----{ You are a m a s t e r p i e c e

gabriella mattaccino, 21, artists. for ραρεɾ is the best сαṉṿαṡ, a pen the best ραιитвяυѕн there is. words have healing power.

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

just–zero:

“I would wager at least 50% of your entire being is coffee. I’m pretty sure that if you had a child it would be some naturally caffeinated little thing because of all the coffee it absorbed from you.” He laughed wrapping an arm around her. “I missed you shortie.”

Laughing at the thought, Mocha leant into him. “I missed you too, loser,” She whispered. “I’m in my final year of College now. How crazy is that, Zero?” Closing her eyes gently, Mocha took a deep breathe. When she doesn’t see him for long periods of time, there’s an almost longing in her. An ache. A lack. Then he comes back and it’s like there a weight off her shoulders and she can breathe a sigh of relief.

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

“I mean– I’ve been staying inside. For the majority. Staying warm and such,” Mocha shuffled her papers together, lines of words scattered everywhere. They were sentences she’d come up with, lacking the idea for a full piece. “How’re you?” She looked up slowly, small smile on her face. Right now she was content. It was far better than nothing.

[just--zero]

“I’m alright. Haven’t had to work much so I’ve just kind of been out and about New York. There’s a really  nice coffee place on 28th street. Reminds me of you sometimes.” He smiled, sitting in a chair across from her. The smell of coffee smelled like Mocha, and honestly it smelled like home.

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

Gab raised her eyebrows as she listened, head cocked to the side with interest. “28th? Hmm. I’ll have to have a wonder,” She beamed. “Coffee is absolutely the best though. I’m almost 89% certain that my blood is 30% atleast coffee. Sometimes I think it’s a little excessive but I really don’t scare all that much.” A small laugh escaped her lips.

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

“I mean-- I’ve been staying inside. For the majority. Staying warm and such,” Mocha shuffled her papers together, lines of words scattered everywhere. They were sentences she’d come up with, lacking the idea for a full piece. “How’re you?” She looked up slowly, small smile on her face. Right now she was content. It was far better than nothing.

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

[check-lottie-style]

“Oh… Do you wanna help to move in?”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

“Thank you for the offer but I’ve actually just finished.”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

“New dorm, new start--- That sounds alright. I guess.”

[tchaikovsk-y-blog]

“That looks wicked.”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

“--- I’m not sure. Maybe black lipstick isn’t the way forward.”

[miss-roz-blog]

Roz was not one to go out of her way to interact with others. She still found people to be cruel and unfair beings, and enjoyed the solitude of the library or the hill she was making her way to. No one bugged her or prodded her for test answers, theory explanations, or hanging out later that day. She could be herself in her self-made isolation and it was nice. It was really nice.

When she saw Mocha sitting on that hill she had so often found herself reading books on, she was a little surprised, but one glance at Mocha and she could tell that something was wrong with the girl. Normally, Roz would just turn the other way and pretend she never saw a thing, but Mocha already spotted her and she had to do something. Bag? Yeah. Mocha told her to bring her a bag. Her eyes scanned to the bag near Mocha and she picked it up and handed it to her. Roz wasn’t the best with distraught people, but she could try? “Are you…..feeling okay?”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

As the stranger passed the bag over, Mocha turned her body slightly and accepted it. She honestly hadn’t been expecting them to actually listen so this truly was a pleasant surprise. In silence, the girl rooted in her bag for the jacket. When her hand felt the fabric, she pulled it out quickly then shoved her bag back to her far side. “Uhm--” Gab mumbled. Her mind buzzied with the words to answer the strangers question. She wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t good. To give herself a little more time, Gabrielle pulled her jacket on slowly. “I think--” She sighed eventually, eyes concentrating into the distance on nothing specific. “Nostalgic isn’t the word. Maybe-- Contemplative?” Gab ran a hand through her hair, before finally looking at the stranger. She didn’t look like the social sort. Her stance and clothing choices proved that she definitely wasn’t a preppy Fashionista, mean Nightmare or sporting Jockette. “Who are you?”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

“I mean, it’s about time really,” Mocha mumbled. “I think I’ve kept it quiet for a while now. They accepted my form for a dorm swap, so that’s something. It’s only fair. I can’t stay here forever.”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

Mocha perched on top of  the grassy hill in the park. She was at a distance where the sounds of society could still be heard, but far enough away that it was more like a friendly background track than noise. Scattered around her were notebooks filled with scrambled words of her late teens. Each page bearing words of pain and agony. There was so much history in the notebooks, so much of Gabrielle’s life. Earlier in the day, she’d found out that a girl she’d known as a child had passed away, leaving behind a husband and a two year old baby. It was absolutely heart breaking. There was this woman, who’d already done so much and had created a new life and yet Mocha felt like--- She’d done absolutely nothing.

The weather had changed a lot in the hour Mocha had been sat up here. It had gotten colder. Her skin had reacted with goosebumps but her mind had yet to register to put on the jacket that was in her back. There was a clear dimple in the grass where she’d been perched. The sounds of rustling behind her alerted that someone was approaching. Had it not been that she was so adjusted to her silence, she probably wouldn’t have noticed until they were upon her. “What do you want?” Mocha called over her shoulder with a sigh. “I’m a little-- Busy.” Busy was far from the truth. Every poem had been reread thrice over. Every building had been stared. Every possible sight had been taken in. “If you’re staying....” The cold finally hit. “Can you pass me that bag?”

[just--zero]

Zero tightened his arms around her as she told him she missed him. His chest panged- something it really only did when Mocha was around- and it was a familiar sort of dull pain. He closed his eyes and tried to let his body relax- let him have this moment that was painfully familiar with the smell of coffee, the kitten’s purrs, and the feeling of Mocha’s small frame wrapped up in his arms. Missed this, missed her, honestly both were and understatement. Still, he realized he had been quiet for a while, and he managed to muster a few words, his voice low and husky. “I missed you too.” It wasn’t enough, but then again Zero thought to himself, he never really was.

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

Mocha felt Zero’s body behind her relax, almost letting himself open up more after her confession. There was a clear pause between her speaking and his replying, but she was fine with letting him figure out what he wanted to say. His reaction, considering their past and current situation, was perfectly warranted. When his voice finally broke the air, Mocha set the cat down and then turned to bury her face in his shoulder, arms hooked tightly around his. “Ho appena perso come eravamo .... Il modo in cui siamo,” Her tongue span a web of Italian words because she knew that web was less likely to catch him. A fear lay dormant in her that she’d say something that would ruin things, make the situation harder than it already was. After another pause on her half, Mocha lifted her head up slowly, still in his embrace. “How’ve you been?”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

Mocha took a breathe. “I mean I’m running primarily on coffee so apologies if I’m slightly cranky,” She ran a hand through her hair and looked up. “You are going to have to repeat what you said because I didn’t catch a word.”

[just--zero]

His face turned serious for a second. “I’m not joking though, if anyone gives you trouble, let me know and I’ll make sure they don’t any more.” Quickly his face returned to the grin it had shown before, his eyes crinkling. As soon as the pot of coffee started making noise, the cats came running in, greeting Zero before rushing over to meow at Mocha’s feet. “Leone missed  you the most, I’m going to be honest. He sulked at me for a month before he warmed up”.

He handed Mocha the cup of coffee, before stepping behind her to wrap his arms around her waist. “I’ll take that as a compliment. Like you like me despite smoking.” Zero rested his chin atop her hair, exhaling before asking more quietly. “So what had you on the hunt for me anyways?”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

Mocha didn’t answer at his suggestion. She knew he would, but it was-- The seriousness and willingness that always shocked her. Her mind was so caught up in those thoughts that when the cats came bouning in, she was completely taken by surprise. “Ah---” She inhaled, before looking down and a grin spread across her face. “Miei cari! Mi sei mancato tutto così tanto!” Gab chimed, the Italian rolling off her tongue. The brunette picked Leone and then looked back up to Zero.

“Grazie,” Her voice said gently, Leone scooped under one arm with her spare hand holding the coffee cup. “I-- I had to have liked you enough despite the smoking to have dated you Zero,” A small laugh escaped her lips. “The smell is just...” It felt like a safer option to stop that speech there. Mocha drank half or so of her cup of coffee before setting the mug on a counter. She pulled Leone to her chest as Zero wrapped himself around her. “Mi sei mancato... Miss you.”

[just--zero]

Zero tried to contain a smile at the image of Gab fighting anyone. “I have faith that you’d wreck their shins and knees though.” He slowed as they reached his apartment, letting her down gently and pushing open the door. “Besides, if you really need to fight someone, you know I’d do it for you. Kick their ass for even looking at you the wrong way, honestly.”

He walked into his kitchen, putting on the coffee, and turned around to face her, leaning back on the counter. “Do you really think that I could not stock coffee here after dating you?”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

Mocha looked up and around the building when Zero set her down, following him inside once the door was open. “I prefer not to resort to physical violence anyway. Words are enough if you use them correctly,” She raised her eyebrows with a sassy tilt of the head, lips pursed. The warmth that hit her as she headed inside was welcomed greatly.

Standing still for a moment, Mocha looked around. It was weird being back in an environment that was his, but it was also comforting. It felt like curling back up into old memories which, at the current moment in time, were the only ones she enjoyed recollecting. “That is very true,” She grinned a little, following him in. “I’m pretty sure my blood stream is at least 75% coffee and I’d be slightly let down if it wasn’t--” A pause. “I forgot how much you smelt of smoke. I mean I hate smoking really, but the smell.. Is you.”

[just--zero]

Zero’s breath whooshed out of his lungs for a second. Quietly he muttered into her hair “I’ll always answer.”

A grin spread across his face. “You’re short and I love that so embrace it.” His arms wrapped around her tighter, trying to hold on to her so that she’d never leave. “Of course.”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

Gab quickly realised that Zero was intending on carrying her the entire way so just got comfortable leaning into him. It was helping to calm her down a little also. The time outside had brought her stress levels right up so just being with Zero and knowing that they were heading back to his calmed her down a lot. Her heart probably wouldn’t stop racing though until they were inside.

“If I were taller, I’d be able to actually fight people. Right now, I can only make threats about people’s shins and knees.” Mocha rambled. “Good. I’m glad you have coffee at least. Some people don’t. It’s a travesty really.”

[just--zero]

“No one as gorgeous as you could not be intimidating; not to mention you’re a spitfire.” He ran a hand absentmindedly though her hair, his chin resting atop her head. “You know if you had texted me it might have been quicker.”

“Nonsense.” He scooped the tiny girl up, pulling her tightly against his chest and started the walk back to his apartment. “You need to warm up. You went to all the trouble of finding me.”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

“The fact alone that people are intimidated by people they deem to be attractive is ridiculous. There are plenty of aesthetically pleasing people who lack a high number of brain cells are you could walk all over,” She scoffed slightly then closed her eyes momentarily. “I didn’t know whether you would have answered or not.”

Mocha inhaled with surprise when he scooped her up although this kind of action wasn’t anything new. “You take every oppurtunity to remind me of my height, don’t you?” She mumbled playfully, shaking her head a little. “I expect coffee.”

[just--zero]

“You’re intimidating. but never scary love.” His eyes remained closed as she approached him, but they opened in surprise when she wrapped her arms around him. Zero hadn’t expected her to be, well the way they always were, after he met Copper and all. Still, it was nice, and it was familiar, so he wrapped his arms around hers, feeling how cold she was. “God, you’re like an ice cube Gab.”

He twisted in her arms, uncrossing his legs and wrapping them around her smaller frame. “We should go inside, you know my place is just round the corner.”

[s0-sublime-mochachino]

Finally feeling a little warmer was an absolute god send. Between his words and hers, she’d bury her face in his chest. “I’d like to think that I have people’s respect rather than being intimidating.” A weak laugh escaped her lips. “Yeah-- I’ve been out here for about an hour maybe. I just kinda passed though all the places I thought you might be.”

“Inside could be nice,” She mumbled. “If you were planning to stay out though, then that’s okay. I can get a cab back.” Mocha tugged the beanie down, readjusting herself in his arms as he wrapped himself around her even more so.