Word Count: 4808
Dan's POV
The tannoy came on, the conductor's voice garbled and not really understandable, and the slight squawk of the microphone as it switched on was enough to divert my attention from my book. I took the break from reading as a chance to gulp down some more of my fast cooling tea, briefly glancing out of the window at the station before turning back to my book. Before I could start reading again, however, it clicked in my brain that I'd just seen something that didn't quite fit, so I turned back to the window and squinted out of it slightly.
All the way at the other end of the platform there was a man sprinting for the train, his tie flapping over his shoulder and his briefcase looking like more of a hindrance than anything, constantly banging into his legs as he ran. As he neared and grew bigger, I could make out more of him, like the expression of pure panic on his face, presumably because he was going to miss the train. It was going to be close, but I could already hear the doors beeping to signal that they were going to close any moment.
The running man seemed to hear it too, his eyes widening more and he somehow managed to run even faster and for a couple of seconds I thought he might just manage to slip through the closing doors, and then somehow he tripped, his briefcase flying from his grasp and bursting open when it hit the ground. He scrambled up and dropped to his knees again next to his briefcase, stuffing the escaped sheets of paper back in and snapping it shut, then looked up with a forlorn expression when he realised he'd missed his chance.
I wasn't sure what it was about that expression, but something in it had me leaping up from my seat and half running down the carriage to the doors, and I got to them just in time to squeeze my arms into the narrow gap, forcing the doors apart with a little difficulty. I wedged one of my legs into the opening too and used it to keep one of the doors from closing yet, pushing the other with both arms.
I stuck my head out of the train, waving one arm madly, and shouted at the top of my lungs, "Come on!"
He looked up and only took a split second to register what was happening, staggering to his feet and bursting into a sprint again as I kept pushing at the doors. I was really hoping the conductor wouldn't decide he didn't care and set off anyway, because I was very much screwed if he did.
The man skidded to a stop next to me and ducked under my arm, immediately collapsing on the floor and leaning back against the other set of doors, tipping his head back and closing his eyes as he tried to catch his breath.
"Thank you," he panted, "so much."
I sat down opposite him once the train started moving again, grinning widely from the adrenaline rush, and said, "You're welcome. But if I get banned from trains permanently cos I'm a danger to their departure times or something, I'm going to blame you."
He let out a short laugh, his eyes still closed and his breath still coming in pants, and agreed.
"I'm Phil, by the way," he added.
"I'm Dan, nice to break what's probably a very important train rule with you."
He opened his eyes for a moment to grin at me, his tongue poking out from between his teeth slightly and his breathing still irregular, but thankfully starting to sound less like a steam engine.
I got to my feet when he finally managed to regain his breath and was just leaning down a little to offer him a hand up when I heard someone loudly clear their throat behind me. I turned my head to look at who it was, hand still extended towards Phil, and I felt a jolt of nerves when I glimpsed a conductor's uniform behind me.
I looked back at Phil and pulled a worried face at him, my mind racing ahead to try and figure out if delaying a train on purpose was a punishable offence or not. His mouth twisted into a barely noticeable frown in reaction to my worry, but he accepted my hand up and turned to the conductor with a bright smile.
"Hello," he said pleasantly, straightening his tie a little.
The conductor ignored him in favour of giving me a death glare, her voice pitched low with a clearly pissed off tone.
"What the hell were you thinking when you decided to stop the doors from closing and half hang out of the carriage while waving like an idiot? What if I hadn't noticed and had given the all clear signal for the train to depart? Does death by falling out of a train sound like a particularly pleasant experience to you?"
I automatically opened my mouth to retort sarcastically, but something about her reminded me a little too much of my strict year eight Spanish teacher for comfort, so I snapped it shut again and shook my head meekly.
"Then don't bloody do it again, alright?"
I nodded and hoped she felt satisfied enough with my telling off to leave now, but she only nodded back at me, stern expression still in place, and turned to Phil instead, her mouth pressing into an even thinner line as she regarded him.
"Try just showing up on time so we can avoid stuff like this. Or accept that you're going to be late and wait for the next train like normal people do, but getting your friend to hang out of a train and pretty much risk their life for the sake of you not missing it is damn stupid."
Phil kept his gaze straight down at his shoes and blushed furiously, nodding in the same slightly scared way I had.
She shook her head disapprovingly at our idiocy one more time and moved on, marching out of our carriage and into the next, probably to yell at some poor kid that they had to keep their shoes off the seats.
I waited until the door had safely slid shut behind her, then whispered, "Go, go, go, before she comes back!"
I led the way down the carriage to where my bag thankfully still sat on one of the four seats facing each other, and cleared my coat and bag away onto just one seat so there was enough space for both of us to sit down. He took the seat next to the one opposite me and leaned his head against the window, his legs stretched out in front of him with his feet disappearing under the seat next to me.
"So why the manic running?" I asked, chuckling a little at the way his cheeks immediately started tinting pink again.
"I overslept," he mumbled. "I have a job interview today and I overslept because I am a complete moron. This was the last train I could get without being late, so getting to the station and seeing that it was about to leave was a tad stressful. Thanks again for getting me on the train."
He grinned at me slightly bashfully then, his tongue slipping out between his teeth again and making my stomach do a little flip at how adorable he looked.
"Always happy to serve and protect good citizens," I replied, and struck my best Superman pose.
Phil laughed and asked, "Is that even a Superman thing?"
"Probably not but it works ok?" I mock glared at him for daring to question my borrowed Superman duties, but ended up smiling at him when he gave in and joked that it was a shame that there wasn't a wind machine.
He ended up telling me a bit more about the job he was hoping to get and I told him about how I was on my way to visit my grandmother as she got lonely a lot, and how I stayed over every other weekend in the hope that it made her feel at least a little better. By the time we started approaching his station we were skipping from the one topic to the other effortlessly and laughing like we'd been friends for years, so naturally I asked him for his number before he left.
He accepted my phone with a wide smile and started tapping in his number, but accidentally cancelled adding his contact just as we the train pulled in at his station. He hastily entered his number again and dropped the phone onto the seat next to him quickly when he was done, muttering apologies as he grabbed his briefcase and rushed to the yet again already closing doors.
I stood up to see how it would play out, obviously hoping that he managed to get out and to the interview on time, and couldn't help smiling a little when I saw him jam his briefcase into the gap and push the doors apart the same way I had.
I sat back down when the train started moving again and waved back at a slightly sheepish looking Phil, then quickly gathered my things and settled myself in a corner in the next carriage before the conductor came after me to scare me some more.
When I dug my phone out of my pocket to text Phil so he'd have my number, I couldn't find his contact at first, until I scrolled through all of them and came across a certain 'Klutz'. Of course he'd call himself that.
Good luck at your interview! :3 x
I was sat at the table with my grandma and was in the process of gradually waking myself up with a cup of strong coffee and a partially eaten cookie. She sat opposite me with a cup of coffee of her own, and flicked through the newspaper my granddad had always read, the knitting magazine she had delivered every month lying abandoned next to her breakfast plate.
Nan had been trying to get into knitting for as long as I could remember, and yet she'd never managed to stick with one project for long enough to even produce a single sock. She always said that knitting made her feel like more of a traditional grandma, like hers had been, but the various needles and brightly coloured balls of wool were seldom removed from the wicker basket next to her armchair.
I was stuffing the rest of the cookie into my mouth just as I felt my phone buzz in my pocket, so I wiped the crumbs from my fingers and retrieved it from my pocket, smiling involuntarily when I saw the screen was lit up with a text from a certain klutz.
I grinned wider, and my grandma took notice. "What's on that screen that's making you look so happy?"
"Well, I met this guy on the train here yesterday -"
"Wait, wait, wait!" she interrupted, setting aside the newspaper and picking up her mug to cradle it between her hands, elbows on the table as she leaned forward with sparkling eyes. "Ok, I'm ready now, tell me everything!"
It had taken me a long time to come out to my family, despite being quite sure that they'd be supportive. It hadn't been until two years ago that I decided it was time to tell them due to a relationship that had started to become serious enough for me to want to share it with them. For some reason I'd decided to tell my grandma before my parents, and not once had she made me regret it. Whenever I mentioned a new guy it made her turn into the far more childish person she still was inside, squealing at every cute detail and always wanting to know more.
I told her about being on the train and looking up just as Phil had come sprinting into the station, and how it had looked like he was going to miss the train. I explained how I'd felt bad enough to run to the doors and had managed to keep them open for just long enough for him to get on and how he'd turned out to be really sweet.
"He was really stressed about missing the train because he thought he was going to miss a job interview he had, and he just texted me to let me know that he got the job so I'm really happy for him," I finished, looking down at my phone again and tapping out a reply.
WOO CONGRATS!!! Try not to oversleep on your first day though, I can't always be there to save the day ;)
Nan waited until I looked up again to ask me more about him, demanding a description of what he looked like and wanting to know if there was a chance it would go somewhere.
As used to is as I was, I still couldn't help giggling at her enthusiasm, but I answered her questions anyway, describing the way his fringe dipped down across his forehead in a style similar to mine and how it fell into his eyes a lot so he had to brush it back into place every few minutes. I told her about how he didn't blink very often and how I was a little pleased about that because I couldn't get enough of the bright blue of his eyes, as cheesy as it sounded.
By the time my phone buzzed again, she was beaming almost manically and seemed unable to stop, and when I read the text I felt the same huge grin spread across my face.
True, true, so I guess it's only logical for me to treat you to coffee sometime as thank you? x
"What?" my grandma demanded, realising that something important must have happened from my smile.
"He wants to get coffee," I mumbled back, still grinning down at my phone stupidly.
She punched the air in triumph, her coffee sloshing over the sides of her mug in the process and spilling over the table, but she just stood up and continued celebrating by doing a little dance over to where she kept the paper towels and back as I shook my head to myself.
She paused suddenly in the middle of mopping up the spilled coffee to half glare at me and say, "You can't keep him waiting! Text him back and tell him that you'd like that, I need to know for sure that my grandson has got a date before he leaves!"
I laughed and watched as my fingers flew across my phone screen to type out my reply.
Well I just told my nan about the guy I rescued from certain missing train doom asking me if I wanna get coffee and she has instructed me to tell you that I'd like that, so yes please :P x
I frowned at the message for a moment after I sent it and decided it was probably best to clarify something.
Don't worry, I didn't just say yes cos my gran told me to, I do actually want to :3 x
It took less than a minute for the reply to come through, and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from grinning even wider as I read it, doing my best to school my features into a small smile instead.
Haha phew, cos if the only reason you agreed was cos your gran forced you to, I wouldn't say that's a very promising start :P Sunday ok for you? :) x
"Well, grandma, it looks like your grandson just got a sort of maybe date."
I looked up to watch her clap her hands excitedly and bounce up and down a little on the balls of her feet, and couldn't help feeling a warm glow a little at how happy she looked for me, despite it not even being an official date. I'd really lucked out with my grandma.
Sunday is perfect, what time? :) x
I felt slightly awkward standing outside Starbucks and glancing up from my phone every few seconds to look for Phil, wondering if I should ignore his demands and go inside and get my own coffee instead of waiting for him to show up and buy me one. I was starting to understand why Phil was always so worried about showing up for his new job on time - he seemed to have some sort of curse on him that meant no matter how hard he tried he was always running late.
My phone buzzed in my hand and the screen lit up to show me a glimpse of the text Phil had just sent me. I unlocked my phone to look at it and scowled at my phone a little. He'd ruined my forming plan.
I AM ON MY WAY I PROMISE, I WILL BE TEN MINS MAX AND YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GET YOURSELF COFFEE OR GO INSIDE COS I WILL BE VERY SAD X
I was about to lock it when my phone buzzed again, a new message from Phil popping up on the screen.
Unless you're cold or uncomfortable waiting outside, then go and sit down BUT NO BUYING YOURSELF ANYTHING X
I shook my head slightly at the text and wondered for the hundredth time how a grown man could be so adorable.
Ok fine but you'd better be here soon cos I want coffee and I literally only know the filter kind so you need to help me x
I pocketed my phone and pushed the door to the coffee shop open, stepping in slightly hesitantly and wondering how long it would take them to kick me out for sitting down somewhere without buying something first. I decided not to risk it, and walked up to the counter to inspect the board behind it instead and realised that I really did need Phil's help to order something as without him I was sure to fail quite spectacularly.
I scanned across the board at one name after the other and it started to dawn on me exactly how uneducated I was when it came to the different kinds of coffee. What the hell was a caramel macchiato? What was a flavoured latte supposed to be? Who came up with frappuccino? Where was the normal cup of coffee option?
I approached the barista warily and asked, "Sorry, I've never actually been to Starbucks before, do you have just coffee? Without a fancy name? With milk?"
She grinned at me and confided that she'd never been to a Starbucks either before she got her job there through a friend.
"I was so confused on the first few days when people kept asking me for things like a 'Tall Caramel Frappuccino Light Blended Beverage'! I almost got fired because I took so long making people's drinks as I literally always had to look it up in the manual and follow the instructions step by step. You don't want to know how many people were late to meetings in the morning because of me."
I giggled a little at the image of the small brunette in front of me frantically dumping what was probably around thirty different ingredients in a takeaway cup and handing one cup of hastily made coffee after the other to a line of grumpy people in suits with briefcases. She had made me feel better about my coffee ignorance though, so I didn't feel like a complete idiot asking her to please just make me something she thought was good.
"Well the caramel thing I just mentioned with a very long and complicated name is actually pretty good," she told me.
"Great, could I get a medium of that please?"
She laughed and informed me that a medium translated into a grande here, then lifted up a section of the counter and invited me to join her behind it so she could show me how said complicated and fancy sounding drink was made.
"Nope, but considering I am the only person serving today there isn't much that anyone can do about it, so come on, time for me to look like a coffee genius. Plus, I'm not letting you touch anything so we're good."
I ducked under her arm and stood behind the counter silently, scared to touch something and accidentally break it.
"Ok, I know I said I wasn't going to let you touch anything but that doesn't mean you have to stand completely still in that one spot, you're allowed to move," she teased me, grabbing a glass cup from a pile next to a very big coffee machine and expertly flipping it the right side up by the handle.
She explained that most times the machine did the majority of it for her, and that all she did was make the finished drink look pretty, but that this time the machine was only used to produce a couple of espresso shots. She told me how it worked as she deftly scooped ice cubes into a blender and poured in milk and the espresso, squirting in caramel sauce from a plastic bottle after.
The barista paused and considered me for a moment, then nodded to herself and retrieved another plastic squeezy bottle from the row, adding more caramel coloured liquid to the mix.
"Caramel syrup," she clarified when she saw me look at her questioningly. "You look like a caramel kind of person."
She switched on the blender and left it while she cleared away the things she'd used and got a big can of whipped cream from the fridge in the corner. It took her less than a minute to poor the finished drink into the glass mug, squirt a large amount of cream onto it and dust it with cocoa powder. She squinted at the drink for a second, then grabbed the caramel sauce and squeezed that onto the tower of whipped cream too.
"Tada!" she announced, doing jazz hands either side of the drink.
"Alright, show off, I'll admit I'm impressed but you can stop with the overly pleased smirk now," I told her, sticking my tongue out at her.
"Nope, never! But just so I know, who did I just show how to make a caramel frappuccino?"
"Oh my God, I can't believe we haven't even introduced ourselves yet, I'm sorry! I'm Dan."
"I'm Caitlyn, feel free to come back here if you want to learn about the making process of more overly complicated drinks."
I carefully lifted myself onto the counter as she slid the drink towards me, nodding happily when I'd taken a sip of the drink and licking the cream from my lips.
"Yep, I am definitely coming back here, this is amazing!"
"Why thank you, only took me a year to perfect," she joked. "But how come you decided to come into a coffee shop you knew nothing about? Just curiosity?"
I quickly explained how I'd managed to save Phil's ass by delaying the train's departure for just long enough that he managed to get on, and how we'd hit it off well enough that when he got the job he'd texted me to say he wanted to get coffee with me. I left out the part where he'd said I wasn't allowed to get myself a drink before he got there in case she decided to side with him and confiscated my drink until he arrived.
Caitlyn winked at me suggestively and asked, "Sooo... Is he cute?"
I chose not to answer, opting to take another sip of my drink instead and looking anywhere but at her, but my quickly reddening cheeks seemed to have decided to answer for me.
She snorted and commented on how I definitely needed to work on my acting skills, just as the door opened and Phil finally walked in.
He scanned the place quickly and scrunched his nose in confusion when he didn't spot me sitting at one of the tables, looking around again more carefully and chuckling when he clocked me perched on one of the counters with Caitlyn.
The smile was wiped off his face very quickly, though, when he saw me sipping from the frappuccino, replaced by a sad look.
"You were meant to let me treat you," he said sadly, and Caitlyn turned and glared at me.
"You did not mention that part," she gasped in mock offense. "I feel so used!"
I was torn between sticking my tongue out triumphantly at both of them and hanging my head in shame, but when I glanced at Phil's sad pout I felt guilty enough to forget about acting smug and hung my head instead. I still pointed out that I hadn't actually bought myself anything though.
Caitlyn clapped her hands together once and announced that she was just going to have to give both of us free drinks, then set about taking Phil's order and making it in record time, even dusting chocolate powder cat whiskers on top of his cappuccino, shooting me a wink as she handed it to him.
Phil thanked her with a shy smile and stuffed his free hand in his pocket, shooting me a questioning look, so I hopped down from the counter and sent Caitlyn a little wave as I joined Phil, making a mental note to ask for her number later. I plucked at his sleeve a little to get him to look up at me and smiled at him widely when I saw the warmth in his eyes, relief flooding through me that he wasn't actually sad or annoyed at me for not giving him the chance to treat me.
I led him over to a couple of comfortable looking armchairs in the corner and set down my coffee on the small table carefully before throwing myself down on one of the chairs, legs draped over the side
as I shuffled around until I was satisfied with the level of comfort, only then reaching to the side to retrieve my drink and cradle it between my hands. When I looked up again I saw that Phil was still stood next to his chair, apparently having forgotten about sitting down as he watched me with a slightly bemused expression.
He shook his head a little and smiled. "You're aware she gave you coffee on the house and not the entire cafe on the house, aren't you?"
I reclined further against the arm of the chair and waved grandly round the coffee shop.
"Of course I own the whole thing, maybe you're just not aware that I own all coffee shops," I huffed, sticking my nose in the air dramatically.
"Oh right, of course, totally my mistake," he chuckled, settling into the armchair opposite me. "Though how you've managed to acquire all those coffee shops without actually knowing the first thing about coffee is beyond me."
I just glared at his teasing tone and drank more of my fancily named coffee.
We stood outside Starbucks, having finally been kicked out by Caitlyn (but not before I got her number and promised again to come by for more coffee making lessons) because it was closing time, and despite the chill of the late afternoon air we'd been standing there for a while, neither of us willing to say goodbye just yet.
Phil went quiet and seemed to come a little closer, alternating between looking down at his feet and watching me shyly from behind his fringe.
"Would you like to come round to mine for dinner?" I blurted loudly when he was only a foot away from me, feeling my cheeks immediately start turning pink at how I'd ruined whatever that had been.
The embarassment didn't last long though, Phil's answering beam chasing it away and making my heart beat a little faster, especially when he leaned in close again, eyes gleaming.
"Usually I would kiss you round about now, only your barista friend is staring at us, so I think it'll have to wait until after dinner," he half whispered, breath ghosting against my cheek when he leaned in even closer to press a soft kiss to my cheek.
Then he stepped back and smiled widely at me while I tried to calm the butterflies wreaking havoc in my stomach.
"So, which way is dinner?"
I reached forward and laced our fingers together to tug him gently in the right direction, melting a little when I felt him rub circles with his thumb over the back of my hand.
I gave up on calming the butterflies.
