cafe katu & chill (tagged)

shuffling into the cafe and deftly slipping past the customers into the staff room in the back, elliot cast his backpack onto the floor in the corner where it would lay until he was ready to go for the night. on his way out he ran into his manager, who smiled kindly at him and ruffled his hair, to which elliot gave a small giggle and readjusted his glasses as he stepped into the main area of the cafe. linking his fingers together and stretching, he glanced around to see what he needed to do first, when he suddenly froze, dropping his arms back to his sides as he noticed someone in the corner.

sitting at a table with his laptop open was a boy that looked to be around elliot's age -- perhaps a little older -- that the teen had spotted several times before. he was also someone that elliot had noticed a couple times in his high school, though the two of them didn't share any classes and had never talked before. something about the other teen attracted elliot; not necessarily in the romantic sense, though he had to admit that he was fairly cute. maybe. but there was just something about him that made elliot want to go up and talk to him, which unfortunately wasn't a very easy thing for him to do.

fidgeting with the hem of his oversized sweater -- a nervous habit he had picked up who knows when, and didn't seem to be dropping anytime soon -- elliot made up his mind. it's been weeks since he first noticed this other boy, and today would be the day he finally said something to him. after all, didn't his therapist say to initiate conversations with people? this would be easy! just walk up, say hi, and everything will be fine... well, if he could even get that first part done. he had walked about halfway towards the older boy when he abruptly turned around, heart pounding and palms sweating. no, he had to do this. turning around once again, he walked a couple paces further before hesitating. to any onlookers this had to look ridiculous, the thought of which made elliot's skin itch uncomfortably and pushed him to just get this over with. he stood beside the table the other teen was at, glancing down quickly at what he could see on his computer screen at this angle, before stepping to the side slightly so it was out of his sight. he didn't want to infringe on his privacy.

elliot chewed on his lips which were horribly splotchy from all the torn skin and nervously wrung his hands together, mind racing as he thought about what to say. he couldn't just say hi for no reason, right? he had to do something that wouldn't just make this guy think he was a total creep who had been watching him for weeks just waiting for the right moment to say hi. which, elliot supposed with an internal groan, was exactly who he was. well, better say something now before he notices him just standing there without saying anything awkwardly. "how's your coffee?" he blurted, immediately regretting ever having come over here. what sort of question was that? elliot just hoped that the staff tag he pinned on his sweater would make that question at least a little more normal.

pine