Need Coffee (Tae)

[Ashton Harper]

It was early. Ash had been up since five as it was, he had gotten beat in a race by his best friend with video proof, and he was dying for a coffee boost. Today had just started out bad. It wasn't going to end bad of course because Ash never let a day end bad. He was too upbeat for that. Once Ash had coffee in his system, he'd be good to go. Hopefully. Sometimes it took a little more. Not just coffee, but a few other good things. A pretty girl would be nice. Of course, that rarely happened. And when it did...he screwed it up by stuttering like a moron. A manho with no game...pitiful really.

Ash got out of his car and sluggishly made his way through the door to the cafe. The fresh smell of coffee beans was intoxicating. His craving just kept getting worse. He straightened up a bit and hurriedly got to the coffee counter and ordered a straight up black coffee. He didn't need any of that sissy flavoring stuff. He was a man, and men drank coffee straight up. Just like their alcohol, at least that's what Ash's dad always said.

Ash grabbed his coffee and went to sit at an open table. He sat near the window and sipped his coffee. The taste of it sent thrills of energy through his body and he already started feeling better. Coffee was medicine to Ash. Whenever he was sick, he drank a heck of a lot of coffee. Was it good for him? No. That's why he spent most of his time working out. He enjoyed coffee too much to ever give it up.

One could say he was just a tad addicted. Or a lot addicted. He had started drinking coffee when he was thirteen. His dad made him try it and the first time, Ash spit it out. That's when his mother stepped in and added some of the flavoring. Ash ended up drinking the rest of the coffee in seconds. As he got older though, his father got out the hazelnut creamer and made him take it straight up, no matter what. Ash didn't mind it anymore.

He sat back in his chair and looked out the window. It was a nice day, no matter how tired he was, he still enjoyed it.

[Taeyeon Kai]

The sound of feet hitting pavement was drowned out by the rock music blasting from her iPod headphones, her arms pumping to the beat as her eyes were trained forward. She wore a tank top and running shorts, her iPod around her arm and her cell phone in a special pocket inside her running shorts, and her curly hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, bouncing around her shoulders as she ran. It was the last half mile, and then she was stopping at the coffee shop for some recharging juice.

Her song ended as she reached the shop, and she slowed to a walk to help cool down her speeding heart. A blast of cool air hit her skin as she entered, fingers taking out the earbuds and wrapping it around the iPod she now had in her hand. Quickly scanning the menu, she ordered a bottle of water, a mocha frappuccino, and a large square of some tasty granola bar and paid with the debit card she had slipped into her pocket with her phone. Purchases in hand, she turned and scanned the tables.

She spotted the blonde boy who went running on her route every now and again and smiled, making her way to him. “Good morning, Ashton,” she greeted kindly, sitting across from him. She took a bite of her granola bar and took a drink of her water, sighing as her body recognized the fuel and stopped trembling. “How are you doing today?”

[Ashton Harper]

Ash had noticed a girl jogging down. She stopped a few feet away from the coffee shop and walked the rest of the way. She was oddly familiar. What was her name? Tae somethin' or other. He could never pronounce her full name so he just called her Tae. She ran on the same route he did every once in a while. He liked talking to her. She was down to earth and well pretty cool. Of course sometimes he wasn't so smooth, but he didn't stutter like a moron...yet.

He watched her walk in and then turned back to look out the window. People watching, always fun. He did it all the time just to see how weird some of the locals that he didn't know were. He'd find a few odd balls here or there, but not many. Most of the odd balls went to Hammel. One major one was Zac, but hey, he wasn't too bad. As long as Ash stayed on his good side that was...

Ash heard a female voice and looked up to see Tae. "Good morning? Eh it's not the best for me, but hey. Did you have a nice run?" He asked with a polite smile. "I went running this morning...at five in the morning and raced my best friend...and lost. She had a video camera up and now she has proof of it. So my morning just kinda sucks." Ash shrugged and smiled again. "How are you?" He asked with a small polite smile.

[Taeyeon Kai]

“Yeah, I did,” she said with another smile, taking another bite. The bar was really good, and she drank all of her water before taking a drink of her coffee. The sweet chocolate flavor slid down her throat and she closed her eyes in bliss before opening them again, looking at Ashton. He told her of his crappy morning and she truly felt for him.

“I’m sorry you’ve had a crappy morning,” she told him, reaching across the table to take his fingers and squeeze them gently. She brought her hand back and gave him another smile before taking a bite. It was half gone, and she was sorta sad, since it was really good, but she had the coffee, which made it better in the same instance.

“I’ve been better,” she told him honestly, taking a breath to pause and feel her stomach rumble with digesting. It wasn’t loud, but she could still feel it. “Some issues with my aunt and uncle leaving, my job, my ex boyfriend…” she sighed and shook her head. “But I don’t want to talk about it. How have you been?” she asked, looking at him with her hazel eyes.

[Ashton Harper]

Ash nodded and rubbed his arm nervously. Oh no. It was happening. Why was her nervous? It was just Tae. Ugh, as long as he didn't start that damn stuttering...he'd be fine. Ash cleared his throat and focused back on her as she talked. Please don't stutter, he thought to himself as she spoke. Her smile was definitely pretty, but he couldn't focus on that. So he looked at the table. Rude, yes, but better.

"Eh, i-it's c-cool." Ash cursed internally at his stuttering and almost smacked his head on the table repeatedly, but he refrained. It would probably freak her out if he did that. "H-hopefully, it'll get b-b-better." Damn. My. Stuttering. Problem! He sighed and avoided looking at her. If he didn't look at her, he wouldn't stutter...right?

"I'm sorry about all that. It makes what's been going on with me seem more or less like nothing." Ash looked up at her with sympathy deep in his cerulean, sea blue eyes. He did feel bad for her. His life was going better of course, the only problems he had were nothing comparatively. "I've been alright I guess. Still single, still looking for friends, dealing with this really arrogant, egotistical jerk and trying to keep away from trouble. I have it easy though," He frowned and looked back down quickly. If he talked faster, he didn't stutter. Mental note. Talk fast.

[Taeyeon Kai]

His stuttering was cute. It wasn’t the first time he’d done it with her, and she noticed that he only did it around girls he was mildly interested in. He kept his eyes from her, most likely because he was nervous, and Tae felt a little bad for putting him under the spotlight. She continued to sip her coffee as he talked, trying to get past his stuttering.

“Hopefully,” she agreed, finishing the granola bar and sighing sadly. “That was a good granola bar…” she mourned, then giggled. “Well, if you’re looking for friends, you can count the one person sitting across from you as a friend. And does this egotistical jerk need a beating? I know three martial arts and the famous Wuxi Finger Hold,” she teased, pasting an innocent smile on her face.

“Trouble is your middle name, I can feel it,” she teased again, winking at him as she sipped her coffee.

[Ashton Harper]

Ash was finally gaining control again. He was lucky it was only a minor crush. If it was major, well he wouldn't be talking at all, in any way, ever. She was a nice girl, one he could see himself with, but she was out of his league. He acted like he was in her league, but he really was so far out of it. He wasn't cool, he just pretended to be. Avinea saw right through it, so did Adrian. Tae probably did, or should would soon.

"Thanks, and no. He's just a tad bit annoying sometimes. I'd count him as a potential friend...eventually. He has some good intentions, but the way he puts things makes them sound bad." He shrugged slightly and smiled at the innocent look on her face.

Ash laughed and cleared his throat pushing back the stuttering as best as he could. It was going to happen, but hopefully not as bad. "O-oh yeah totally. I'm such a t-trouble maker. My friends call me Danger." He laughed at his pathetic joke. It really was bad.

[Taeyeon Kai]

He really was trying, and she could give him points for it. As it was, he was just another guy in her eyes, not someone special. “Well, seems like he’s the troublemaker then, am I wrong?” she inquired, finishing the rest of her coffee and tossing it into the nearest trashcan. She watched as it rolled around the rim before sinking into the can.

“Whoo!” she cheered, smiling, looking at Ash. “And your friends call you Danger? What type of danger?” she asked in a teasing tone, right as her phone trilled in a soft ring. She pulled it out of her pocket and read the message before grabbing her things.

“I’m sorry, Ashton, I have to head home and take care of a few things,” she apologized, leaning in and kissing his cheek. “See ya later!” She waved behind her and ran out the door, a flash of gold skin and brown-red hair as she ran down the street.

[ooc :: sorry, my muse crapped out on this thread]