AN: The prompt is from Marginal Benefits. I have no idea if I'm supposed to include it in the beginning of the story, but I decided to. Kinda hard to know what's going off if I don't, huh? So the Bold is the prompt given and then I'll continue on normally. Thank you. –Pheonix
P.S.- In case you haven't already realized, this is a Snarry. Meaning Severus/Harry; as in boy/boy ;)
Severus Snape considers himself a covert people watcher. Every Monday morning he sits in his special table and simply observes the patrons outside of his favorite café. In fact, he can pick up on subtleties as quick as Sherlock Holmes. Nonetheless, there is one bespectacled café goer who continues to stump him. Every morning the brunette arrives with his two friends, constantly wearing a fake smile. The brunette also happens to be the only one of Snape's observations that realizes that he's being watched. How odd…
Severus Snape was a man of simple pleasures. He liked his daily routine and disliked deviations from his routine. That is to say, he didn't mind having delays to his routine, but woe be it if he was unable to have his morning coffee and cinnamon apple muffin from his favorite café.
His routine was also fairly simple; he walked though the small town from his home to the small, but respectable café that was located just outside of the university campus at which he taught. Once he arrived at the café, Magic Brews, he would order his usual from either Julie Summers or Andrew Minkly depending on who had barista duty that morning and sit down at his favorite table by the window furthest from the door.
And so our story begins with Severus Snape donning his black coat as well as his silver and green scarf and setting out into the chilly morning. Walking along he allowed himself to go over his syllabus. Today's class would be the first of the new semester and he was not really looking forward to it.
"Just a bunch of uninterested students taking my class to earn a credit and 'get it over with'. Ungrateful snots wouldn't know the difference between symbiotic and osmosis if it bit them on the bud." He thought grumpily. Snape sighed and shook his head slightly; it would not due for him to damn all his students before he even had a class with them.
"Who knows? Maybe one will surprise me this time around." He wondered as he entered the café. He strode to his table and hung his coat and scarf over the back of the chair. Then he turned made his way to the counter soaking in the warmth of the café after the unseasonably frigid weather outside. As he always arrived at least an hour before his first class, any patrons that were there had already made their purchases and were seated. People that arrived before him were usually insomniacs or students that had pulled all-nighters. But being the first of term it was just the insomniacs today, the all-nighters wouldn't begin to show up until approximately two weeks from now.
"Good morning Professor Snape. The Usual?" Julie Summers asked, knocking the man from his observations.
"Yes, thank you Miss Summers." The professor affirmed. He liked it better when Julie was the morning barista. Not to say that Andrew did a bad job or anything, but he occasionally still asked Snape if he wanted something different. No, he did not want anything different. Snape suspected that the young man was just teasing as he had always started making the coffee just how the professor liked it before he even finished asking.
"No problem!" she said cheerily. "You'll have new students today, right? Holding out any hope you'll get a group that actually absorbs your lessons?"
"Not hardly. Students take my class out of requirement only." He scoffed.
"Well, maybe you'll get lucky this year. I liked your class. I actually understood the way you put things. Not your fault the rest of the class thought they could get away with looking up answers in the book." She smiled, topping off his coffee with pumpkin spice that was technically not available for another month.
"You were about the only one that caught on that I don't just teach what's in the book. How about you? Today is your first day as well." He inquired. Snape didn't often converse with anyone outside of work related conversations with colleagues and students, but Julie was an exception. After all, when the pumpkin spice latte was taken off the menu to become a seasonal drink, she pushed with her manager to still make it for him.
"I've got all my classes in the afternoon. Another math class, French, World History, and Psychology! Yay. I have a feeling Psychology is going to twist my brain to pieces." She gave a wry grin as she handed him his coffee and muffin, accepting his exact change plus a tip for her.
"You will do fine, Miss Summers. It's just confusing if you over-think Psychology." The professor gave a parting nod and headed for his table. Sitting down he peeled the paper wrapper from his muffin, took a bite, and began his hobby: people watching.
Snape had several people that watched on a regular basis, they all frequented the Magic Brew every morning. There was an older lady, named Sophia, who always spoke about her grandchildren fondly, but through his watching he has learned that after her son had a bitter divorce he barely saw his children, and she even less.
A man named Oliver had recently been dumped by his girlfriend and was receiving small gifts of flowers and poems from a secret admirer. Though, it was no secret to Snape that the gift giver was Percy a baker for Magic Brews.
The list went on and on, from the queen bee that had been dumped for a bookworm to the grisly old man that glared at any person that smiled.
However, recently there had been a customer that he couldn't get a read on. Snape figured out the young man's two friends in a disgustingly short amount of time. The red headed man and the bushy haired woman were obviously in love and denying it. It was easy to see from the way they bickered and then stared at each when the other wasn't looking.
Yet, the raven haired man he could not understand. He was always smiling and always laughed along with his friends, he dressed like the average college student, and kept himself involved in conversation, but Snape could not help but notice that the man's smiles and laughs were fake. This intrigued Snape as he saw that even the man's friends had not noticed anything was wrong.
"Then again, that could just be because they can't get passed pining for each other. Still, what is it that he is upset about? His friends may be wrapped up in each other, but surely they would put that aside if something major had happened in his life." Just as Snape thought this the object of his ponderings had just walked through the door.
"I'll find us a table," the young woman said.
"Thanks Hermione. The usual?" the red head asked.
"Yes, thanks Ron," Hermione said as she moved to a table a few places from Snape's own.
"Ron and Hermione, huh? Somehow it fits," Snape thought idly while he watched the two men approach the counter. Then something happened that had never happened before. The raven haired man stiffened slightly and turned his head, meeting Snape's eyes immediately. Snape did not turn away, he would not back down like a school girl getting caught staring at her crush. The man held his stare until Julie gave him his total and he went to pull out his wallet for the correct amount of change.
"Well this has certainly never occurred before. People are usually so oblivious to their surroundings. Yet, this man felt me watching him. It's the only way to explain why he would look directly at me," he thought while sipping his latte. He did love his pumpkin spice.