The encounter
Look, Regulus knows, okay? Logically, he knows that he shouldn’t do it—he promised himself that he would have some peace for a while—it’s just that he is choosing to ignore that fact in favor of his best interest. And, in this moment, his best interest is to see that hot barista again.
He doesn’t knows a lot about him. He knows that he’s Hispanic, but he doesn’t really have a clue of where specifically he is from; he also knows that he works in the cafeteria close to Regulus’ university every Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, because he sees him there when he goes those days, but he doesn’t know if he just works then or if he has other shifts; he knows that apart from working as a barista, he studies as well, because he has seen him with big piles of notes he hovers over in his breaks; he also doesn’t know... He doesn't even know his name.
Okay, realistically, Regulus knows a lot less about the hot barista than what he doesn’t know about him, and that pisses him off. And that pissing him off pisses him off even more. He knows that doesn’t really make much sense, but it does to him. It’s just that— he isn’t a person who cares about others. And, okay, that sounds cynical, but it’s how it is nonetheless.
It's not that he doesn’t care about anyone. He cares about Pandora (his best friend), and with her came his twin Evan, and with Evan inevitably came Barty, his... well, he doesn’t really know what they are, but they come in a pack anyway. And with the passage of time, Regulus learned to care about them. The thing is that, aside from them, he doesn’t care about anyone; he thinks it’s a waste of time to learn things about people that aren’t going to be important in his life, so he just doesn’t.
So, taking all that into consideration, he doesn’t know why he suddenly feels such a strong curiosity for that barista. And all that not knowing is really starting to piss him off, so he’s taken it upon himself to end it. He believes that if he just has a small chat with him, his curiosity will be satisfied, and he will go back to not caring. Pandora doesn’t agree with him.
And, as always, Pandora ends up being right.
·
Regulus enters the cafeteria that Tuesday sooner than he usually does. It may have something to do with the fact that the instant his last class ended, he ran out, leaving Barty (who goes to the same classes as him and with whom he walks out every day) there. Okay, maybe running is a bit overdramatic; he doesn’t run. But he did walk very fast with the intention of getting sooner to his target.
He spends all the time walking from his university to the cafeteria (which isn't longer than fifteen minutes) thinking about how he could approach the barista without seeming weird or creepy, which is an alarmingly common situation for him.
A little bell rings when he crosses the door of the establishment, notifying the people closer to him that he has entered; and looking immediately for the barista, feeling a little weak on the knees when their eyes meet almost instantly.
The brown-haired boy sends him a shining smile and then goes back to the woman he was talking to before Regulus appeared, without noticing the obvious effect this gesture has on him.
Regulus stands in line, waiting for his turn to be attended by the boy whose name he didn't even know but who had been prowling around his thoughts without his consent for weeks on end. And Regulus wanted nothing more than for it to stop.
“Hey!” The boy jerks in his place, alarmed by the sudden noise he wasn’t expecting, lost as he was in his mind.
When Regulus looks up, his gaze meets a pair of big brown eyes that seem to hold rays of sunlight in them. For the second time in that evening, they locked eyes, and for the second time in that evening, Regulus feels that one only interaction won't do anything to satisfy his curiosity.
“You okay? You seemed kind of lost; I called you three times.” The barista says, looking at him with something resembling concern, after Regulus didn't answer his last call.
“Yes, sorry. I was just-” Regulus doesn't end that thought, losing it’s importance as his eyes catch a glimpse of something shiny in the apron of the boy in front of him. James. It's a tag name, and Regulus can't comprehend how, after weeks of going over and over to the same café only to see him—James—he hasn't seen it before. It doesn't make any sense because the name of the barista was one of the things that Regulus was more eager to know, and even though he could have just asked, he wasn't one that did that kind of thing, always happier watching by the sidelines than actually taking chances. So, during long weeks, his friends had to listen to him rant about someone he didn’t even know the name of, knowing that, as much as he wanted—and he really wanted—Regulus wasn't going to take the first step.
“You were just… distracted, I see.” James continues, after waiting for Regulus to end the sentence and him not doing it. He had caught the black-haired man looking at him and most likely mistaken it for Regulus looking at him by the smile he gave him. And, yes, Regulus had spent a lot of time looking at him like that, but this hadn't been one of those times; this time he had just gotten lost in his thoughts, looking in the general direction of where the boy was. “I’m James.”
“Yes, I can see that.” Regulus states harshly, pointing with his eyes at the metal tag that the boy has hanging in his clothes. James blushes lightly, but he doesn't look intimidated; his smile as bright as ever while he looks Regulus up and down, like he had been doing for a while.
“Oh, I’m still not used to having the tag.” James says with a short but warm laugh that made Regulus’ stomach flinch, resting his elbow in the bar between them and leaning a little bit forward.
“How can you not be used to it? You’ve been working here for months.” Regulus asks, genuinely confused by it but also taking the opportunity to tease the man a little, delighted by the way his cheeks turn into a color closer to red than to his skin tone. But Regulus victory is short, because from one second to another, something in the expression of the man in front of him changes, and a new glint appears in his eyes, more playful than before.
“I’m not used to it because I lost it in, like, my first two days of work, so I haven’t been wearing it.” James answers, making Regulus feel kind of relieved, because it was true; James hadn’t had the tag on for as long as Regulus had known him, so there was no way that he could have known his name. It made him feel better about himself that he hadn’t seen it because it wasn’t there, rather than that he was so mesmerized by James that he hadn’t been observant enough. He hated not being observant enough. “And how do you know how long I’ve worked here? Been watching me?”
That Regulus didn’t expect. He froze, feeling like a little kid being caught doing something bad. Because, yes, he had been watching him, and much to his regret, he couldn’t stop watching him, the man piquing his curiosity like it hadn’t been piqued for a very long time.
“I just come here a lot. And you are difficult not to notice with how loud you are.” Regulus says with a sharp tone, feeling as if he has to fend for himself, even though there is nothing to fend for, as James was just being friendly—and maybe a little flirty—but nothing in him gave off malice.
The thing is, Regulus always thinks people are attacking him, laughing at him, and treating him badly, because that was the way it had been for most of his life. But it is not like that anymore: now he has friends that he loves—and that love him back—that would go to hell and back to fend him from everyone, and after all this time, he has also learned to fend himself from anyone who wants to cause him pain. But, with how he has been in a fight or flight mode for so long, now that he is safe, he doesn’t know how to take it off, so he attacks back at people that are not even attacking him in the first place.
The man has a weird expression in his face that Regulus can't exactly figure out, and a couple of seconds later, with no answer, Regulus reprimands himself in his mind for being so harsh, sure that he has scared James away. It wouldn't be the first time.
But, unfortunately, when James is finally opening his mouth to talk again and dispel Regulus' doubts, he gets called by another worker behind the bar, asking for his help to attend the large line of customers that had been forming for the last minutes when James had been distracted by Regulus and very much not attending customers.
In the time that the curly-haired boy has given a quick answer to excuse himself and take his attention back to Regulus, he has already left the cafeteria without looking back. He hadn't even ordered anything.
·
“I’m so stupid.” Regulus groans into his hands, which he has covering his face while he grumbles. “I’m not going to that cafeteria ever again. If I have to walk an hour to get a fucking bagel, I’m going to do it.”
“Don’t you think you are being a little overdramatic?” Pandora asks him sarcastically, trying to hide her smile with little success. “I’m sure he doesn’t hate you. And if he does, I can always go there and beat him up.”
Regulus looks at her with a stare so cold that any other person would have run away. But not Pandora, not her. What she does in return is give him an even colder look, defiantly, making Regulus frown his eyebrows with grumpiness and take his head back down.
“I’m not being overdramatic.” Regulus mumbles, pretending that he feels insulted by the acusation and, deep down, not even pretending at all. “And you wouldn’t hurt a fly, Panda.”
“Well… Okay, you’re right.” Pandora concedes him, tilting her head to the side. “But I would tell Evan to do it, and he would take Barty with him, and then they would beat the hot barista up.”
“James.”
“What?” The blonde girl asks, not sure if she has heard it right because of the way Regulus’ voice is muffled by the hands that are covering his mouth, making it harder for her to understand him.
“His name is James.” Regulus adds, finally lifting his head to look straight at Pandora, right in the eye. He is still upset about the whole situation, thinking about everything he has done wrong in that interaction—he could make a list, really—but he is no longer spiraling, thanks to Pandora, because that’s what she will do for him. Regulus can be in the worst state of mind possible, but a single conversation with Pandora will manage to lift him up and take him back to his usual sarcastic self, not without her own touch of sarcasm. It has been that way since they met in high school; it had been that way when Regulus’ brother ran away and Regulus was left alone in an abusive household; it had been that way when Regulus himself ran away a couple years later; and it is that way now. Regulus knows he can always count on Pandora—it’s one of the few things he’s completely sure are not going to change—and Pandora knows that she can always count on Regulus, because that is how it has always been, and that is how it’s always going to be.
“Well, so Evan and Barty would go and beat James up, if you want. And I would cheer them on." She says it with a smile, like even the thought amuses her, and Regulus can’t help but let out a little laugh, the fondness in his eyes spilling through the craks.
“It won’t be necessary.” He makes it clear because he knows that Pandora is very capable of going through with her threat, and even though he is very embarrassed about the whole thing, he doesn’t want James to end up in the hospital.
“In that case, get the fuck up and stop whimpering. You promised me you would help me organize my crystals, remember?” Pandora says, in her usual charming and nice self, that she is, standing up from the sofa in the living room and going right into her room. Regulus stands up as well and hums in response, not fighting the smile on his lips anymore.
Pandora looks over her shoulder a couple of seconds later, checking if Regulus is following her. He is. He always will.