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When Devon and Layla got to the apartment, Devon parked as close to the door as she could. She got out and carefully took Layla out of her car seat, trying not to wake her up. The toddler stayed sleeping, and Devon grinned as she made her way up to her suite.
Sebastian stiffly made his way to the living room, eyes darting over his surroundings, so painfully familiar. He wanted out. He needed to get out. He couldn’t do this, couldn’t face this.
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When Devon got to her apartment suite, she unlocked the door as quietly as she could before heading inside. Reaching her bedroom, she set the still-sleeping Layla in her crib. Once the toddler was settled, Devon walked into the kitchen to start on their supper.
His mother was sitting on the battered couch, her hands folded in her lap. But Sebastian's head was spinning and the room was tilting and every single muscle in his body was tense– he just turned around and ran out the door. Couldn't even stop to think.
He just..
Left.
With his father's yells still echoing behind him.
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(Well, then…
Should we skip? I don’t really have anything for Devon to do.)
(yeah sure oof, to when?)
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(Hm… Maybe he comes into the coffee shop on her shift?)
(sure, so tomorrow? around… lunch?)
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(Sounds good to me! Should I start, then?)
(yeah, sure)
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Devon hummed a song under her breath as she made a customer’s coffee. It was a pretty slow day, so far, but it was only noon. She’d be there until around three in he afternoon, and it much pick up before then.
Sebastian pushed open the door of the coffee shop, yet more bruises marring his face. This time, when the girl had thrown a punch, her ring had split open his cheek, which was now bleeding. He did his best to ignore it, walking up to the counter while keeping his eyes on the floor.
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(Oof… Boy, what have you been getting into?)
Devon looked up to give a customer their drink and nearly dropped the cup. The guy she’d run into — literally — the day before was just walking in. Sebastian… That was his name.
Being the only person behind the counter at the moment, she would have to greet him herself. Great…
“Hi, what can I get for you?” she greeted him, pasting a smile onto her face.
(big oof
sorry)
Sebastian's head snapped up when a familiar voice reached his ears, his mismatched eyes widening slightly in recognition. "Oh– hey, Devon." That's when his stupid brain registered the fact that her smile was evidently fake. She didn't want to talk to him. "Err– just a dark chocolate mocha, please," he managed, hating the way his heart sank in disappointment.
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Devon blinked when he named her favorite drink. “Sure, yeah. Um. Anything else? Or will that be all?”
“That’s it, thanks,” he replied, casting his eyes down to the floor for a second. He waited a beat before raising them again, looking straight into her eyes. And they were very pretty eyes….
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Oh… Oh, wow…
Stop staring! You probably look strange.
Devon chewed on her lip as she glanced down at the cash register, tapping in his order.
“Um. That’ll be $6.25, please,” she said softly.
Sebastian immediately withdrew when the volume of her voice went down, suddenly afraid that he had done something wrong. But what? All he’d done was greet her and order a mocha..
He fished around in his pockets for his wallet, pulling out a slightly crumpled ten dollar bill and placing it on the counter.
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After typing in the numbers, Devon handed him his change. “You, um— That’s one of my favorite drinks, by the way,” she managed to say, her cheeks burning as she kept her eyes glued to the coffee machine.
Oh. Devon was… blushing? Had he embarrassed her in some way? Made her uncomfortable? Sebastian suddenly felt very awkward and clumsy. Clearing his throat, he pulled another bill out of his wallet and pushed the change back to her. “Here, let me buy you one.”
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Devon’s gaze shot back to Sebastian. “W-what? No, no. You— You don’t have to do that,” she stuttered, blinking.
(Hey, Emi has an RP that we only need one more person for, and she asked us to advertise. I was wondering seeing if you might be interested?)
(It sounds cool, what’s the topic?)
He offered her a smile, surprised when he didn’t have to force it. “I insist, really,” he told her, scratching at the nape of his neck.
Sebastian didn’t know why he was doing this, but he was in the unusual mood to do something nice for a stranger, so that’s what he did.
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(Um… It’s really detailed. Lol. You’d just have to read it to understand… It’s got a cool font for the title.)
Devon glanced at the clock, chewing on her lip as she read the time. She could go on break at any moment, now, if she really wanted to…
“Okay… Um, sure… Thanks,” she said, returning his smile with her own small one.
(What’s it called? Is it in limited or wildcard rping?)
Sebastian visibly relaxed when he saw Devon’s smile, assured that he hadn’t made her uncomfortable. “No problem,” he returned, subconsciously rubbing at the bleeding cut on his cheek.
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(It’s in limited. “Join this very in-depth thing!”)
Devon finished his drink and handed it to him before she started on her own. Noticing the cut on his cheek, she frowned slightly. “Do you, uh, want a bandage for that?”
(I’ll go take a look, give me a sec!)
Sebastian stepped out of line, living to the end of the counter so that he wasn’t blocking anyone. He pulled his fingers away from his cheek, frowning slightly at the droplets of blood that now covered them. “It’s fine, but thank you,” he said, not particularly caring about his injuries.
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“No, let me help you,” Devon insisted. She made sure someone was at the counter before stepping away and toward Sebastian.
“No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it,” he insisted self-consciously, grabbing a paper towel and wiping the blood off his fingers. He tried to do the same with his cheek, but ended up smearing it without noticing instead. “Thanks for the drink.”
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“Really, Sebastian. Please, let me help you,” Devon insisted. They had bandages and Neosporin in the back, she could clean the cut for him.
Sebastian hesitated, fingers tightening around his mug for a second. He was…. reluctant to accept help, as usual, but especially now when it was from an almost-stranger. He glanced away, indecision flickering in his eyes for a moment before he realized that she wasn't going to give him.
"Okay," he relented, raising the mug to his lips. "Thank you."
