Chapter Text
You got something to say?
Why don’t you speak it out loud, instead of living in your head?
It’s always the same
Why don’t you take your heart out, instead of living in your head?
Heart Out -The 1975.
Poe sighed as he made his way into his regular cafe. It was a pretty place with soft pink walls, elegant windows decorated with tulles , which made it look more like a very pretty estate instead of a cafe. It had flowers in all kinds of different colors, adding texture to the look. Poe liked to come here a lot, it was comforting and barely had any customers which was a bonus because Poe got nervous in front of crowds.
He pushed open the door, the “ding” sound making its way to his ears, the familiar scent of coffee filling up his lungs. Quiet dance music turned low the way it is when no one is listening. He walked over to the barista, his boots making a “click” sound along the floor as he did.
“I’ll have the regular”
To Poe’s surprise, instead of a man with long gray hair, a shorter man with black hair and piercing green eyes looked back at him. He was wearing a seemingly comfortable black hoodie with baggy denim pants decorated with pins and acrylic paint, his hair tied up in a half up half down ponytail.
“I don’t know you”
Poe was fairly surprised at his response because the man looking back up at him wasn’t the man he was used to seeing here.
“You-“ Poe paused. “You’re not Fukuzawa” he stated, confused.
“Really?” asked the boy in a sarcastic tone.
The raven haired boy had this smug expression, the corners of his mouth turning into a smile. Poe couldn’t tell if it was genuine or not, but it had this unexplainable attractiveness to it.
“Fukuzawa will be my dad, he’s out for the week so i’ll be looking over here for a while” The boy explained.
That made sense. Poe could somewhat see the resemblance. And he did remember Fukuzawa mentioning he had a son around his age.
“I’ll have an iced americano then” he said, wanting to go on with his morning routine.
He was a regular at this place, and over time, Fukuzawa had become one of the few people he didn’t get extremely nervous around. If Fukuzawa didn’t have a lot of customers, they would talk. It was another reason why Poe came to this place so often other than it not being so crowded and having a nice look.
“Coming right up” the boy winked at him. Winked at him.
Poe was stunned for a second, like a deer caught in the headlights, but then sat at one of the tables, waiting for his coffee to arrive. He took out his homework like usual and started thinking up ideas of what he could write. He was a literature major in his second year of university. He isn’t all that rich so he got in with a full scholarship in one of the best universities in Yokohama and well, to be completely honest, he was quite proud of his writing skills. Though that also brings us up to his current problem. Writing a romance novel.
To get high marks he had to write in every genre which was completely fine with him because he loved writing, just not.. romance. Okay, so maybe he was 19 and hadn’t held hands with a single person in his life, he didn’t see any problem there.. Okay, maybe a slight problem.
He would be very content with writing just mystery and horror, but he knew almost every book had even a tad bit of romance in them so he shouldn’t just avoid the genre and at least try. But he really had no idea how to write anything that involved romance. Sure, he had read books with romance in them before, but maybe it was just the lack of experience.
He was too distracted to even hear the black haired boy walk over to him with a drink in his hands, which caused him to startle when he heard the boy's voice.
“Here’s your drink” the raven haired boy said, matter-of-factly.
Poe, now pulled out of his train of thought, stared at the boy for a second before grabbing the coffee and awkwardly muttering a thanks, figuring the boy would leave. He didn’t. When Poe looked up at him, he looked unsure and hesitant, like something was bothering him, but Poe didn’t exactly think that was the case.
“Do you go to Yokohama University?” asked the boy.
Poe really hadn’t been expecting that at all.
“Yeah.. How did you know?” Poe asked, genuinely taken aback.
“I go there too, you just looked familiar so I figured..” muttered the boy.
Poe had never seen him before, but that was fairly normal for him considering he didn’t pay attention to his surroundings much. He really needed to fix that.
“What’s your major?” asked the boy.
“Oh uh, literature” Poe answered.
The boy scoffed insultingly, “Isn’t that boring?” except it wasn’t a question but more of a mockery.
“No, not particularly” answered Poe, unsure of what to think.
“Seems boring to me” said the boy as he reached down to his pocket to grab a piece of gum, effectively ending the debate.
The boy opened up the packet of the gum, tossing it in his mouth. He gnawed down the stick of gum slowly, opening his jaws and lips with each bite.
“What do you major in then?” asked Poe, starting to grow exasperated. He hadn’t anticipated being criticized like this when he first walked into the cafe. But it was also quite intriguing.
“Art, I study painting, sculptures, history of art, visual art. Just any form of it. I’m the best in my major”
The way this boy called himself the best could be taken a bit weirdly, but the tone he was using had zero pride in it, like he was merely just stating a fact. Poe liked art, he found it calming. He had tried doing it once before, but gave up after some time.
“Uh that seems cool” Poe said, not sure where this conversation is going.
“It is!” exclaimed the boy. Now with a huge grin on his face.
Poe’s terrible communication skills were betraying him hard as he was stuck, not knowing what to say. He bit the inside of his lip, internally cursing at himself until he heard a “ding” sound, declaring that someone had entered the cafe. (In Poe’s words, ‘saved him from his inner misery’.) Both boys turned their heads to the direction of the sound.
“I should go now. What’s your name by the way?” asked the raven haired boy, tossing the gum wrapper in his pocket.
Poe hesitated for a second before rushing out his name, like he was unsure of it.
“Poe” he answered.
“I see.. see you around Poe-kun” the shorter boy murmured before leaving to serve the new customer.
Poe glanced at the shorter boy while he took the order. He was pretty, pretty enough to be in paintings. Suddenly Poe wished he hadn’t quit drawing, because if he could, that boy would certainly be the first person he would.
He didn’t tell me his name..
Poe took the coffee cup in his hands, just as he was about to bring it to his mouth he noticed writing on the cup. Poe turned the cup around only to see a shape of a heart, drawn thoroughly messily but that just added a sense of individuality. It could’ve even been cute, if you asked him.
Poe could feel heat rising to his cheeks as he tried to look calm and drink his coffee. It was dark and bitter, the way he liked it. He watched the boy for a while as he was busy with customers, completely neglecting the assignment laying in front of him.
He watched the creases that formed by the side of his eyes when he smiled. He watched the way he tucked his hair behind his ear when preparing drinks, only for it to fall down again, the way his forehead creased when he got frustrated.
It wasn’t abnormal for him, observing people. It was a writing habit he had developed over time.
I could definitely write about him..
He collected his stuff from the table and placed it in his backpack. It was plain gray, completely unadorned. It gave Poe a weird feeling, he hadn’t felt that way about his backpack before. Although it was weird for him to feel that way now, who got upset over a backpack?
Whatever. I need to move on..
He exited the cafe. It was dark.. how much time had passed? He hadn’t noticed. He walked down the familiar alleyway, the only source of light being the dimly lit street lamps.
Poe arrived at his dorm room. He put his bag down and changed into something more comfortable. He should probably sleep, but the book sitting on his counter looked way more intriguing. Whatever.. sleep could wait. He grabbed the book from his counter, carefully taking out the bookmark. The book was old, and he wouldn’t want to damage it. He had bought it from a second hand shop a couple of weeks ago. An inviting copy of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. He opened up the book, creaking sounds making their way to his ears as he did, and opened up the first page. His eyes began scanning the words from left to right. He tried to concentrate but a specific someone was in the back of his mind, making it hard for him to do so.
Eventually, he got tired and set the book back on his counter, drifting off to sleep.
Poe awakened to the sound of his alarm clock. It was 7:00, still dark. Poe stirred awake, disturbing the pet racoon laying on his chest, Karl. He made breakfast, eggs and bacon. He tossed a few bacon slices at Karl before getting ready and heading out. He wore a white blouse, dark gray pants and a black trench coat. He put all the stuff he needed in his bag and wore his favorite platformed black boots.
There wasn’t anything different, he was just heading to the cafe he went to everyday, nothing special.. But still, it felt different. He was nervous.
He didn’t tell me his name…
Poe opened the door to the cafe, a bell sound following him. The scent of coffee in the air, the place empty regarding the absurd time. Empty excluding one..
He locked eyes with the raven haired boy, the boy overlooking the work in front of him to look at Poe. And he is aware this sounds cliche, but everything stopped. The world emptied, only the two boys' eyes gazing into eachothers.
Surely we had never met before
But with one look, you stole my heart,
All the way to its core
Making me blind, unable to see,
Other people who stood ashore.
We hardly ever talked before,
But from one look
You had me under your spell
Heart in unloveable heart,
Hand in hopeful hand.
My heart was like a puzzle
A puzzle with missing pieces
So why don’t you figure it out?
Because you, my dear,
Are the only one who has said pieces
The only one who can make me complete
And even though it may seem difficult
I ask you this one thing, my dear,
Figure my heart out.