let the sun in

If i told you I just twisted a bit and that ice will do just fine, would you believe me?

“not even a little bit.”

If you heard someone screaming bloody murder and cursing and then limping out to his car today at the dance studio… no you didn’t.

“i - feel like i should ask you what the hell happened, but i also feel like you’re just not going to tell me?”

“well no i guess not, and i really didn’t either so i can’t say much as long as you’re at least being safe about it.”

“i mean - i am, but also - no offense - but i don’t know you, so it shouldn’t really matter.”

“i feel like, i should be concerned? because you for sure don’t look old enough to drink but we’ll just ignore that.”

“i’m not, but does anyone over the age of 16 ever really listen to that?”

“so turns out getting drunk to forget the next day is happening just results in the next day being ten times worse because now it’s monday with a hangover.”

“that - is a mood, yeah. been there, done that.”

“Definitely buying gifts for all the baristas at the Lima Bean. I don’t think I’d survive if not for them… Gift cards to Starbucks probably wouldn’t be the best idea though, huh?”

“that’s kind of the sweetest thing ever. don’t make me cry, i don’t cry. - not that i’m condoning buying us gifts, but coffee is probably your worst bet, despite how addicted all of us are.”

Per usual, Jasper’s head was in the clouds. It was still strange… Trying to get back into the swing of regular life after a tour. He mostly occupied himself with trying to piece together new melodies and lyrics- but Cam had always been a better lyricist than he’d been. For now, he’d been spending time with his dad and brother- then facetiming his sister now that she’d gone off to live her dreams in New York. There was a certain sadness in it all- trying to catch his brain up to how much things had truly changed in the past year or two. Seemed like he’d blinked and it had all just.. Changed. He’d had one headphone in, head slightly bopping along to the Walk The Moon song that had popped up on his spotify. Honestly, the short girl that was suddenly cursing with her phone landing an inch from the toe of his ratty adidas hadn’t been on his radar til the moment she’d spoken. “Oh- your phone. It’s broken.” He blurted, brain catching up as he stated the obvious. He eyed it where she held it, frowning. “Do you think it’s fixable?”

something about penelope’s off days always left her scrambling and off her usual game. it could be at the fault of never feeling like she’s doing enough, or her body just being so used to the go, go, go of the shop - either way, she was beyond out of her own head. she was eyeing the screen as jasper spoke up, causing her to glance up for the first time since dropping her phone, “yeah - it is.” she confirmed, shrugging slightly, “who even knows. i text like - three people, anyways, so it won’t really be the end of the world, i guess.” with another sigh, penny pocketed the cracked iphone, rubbing her temple with a few of her fingers, “sorry to hold you up.”

Mikey was in his own head, but for reasons he wasn’t up to sharing. He didn’t feel all that well as he raced from the petstore where he’d grabbed some treats for Kylo liked he’d promised, only stopping at the sound of a thud at his feet. He nearly stumbled, and it took a moment for him to register that it was his own sister in front of him. “You’re due for a new one anyway, yeah?” He stepped a bit closer to inspect it, knowing she might could use it for a few days but she risked dicing up her finger tips if she did it too much longer. “Dad won’t be mad, accidents happen.”

penelope let out another sharp sigh, dropping the phone to her side, “yeah, i guess so.” she grumbled, bringing up her free hand to push her hair out of her face rather harshly. it wasn’t abnormal for penny to have days like this - where she was clearly so off balance, and her brain wouldn’t stop running a mile a goddamn minute, “i know he won’t be - i just liked this phone. it had character and all that bullshit.” she forced out a half assed joke, not even bothering to even laugh at it, “where are you running to?”

Is there some sort of group Halloween costume going on that I don’t know about? Had at least five people yesterday and today come in wanting their hair dyed green or orange.

“why - would people actually dye their hair for a single night?”

“It is?” Margot asked, eyes widened. “What’s, like, the difference? Because like iced coffee is cold and iced and cold brew is also cold and iced. There’s like a lot going on there that I feel like is interrupting the cosmos,” the brunette said, wiggling her fingers with a grimace on her face. “But I wasn’t like being rude or anything. It was more of just like a friendly criticism, but like I said, might not just be my thing anymore and I think that’s like so valid of me. Love that for my tastebuds,” picking up her coffee, Margot began suckling some gulps down. She still didn’t necessarily love the taste and couldn’t really place what she didn’t like about it. The syrup maybe? Possibly the almond milk? But it’s not like she was going to toss this cup away and grab something different. Contrary to popular belief, she wasn’t wasteful. Looking up at the girl, she pointed a finger at her. “You work here, right? I mean, you like said you made this so obviously you know what’s good.”

“iced coffee is still brewed hot, but cooled down by either letting it cool on it’s own, or adding it to ice. cold brew is brewed with either cold water or room temp water. they’re both served cold, with ice.” penelope explained further, with a slight shrug of her shoulders. “yeah - you do you.” she was normally rather quick with her words, that mainly stemming from how little she had full conversations with strangers, or how quickly she usually needed to keep the line moving when it was busy. penny’s brows raised slightly at the point of the other girls finger, “i do. i’m one of the managers. - i’ve tried everything on the menu, but it all depends on what you lean more towards, drink wise.”

Margot should have expected some sort of backlash as she sat her ass down in front of a random person, but she wasn’t expecting so much hostility back. “Calm, I was like clearly joking. See?” She pointed to the smile on her face as if that were to clearly say ‘it was a joke’. “Wait,” a pause. “How do you make it cold then? Like it’s cold brew. I thought it came… cold,” she furrowed her brows in confusion for a moment before shaking her head as the girl in front of her began explaining that she had in fact made her drink. Fuck. “Woah, you know, I think all this negativity is thoroughly bringing my aura down but love that you’re so proud of what you made. I just like don’t think it’s the right drink for me,” the brunette emphasized. “Which like, I used to get this when I was like younger and lived here and then it was like the perfect choice for me but I don’t know, maybe my taste buds have just like evolved, but like, thank you for your barista service. And you know what?” Margot rested both of her hands on top of the table. “I bet I just like need to give it another try. You know, haven’t had this drink in years. I probably just need to get used to it.”

penelope let out a soft sigh, her eyes still on the girl who was speaking, “well - you said iced coffee, i thought that’s what you were talking about. cold brew is a different story,” she explained with a soft shrug, letting her arms cross over her chest, her own drink still held in her hand, “i mean - you may want to just be more mindful of where you’re sitting yourself down, and what you’re saying. sorry about your - aura, but maybe taking it easy next time would be your better bet.” penny noted, pushing the chair she was previously using into the table with her foot, “we do have a whole menu of drinks, so you can easily start workin’ your way through them to see what you like and what you don’t.”

There were always certain constants in Lima, Ohio that Margot could never forget. One of those constants being the Lima Bean. It was a Lima staple and when Margot was a wee teenager she would spend all of her allowance stopping by and grabbing an iced vanilla latte with almond milk and a croissant. It was absolute heaven, but now that she had experienced New York pastries and coffee, she wasn’t sure it’d be the same. For fucks sake, she had been to France and had smoked cigarettes, drank coffee, and fucked a Gaspard Ulliel lookalike for a week. Or… was it Gaspard Ulliel, perhaps? Either way, she had drank and ate far more delicious items in different countries and states, could the Lima Bean really live up to her expectations? So as she took a walk from her apartment, she entered the coffee shop and was filled with the aroma she once remembered from her teen years. Grabbing her usual order, she was a little offended no one had recognized her yet. No applause? No ‘welcome back, Margot’? These Lima duds didn’t know shit about greeting superior people, did they? Grabbing her croissant and her coffee, she found the nearest table and sat down, dramatically tossing her sunglasses from her face to her table until she realized someone was sitting in front of her. “Oh my god, you can’t just like sneak up on people like that,” she teased, a clear joking manner on her face as she smiled. Taking a sip of her iced coffee, she grimaced at the taste. Was it too pretentious if she preferred NYC coffee instead? “Do you think they can like… burn iced coffee? Because I think this is kinda burnt,” she said, pointing to her drink. 

penelope was finally able to take her break after the rush of customers looking for their mid-day pick me ups, and boy was she glad it was done. at least for the time being, anyways. she was leaning against the table, her own coffee placed in front of her with one of the bakery sandwiches accompanying it. she was minding her own, her thumb scrolling through the book she was reading on her phone when she heard the clatter of a pair of glasses. her eyes shifted up, brows immediately raising, “you - i was sitting here first, but alright,” she mumbled with a slight roll of her eyes, already locking her phone and grabbing her coffee. with the following words from the girl, penny stopped for a moment, “you can burn iced coffee, since it’s made hot first, but i know for a fact it’s not burnt-  considering i did, in fact, make it. - it could be the fact that you’ve probably been having some pretty shit coffee for your entire life, and this is the only good cup you’ve had. ever thought of that?” she spoke, her head cocking to one side. 

regina had been out in the town center, walking back from the strip mall area. she pushed her bike instead of riding it, glancing down to watch the five below bag swinging as it hung from her handlebars. she’d needed a few extra things for school, and then of course bought some random stuff along the way. she zoned out a bit, trying to figure out her glee assignment for the week and thinking about the conversation that she’d had recently with mikey concerning their relationship. the sound of something hitting the ground jerked her out of her daze, looking down at the phone. “oh no…” she said, reaching down to grab it right as the other girl snatched it up. “i’m sorry, i…” she looked forward and finally noticed penny standing there. “oh…hey…” she said awkwardly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, “how are you?”

penny flipped her phone over, letting out a frustrated sigh when she realized it was, in fact, shattered. she glanced up at the girl, upon noticing it was her brothers girlfriend, she tried to soften up just slightly. “don’t be sorry,” she spoke quietly, shaking her head, “hey - i’m fine - you?” penelope asked, keeping her words as brief as possible.

“I’m usually not an asshole.”

“alright - then no problems here.”

max fought to keep his gaze off of her, his hands shoving into his front pockets as he stood there, his heart feeling like it was on the floor. he took a shaky breath as they stood there, his brain moving to fast for his mouth to try to keep up to get any words out. when he heard her words his hand moved to grab her arm before he could even think, pulling her body back to stand in front of his. “no - please penny, just stay for a minute? you don’t have to talk just, listen?”

penny was about to take another step away from him before she felt his hand around her arm, pulling her back to where she previously was, “max - come on. i’m sorry, okay? - but i just can’t. i’m - sorry,” she stuttered, sliding her arm from his grip despite everything telling her to just let him talk so they could go back to the way they were. she was happy with him, she felt safe with him, she felt at home. but - she couldn’t do that, she couldn’t risk loosing anyone else, especially not him.

max had been trying to clear his head, walks had never really done it for him before but he figured what the hell let’s give it a shot. what he wasn’t expecting was bumping into penny, well penny’s phone while he was out. he almost didn’t even realize it was her, his face at the ground until he glanced up, his voice catching in his throat. “it’s uh - it’s fine pen.”

penelope had been avoiding looking up at whoever she very nearly threw her phone at, but as soon as she heard the voice, she let out a sigh, knowing exactly who it was. she stuffed her phone into her back pocket, still avoiding his glance, “how’s - uh -” she tried, stumbling over her words, “i - should go. sorry for making you stop.” penny then took a step around him, running one of her hands over her face.

“I’m at the counter every two hours ordering more coffee.”

“then stay as long as you want. i don’t have the energy to kick anyone out unless they’re just downright being an asshole.”