Forever Lullaby
II Coffee
Chapter Rating E10+ mild language
Disclaimer Kingdom Hearts © Square Enix and Disney

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"Love's like coffee, ya' know?" My occasionally insane, redheaded bestfriend commented, taking a sip of her 'borrowed' Starbucks espresso. "It usually starts out black and bitter, but the more cream you put into it, the sweeter it gets, but it never really gets to the very bottom, and once it ends all-too-soon, you're left with that same bitter taste."

I looked down at my own coffee and sloshed it back and forth, brown beads sticking to the Styrofoam. Kairi had found a way to make us coffees without being noticed by Starbuck's surprisingly high-tech security system, since she said 'the Starbucks-founder-guy was too damn rich anyways, and both of us too damn underpaid.' Besides, we worked graveyard shift, and it wouldn't be the best thing in the world if we fell asleep.

I glanced at Kairi, finally deciding to respond, though I was too much in my bored state of mind to think of anything quick or witty, not that I did so on a normal basis. "I think that Psycho class is getting to you."

"Psychology, Sora." She corrected smartly, lifting her head in significant importance. "And, you know as well as me that I am going to be the next Dr. Phil. Why stop there? The next Oprah! I'll make millions for my helpful input."

"Right, and I'll be the next Donald Trump for my amazing business skills." I gave her a sarcastic look and leaned against the counter, gaze lingering on the depressingly empty café. Who got coffee at midnight anyway?

"Okay, you know what? Just for that, you won't be getting a free car." Kairi stood from the loveseat and strode behind the counter, standing next to me with her back against the warm pastries case. Just looking at them made me hungry. Kairi noticed my ravenous look and made me a quick latté, making sure she wasn't under the camera's line of vision. How she ever figured out where that line of vision was under that round blackness, I'll never know, but I took the warm cup gratefully. It would suffice until I got a raise, then I could finally buy those overly priced pastries.

"Oh yeah, I got a letter from Princeton." I kept my eyes lingering on my latté, waiting for some sign that it was cool enough to drink, unless I wanted to burn my tongue off. The unending wisps of steam told me it wasn't.

"Really?! Did you get accepted?" Kairi was all ears and eyes, and I could almost hear the excitement boiling. It made me want to a stick a knife in her, even if I should find it endearing that she cared. But I'd been getting used to my free time, and with that one acceptance letter, it'd all been whisked away from me. I hated her for suggesting trying to get into Princeton, where'd she was a Sophomore, which I found a little unfair, since she was the same age as me – me being the oldest one by a month – but had skipped a grade somewhere in elementary, so she graduated high school a year earlier, then, unlike myself, applied for a billion colleges and got accepted by almost all of them. She chose Princeton because 'prince' is her favorite word, and she loves anything that ends with 'ton'. Don't ask me why, she's just weird like that, but all the geniuses were/are usually weird or psychotic.

"Yeah." I said shortly, not nearly ecstatic as her. I listened vaguely as she began listing off all the classes I should take and all the clubs I should join and something about sharing a dorm, although I already told her I could never afford it. I might've been more excited, bubbly, and giddy, as I normally am, but I liked not having to study anymore. And it was midnight after all.

I sighed boredly, wondering if anything exciting would happen, like a robbery. I could use a robbery. And then it happened, the thing that'd change my life forever. The automatic doors slid open, revealing a shadowed figure, black against the darkness. The moonlight outlined the figure with fragile silver. My breath caught when he stepped into the warm, fluorescent light. The first thing I noticed was his ghostly ethereal skin, quite a contrast to his dark attire, then his thin aquamarine eyes, obscured by a sheet of long, silvery locks. By the way he walked – floated – was something akin to romance novels, where the hero would rush to his heroine and sweep her off her feet. Not that I actually read anything like that.

"Coffee."

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...to be continued...

I felt like I should end on an amazing, thought provoking note. 'Coffee'