Two Years Ago
Fai stared into space, running his finger around the rim of his empty cup, the barest hint of the smile he always wore tugging at the corners of his lips, but his eye gave him away.
"It's three ivies for a refill, love," the waitress told him as she brushed past.
"No, that's alright," Fai said, barely looking at her as his voice trailed off. The waitress glanced back at him, ignoring the false smile and instead taking in the slightly haunted look he had about him.
"Tell you what, love," she said, whisking away his empty mug and plopping down another one filled with steaming hot chocolate. "It's on the house."
"Oh," said Fai, surprised. "Thank you, ah..." She wasn't wearing a name tag.
"You can call me Sakura," said the girl. She set the tray down on the counter, checked her watch and then looked around. Fai was the only one left in the shop. "Syaoran-kun, I'm going to take my break now, alright?"
"No problem," replied the boy behind the counter, picking up the tray and carrying it to the back room. Sakura turned around and pulled out a chair across from Fai.
"Mind if I sit here?" she asked.
"Not at all," said Fai, even though he did. He had come here for peace and quiet and didn't really want to be bothered.
"So what brings you here? I haven't seen your face before."
"I go to college down at Phoenix University. A friend said this place had the best hot chocolate in town."
"Well, it's true. What's his name? I'd like to thank him for recommending us."
Fai bowed his head, the word paused on his lips. He didn't want to say it. Everyone knew about the car crash that had killed his brother and his best friend, and he had grown sick of the pity glances he got from everyone. That was the real reason he was here.
"He moved away," he said after a little while, "so it doesn't really matter, I guess." He stood up. "Thank you for the hot chocolate, but I think I'll be going now."
Sakura said nothing, but her green eyes spoke volumes. They seemed to break right through his façade and see into him, and Fai didn't like it at all. He left without another word.