Nico walked into the Starbucks for the third time that week. It was only Tuesday.
The blond barista, who seemed to work there most of the time, stared at him. Seriously, Nico thought, when had he ever had a barista other than this dude? The boy shook it off and walked up to the counter, where the blond boy recited his order.
'Caramel macchiato, Nico?' Nico nodded tiredly. The blond barista pulled out one of the mugs and moved towards a machine. Nico looked around; there were barely any people. He could see his friend, Annabeth, sitting in the corner on her laptop. The Starbucks was on campus- but it was 8:30 AM on a Saturday. Nico couldn't help it that he had a Greek Mythology exam on Monday- he assumed Annabeth was in Starbucks to revise, too. They were in the same lectures, after all.
Nico looked back at the barista, only to realise that he was saying something. '-on caffeine is scary. Your heart-rate must be through the roof. And all the psychological effects, dude? You should calm it,' the barista was saying. He finished preparing Nico's drink and placed it on the counter. Nico handed over the exact change, and the barista tapped it into the screen. The boy grabbed his drink and fished his loyalty card from his back pocket. He had one in every pair of jeans, crumpled and torn. He used them so much. The barista stamped it and passed it back to Nico, who went and sat at a table and pulled off his backpack.
From it, he pulled his laptop- it was emblazoned with the logo of his dad's company. Nico groaned inwardly at it, and opened the lid; totally not trying to ignore the logo. He sipped the drink, and it was as hot and caffeine-filled as normal. Perfect for a college student who was working his ass off to get the right grades so he didn't have to spend his days working for his dad's stupid company. Since Bianca, well, she would have been the one to take over. However, she was out of the equation, after the horrific car crash that had taken Nico's sister and mother. Nico had made a deal with his dad, a deal which said if he got high enough grades, he would be able to pursue his own career, and not be stuck in the business.
The scrape of a chair being pulled out yanked Nico out of his thoughts. He looked over at the blond barista, who plopped himself down in the chair beside Nico. 'Hey, your name is Nico, right? I remember writing it on a cup three days ago,' the barista chuckled.
'Um, yeah, I'm Nico. Greek Mythology and History major. You?' Nico asked, sipping his coffee again. His fingers tapped the side of the mug absently.
'Will Solace. Medicine. Your dad's the owner of that company, right?' Will said, nodding to Nico's laptop. Nico groaned aloud this time.
'Yup. He's paying for my college, but I have to get good grades or I'm taking over the business,' Nico replied. He looked at his laptop screen, glancing at the words but not really processing the information.
'Huh, lucky. My dad insisted I know what it's like to go to college without much help. I kind of prefer it this way- it's not all school.' Nico took a proper look at the boy. His eyes were strikingly blue, and they held Nico's. Will had a gold glow around him, as if he were constantly emitting light. His hair was a bright gold.
The blond barista smiled at Nico, almost curiously. 'You seem pretty cool,' Will began, and then a group of other students began pouring through the doors. 'Crap,' Will said harshly, and stood up. He pulled a piece of paper and a pen from his apron and scrawled something on it. 'Look, talk to me sometimes, okay?' the barista tossed the piece of paper at Nico, who caught it with one hand. Will smiled at him, wide. His teeth were perfectly white. Then, the golden boy walked away to deal with the other students. Nico looked down at the piece of paper. It read:
Call me, you dork.
Then there was a list of numbers that Nico just stared at. He could feel himself turning red. The boy gulped down the rest of his coffee and shut his laptop, not having achieved one of the goals that the set out to do. He had, however, had a good amount of caffeine, and was wide awake. Nico stood and pushed his laptop into his bag, before heading for the door.
Out of the corner of his eye, he totally saw Will wink at him.
It's a week later when Nico finally musters the courage to call the barista. He is met with a sleepy "Hello?" and they talk for an hour straight.
Its two months later when Will asks Nico on a date. Nico goes bright red immediately and mutters 'yes.' They go to a nice Italian restaurant in the nearby town, and Will pays.
One year later, and Nico gets his results back. He and Will went together to get their results, and while Will pumps his fist in the air and cheers, Nico looks crestfallen. Will sobers up quickly and asks Nico what happened. Nico tells him that he didn't get the results he needed- he would have to be a CEO. They go home, to their shared apartment. The couple order Chinese, like every Friday, but this time Nico isn't as enthusiastic.
Its three years later when Nico finally does inherit the business. Unlike before, he finds an actual love for business, but he never regretted going to college. After all, that's where he'd met Will.
The pair often looks back at the time they met. Nico jokes about how if he'd actually studied, they may have never ended up where they were. Will is just glad that he took a chance on giving a caffeine addict his number.