Lima Bean Meetup || Codcedes
WHO: Cody Tolentino @wmucody & Mercedes Jones @wmu-cedes
LOCATION: Lima Bean
DATE: February 26
SUMMARY: Cody and Mercedes meet up for a chat at the Lima Bean. Pain ensues.
Mercedes
Mercedes had been a mess over the entirety of the weekend. She thought that things with Cody were going to even out eventually, especially after their last conversation. However, learning that he had gone to a family function with Frannie had cut Mercedes in a way she hadn't been expecting and it had all but ruined her weekend. However, she was determined to try and make their friendship work, even if it meant she would have to draw some firm lines in the sand. Despite her complex feelings with him, Mercedes had agreed to meet him at the Lima Bean for coffee. She waited just inside the doors for her friend, hands stuffed in the pockets of her soft wool cardigan, rocking slightly in her vans. When he stepped through the doors she felt her heart constrict slightly, but she schooled her features with a bright grin. "Hey boo."
Cody
Cody slowly trekked through the university courtyard. He thought the hangover from the weekend would have been long gone by now but it was sticking around with relentless condition. His black sunglasses balanced on the bridge of his nose, his beige jumper hood sitting on the brim of his black hat. If someone drew a visual representation of a hangover it would look exactly like him.
He finally reached the doors of the Lima Bean. Finally. The walk from his dorm seemed like it took forever. His eyes met Mercedes. Taking off his glasses, his heavy eyes offered a warm gaze. He knew had overstepped his own boundaries at the weekend, and was expecting a conversation to arise out of it.
"Hi, Cedes," Cody greeted. His voice raspy. "You been waiting long?"
Mercedes
Her stomach did a flip at the raspy greeting, knowing that it was no doubt the hangover that was still plaguing him that was causing his tone to change, as opposed to any sort of feelings on his side. "Nope, I've been here for like 5 seconds. I was gonna get us our drinks, but I didn't need you coming at me for paying when you said it would be your treat." She joked, stepping in the direction of the line.
"How you feeling?"
Cody
Cody ruffled inside his pockets, sliding in his sunglasses while removing his wallet at the same time. "Yeah, you're right I woulda came for you," he teased back. "Big time". He removed the hood from his head. "Yeah, I've been better. Do I look fucked? Be honest?" He asked, tilting his head to look at her through glazed eyes.
Mercedes
A chuckle escaped her and she shook her head. "Big time - huge." She mocked.
Her brown eyes assessed him for a moment, takin in the colour of his skin and the hat that still sat atop his head. "You don't look fucked but you definitely look like you're recovering from a few drinks." Mercedes paused then and patted his arm gently. "The Fabrays go hard, huh?"
Cody
Cody laughed softly, nodding his head at Mercedes' answer. He was recovering alright, and the lack of sleep during the night didn't help. His body kept jumping every so often, a result of the sugary cocktails probably. "A little too hard. Drank me under the table".
Cody stepped forward in front of the barista, slightly bumping into Mercedes as they joked. "I'll have a small oat milk latte, with a large cup of iced water, please? And she'll have?" He paused, offering Mercedes the floor to order for herself.
Mercedes
Her brows rose at the idea of anyone drinking Cody under the table, it sounded like a fun time but also really bad for ones liver. Instead of focusing on that, her thoughts were jarred when her friend bumped into her and began to order. "I'll take a small caramel macchiato please and thank you." She ordered, nudging Cody lightly with her elbow as a sign of thanks.
Cody
He smiled gracefully towards the barista as Mercedes ordered, tapping his card at the card machine when prompted.
"So, what else did you do with your weekend? That wasn't accompanying Sam to find a sexy suit," Cody questioned, walking over to the waiting area. His slight jealousy was masked with a smile. Really, he had no right to be jealous. Especially when he had just spent a full weekend getting to know Frannie on a more serious level; however, the initial thought of Mercedes going to a ball and then suit shopping with some other guy did ruffle a few of his feathers more than he liked to admit.
Mercedes
She gave a passing glance to the barista who was already busy taking someone elses order before following Cody to the waiting area. "Other than helping Sam find a killer suit I literally did homework and worked. I have absolutely zero life lately and it's boring as hell." She replied with a sigh, idly playing with the ring on her thumb. She had also spent a good chunk of the weekend crying and sad, but Cody didn't need to know that just yet.
"Thanks again for the coffee, I owe you." As she said it, their order was placed on the counter and she thanked the barista before grabbing his coffee and iced water and handing it to him, and then grabbing hers. The cup was warm, and she held it close to her. "You wanna sit at a table or in some chairs?"
Cody
Cody shook his head. "You don't owe me anything, girl" he replied, a soft smile plastered on his face. "Thanks". He took his drinks from Mercedes after shoving his wallet back into his pocket, looking around Lima Bean to see what space looked cosiest.
"Chairs," He insisted, his need to get comfy slowly taking over his body. His hands held a small shake in them. He hadn't drank enough water in his recovery and it showed. Leading the way, Cody felt a little apprehensive. He knew a conversation was drawing in about his actions at the weekend, however he had small hope that it could be forgotten about without conversing. He picked out two chairs sitting idle in the corner. Slumping down on the chair, he first took a drink of the iced water. The first drop refreshed his mouth which held a level of roughness from the weekend.
Mercedes
Mercedes let out a small nod, "Chairs it is." She followed him slowly, watching as he made his way to choose his spot. He looked rough, and a small part of her felt bad for what she wanted to bring up, but if she didn't, Mercedes woudl feel worse. It was one thing for him to set boundaries, it was another for him to follow them, and if their friendship was going to survive whatever the hell was going on, they both needed to be strict about it.
She sunk down into the chair opposite him with a sigh and took a sip of her coffee, wincing at the heat of it. "If you need another one of those i'll go get you one, " she began, putting her coffee down on the table between them. "But uh, I won't lie I'm a little surprised you're here and wanted to hang out."
Cody
He placed the iced water cup on the table, keeping the warm coffee close to him before cradling it with two hands. The heat made every thing feel alright. It stopped the overwhelming urge of wanting to heave.
"Surprised? I get that we had some sort of a tiff at the weekend," Cody replied, a confused tone in this voice. His head cocked slightly, wanting to understand Mercedes more. "I wouldn't have thought it would meant we couldn't hang out?"
Mercedes
Her brow cocked and she shook her head slowly, "I meant because of the hangover, Cods." she replied, shifting a little in her seat. "I figured you probably went hard with Frannie, so I didn't think you'd wanna do this today." She paused then, smoothing down the fabric of her cardigan.
"Although I'd be lying if i didn't want to bring up that tiff" Guilt hammered through her, causing her stomach to begin to sour. "I'm not sure what's going on with you two, and quite frankly it's none of my damn business... But the texting like that has to stop."
Cody
His mouth fell open. "Oh," Cody said quietly. He repositioned himself, feeling slightly awkward at him landing himself in it. His body slid down the seat ever so slightly, his right leg balancing over his left. "Nah, I get you. It was my fault," Cody admitted. Their friendship just rekindled and it felt like he was the one to cause all the drama in the short period of time that they had re-entered each other's lives. "I never meant any harm by it at all".
Mercedes
"I know you didn't, you never do." She muttered the last part to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to self soothe. "It's just hard. One day we're having an intense hookup in your room, the next we're not talking, then we're friends... Then I find out you're at a family thing with another girl and you're flirting with me? It's confusing." She let out, biting down on her bottom lip as she resisted letting slip her true feelings.
Cody
Cody sat up as he listened to Mercedes, leaning his body forward to show his engagement within the conversation. His eyebrows furrowed. "I know it's hard, Cedes, like I feel it. It's taking a bit of time to adjust to". He examined her facial expression, unable to tell how exactly she was feeling. "I take full blame for the flirting when I was away with Frannie. In my defence, like, me and Frannie were flirting with other people still. I know it runs a lot depper with us, and I just overstepped the line again."
Mercedes
She eyed him warily. She had so many questions, so many things she wanted to just fling at him to see where they'd land and what he'd say. Although, given how aloof he usually was about his feelings, Mercedes doubted that she'd get the reaction she really desired. She nodded slowly and reached for her coffee, taking a health sip despite the sting. "This isn't my business but... Are you and Frannie gonna start dating? I only ask cause hanging out with her family for a weekend is kinda intense." There was a vulnerability to her voice that made her wince a little.
Cody
Cody mirrored Mercedes' movements, taking a small sip of his piping hot coffee, hovering it close to his body in hope it would start to regulate his own body's temperature into a normal cycle. He shook his head at the question, his left hand curling round his neck soothing it nervously. "I'm not actually too sure, Cedes. Dating isn't exactly my forte but I did enjoy the weekend with her". He chose his words carefully, aware of their past together and not wanting to cause any unnecessary pain.
Mercedes
Mercedes looked at him and let out a small breath, it wasn't a yes, but it wasn't exactly a no either. "I'm glad you did, babe." Her heart was hammering away in her chest and she felt stupid. Stupid for letting him get to her again after they stopped talking, and stupid for caring that he was even maybe attempting something more with someone else. "You gonna be coherent enough to go to your afternoon classes today?" When in doubt, she would deflect. It had worked for her most of her life.
Cody
He picked up in the change of tone, even if it was ever so subtle. Their previously strong friendship allowed Cody to pick up on all of Mercedes' idiosyncrasies. His psychology classes also gave him a foot forward in reading a situation; however, he didn't want to poke the bear. Especially when he was trying to get back in her good books. "Ah, I'm sure I'll be fine," Cody answered, a hopeful tone in his voice as it was raised an octave higher, learning back in his chair to provide neutral body language to the situation. He couldn't shake the tension in the air. There was something not right with Mercedes but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He watched Mercedes as he swallowed more of his coffee.
Mercedes
The tension between them was palpable. So much so that she could practically see it. She wanted to be frustrated, to question him, to take care of him because of his stupid hang over. She was torn, and Mercedes hated it. "If you're not, don't push yourself. You don't need to get worse." She replied, offering him a tight lipped smile. She had class in 45 minutes and while Mercedes wanted to sit and enjoy an actual conversation with Cody that wasn't filled with anxiety or angst, she couldn't. She glanced at the watch on her wrist and then to her coffee and let out a small sigh, beginning to rise. "Cody, im sorry I can't do this. Not right now. I need, hell I don't know what I need. I just know I can't do this - I have to go."
Cody
A look of confusion swept across his face as Mercedes began to stand up. "Cedes," he vocalised, standing up with her. "What do you mean you can't do this? Do you mean you can't be friends with me?" The question fell out his mouth, his defensiveness shining through in his tone. His hand reached out to comfort her, but he stopped himself in his tracks and dropped it back to his side, filling his pockets with his twitching fingers. He had a habit of flicking the nails on his hands with his thumbs, a way to keep him grounded. Especially in an agitating situation which he felt he had no control over. "Talk to me".
Mercedes
Mercedes was idly aware that there were other people around them, their gazes popping over due to the abrupt chance in body language. She sucked in a breath, willing the tears that threatened to prickle at her eyes back. "That's not what I meant, Cody." She breathed. Being friends with Cody, even if it was painful was something she couldn't give up. It hurt too much when they weren't talking for her to give him up completely. "I could never fully stop being friends with you, I need you in my life too much for that." She took another breath, ignoring the way her hands were shaking. "I just need some time to figure out where I'm at because your non platonic feelings for me might be gone but imma be straight up I'm struggling." A sudden wave of nausea hit her and she closed her eyes, for someone who wanted to go into acting she was really shit at hiding her emotions. "I just need to take some time to figure my shit out, I'm not saying this to guilt you, I'm not saying this to throw a wrench in anything that may or may not be happening for you and Frannie because I know where I stand with you. I just can't keep pushing shit down. So like give me a few days okay?"
Cody
Cody stood speechless while his face spoke a thousand words. Mercedes speech drew water to the brims of his eyelids. It killed him to see her like this, to know that he made her feel in a way that wasn't amazing. For the first time in his life he was left without anything to say. He wanted to tell her that he couldn't go a few days without speaking to her, but that was the most selfish thing he could do right now in Mercedes plead for space. He noticed the way Mercedes was shaking. It reminded him of the time he walked away. How he had shattered their reality all because he couldn't let his guard down. And here they were, in another situation. Even though Mercedes wasn't abandoning him fully, the unsettling fear of losing her suffocated the depths of his soul. "Yeah," he finally replied in a softness that he never thought was possible. "Anything you need".
Mercedes
She had prepared for him to walk away. For him to tell her she needed to not involve him in figuring herself out but he didn't. He didn't walk away this time. Her eyelids opened and despite the slight blur to her gaze she looked at him and smiled softly, blinking away hot tears. "Thank you babe, I'll message you in a few days okay?" It wasnt like she could put a time line on her thoughts but she could at least not leave him in limbo. The fact that he had reconciled told her that he at least valued her friendship. Despite knowing better, she reached forward and lightly squeezed his upper arm, and letting out a shaky breath. "Please take care of yourself." Her words were quick as she turned and headed out the door, feeling like her heart was in her stomach. She wouldn't be going to class today.
Cody
Cody forced the corners of his lips to curl. A fake smile was presented as he nodded his head. His eyes followed Mercedes as she exited the Lima Bean. A tear fell from his right eye but Cody wiped it away before it reached the middle of his cheek. He stood there. Lifeless. Thoughtless. After a few seconds he gulped hard as he sat back down in the chair, staring at where Mercedes had just been sitting across from him. He couldn't fight off the immense feeling of shame. Maybe he was wrong for rekindling with Mercedes? Has he only caused more harm? She was better off without him. The floods of harmful thoughts drowned out the sound of the crowded coffee shop. His eyes still focused on the other seat as the memories of their relationship projected throughout his head. They always walked a very thin line between platonic and romance, often dancing hand in hand over the blurriness. This time felt different though.
Mercedes said she only needed a few days; however, there was a daunting feeling within Cody that he had pushed her too far this time.
