Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Once again, the cafe shifted mood, the sign outside shining in the moonlight as the moon rose and the sun fell. Isaiah walked to the counter to grab his phone. Every time the sun went down, he changed the playlist that would play over the speakers to give the cafe a different feel than in the day. The absence of sunlight and the presence of the moon outside gave the cafe a more relaxed feel than during the day. During the day the cafe felt bustling and busy, it didn’t matter how many people were in the building at the time, it always felt full. Then once the cafe closed it had quite the opposite feel, emptiness.

It didn’t matter how many customers visited, it always felt very open and empty, for better or for worse. Maybe it was the absence of Liam, or just the quiet music but the cafe at night felt vacant. Isaiah sat, arms and face resting on the counter, as he waited for someone, anyone, to walk in the door and give him something to do. He was incredibly bored at night, at least during the day he could go and talk to Liam when he had nothing to do but at night Liam wasn’t there. Liam’s sleep schedule was one of the worst Isaiah could imagine, but at least that meant Liam would sometimes come down to say “Hi”.

Isaiah didn’t have the same problem as Liam, he had an extremely punctual sleep schedule. The problem with Isaiah is that he never slept enough, meaning he slept from 2am to 8am. Isaiah was never a fan of coffee, the crashes he got after drinking it left him feeling like he needed to drink more and more. He hated the taste, but he absolutely loved the smell. There are only two smells that Isaiah is able to get lost in and stop stressing about whatever he had on his mind, and those two things are coffee and chocolate.

I need to face the facts; I am a sucker for chocolate, Rain’s right. Isaiah thought, tilting his head towards the door, lightly slapping himself on the face so he’d stay awake.

Luna should be here any minute now, so why isn’t she damn it! Ugh, I need to calm down and stop worrying. 

Isaiah grabbed a tea bag out of the box it resided in, Maybe I could make a London fog? It always seems to calm my nerves when I feel worried.

Isaiah started boiling the water needed, rubbing his eyes and checking his phone as the water boiled. Isaiah grabbed one of the cartons of milk out of the fridge, pouring it into a medium sized container, and putting it into the microwave. With the milk heating and the water boiling Isaiah had more time to prepare the drink. He grabbed the bottle of vanilla extract and honey off of the shelf as well as the mug, setting them down on the table. The water came to a boil faster than Isaiah thought it would, the steam blowing off of the kettle as he heard the whistle grow louder. Isaiah poured the boiling water into the cup, the warm liquid flowing over the tea bag, steam rising up to hit Isaiah in the face.

Next thing he knew, the microwave was going off and Isaiah was running over to take out the hot milk, setting it onto the counter so that his hands wouldn’t be burnt. Isaiah snatched the vanilla extract off of the counter, twisting the cap off and pouring some into the milk.

“Oh wait-” Isaiah bellowed, a frown of disappointment coming over his face, I made too much. I could always make Luna some to drink? Hopefully she’d like it.

Isaiah quickly pulled another cup out, tossing another tea bag into it and pouring the water on top of it, fully soaking the bag. Minutes passed, Luna still hadn’t arrived, and the tea had almost steeped for long enough. Isaiah grabbed the frothed milk and poured it into the glass until the dark brown mixture turned light and creamy. The smell of the drink began to fill the whole of the cafe, filling a bit of the feeling of vacancy. Lastly Isaiah grabbed a bit of nutmeg for garnish, sprinkling it over the top of the drinks to make them look just a little bit nicer.

Only fifteen minutes had passed since Isaiah started making the drinks, yet it felt like an eternity. He set the two drinks on the counter, yawning and looking at his watch. The moment that Isaiah sat down, he heard the door open, the bells jingling as a hooded figure stepped inside.

“You’re not fooling anybody,” he said dryly, glaring at the person.

“Oh, you’re no fun,” she said harshly, pulling off the hood and letting her blonde hair tumble over her shoulders.

“You’re the unfun one, Rain,” he kept his voice monotone as Rain leveled him with a meaningless glare.

“Fine, fine. I want my regular,” she said as she walked away, waving her hand dismissively over her shoulder.

“A please would be nice…” he muttered under his breath as he turned to get the coffee machine started. He sighed, letting himself fall back into rhythm as he put together Rain’s overly energized regular.

“Needs more espresso,” She muttered behind him, appearing by the counter for no reason.

“I’m not letting you use up the entirety of our espresso supply,” he retorted, already adding the lid to her grossly bitter drink. She made a mocking sound before taking the drink, flashing him what could have either been the middle finger or a thumbs up, it was too fast for him to tell.

Then a lot of things happened at once.

First, the door opened with a ding, followed by hesitant footsteps.

Second, Liam came crashing down the stairs, screaming something about being awake, and Rain started cackling like a hyena in response. 

“Hello Isaiah!” the two said almost in unison.

Behind Isaiah stood Liam, wearing baggy striped pajamas, his hair tangled, matted, and just overall a mess. In front of him Rain was sitting, her head in her palms as her gaze shifted from person to person. Luna was at the door, out of breath and holding a brown grocery bag in one hand and gripping her wrist with the other. She was wearing a cream-colored knit sweater, and onyx black stud earrings that looked eerily similar to her dark hair. Her glasses were resting on the tip of her nose and she looked panicked, as if she had just come there in a hurry.

“Took you long enough to arrive.” Isaiah said, an annoyed look on his face as he slid the drink that he prepared for her towards Luna. 

“Isaiah has been really worried since you haven’t showed up.” Rain stated, a smug grin on her face.

“Oh shut up! I have not been.” Isaiah retorted, shifting his gaze to Rain as he yelled at her.

“Can we all calm down and just enjoy the night since we’re all here?” Liam asked, wearing a feeble, tired smile as he spoke.

“Whatever Liam wants, I don’t really care.” Rain responded.

Luna had seemed to collect herself, smoothing her hair out she began to speak,

“Um, Isaiah?”

“Yeah?” Isaiah responded, yawning and taking a sip of his drink, “What’s up?”

“I have something I’d like to give you.”

Luna rustled around in the grocery bag that she had been holding, beginning to pull out a medium sized container. Similarly, Isaiah reached towards the far end of the counter to grab the box of chocolates he bought earlier. 

“Same for me.” Isaiah replied, holding the box behind his back.

The two stood there for a few seconds before Liam broke the silence,

“Are you two going to just sit there and wait or is someone going to step up and do it.”

“Here, I’ll do it.” Isaiah responded, taking the box in one hand and holding it out for Luna. His eyes had wandered off instead of looking at Luna’s reaction. Isaiah had his attention focused on the clock. He wasn’t sure why he was doing this, he thought maybe if he looked somewhere else then it would be less awkward.

“I-” Rain said before bursting into laughter, “You both are so awkward and inept!” She shouted, almost crying from laughter.

Isaiah shifted his view from the clock onto Luna, who was standing there, holding out the same box of chocolates that he had bought for her.

“I think it’s too soon; you barely know me.” Isaiah stated, holding a completely deadpan expression as he spoke.

Luna had her face hidden, her hand resting in front of it as Isaiah spoke,

“Only joking. I appreciate it, Luna.” Isaiah said, the life rushing back to his face, “Rain’s right after all, I’m a sucker for chocolates. Why’d you give them to me by the way?”

“I-I just think I came off a little strong yesterday. It’s nothing you’d assume, I’m sorry.” Luna seemed flustered and nervous as she spoke, stuttering quite frequently, “You don’t have to forgiv-” 

Luna looked up at Isaiah, just now realizing that he had not only picked up the box of chocolates, but also that he had already eaten five pieces. She quickly grabbed the box he was holding out for her, holding it with both arms against her chest like it was trying to get away. 

“Why did you get me a box of chocolates?” Luna said, biting into one of the ones he gave her.

“You kidding me? I outright yelled at you yesterday. It was the least I could do.” Isaiah responded, already managing to pop his ninth piece into his mouth.

“I see.” Luna replied, “Well, I still want to thank you! Also, that was sweet of you to make me a drink.” 

“It’s not a big deal, I hope you enjoy it.” He responded.

“Congratulations Luna!” Rain bellowed, “You’re one of the only people I’ve met who can make Isaiah smile, we’re not counting Liam though. It doesn’t matter when or where it is, when Liam and Isaiah are together it’s nothing but smiles.”

“Wait really? I never manage to notice.” Liam began to blush, looking up at Rain as he talked, “Also, Isaiah that’s your thirteenth piece, give it a rest!” 

“Nough!” Isaiah yelled; his mouth full of chocolate. 

Liam grabbed the box of chocolates, putting the lid back on the box as he ran away from Isaiah. Isaiah reacted quickly, sprinting after Liam faster than anyone had ever seen him run. It was almost like a primal reaction with how quick and coordinated his movements were. Liam wasn’t nearly as athletic as Isaiah so he wasn’t ever able to run for long before Isaiah caught up to him. Isaiah tackled Liam, shoving to the ground, pinning him down, and reaching for the chocolates the second Liam stopped squirming. Only after he had the box in his hands did he realize that Liam’s body had gone rigid. Isaiah sat up quickly, taking his weight off of his friend. Was he having trouble breathing?

“Are you alright?” He asked as he righted himself, moving to sit next to Liam.

“Yeah- Uh, yeah, I’m good,” Liam pushed himself up, bringing his knees forward and falling back into his heels.

“Your face is really red,” Isaiah pointed out, his tone flat.

“It’s… it’s fine, I’m fine,” Liam said rather quickly, his face still incredibly red as he kept looking at the floor.

“If you say so. Don’t do that again,” Isaiah started glaring at the blonde, holding the chocolates closer to his chest.

“Don’t take Isaiah’s chocolates, got it,” Liam’s voice was light and humorous, but his cheeks were bright pink and his breath was slightly labored. Did I hurt him? Isaiah knew Liam wouldn’t lie to him, but it still felt weird to see the younger boy so shaken.

“Liam, I’m going to ask once more, are you sure you’re okay?” Isaiah said.

Liam looked over at him, his knees, now tucked close to his chest, as he spoke,

“I’ll be fine! I promise. I just-” Liam turned away from Isaiah as he spoke, getting up and turning to dart upstairs. Isaiah followed Liam with his eyes, his blonde friend sprinting up the stairs faster than he had ever seen.

Isaiah sighed, getting up and patting himself off, he walked over to the others, grinning with the box of chocolates in his hand. As soon as Isaiah walked over to the counter Rain got up and smiled at him,

“What’s with that grin?” Isaiah asked, looking down at her, stirring his drink.

“That’s not important, I’m just going to go talk to Liam for a bit before he goes to bed.” Rain smiled, waving at Isaiah and Luna before ascending the stairs.

Minutes passed with almost nothing happening, with the most eventful thing being one customer stumbling into the restaurant with the composition of a mad drunk. The woman ordered a coffee with an unhealthy amount of espresso, reminding Isaiah of Rain and her usual order. What was up with those two anyways? Liam seemed like something was seriously wrong with him and Rain, well nevermind. Rain always seems to be smug over little things but even her reaction was different than usual. Jeez. 

“So, is everything cool between us?” Luna said, clenching her fists.

“Yeah, we’re all good? I was honestly worried that you wouldn’t forgive me.” Isaiah responded, looking up from his phone to speak.

“Oh, I’m sorry you thought that. It was quite the opposite for me, I assumed that you thought I was being pushy and annoying.”

“You’re being too quick to assume what kind of person I am,” Isaiah chuckled, “I’m not going to hate someone over a little slip up like that. I’m just not the best at moving on from the past, that’s all.”

“I see”

Isaiah stood up and took a drink of his beverage, finishing off the rest of what was in it. He slipped one hand into a pocket on his jeans, slipping his phone into it while walking towards the door. He looked out at the pitch-black sky, the moon and stars twinkling back at him.

“You want to step outside for a minute, get some fresh air?” Isaiah said, looking back at Luna, the light above him reflecting in his mocha brown eyes.

“Sure.” Luna responded, smiling sweetly while biting into one of the chocolates that Isaiah had given her.

The brisk crisp air floated around the two as they stepped outside the cafe into the cold autumnal night. The light from above casting unto them as their warm breath became visible from clashing with the chilled air around them. Isaiah stood with his hands in his jean pockets, the loose denim wrapping around them, not giving much warmth. Luna had pulled the sleeves of her oversized sweater over her hands; it was a soft warm material despite it having small holes from it being knit. 

“Too cold for you?” Isaiah teased, looking over at Luna.

“Just a little bit.” She responded, “Can we go back inside soon?” 

“Sure thing, there seems to be customers coming this way anyways.” Isaiah stated, pulling the door open for Luna.

The two quickly walked towards the counter, positioning themselves as if they had been there the whole time.

“I’m going to have you take these people’s order, okay?” Isaiah whispered to Luna who gave a subtle nod in acknowledgement.

“Welcome to the Daydream Cafe, what are you having today?” Luna said, her voice holding a tone of confidence that he had never heard her use before.

“I think I’ll take an americano and cold brew, got all that?” The customer said, he was a lanky older looking guy with dirty blonde hair that was neatly kept. Behind him stood a young boy who looked to be in his mid to late teens who had hair very similar to his fathers.

“I sure do,” Isaiah responded, looking over towards the two, his deadpan expression returning as he began brewing the coffee. He pulled out two cups and quickly filled them with water, setting them in the microwave and beginning to heat them to a hot temperature. While Isaiah began on the americano Luna started panicking, not knowing how to make a drink in minutes that takes hours to make usually. She turned to Isaiah who was busy moving the drinks over to the espresso Machine and tugged on his sleeve.

“Um, Isaiah.” She said, whispering to him, “How am I supposed to get him a cold brew?” 

“Simple,” Isaiah responded, pulling out a bottle from the fridge, filled with a light brown translucent liquid, “I keep it premade in the fridge, always fresh from the night before.

Isaiah grabbed a tall pint glass and filled it with ice, he proceeded to unscrew the cap and pour the cold coffee into the glass, the ice crackling as the liquid covered it. Isaiah held the two drinks out to Luna, smiling a thin sweet smile, beginning to speak,

“Bring these drinks to the customers, they’re at the table over there. After you’ve done so, come back here, I’d like to give you some pointers.”

“I can do that.”

Luna ran over to the table, quickly dishing the drinks out to them with a gleeful smile on her face the whole time. The group thanked her, gave over a tip, and then began conversing between themselves. Luna rushed back over, wanting to hear the feedback that Isaiah had to give her.

“Alright, so here’s what I have to say, you did a great job for your first time, however there’s a few things I need to point out: You need to act like you always know what you’re doing, even if you don’t, and most importantly, you need to really suck up to the customer. Be really nice to them no matter what. Just do what you already do but to the point where it’s obnoxious. Understood?” 

“I can do that, but…” Luna replied, “You don’t act like that?”

“Yeah?” Isaiah responded, “That’s my whole persona, people like consistency. They like to be able to rely on the same thing, change is scary for a lot of people.”

“Oh, I understand.”

The clock kept ticking as the night progressed, the faint sound covered heavily by the sound of relaxed jazz and chatting. Luna had taken Isaiah’s words to heart and began to do what he had asked, being sickeningly sweet to everyone. Some took Luna’s mood better than others but all of the interactions that she had were quite positive. Despite being sweet to customers as a facade, Luna always kept an eerily cheerful mood, despite what was happening.

How the hell does she do this? Isaiah thought to himself, I either need to be cautious or take a leaf out of her book. Life is just too confusing sometimes. Just days ago I was completely against trusting her motives and now I want to follow in her footsteps? I’m just too indecisive, geez.

Isaiah looked over at Luna, then the clock, panning between both as he watched the second-hand tick. 1:53, he was sweeping the floor. 1:56, he was wiping off the counter and washing the dishes. 1:58, he was turning off the equipment and starting a new cold brew coffee. 2:00.

The very moment the clock showed 2:00am, Isaiah turned towards Luna,

“You should head home now; your shift is done.” Isaiah said, grinning slightly as he spoke. You could tell that it wasn’t genuine, but the thought behind it very much was.

“Oh, okay. Thank you.” Luna said, grabbing her phone off of the counter and slipping it into her pocket.

“Thanks for what?”

“Thanks for… Being a nice boss I guess.” 

Isaiah was standing near to the door, the bright moonlight piercing through the windows, casting a faint glare onto his face. Luna flipped the lightswitch, the overhead lights turning off, leaving only the light from the outdoors to illuminate the two. She began walking towards the door, Isaiah looking up to see that she was walking towards him. He stepped slightly to the side, giving her enough room to get out the door comfortably, but was surprised when she stopped right in front of it, a look of confliction on her face.

The next thing he knew, his body was holding up more weight than it should and his entire front felt warm. After a moment of blue screening, he looked down to see that Luna had her arms around her his sides,

“Wha-” Isaiah said, completely dazed and confused, “Why?”

“Consider it a token of gratitude, for everything you’ve done so far.” Luna responded, pulling away and quickly walking towards the door, “See you later!”

“Oh, yeah. That’ll happen” Isaiah responded, still dumbfounded as to what just occurred. 

The door closed behind her, the small bell hanging with it jingling as she walked out of the establishment. Isaiah stood deathly still for minutes, just trying to get a grasp of what just happened. Thoughts flooded his head, what was that? What’s going on? Why can’t I move? Why does my face feel warm? 

After many deep breaths and a moment to process Isaiah cracked his knuckles and began his ascent up the stairs. Each step he went up it got just a little brighter as he approached his room. The light from underneath the door shined into his eyes as he got to the final step, turning the gleaming gold handle. Immediately he looked over to see Rain stretched out atop his bed like she lived there and Liam fast asleep in the bed of his own. Rain was always like this, finding a convenient way to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“You should get up. I need to sleep.” Isaiah whispered, looking down disapprovingly at Rain. 

“Where’s the fun in that?” She responded, keeping her eyes closed as a grin stretched over her face.

“I don’t want to argue with you tonight.”

“Why argue, just join me, it’s a big bed after all.” 

“For you maybe, I don’t want half of me to be on the floor.”

“You’d be fiiiiineee. Just come on.” Rain said, sitting up and patting the mattress next to her.

“For the last time, I’m not going to have you sleep in my bed.” Isaiah said, slapping his face lightly to stay awake.

“Fine I guess, on one condition.”

“And that is?”
“You have to chat with me for a short bit. Or buy me a drink, whether that be coffee or alcohol.”

“I’d sooner die than buy you alcohol. Your 21’st was one of the worst days of my life.” 

“It was sooooo fun though.” 

“No, it wasn’t, you are one of the worst lightweights that I’ve ever met. The only reason that I give you all of this espresso every day is so that you don’t move to alcohol.”

“You make a fair point.” Rain said, resting her face on top of her palm.

“Listening to you is a lot easier than buying you stuff so I’ll take that option.”

“Great!” Rain said, putting her hands to her sides and sitting up straighter.

Isaiah took a seat on the bed, positioned so that he could look at her head on without needing to turn awkwardly. He was tired and sore, wanting nothing else but sleep, but he didn’t want to just shove his friend out to the curb. After clearing her throat and taking a pause Rain spoke,

“I want to move in up here with you two!” Rain said, smiling semi-sweetly.

“No,” Isaiah responded quickly, a sour expression on his face.

“Pretty please! I’ll even work at the cafe during the day so you won’t have to.”
“I don’t trust you to run the cafe even for a minute, let alone all day.”

“Please! You don’t have a reason not to let me.” She responded, frowning slightly as she spoke.
“I just gave you one, also Liam never said you could.”

“Yeah, he did,” Rain said, smiling sweetly in an attempt to convince Isaiah, “I’ll pay rent!”
“That’s not the problem.”
“Then what is?”

“I-” Isaiah abruptly stopped speaking, at a loss for words. There wasn’t a reason that she couldn’t besides for the fact that there was nowhere to sleep and to fit another bed a lot of rearrangement would have to happen.

“Where would we fit a bed?” Isaiah asked.

“We’d either move yours, or I’ll steal yours, your choice.” 

“Saying that isn’t helping your case.”
“Sorry, I’ll do better next time boss.” Rain said in a mocking tone, smiling smugly at Isaiah.

“You realize that I’m the one who gets the say on if you can or not, you don’t want to start an argument with me right now.”

“Oh, you’re right.”

“I’m aware.”

“Okay, for the last time, just give me a chance to stay here for a little bit and you can kick me out if it’s not going well.”

Isaiah stood still and silent for moments on end, wondering to himself what he was going to say or do. Finally, after moment of wait, he spoke,

“I’m going to let you stay as a test run, just to see how it would all work out, alright? I’ll let you start when you bring the money for the first month’s rent.”

“I came prepared,” Rain stated, pulling a thick envelope of cash out of her hoodie pocket.

“What! How long have you been planning this?” Isaiah said, an angry look coming across his face.

“Longer than you’d like to know. Anyways, goodnight.” Rain said, rolling back into Isaiah's bed and closing her eyes.

“No no no, get out, when you have a mattress then you can stay.”

“What had you said just moments ago? Oh right! I can stay as long as I pay rent.”
“Rain, you can’t do this, where am I supposed to sleep?”

“With me or Liam, you can choose.”

“Well, this is your doing,” Isaiah stated, leaning over towards his bed and picking up Rain in a princess carry. However, princess carry was a bad name for how he was carrying her, it was anything but graceful.

“Put me down!” Rain stated, beginning to become red in the face.

“Nope, if you’re going to be like that then I’m taking you off my bed by force.”

“Fine, I’ll stop, just put me down.”

“As long as you promise.”

Isaiah set Rain down, she was obviously flustered, a state that he had never seen her in before. 

“How in the hell are you strong? You just make drinks all day.” Rain said, avoiding eye contact.

“You think I know? At least it’s helpful when washing dishes.”

“I like the way you think of Isaiah,” Rain laughed, “Most guys would be proud of that stuff, being strong and athletic, but you stay simple. That’s what I like about you, you’re someone who I can always rely on to feel at home with. I never feel like I need to watch my words, or be nice around you because you’re not going to hate me because of that. It’s funny to think that despite where I go or what I do, you’re just going to be here working your simple job in your simple life. It’s plain and obvious, no wonder Luna took a liking to you so quickly.”

Rain stood up straight, brushed herself off, and handed the envelope full of money to Isaiah before leaning in close. Before he knew it, he was wrapped into another embrace. Overloaded with emotion, all he could do was stand there, completely frozen and dazed. Rain loosened her grip before stepping back and giving Isaiah something that he could only describe as a genuine sweet smile resting between her two cheeks, painted with blush. Something that he hadn’t seen from Rain in his entire time knowing her.

She quickly turned her back on Isaiah, opening the door and rushing down the stairs before Isaiah could even comprehend what was happening. He was pulled in for another hug, the second one in one day. The smile that rain had held only seconds ago now found its way onto Isaiah’s face, his cheeks turning red as one thought filled his whole head. Maybe, life isn’t just work all day and then wake up. Maybe this drab and dark life can have some color after all.

Author's Note

Enjoy. Now.