in with its surroundings. A few wreaths decorated the entrance along with Christmas lights, much like its neighbors. A sprig of holly was wedged between the bells that adorned the the entrance.
Ike pushed open the door and was greeted cheerfully by the barista. The brunette behind the register smiled brightly and gave him a wave, which he returned halfheartedly. He took note of the empty store, perusing the extremely limited menu.
"Didn't Harbucks buy up this place?" He glanced at the single bowl of fruit sitting on the counter, noticing that the store didn't sell any pastries or other food items.
"It's more of a business partnership." The brunette readjusted her Santa hat, then pointed to the short menu propped up near the register. "So this is all we have to offer." Her smile remained polite.
"Right." He dug out his wallet, eyeing the prices. "Just give me a large of the most popular item."
The brunette laughed as she rung him up, her eyes crinkling in amusement. "Are you sure about that? No special requests?" The digital screen displayed the price and he handed her the bills before she could read it to him.
"Just something strong enough to kickstart the day." He put the change into his wallet and replaced the item in his backpack.
Her nails tapped against the counter as she handed him the receipt order. "Alright, your order should be ready momentarily." She smiled at him, and shuffled back to prepare his drink.
He watched her prep his order with practiced ease, humming a Christmas song to herself to fill the silence. It then occurred to him that it was unusually quiet due to the lack of a proper music track. The girl's humming was a pleasant addition to the depressing stillness of the dimly lit store.
"So.. is business always this slow, or is it due to the holidays?" He ventured a guess when they made eye contact.
She hummed in contemplation before replying. "You just missed the morning rush." The brunette finished straining the coffee into the paper cup, sliding on a sleeve. "Would you like any cream or sugar with this?"
"I can add it myself." He waited for her to hand him the order, and then walked over to the side counter to add the proper amount of sweetener.
She walked back to her spot behind the register and faced the opposite wall, leaving him to his adjustments. She started humming again as she inspected her nails. "So, what brings you to this small shop this lovely morning?"
"Just wanted a quick cup of coffee before I find a quiet place to work, I'll probably stick around for a few hours now that I've bought something." He said it with a teasing tone in order to test her reaction to the statement. The quiet shop was one of the few places open during the holidays, and the lack of bickering people made it an ideal productive work space.
"Well, I won't stop you. Help yourself to the fruit on the counter if you get hungry. There's also a general store nearby where you can buy cheap quick food if you get hungry." The brunette started leafing through some papers that were previously hidden by the register.
"Thanks." He had just replaced the lid on his cup, and walked over to one of the empty tables. He sat down facing the counter and pulled out his laptop to begin working. He spared the brunette a glance, noticing the way she clicked her fingers against a calculator she pulled out. "Are you a student too?"
She looked up from her work, pausing in her writing. "Oh. Yea, I am. I attend the city college a few blocks from here, how about you?"
He took a sip of his drink and grimaced from the taste of dark sludge. The girl smiled pityingly at him before returning to her work. He set down his drink and replied, "I attend CU, but we're on holiday break right now."
"Oh same. Does university give you work over the break? Because that would suck." She didn't miss a beat in the conversation while resuming her work.
"No, I'm just working on a side project right now. Does city give you work over the break?" He opened up the tasks he needed to work on, disdainfully staring at the cup he set aside.
"Ah, no they don't. I guess you could say I'm working on a side project as well." The clicking of her calculator echoed through the empty space as glanced up at him. "Not liking the coffee huh?"
"What did you do to it? I've never had coffee this terrible in my entire life." He picked it up and kept drinking it regardless, because he desperately needed the caffeine. He could practically hear the pity dripping from her small chuckle though.
"Welcome to Tweek Bros. Coffee, your last resort stop for your daily fix of espresso." She smiled wryly. "I did the best I could considering it's been awhile since we've last seen each other."
He startled a bit at that statement, staring at her for awhile before it clicked into place. He double checked the receipt she handed him to look for her name as confirmation. Skimming the black text from top to bottom, he found her name on the second to last line.
She clicked her tongue. "Wow Ike, nice to know how much you treasured the time we spent together." The brunette paused in her calculations to stare at him, a pretty frown settling onto her features.
"Ah, I'm sorry but you look completely different from how I remember you Karen." It was a mistake anyone could have made. The brunette had cut her hair into a short bob cut, and took to wearing makeup. Her demeanor also changed significantly since the last time they interacted, giving her a stronger presence compared to before.
"Uh huh. At least tell a girl she's prettier than you remember, what happened to the Casanova I used to know?" The teasing lilt returned to her voice as she smiled. "It's alright, I'm actually grateful you don't recall too much about our younger days." The clicking resumed as she continued her work.
He swallowed, remembering the fleeting days they spent together as kids. He didn't forget her at all, it was honestly just a case of mistaken identity. The brunette working efficiently at the counter began humming again.
"I'll let you return to your work now, since that's what you came to do. Don't feel obligated to keep up the conversation." Not once did she glance up during that statement, and Ike finally began looking over his project.
She seemed content with the silence that they fell into, and that made it easier for him to work. He glanced up to see her turn a page, the fingers moving across the calculator never ceasing. He didn't want to admit out loud, but he did miss the time spent with her every once in awhile. Glancing back to his screen, he promised himself that he would come back tomorrow to try and get her number to keep in contact this time around.
A/N: Thank you for taking to the time to read this piece. (uwu);;;; I don't think I'll ever grow out of this habit of making things unclear, so feel free to ask if anything is confusing? Haha...
Tbh this almost, almost made me want to write a sibling fic for the McCormicks instead.
Bonus 1:
Karen: Come back tomorrow and coffee will be on the house.
Ike: I'll pass on the coffee, but I'll come back tomorrow- since it's such a nice place to get work done!
Karen: Uh huh. Smooth. I'll see you tomorrow then, Casanova.
/also consider Karen not being on shift tomorrow and Ike awkwardly ordering a coffee from Tweek and then leaving
Bonus 2:
Karen: Wow Ike, nice to know how much you treasured the time we spent together.
Ike: Ah, I'm sorry but you look completely different from how I remember you Ruby-
Karen: That was a test and you failed.
/consider the name on the receipt not saying Karen because she was filling in for a coworker that suddenly fell ill
I swear each year is becoming more and more of a "chapter one of a story that will never be continued" type of story. Oh well, see you all next year o/