Chapter Text
The night was always quiet.
Not even a cricket or a car passing by.
It just made the woman’s footsteps loud through the alleyway, the ones followed by the near silent footsteps.
The woman startled at the sudden hand on her shoulder. She turned her head with a nervous smile, every instinct telling her to run. “Can I.. Can I help y-you?”
Her nerves started to jumble her nerves. The person holding her shoulder, they were an average size, but she couldn’t confirm a gender. They were wearing a high collar, it covering their mouth and part of their nose. It seemed connected to the hoodie they were wearing, the hood and hair covering any other features that could have possibly helped her.
Her other hand itched towards her pocket, where she kept a thing of pepper spray as a defense. She audibly gulped the longer the person didn’t say anything, leaning back as their face got closer, their fingers slightly digging into her shoulder.
She saw their other hand come up and lower their collar, giving a glimpse of their mouth, but not fully exposing the bottom of their face. Her hand rested on the pepper spray, her mind racing as she tried to determine if it needed to be used.
She watched the ends of their mouth quirk up before it opened and started to speak.
“Drop dead.”
Ah.. It was a guy’s voice, soft and smooth..
The drop of her body echoed throughout the alleyway as the person pulled his collar back up and walked away from the dead woman.
Footsteps silent the whole way as the faint glow of blue disappeared.
“Why is it that you’re always our first customer? We literally just opened!”
You gave a playful smirk as you pointed to the menu item you wanted to order. It was a coffee with espresso, which tended to be bitter sometimes, yet somehow there were some minty undertones. You suspected that the recipe had mint of sorts in the coffee. Either way, it was still good, it was nice and warm and it woke you up in the mornings. You wrote quickly on the little notepad you carried with you in public, not everyone knew sign. [I tend to wake up early, and this place is the closest to where I live. It’s good coffee :)]
The barista waved a hand, her hair pulled into a low ponytail. “Oh don’t start you flatterer. I’ll go get your drink ready, Mint.” She turned away as you give a soft smile at the nickname.
You had given her your name the first time you came to the café but the more you started ordering from there, the quicker you became a regular, she quickly dropped your name and started using a nickname. A nickname that always changed every few times you came in. Yet always something food related. You suspected that she was going based off ingredients in the drinks and treats. The last two nicknames had been “Bean” and “Sugar”. They were cute in a way and it didn’t bother you so you hadn’t tried to correct her.
You sat down at an empty table, though all the tables were empty right now, it was only 5 am, the place had literally just opened. You stared out the window, watching few cars pass by and some birds fly around. It was still a little dark out but sunrise was starting. You could see the bare slivers of the sun peaking up.
It just made the whole environment so peaceful..
So quiet and serene, birds starting to wake up more, their songs beginning.
It was so beautiful…
You flinched at the sound of your nickname, you not missing the little laughter from the barista as she had watched you jump. You had a little blush on your face as you stood up and collected your cup, dutifully paying the amount needed. The barista still had an amused smile on her face, while you, an embarrassed one. You let out a little playful huff as you dropped in tip money in the tip jar, pointedly not looking at her.
She let out a little giggle as you made your way back to your booth. You hid a little smile with a sip of your coffee, letting out a pleased sigh at the taste. It was so good, nice and warm. The mint taste wasn’t overwhelming, it was a nice aftertaste.
If you had to compare it, you’d say that it was probably similar to hot cocoa when someone puts a peppermint stick in it. Obviously different, but the taste of mint reminded you of it.
Your head stayed tilted towards the window you were sitting next to, leaning in your seat as you watched the sunrise, sipping at your drink as you did so.
People started entering the café as the sky turned from dark to pinks, oranges, and blues.
There weren’t that many clouds out right now. You took a photo of the sunrise through the window with your phone, nodding in satisfaction with the result. You may not be a professional photographer, but you could take decent enough pictures.
Decent enough for your standards anyway.
You swiped through your phone’s photo gallery, smiling softly at the puppy photos you had saved from a message thread with one of your coworkers. They had a pretty cute golden retriever that just turned one, so he had just shared cute pictures of her.
God puppies were adorable.
Your swiping landed you on photos you had taken of some stray kittens you fed sometimes (sometimes because there were times where they weren’t in their normal place and you couldn’t find them). Kittens were even cuter.
You appreciated both of course, kittens though.
Kittens were cute.
You heard the sound of the café increase as the day began and the sky get brighter. Time for you to leave then. You took your drink with you, there was still half left after all. You walked past the short line that was starting to form, the barista noticing you leaving. “Bye! Have a good rest of your day, Mint!” She called after you. You gave her a two-fingered salute without you looking back, the little bell on the door chiming as you left.
Almost immediately, you shook your head slightly, having not expected the breeze. It was a good thing you never left the house without a hoodie.
You got cold easily, even in hot weather. It was kind of strange honestly, but you grew up like it, so you were used to it. You were just glad the area you lived in didn’t have drastic temperature changes, they were gradual.
You started walking through the town (it was kind of city like but it was still small, so in your opinion, it classified as a town), finishing the rest of your drink, tossing it in a trashcan you passed.
Birds were singing.
Flowers were blooming.
The breeze was nice and cool.
There were little to no clouds in the sky, just people walking around peacefully.
Your town was just… so peaceful, hardly any complications.
There was hardly any trouble where you lived.
The residents were kind and nice to each other, it was a nice community.
Nothing ever happened.