The bright rays of sunlight streamed through the large windows of JaVaVu and illuminated everything within the coffee house. The place always looked more upbeat when the sun shone through the windows; even the employees would cheer up in that situation.
Kori hummed a little tune as she began making up a fresh pot of coffee. She poured the coffee granules into the machine and added the water before pressing a sequence of buttons. The red headed girl turned back around to face the counter.
She grabbed a blue cloth and wet it slightly. She squeezed the water out of it so that it didn't drip like crazy. Kori continued to hum as she started to clean the counter top.
Rachel glanced at Kori and raised an eyebrow, curious of her happy mood. Sure, Kori was usually very cheerful but today she seemed... more cheerful that normal.
The dark haired girl stopped stacking muffins in the small glass container and rested a hand on her hip. She decided to ask her something straight out,
"So, do you have a crush on him now or something?" She blurted, smirking at the fact she had a pretty good idea what the truth was,
Kori turned to look at Rachel. She blushed a deep red and raised an eyebrow,
"Wh- What?" Kori stammered,
"Dick. Do you like him?" Rachel repeated in simpler terms,
"Of course not..." Kori lied,
"Liar... All I'm saying is that you seem to like him... A lot..."
Kori rolled her eyes, "He is nice as a friend only. Besides, you seem to be forgetting about my boyfriend..."
"Yes, but it would be so much better if you broke up with Xavier and dated Dick instead,"
"Rachel... Please."
"I'm serious! You guys talked for like 3 hours last night. If that isn't some kind of connection then I don't know what is..."
Kori sighed and shook her head at Rachel's newfound enthusiasm. Rachel smirked,
"Well... I'm pretty sure that Dick really likes you..." She informed Kori,
"What? That is ridiculous. We are merely friends." Kori responded, holding hope in her heart that he did have feelings for her in some way.
Rachel shrugged and turned back towards the glass muffin case. As she turned, she caught sight of a familiar face coming through the double doors. She grinned.
She nudged Kori lightly, "You must be really close friends then..." Rachel whispered.
Kori raised her head and gave Rachel a confused look. The mysterious girl nodded in the direction of the entrance, which Kori followed.
Kori felt her breath catch a little in her throat as Dick wandered closer. He casually leaned against the edge of the counter and gave her a lopsided grin,
"Hey again," He said, the smile never wavering,
"Greetings," Kori returned, "Is your assistant not visiting in your place today?"
"Nope. I decided to start picking up my own stuff from here from now on... Assuming that you and I are friends now?"
"I believe we are..."
"Good."
Kori smiled and tilted her head to the side for a moment, "So... What can I get for you, sir?" She asked, politely,
Dick straightened up as if he were an unknown customer. He playfully rubbed his chin and gazed up at the menu board,
"Could I get a cappuccino and a plain bagel please, Kori?" He queried, flashing her a grin. Kori giggled and nodded. She quickly scribbled his order down and ripped the piece of paper from the notepad.
Kori turned away and set about making up his hot beverage. Rachel watched Dick carefully from the end of the counter. She smiled faintly.
She stared at Dick as he sweetly stared at Kori. When him and Kori spoke to each other, he always looked directly into her eyes as he listened carefully to every word she said. Even when Kori had turned away, his eyes didn't fall to that typically expected of a man; his eyes rested on all of her. Her whole form. It seemed as if he were analysing her movements with intricate precision.
Rachel had never been a mushy type of person but it made her supposed ice cold heart thaw a little at seeing someone take notice of her best friend. Of course, men always took notice and interest in Kori but never for the right reasons. Usually, guys had been more interested in her body than her personality, including her current boyfriend. However, it ran deeper than that.
The dark haired girl detested Xavier Jones immensely. He was the first guy who supposedly fell in love with Kori for both her appearance and her personality yet Rachel was far from convinced. She saw Xavier for what he really was. He was manipulative, possessive and deceiving. He fooled those around him by acting like the perfect boyfriend to Kori but behind closed doors he was everything but.
Kori and Xavier constantly fought. It was pretty much every evening that they would clash and it would usually be Kori who ended up apologizing even though she was more often than not, in the right.
Rachel noticed that her fist was clenched upon the counter. She relaxed her hand and glanced at Dick again who was still staring at the back of Kori's head with a small smile. Rachel smiled a little more. She wanted Kori to realise that she and Dick shared a connection of sorts. They got along so well and Rachel knew Kori had a twist of feelings for Dick; despite her words of denial. The dark girl sighed and shrugged to herself, hoping that Kori would figure things out for herself.
Kori turned back around to face Dick with a bright smile. She handed him a small brown paper bag with the JaVaVu logo on it which contained his bagel and she also handed him his finished cappuccino.
Dick stared at her while she repeated his completed order to him. He just couldn't help but stare. She was so beautiful; she almost didn't seem real to him. Her eyes were the perfect shade of green and her hair was the best shade of red; it wasn't bright like it had been continuously dyed but natural with a subtle shine to it.
He shook his head to bring himself out of his personal reverie, "Thanks Kori. Here's the money..." Dick trailed off as he grabbed $10 from his pocket and gave it to Kori.
Kori nodded and worked out the change for him before giving it to him. She smiled at him as she expected him to get up and leave but he did not. Kori shifted her eyes a little, uncertain of why he remained seated.
"Do you not have to return to work?" Kori wondered, raising an eyebrow,
"I'm on lunch," He paused as he began unwrapping his bagel, "Mind if I spend it here talking to you?"
Kori stayed silent for a moment before she gave him a small smile which was accompanied by a faint blush against her cheeks, "Of course I do not mind," She replied, earning a grin from him in response. Rachel smirked in the corner and she wiped a cup dry and placed it back in its normal place.
Kori giggled at the story Dick was telling her about a time when Wally had gotten so drunk and had arrived at Dick's house with a puppy in his arms and a pirate hat upon his head. Dick shook his head as he laughed,
"I couldn't believe it. That was the worst he's ever been. At the time, it was so irritating but now that I look back on it; it was hilarious," Dick chuckled,
"Where did he even find a puppy at 3am!?" Kori squeaked, lifting a hand in an attempt to cool her face. Her face always heated up when she was laughing a lot.
"I have no idea! He still can't even remember where he got it from!" Dick returned, cracking up all over again.
Kori sighed as the laughter died down but she suddenly caught sight of the clock upon the wall. The heat of her face cooled immediately and she felt her heart drop suddenly at the realisation of something on Dick's behalf,
"Uh... Richard?" Kori started,
"Yeah?" He answered,
"Were you not supposed to go back to work 30 minutes ago?"
"Crap!"
Dick freaked out and practically fell off of the stool he had been sitting on. Kori took a step forward so that her stomach pressed against the edge of the counter. She looked over with a concerned expression and made sure he was alright.
"Apologies-" Kori began, feeling entirely at fault,
"Kori, it was not your fault." Dick told her, flashing her a friendly smile, "Honestly. It was completely my fault... I'll catch up with you later?"
Kori nodded instantly,
"Well, y'know... Unless Bruce kills me first." He joked.
Kori giggled as she watched him stumble and sprint out of the double doors. She tilted her head as her laughter ceased. All that was left upon her lips was a ghost of a smile.
Rachel grinned and nudged Kori as she passed her, causing the red head to turn and look at her,
"Oh yeah... From that it was so obvious that you don't like him at all..." She said sarcastically before carrying on going and taking the garbage out.
Kori's words of protest and denial died on her tongue and she sighed instead. She knew Rachel was partially right. She wasn't in love with him; how could she be? She had only known him for nearly 2 weeks.
She was aware that she felt something but she wasn't sure if it was a simple crush or not. She had a boyfriend and that was what she had to keep in mind. She knew how unstable and paranoid Xavier could become; she didn't even want to tell him about the fact her new neighbour was a guy.
He got very anxious when it came to Kori socialising with other guys and the way in which she and Dick got along would not sit well with him at all...
