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Chapter 11: The Day To Cure A Broken Heart
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"What is that?"
The black-haired teenager frowned as she stared at the tiny paper cup that was sitting on the bed table in front of her. Strange light brown foam was floating on top and steam rose into the air, eliciting a strong bittersweet aroma.
"It's a shot," the brunet barista replied as he watched her in amusement. He saw her hold the cup to her nose to smell it before scrunching her face up and putting it back down quickly. At the start of his little deliveries, he would only visit room 358 once a week or so. But soon enough, they became more frequent and he found himself in her room at least once every second day. By the end of the second visit, he made it his personal mission to make her learn to love coffee by the end of her hospital stay. Unlike Kairi, he figured that since she was new to the world of coffee that she needed to start by going strong and taste the pure essence of coffee.
"Wait- a shot?!" Xion gasped at him. "But I'm only sixteen!"
"An espresso shot, you goose." Sora knocked her head playfully before sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Why is it so tiny?" She asked as she compared it to her hot chocolate, which looked like a giant. "Is it because it's free?"
"No, that's because it's literally a pure shot of coffee. No added milk or anything. And you're meant to take several sips to enjoy the taste." Sora stated as a matter of fact. "Plus I give you free large hot chocolates all the time. Why are you complaining now?"
She ignored him and return to glaring down at the cup before her. "This is why poison comes in little vials."
He rolled his eyes and pushed the cup towards her encouragingly. "C'mon, just try it. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Um, let me see… oh, that's right! I could die." Xion said grimly. Once she saw the look he was giving her she sighed and picked up the cup. "Okay, fine." She held the cup towards him. "Cheers!"
"Xion, remember sips!" Sora stretched his hand out to warn her but it was too late.
As soon as she tipped her head back, she instantly gulped loudly and started to cough, thumping her fist on her chest repeatedly. "Oh my god! That was horrible!" She looked back down at the cup in her hands and groaned. "And there's still some left."
"Geesus, slow down! You're going to be great drinker when you grow up." Sora remarked sarcastically and gave her an uneasy smile. "Sorry, I should've let you try a sweeter coffee next time."
"No, thanks. It's official- I'm laying off coffee until I start college." Not wanting to waste the rest of the shot, she opened the lid of her hot chocolate and poured it in, hoping that the sweetness would overtake the bold taste. She stirred the drink with a spoon before closing the lid again.
Her actions piqued his interests and he watched her more closely. "Did you know you just made a mocha?"
"Huh? Really?" She looked at her drink quizzically. "What's a mocha?"
"It's what you just made. Try it."
She rolled her eyes and smelt her drink. It still had the same chocolate-y scent yet there was just the faintest trace of coffee in the aroma. "By the way, I wanted to let you know that you don't have to come here for a while," she said as she cautiously sipped her newly made mocha. Her eyes lit up in surprise at the taste as she started to drink at a faster pace.
"Are you sick of me already? I promise I won't give you any more espresso shots."
"Please don't." Her lips curved upwards as she couldn't contained her excitement any longer. "But anyway, I've finally found a potential donor!"
Sora's eyes lit up brightly at the good news. "Congratulations!"
"Thanks," she grinned back. "You can't even imagine how happy I was when my parents told me."
"I don't think I'd have to," he chuckled as he watched her bounce in her bed slightly. "When are you getting the transplant?"
"Sometime soon, I think." She stroked her chin and whacked her brain for information. She regretted not paying attention to her doctor all this time when he was explaining the procedure. "Uh, my mother told me that they have to run all these tests on the donor to like, make sure they don't have any diseases and stuff before they can start the procedure."
"Sounds like a long process."
"Yeah and an even longer recovery period. But it all thanks to this one person that my life is going to be saved." Xion gazed out the window with a smile on her face. "I wonder who it is…"
Namine hated hospitals.
In her whole life, she had ever been to the hospital twice and suffice to say, neither experience was pleasant. The first time was to get her tonsils removed when she was four years old. The second time was when she was six years old and her mother made her accompany her to see her father. Well, technically it was more like she stood outside the door as her mother identified his body. It was the day after they found out that he and her baby sister was involved in a major car explosion accident on the highway between Twilight Town and Destiny Islands. No survivors were found, leading everyone to believe that she was unfortunately caught in the explosion too.
Until now.
She remembered the day that her sister's foster parents arrived at her doorstep revealing the hidden truth that happened all those years ago. How a baby was found somewhere along the highway not too far from the accident by a couple who were driving by back to Destiny Islands. They took her to the Island's police and social welfare services, but no one could identify the baby. The couple, not wanting the baby to be abandoned again, decided to adopt her and from there on, they raised her to be a reckless, yet spunky young woman she is today.
The doctors called it aplastic anaemia; a condition when the body does not produce enough blood cells for the body. A rare but treatable condition, yet in her case, it was on the more severe side and could possibly lead to death. After many consultations with doctors, the foster parents decided to go ahead with a bone marrow transplant to help their daughter. Hearing that a sibling or family member gives a higher chance of being a match, they hired a private investigator to track down anyone related to her, and at long last, they found Namine Snow.
They were prepared for the moment that she wouldn't believe that her sister is alive. From photos to medical records, they showed the blonde everything in order to convince her that her sister was real and that she desperately needed a donor. Undeniably, Namine could see that Xion had grown up to look like her mother with her father's blue eyes, but heck, it could have been any black hair blue-eyed girl that they were showing her. It wasn't until they showed her a photo of Xion posing with some of her teammates from her soccer team that Namine finally believed what they were saying was true as she saw the crown shaped birthmark that was above her right knee.
The platinum-blonde woman yawned and stretched her limbs out as she exited out of one the doctor's consultation rooms. It was a long appointment and an even longer wait to get into room itself. But she didn't mind. It was all for her sister. Her stomach rumbled and she looked at her phone to see if she had time to eat before her next test. As much as she didn't like the overpriced hospital food, she decided to go against getting vending machine food and to follow the signs leading to the Corner Café instead.
The bell above the door chimed as she walked in. Apart from one or two customers near the register and the café staff, the place was quiet. There was a faint banging noise on the ceiling, as if someone was hammering something into the roof, but the atmosphere was warm and friendly with the smell of coffee beans roasting in the air. A smile came on her face as she eyed the cookies in the jar. They were her favourite kind; big, chunky and full of gooey goodness. But the worst was to decide which flavour she should get…
"Try the chocolate chip one, they are the best!" A cheery voice said above her.
She stroked her chin and observed the said cookie. It did look really tempting. "I think I will!" She looked up to thank the person for the suggestion and gasped as she saw the man in the apron. "Sora?"
"Hey Namine." The brunet barista smiled widely at her.
Her cheeks heated up instantly as she averted her gaze to the ground. She forgot that he worked here! It was the first time since that night that she saw him and she felt so embarrassed. She was the one who was supposed to be the one to make a good impression on him but instead she drank a bit too much and let her anger take control over her. "Um, how have you been?"
"I'm good, yourself?" He replied back as cheerful as before.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
He raised a brow at her but didn't dare to question her further. "So, what brings you here?"
"Just getting some food." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying to look as casual as she could.
"Oh yeah! The cookie!" Sora picked up the tongs and placed her cookie in a bag. Handing it to her he asked, "Anything else for today?"
Namine's eyes gazed upon the menu that was on the wall behind the register but she still decided to get her usual. "And a large mocha too, please."
Sora calculated the total on the register and read it out loud, "That'll be 650 munny, thanks."
She grabbed her wallet and handed him the exact change.
After he counted it to make sure it was correct, he placed it in the till and pointed to the left to an empty spot next to the coffee machine. "I'll call your coffee out when it's done." Sensing that she wasn't much of a talker today, he gave her one last smile before serving the next customer after her.
Namine quickly scattered to the side and let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure how long she was going to last in that awkward atmosphere. Maybe she should apologize when he makes her coffee? It wasn't his fault. If it was any other day she would try to be a bit more talkative but today specifically she really didn't want anyone to find out why she was here. Especially not Kairi, which she knew he would probably tell her if he found out. Honestly, she did feel bad. Kairi was one of her closest friends and she had been avoiding the topic about her past ever since the day that the foster parents had showed up on their doorstep. Hell, she even hid the fact that she was in the medical centre today.
"Large mocha!"
Namine shook out of her thoughts and went to grab the drink that was on the bench. As her hand curved around the cup, another hand grabbed the other side of the cup overlapping their fingers over her own. "Oh, sorry!" She looked up to apologize to the other person. "I-" She froze as her eyes locked into the familiar cerulean pair before her and a glare instantly formed on her face. "You!"
Roxas blinked back at her, not even flinching at the sound of her voice. "I have a name, you know," he replied nonchalantly.
"Whatever." She huffed at him and looked away as her heart started to speed up. Facing Sora and the awkwardness was one thing, but dealing with her ex-boyfriend was a whole different story. She hadn't fully recovered emotionally from their encounter and she truly thought that she would never actually see him again. The feeling of his own fingers above her own made her blush and tried to muster the deadliest glare she could on her face. "Are you going to let go anytime soon? Or are you holding on because you know that this is the last time you'll ever get the upper hand?."
"What- you used to tell me that you like it when we held hands." He shot a sly smirk at her, which he instantly retracted as the brows on her face furrowed deepened. "I'm just kidding."
"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"
"I can't help it since you entered my work place." The smirk re-appeared back on his lips. "Not very observant, are you?"
Her eyes looked down at his attire and she saw he was wearing his trusty tool belt around his waist. 'That explains the hammering noises,' she thought to herself. "Neither are you otherwise you would've known that this is my drink," she shot back at him and sliding the cup along the bench towards her.
"Your drink?" Roxas replied in annoyance. He slid the cup back to him. "This is my drink."
"No, Sora clearly said a large mocha, which is exactly what I ordered." Namine snapped as she pulled the cup, harsher this time.
"I ordered a large mocha too." Slide.
"This is my one so wait for the next one!"
"I was here first so I should get this one!"
"Be a gentleman for once and let the lady go first!"
"Who says you are a lady?"
"Children!" Sora yelled suddenly, interrupting the two.
They both stopped bickering to look at him with frowns on their faces. "What?!" They said in unison, and turned to face each other again, shocked at the sound of their voice blending into one. "Don't copy what I'm saying!" They said together again.
"You're so annoying!"
"Same to you, stupid!"
"Guys! There is another drink," The barista interrupted again and dropped another large cup next to the one they were currently holding onto. "So, I beg you to please, please stop making a mess!"
Namine looked at the table bench and gasped. The coffee had leaked from the lid and had spilled its content all over the table bench, creating several little brown puddles. She let go of the cup instantly and bowed her head slightly. "I'm so sorry, Sora! I'll clean it up immediately!" She grabbed a couple of napkins from the dispenser and started to wipe the spillage up.
"Don't worry about it," Sora flashed her an assuring smile and stopped her hand, picking up the napkins before chucking them away in a nearby bin. He took the cloth from behind the coffee machine and with one single wipe, he cleaned the bench top spill-free. "All done! And you," he twirled the cloth in one hand before whipping the spiky-haired blond with it, making a sharp cracking sound as it hit his skin. "Why didn't you offer to help, huh?"
"It wasn't my fault!" Roxas cried out defensively. "I was just grabbing my drink-"
"You mean, mine." Namine quickly interrupted him.
"-And then this witch started yelling at me." He frowned at her.
"Shut up, you're giving me a headache." Sora rubbed his temple soothingly. "The point is you're useless. Get back to work." He made a 'go away' gesture with one hand.
"Yes, boss." Roxas replied sarcastically as he sourly rubbed the spot that he was hit. He took one last look at Namine. "By the way, we need to talk."
"Yeah, yeah, talk later." Sora shooed him off as he whipped him again.
Namine let out a deep breath as she saw his leaving figure and turned to the barista. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sora replied as he wiped the machine down. Evidence of a smile was heard in his voice. "He was just being annoying and I had to get rid of him."
Her lips curved slightly upwards on her face in response, grateful for his actions. He was really a good guy, although he doesn't admit it. Her eyes then landed on the other cup and her cheeks reddened as she realised Roxas had taken the cup that they were fighting over for and instead left her the full cup of coffee. The smile faded from her face as she started recalling the memories from three years ago, how they had the same taste and would start to sync their orders together. Mochas were their drink. Who knew that he would've still order it until this very day? But what got to her was the fact that he called her a 'witch' again.
"What is it?" The brunet asked in concern as he saw her expression turn gloomy, as if a dark cloud was surrounding her head.
"It's just…" She sighed and pushed the cup away from her. "Sorry, I'm not hungry anymore."
"What?" His jaw dropped. No one has ever rejected his coffee before! He even managed to get Xion to taste the espresso shot and she hated coffee! "Why not?" As soon as he saw her bit her lip and look away again, he knew it was useless. An idea popped in his head and he snapped his fingers. "Oh, I know! I bet I can make you drink this." He rolled his sleeves up and grabbed her cup. He had work to do.
"Huh?" Namine raised a brow at his sudden change in behaviour.
Sora tipped the contents of the cup into a blender and added two scoops of vanilla ice cream along with a couple of ice cubes. He put the lid on and pressed the button to blitz the ingredients together until it had a smooth creamy consistency. "I have the perfect recipe to cure a broken heart."
"...Why do you think I need this?"
"Because we, the victims of love, can sense one another." A sad smile laced his face as he got out a mason jar. He sprayed the inside of the jar with chocolate sauce before tipping the contents of the blender into the jar. Finally, he left his station for a moment to grab a Nutella donut from the shelf before placing it on top of the mason jar. "So, Namine, let me ask you this; why focus on your ex-lover when you're faced with one of these bad boys?" He winked at her as he pushed his creation towards her. "It might taste a bit funky because of the Nutella and coffee combo though."
Namine stared at the beauty before her in awe. How he made a normal cup of coffee into this delicious mouth-watering beast was just incredible. On one hand, it looked like it was packed full of calories but on the other, it smelt oh-so-good. "Wow." She exclaimed softly. "Now I know why Kai likes to take photos of her food."
"Heh, I try." Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with a large grin on his face. He leaned forward on his palm as he watched her in amusement contemplating her thoughts. "You know, I like to think of my problems like this iced drink." He grabbed a nearby straw, "I find that when I'm faced with a problem I like to go straight through to the source," he pushed the straw down into the middle of the doughnut where the Nutella bit was showing, "so I can move forward and get to the better side." The straw was now delved past the doughnut and into the milky liquid.
She raised a brow. "Isn't it hard to get through the Nutella bit?"
"It can be quite problematic but you have to keep on trying and eventually you'll make it."
"What happens if it's me?" She asked suddenly in a small voice. "What if I'm the problem?" Though it was easy enough to blame someone else, she knew that the whole ordeal between the two of them wasn't entirely his fault. Blinded with rage, all this time she had refused to hear the spiky-haired blond out. Not even once had she tried to be nice to him and she knew that was halting their progress to recovery. But it was so hard not to be cruel, not when years of memories come flooding back and biting her in the ass to remind her how painful it was.
Sora widened his eyes momentarily before closing them and smiled warmly. "The walls you built around you can sometimes make you feel safe from the world yet in reality it's blocking you in your path of life. You try to move but you find that you keep running into the walls, leaving you stuck. That's why the people who care about you see these walls and try over and over again to break them down and help you through it."
Namine took in his words deeply as she felt her heart move. She knew his words came from personal experience and the sincerity he held in his voice was tugging at her own heartstrings. Even though it was hard, he was right and he was only trying to help her prevent herself from getting hurt even more. She let out a deep breath and for the first time that day, she looked straight into his eyes and uttered three simple words, "Thank you, Sora." Bending her head down, she opened her mouth to take a sip of her new drink, which a smile soon formed on her features as the flavours took over her taste buds.
"Did you like the bag?"
Kairi looked up from her computer screen to the owner of the voice. It was a rare sight for him to be alone. Even though he had just started at her department, he was always surrounded by people, more specifically the nurses in his little fan club. A frown replaced the content look she had on her face as she stopped typing. "Well, it made me fall off a cliff. So, what does that tell you?"
The silver-haired doctor widened his eyes momentarily at her before scoffing. "What a klutz."
She stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell? I could've died! And the next time you'd see me is when you're examining my dead body and telling the other medical students that my cause of death was because of your heavy ass bag!"
"It wouldn't be so heavy if you weren't so weak." Riku replied nonchalantly as he sat at the edge of her desk and got his phone out. "Plus, I don't want the next time I see you to be in the morgue. What about dinner next Friday?"
"I'm not weak, I'm just- huh?" Her anger subsided instantly as her cheeks heated up at his words. Did she hear him right? "What did you say?"
He flicked through his calendar on his smartphone. "Is 7 o'clock okay for you?"
"Wait- hold on!" She held her hands out in front of her frantically. "I didn't even say yes yet! What makes you think I'd want to go out with you?"
Riku looked up from his phone to shoot up a brow at her. "Is that a rhetorical question?"
Hearing the genuine seriousness in his voice, she chuckled lightly as she shook her head at his arrogance. "I'm not one of those girls who worship your every step, Riku."
"But you did call me beautiful."
"Th-That's not the point!" Kairi blushed and leaned back in her chair. It was embarrassing enough that he remembered her little mishap when she first met him, but for him, the famous Riku Turner, to be asking her out made her heart speed up even more. Maybe he was messing with her. There were millions of other girls he could've asked in the medical centre that would kill to go on a date with him, so why would he ask her? She let out an exasperated sigh as she put her arms behind her head. "I don't even know you, let alone like you. Can you comprehend this fact or is your head too high for you to hear the truth?"
He narrowed his eyes and leaned down close to her challengingly. "What if I can change that?"
"Eh?"
"If I can make you like me by next Friday, even if it's just a little bit, you'll have to go out with me." Riku proclaimed.
She slinked further back into her chair as she saw him slowly getting closer to her. "And what happens if I still don't like you?"
"Then I'll buy you dinner."
"Oh maybe- hey!" Kairi jabbed his side suddenly. "That means we'd still be going out!"
He laughed a little, thinking that he could get away with it. She was smarter than he thought. "Fine, I'll…" His eyes looked around her desk for a moment before landing on the computer screen. Though he saw its content briefly, he immediately knew what she was furiously typing about. "I'll write you a reference."
"Someone's unexpectedly nosey." She turned off her computer screen quickly and leaned into her palm. His name alone would definitely increase her chances to get in, but- "Riku, what makes you think I'd fall for you so quickly?"
"Because I always get what I want." A confident smirk played on his lips as he looked directly down at her. "So, what do you say?" He asked as he stretched out his hand towards her.
Kairi looked at his hand before her, contemplating her options. She wasn't one to reject a challenge. And besides, unless he got a sudden personality change in the next week or so, she was positive there was nothing he could do that would change her mind about him. Her own devious smirk graced her features at the thought and she shook his hand firmly. "Start writing because you're going to make me sound like a saint."
Author's Note:
Fun fact! The drink that Sora made for Namine is real. I'm serious! Google 'Nutella Donut Milkshake' and you will see pictures of a milkshake in a mason jar with a donut literally on top haha!
And I wasn't sure if you guys have heard of a 'donutella' before, which is basically a Nutella filled donut. Everyone should try it one day.
Thanks again everyone! :)
