Loitering [closed]

Rohan loitered outside of the cafe, tapping away at his phone, distracting himself and trying not to look at the text he sent her. He had acquired her number before he left her, and gave her the time after he had completed his exam. His exam; he was no longer an initiate. It made him feel cool, like a regular bloak, a sweater-wearing private school smart kid in an American wilderness resort. It wasn't much of a resort, and the sweater wasn't very fancy, but it wasn't entirely untrue. He felt like hot shit. The uniform sweater was thrown over his shoulder then, the button-up white shirt and the crooked tie disheveled from a long day and a critical personality test. She was a bit late. He put 7:00, came at 7:10, and it was 7:20. Was she going to ditch out on him? That'd never happened to him before. One of his few memories of his father came when they went fishing 8 years prior and he gave him a stern lecture about women. You can do whatever you want to them, he had said. But don't let them do whatever they want to you. If they do, they're no good cunts, aight kid? McCaigs don't answer to cunts, they answer to McCaigs.

Aight...

He scuffed at the dirt with his shoe.

It wasn't a date, right? They were just meeting for coffee. She had made a friend and they were going to have coffee together, that was all. It wasn't a big deal. Of course, Ria had never been to Rosebury or the cafe, so she had no idea what the implications of going for a coffee meant here. Thoughts of her dad's stories of the coffee dates he had with her mother came to mind and she found herself wondering if perhaps it was a date.

Out of sheer panic, the girl almost didn't make it. She didn't want this to be a date. It took twenty minutes to convince herself it wasn't a date if she didn't want it to be; they were just becoming friends, and that was all. She was still young, she still had plenty of time to figure life out, she would be fine. Even so, she had raced to change into a nicer top, her school skirt and sweater still a part of the ensemble, something she didn't have the time to change. As a result, she entered the village in an outfit that seemed mismatched and uncoordinated, the vibrant color of her top clashing with her dull uniform. She arrived outside of the cafe 25 minutes after the time Rohan had asked her to meet him.

Slightly out of breath, she managed a smile and lifted a hand in a half wave.
"Sorry I'm late," she said, offering no excuse.

Rohan had been counting figures in the distance as her for a while, and when he saw her, his shoe kicking violently into the ground, he didn't truly believe it was her until it was undeniable. So she was a little late. His smile was dry, laced with an impatient sort of irritation, but it was a smile nevertheless. His words were similar, with the slightest venom, though they were a kind, "At least y'made it." He looked her up and down, wondering why she was only half in her uniform, but decided not to say anything about it. "At least I di'nae make a reservation." Did they even do that?

A flare of panic sparked in Ria's chest at the word 'reservation'. What sort of cafe was this, in this crazy place? Nervously, she glanced behind Rohan to get a look through the windows, anticipating seeing a stern hostess with hair pulled tightly to her scalp and guests sipping coffee like they were drinking wine. She was relieved to instead see that it was just as a casual a place as she might have originally thought. Students and townspeople alike were sharing booths, listening to music, doing work on open computers, and drinking their coffees like normal people.

Trying to ignore the edge she could see in the boy's eyes, Ria smiled sheepishly at him.
"Sorry, I lost track of the time," she said, her voice quiet but strong.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He grinned, nodding to the waitress despite never seeing her before and taking a seat in a random booth beside the window. He spread his arms out wide, but immediately lowered them as his attention went to the damp outdoors. "Left mih Macbeth out'ere. He's in the Stables, but they must be cold." He laughed nervously. "I hope he's all good." Perhaps it wasn't a good thing to talk about your pet goat on a date, but he was part of the reason he met. They were something of a threesome in their short time together.

Silently, Ria followed Rohan, smiling politely at the waitress and sitting across from the boy, carefully tucking her skirt under her legs. She listened as the boy across from her fretted over his pet goat. A brief pang of worry came to her as she remembered the funny little animal, such a small thing out in the cold, but she figured they wouldn't just leave him alone and let him freeze. Would they?

"I'm sure he's fine," she reassured Rohan, nodding and leaning forward in order to reinforce her point. She opened her mouth to say something more, but as she did, a waitress approached and asked if they were ready to order. Unsure, Ria glanced over, wondering if her partner was ready.

Rohan smiled at her reassurance, and the smile remained for a little bit as he leaned back and made himself comfortable. After a brief silence, with his face in a bright sort of secretive mien, he began to speak of what bespeckled his face, what he kept behind the smirk. "So, I did my test this mornin'." The test they were talking about the day prior. Rohan had invited her on a date with him to celebrate his advancement in the school, after all; it was what they were there for, at least under guise.

The waitress came over before she could react, however, and Rohan asked what tea they had, interrupting her and choosing the second one she mentioned as soon as it came from her mouth. Any curtness was healed by a small anecdote of it being similar in flavor to one he used to frequent at home, a tea an old lady in Edinburgh sold. There was a brief conversation about Scotland, ending in the waitress warmly smiling and bubblishly making her exit toward the counter 8 or so minutes after she'd arrived. Well, not before asking Ria's order; the waitress turned and almost dragged herself back to get hers. "I'm sorry," she said red-faced. "And what would you like?"

He was absolutely mesmerizing. Rohan spoke with an easiness that Ria envied, an easiness that was charismatic and intriguing when couple with his accent, his anecdote something she could've heard from anyone, but it was different coming from him. The waitress was enthralled and Ria herself almost hadn't noticed when her order wasn't taken, leaning forward on the table with her chin resting in her hand, dark eyes widen and mouth in a smile she hadn't realized she was smiling.

The waitress' less than valiant return dragged the girl back to reality, and she hurriedly ordered a strong tea, something simply to warm her up. Her own order came out in a jumble of words without a thrilling tale to accompany them. Her mind was just as messy, and after the waitress had left, she struggled to remember what they had been discussing before she had arrived. She was disoriented after witnessing Rohan's charm, something he seemed to have effortlessly. Vaguely, she wondered if it had anything to do with his gift.

"Ah, you said you had your test this morning," Ria finally said, grasping gladly at the coherent thought. "How did that go? What did they make you do? Was it hard? Ooh, what house are you in?" It took the girl a moment to relax and stop asking so many questions, but she quieted down and eagerly awaited his response, equally desperate to know what the process was like and to hear him tell it.

"They wou'n't be hard," he said as their order came. He thanked the waitress softly, on words the average non-Scotsman would have difficulty understanding, then turned his amber eyes back at the girl. They had a sort of hypnotic look to them, like he was always in a charming glance, always saying something cunning or fun or likable. They sparkled in the light of the room, and commanded attention even without his power. His hand glided over the rim of his drink. "Is just a personality test. I'm an autumn."

Ria muttered a thank you as her tea arrived, small curls of steam rising from the surface of the liquid. She waited to take a sip, years of drinking hot tea too early almost literally burned in her memory, her tongue tingling slightly at the thought. Instead, she merely held it in between her hands on the table, allowing the warmth to seep into the mug and extend to her hands, their color stark against the white of the cup.

Of course it was just a personality test. Why would it be something hard? She chided herself for believing the vague rumors she'd heard around the initiate dorms.
"I've heard good things about the autumn house," she commented idly, lifting the cup to her lips and blowing on the surface gently. She silently wondered if that would be where she ended up it. Listening to the other students talk about the houses, it seemed most likely for her, but she wasn't too sure it would be where she ultimately ended up. "So I guess you'll be moving dorms, then?"

"'Aven't heard anything bad 'bout any houses, but." He took a sip of his tea, looking her in the eyes over the rip of the ceramic mug. "They're all good tekul, as my gran'pop always said. 'Real cheery,' he was a bit of a Yorkshire man." The coffee was hot, and he showed it by a momentary flick of his tongue. "Y'want to get in Autumn? I can tell you what I put." He blinked a few times, drumming his fingers silently on the tabletop.

Immediately, Ria straightened up and set her cup on the table, her fingers tightening on it. Was it considered cheating if you... Well, if she cheated the system, then yes, it was more than likely cheating. She couldn't do that. Could she? Would they even catch her doing it? In lieu of an answer, the girl shrugged her shoulders lightly, bringing the cup to her lips again and taking a minuscule sip. It was still hot.
"That's alright, I'll take it myself," she told the boy, hardly daring to look at him. Her cheeks felt strangely warm and somewhat prickly, though for what reason, she wasn't sure. "It's not long, is it? I can't stand long tests."

"Is about a thousand questions." Rohan delivered the verdict with such stoicism that he almost believed the outrageous number himself, but there was a slight blossom of a smile that dressed his lips and came to fruition when he shifted in his seat. "Nah, about 20 or so, I think." Another sip. It was still hot, but the kind of hot he could withstand, and he tipped the cup toward him fruitfully. "Nae'xactly an Edinburgh brew," he commented with an ah, "but I'll take it."

There was a moment where Ria's heart stopped as she studied Rohan's face and tried to determine whether he was lying to her or not. Surely there weren't a thousand questions, that would take all day to get through, and then someone had to grade it and give them an answer. But he gave her quick relief with the follow-up. 20 questions was easy, she knew, she'd done it plenty of times before. She smiled before copying his actions, drinking from her cup and feeling her insides warm from the hot beverage. It soothed her nerves easily and she felt more relaxed as she set the now half-empty cup on its plate once more.
"Do you drink a lot of tea at home?" she asked him politely. Two of her fingers had hooked themselves through the handle of the cup, allowing her to hold it more securely as she waited for an answer.

Rohan seemed a little surprised by the question. His smile seemed to lessen; maybe it was because home was such a far away subject that he wished was the opposite. Or maybe it was because he was usually commanding the conversation; it took him aback to get asked something, and he rested his chin in his hands. "I s'pose," he said. "Kinda fits the stereotypes, but my mum always said they exist for a reason." Maybe quoting his mum wasn't the best thing to do on a date. Was he actually suddenly worried or second-guessing? What happened there? He pulled his jacket up and pressed his chin into his hands harder.