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Coffee Shops and Cameras
Chapter 3
One sugar...Two sugars...
Stir...stir...
My teaspoon clinked against the side of my cup as a long loud yawn escaped my parched lips. The smell of black coffee tickled my nose and gave me the alertness I needed for all of 10 seconds before another yawn shook my chest. It had been 3 days since the encounter with the Hitachiin tribe, in their alien world of fame and fashion. After leaving the show on Saturday night, Dad remained in a constant state of bliss and awe, I however got home, climbed into bed and watched Netflix, putting the whole day behind me. Sunday I was back at work, feeling pretty shit since I'd found an email that morning saying that I hadn't gotten the job I'd applied for. Not that I wanted it anyway. I just needed it.
It was now Tuesday morning, and I still hadn't fully recovered. I did my best not to think about the show, but after entering the unknown world, I'd found myself walking around in a dream state. It wasn't easy adjusting back to normality, even if I was only in the Hitachiin's presence for one day.
I sighed heavily and felt my eyelids droop shut.
"Ooh, late night?" Akira smirked, nudging my shoulder with hers. She reached up beside me and took her apron down off the hook, "Party?"
"You could say that" I mumbled. You could also say I stayed up all night binge watching the last season of Pretty Little Liars, that's all the party I needed.
"You're here early. I thought you didn't start until 10"
I shrugged, "Yina called in sick. They needed someone to cover her"
"Does that mean you get off early?"
I wish.
I scooped another spoon of sugar into my cup and stirred again. I took a sip, wincing in disgust. I hated coffee. Hated it. I spent everyday looking at it, smelling it, touching it. The last thing I wanted in my free time was to drink it. But it was 7am, and I was exhausted, and an orange juice just wasn't going to cut it. I stayed back in the staff room until the clock turned 6:50am.
From the moment I took my post behind the counter, the long day began at the most agonizing pace. Minutes passed like hours, and coffee after coffee skipped through my hands. Everyday went like this, slow and uneventful. I'd spend the whole day stood in the same spot, calling behind me for cappuccinos, lattes, espressos, mochas and the like, whilst reaching for tea cakes in our display case with a faux smile on my face. At around 4.15pm, my hair hung in tired wisps around my face and my legs were numb from standing in place for so long. I blinked my eyes rapidly, trying to wish away the heaviness with pure will power before smiling once more and serving the next customer. It was around the time of the afternoon when people of the city would get off work and start heading home. As our coffee shop was out of the way of the built up city, and located closer to the main neighbourhood, people on their way home would stop by to grab something small before they settled down for the evening.
I'd just handed over my 86th cup of tea that day when a towering man approached the counter. He obscured his face beneath a heavy hooded jacket, it was misshapen and bulky - which hid his body and shape. It wasn't easy to describe him. My heart rate sped up considerably as I looked up at him. The first reaction I had was - Oh shit, we're being robbed. But then he slowly raised his hand to his hood and moved it aside, so only I could see who was underneath.
When I saw who it was, I almost wished we were being robbed.
Well if it isn't King Asshole himself...
Hikaru raised his eyebrow as I stared at him, my mouth hanging open in shock and disbelief.
"Well?" He said.
"Hik...Hikaru?"
"Shhh" he hissed. He glanced around, pulling his hood up to cover his head even more.
"What are you doing here?" I whispered, "I'm working, I don't have time for this"
"I don't have to avoid a coffee shop just because you work there" he replied.
I sighed and crossed my arms. I was vaguely aware of my manager lingering along the counter, I tried to make the effort to look like a stand up employee, and not a pissed off teenage girl, "You look ridiculous" I said quietly, forcing a fake smile for appearances.
"When are you free to talk?" He asked in a commanding tone.
"Free?" I questioned. Free for what? "Uhh...well I get off at 5"
He sighed, as if my answer was an insane inconvenience, "Fine" he murmured, "I'll wait"
I furrowed my eyebrows,"Thank you?" I strained, confused as hell, "Do you want to order something?"
"Sure" he said, "Do you have anything that doesn't taste like shit?"
I sighed, "Coffee?"
"One of those then"
I rolled my eyes. What was he expecting? Champagne? Rare aged tea forged by monks?
I charged him the 3.50 for the drink. He made a face when I handed over the paper cup, like I'd handed him a human foot or something, then wandered away to an empty table in the corner of the shop. I watched as he ducked his head under his navy hoodie, hiding his face from the public. He looked like a criminal hiding from the police. It was almost amusing. But the arrogance of it made my stomach stir. Like anyone in here would care is Hikaru Hitachiin walked in. But then again...
I worked the last 40 minutes of my shift, serving coffee after coffee, cake slice after cake slice as I peered out the corner of my eye at Hikaru. He spent a good 20 minutes strumming his fingers impatiently on the table. The second the time turned to 5, his eyes shot to me in annoyance. I mean, how dare I be 3 seconds late? Sheesh.
"Finally" he grumbled as I buttoned up my coat beside him. He was on his feet almost the moment I stepped around the corner of the staff room door, "Outside" he said curtly. He didn't wait for an answer, he just passed me and walked right out of the coffee shop. I tried to keep up as he strode across the street towards a beautiful Aston Martin that stood out like a sore thumb among the affordable, family cars parked up beside it. He unlocked it and climbed in, and for a second I thought he was just going to drive off, and this whole thing had just been a bullshit prank on me. But he just sat in it and gestured for me to climb in.
Now, Dad always told me not to jump into stranger's cars. That rule probably doubled in risk when that stranger was a self admitted asshole, so I folded my arms and glared at him.
"Get in" he demanded out the window.
"Are you joking?!" I scoffed, "Why? In what planet do you think I'd get into a car with you? You're a dick, and I don't know you"
I turned around to walk to my car. A banged up faded red Mini Cooper just across the parking lot.
"It's important" his voice called out.
"I'm sure it's riveting" I sighed loudly, "Fax me or something. I'm sure it'll be a gripping read"
As I reached my car I heard his door slam shut. I rolled my eyes, hearing his foot steps run towards me.
"Miss Fujioka" he gritted his teeth, stopping at my side, he rested his arm on the roof of my car and locked eyes with mine. I couldn't help but take a moment to take in his strong defined face, the sharp angles of his eyebrows, the dark lashes that framed his hazel eyes, and the way his lips pursed as he took a breath. Whether I disliked him or not, he was undoubtedly beautiful. "My mother wants to invite you and your father to dinner tomorrow night" he grumbled.
I blinked, "That...that's it? That's all you wanted to say?"
"Mom said she'd cut my shoot if I didn't ask personally"
"Of course..." God forbid he should do something purely out of the goodness of his heart, "Look, as...wonderful...as that sounds. I think I'll have to decline"
"It's not like I want you there either Miss Fujioka" he huffed, "I'm just here to give the message. Mom wants you and your father to come to dinner"
"I'll pass on the message" I grumbled. Knowing full well that if I didn't tell Dad about this invitation he would most likely kill me. I furrowed my eyebrows as my eyes floated over him. He stared back with an unreadable expression, surprisingly enough, it wasn't a look of disgust, but the way he looked at me still wasn't exactly endearing. I wondered why this man who seemed to have everything, somehow took such offense to myself and my father. I could only assume it had something to do with our status. We weren't famous and we weren't rich, we were a struggling family of two who were barely able to afford rent or food, with two mediocre jobs that barely made us break even with bills. If anything, his status should have offended me, he had everything he could ever want, he never had to worry about choosing between dinner or toilet paper when the month's budget was all dried up. And yet, he had the nerve to stick his nose up at me? I scowled at him.
"Dinner is at 6" he said, handing over a folded piece of paper, "Here's the address"
"I didn't give you an answer yet"
He groaned, "You'll come"
"Says who?" I placed my hand on my hip and glared at him.
"Says me"
Wow. He really was used to getting everything he wanted. Even down to the decisions other people made. I opened my mouth to bring him down a notch, but before the first word could leave my lips, he was walking away towards his car. I thought about shouting some profanity at him, some big insult to let him know what I thought about him. But decided against it. I growled under my breath and kicked the wheel of my mini.
Fucking high and mighty...
On the way home, my head wouldn't stop reeling with questions. Questions about how Hikaru knew where I worked, why we had been invited to dinner, why they sent Hikaru and not Kaoru. I mean, they could have just called or emailed. But no, for some reason, after a long busy 10 hour shift at work, the surprise I was met with - was a grumpy millionaire playboy inviting me out to a family dinner. A dinner invitation seemed like the most normal and innocent request in the world. But an invite by the Hitachiins seemed like something far bigger, far more important. Why would someone like Yuzuha Hitachiin even want Dad and I over for dinner? We met her because of a contest, she had no obligation to continue contact with us, she didn't need to spend anymore time with us. Perhaps her and Dad really did hit it off? That wasn't too much of a surprise to me, Dad always had a way of making people feel comfortable. He had a gift for making friends. He would lose his mind when he found out she wanted us over for dinner.
"What?" Dad gasped, dropping his cup in the sink.
"Dinner" I repeated, "She's invited us to dinner"
He stared at me, shell-shocked, his breath catching in his throat as he stood completely motionless.
"Dad?" I questioned, waving my hand in front of his face.
"Oh my God...Oh my God...OH MY GOD" he gasped again, his voice getting louder and louder the more his eyes darted back and forth, "I...I need to go shopping, I need a pedicure...I need to...to get my teeth whitened!"
"Woah, woah, calm down"
"How do I tell her we're coming? Did you get a phone number? An email address?"
"Hikaru didn't really share much other than the invite" I shrugged.
"Hikaru?"
I nodded, "He met me at work, he was the one who invited us"
"Lucky girl" Dad grumbled.
"Lucky wouldn't be the word I'd use..." I sighed under my breath, "So wait...we're going?"
Dad stared at me like I was insane for even asking, "Well, obviously"
"Do I have to?"
Dad scoffed, "You don't expect me to go alone do you?"
I blinked. Well, no, not really. Although I trusted that Yuzuha and her family were safe and harmless, it was still unknown territory, and technically, the family were still strangers. So no, I wasn't going to let Dad go on his own. That was out of the question.
Reluctantly, I eventually agreed to go with him, on the condition I could wear whatever I wanted and if anything got weird, we would leave on my say-so. He didn't seem to mind, my agreement had overshadowed any other compromises. He was far too transfixed on his closet for the rest of the evening, so dinner never got cooked. I laid out a sandwich on the kitchen counter for him before heading to my room. But unlike Dad, I ignored my closet and changed into my pyjamas – a pair of old, holey, cheeto dust stained cotton shorts, and an oversized black tee, before climbing into bed with a comfortable sigh.
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Hikaru
Hikaru sighed heavily as he pulled his sweaty t shirt off over his head. With a large yawn he stared at himself in the mirror, as his shirt fell to the floor in a heap. Usually he prided himself in his tidiness, but today just wasn't the day for keeping shit clean. With heavy hands he rubbed the bags under his eyes and stroked the gravelly stubble on his chin. It had been what? 3 days since the show? Which meant 3 days of endless reminiscing over Haruhi and Ranka Fujioka from his dear Mom. His Mother always had a habit of falling into obsessions with people she found fascinating, and that man with the beautiful feminine face was no exception. She'd talked nonstop about him since she saw his competition entry, and every day leading up to the big introduction. But Ranka wasn't the person Hikaru couldn't get his mind off. It was his daughter Haruhi.
They say first impressions count, and Hikaru made an effort into presenting the worst first impression possible when making new encounters. Usually it worked, and the person would just back away, and never say a word to him. Or they'd simply just shy away. And watching them trip over themselves to avoid him or hide their eyes gave Hikaru a sense of...power. He liked feeling in control of who could enter his life and who couldn't. However his usual tricks failed him on this occasion. That girl with the dark eyes and the confident smirk actually decided to talk back. And not only did she talk back, but she insulted him. No one insulted Hikaru Hitachiin. No one had the guts. But she did, and all the while she played with him with those cocky toying eyes.
Obviously Kaoru couldn't possibly let Hikaru forget the fact that with Haruhi Fujioka, he wasn't going to control any conversation. He learnt that his brother had spent most of the day getting to know her, and after that Kaoru had nothing but good things to share. In a way, Haruhi reminded Hikaru of Kaoru, she had the same humour, the same fearlessness, but something about her just...infuriated him. She gave him a sick feeling in his gut, and he didn't like that one bit. If he had it his way, he would never see that family again, but unfortunately, his mother had very different plans.
"Knock knock!" a voice called from the hallway.
"Come in" Hikaru grunted in reply. As he released another large yawn, the door to his bedroom clicked open, and the beaming face of his twin brother sauntered into the room. Even though they were identical, Hikaru struggled to find any similarities between him and his brother as he glanced from his face back to the mirror. He looked far more exhausted than Kaoru did, Kaoru looked like his usually grinning self, regardless of the late hour.
"I thought you'd run to the boarder" Kaoru smirked, perching himself on the edge of the bed, "You were gone for hours"
"Yeah well..." Hikaru sighed, "I needed to get out"
"You already went out" Kaoru replied, "Did you find Haruhi's cafe easy enough?"
Hikaru exhaled. There she is again. All he could envision was that woman's cocked eyebrow and the way she bit her rosy lower lip, "Yeah" he grimaced, "The soles of my shoes are still sticky with spilled coco"
His brother chuckled, "Poor little rich boy"
Hikaru shook his head with a small smile, "Throw me a shirt" he said, pointing to the dresser beside the bed. Kaoru rose to his feet and did as instructed, throwing over a plain white tee.
"How was she?" Kaoru asked.
"How was who?"
"Haruhi"
Hikaru rolled his eyes, "Aggravating" he answered curtly, pulling on the new shirt and finally stepping away from the mirror.
"I don't understand why you don't like her so much. She seems like your type of girl"
"My type?" Hikaru scoffed, disgusted.
"Yeah. She's hot, smart, takes no bullshit"
"She's also cocky, frustrating and has the worst sense of style I've ever seen. I mean, what kind of woman wears cargo pants to work?"
"One who doesn't give a fuck about what anyone thinks. Sounds pretty hot to me"
"Well, I asked her to dinner, so it's done. You can stare at her pale face and cargo pants all you want tomorrow" Hikaru huffed.
Kaoru laughed, "I mean, she's cool and all but I was thinking more for you"
"Does it sound like I'm interested?"
"Kinda, you haven't been this riled up over a woman for a while"
"I met her once, she called me a dick. Not interested. The sooner the meal is over the better, and now that I've asked her I can worry about our shoot next week. Maybe Mom will meet another fascinating person to obsess over instead of that family"
After that exchange, Hikaru quickly pulled away from the conversation and changed the subject entirely. Kaoru hung around and talked for a while before drifting off to sleep on the end of Hikaru's bed. The oldest twin chuckled, it reminded him of when they were kids and shared a room, as they got older they were given their own space, as all teenagers needed, but they always seemed to find themselves going back and forth between each other's rooms. They liked staying close, it was how they came into the world, and it was how they chose to stay. But they were approaching 30 now, and at 28 years old, Hikaru and Kaoru were big guys, far too big to share a bed. Hikaru guessed he'd be in Kaoru's room for the night instead, not that he minded.
After quickly throwing a blanket over his sleeping brother, he made his way next door to his bedroom and flicked on the bedside light. He stripped off his sweat pants and climbed into bed, discarding his t shirt when he decided it was far too hot. He closed his eyes, reevaluating the day's events.
He thought of the coffee shop, and the woman behind the counter – wearing green cargo pants, a David Bowie t shirt, and an olive green apron. And the sexiest little smirk he'd ever seen.
Sorry about the delay on this one guys. I know, excuses, excuses :P but I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter, the dinner!
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- Yuli xxxx