Coffee Shop

It was chilly outside as Abigail walked down the street to where the local coffee shop was located. The leaves were bright orange and red color as they caught the breeze and floated to the ground. 

"Abby!" A female's voice called from down the street. Waverly jogged to where I stood. "Where are you going?" 

"The coffee shop, I heard they had new drinks out," I reply cheerfully. 

"Can I join you?" Waverly asks breathlessly. The few moments she jogged must have exerted her. A nod and we walk inside where the warm atmosphere of The Portly's Coffee Shop hit us both. 

A sign stood in the middle of the sitting area, listing all of the new drinks. Pumpkin spice chai tea, hot Carmel apple cider, maple cinnamon latte, pumpkin spice hot chocolate, and original hor chocolate. 

"What are you getting?" Waverly whispered as if we were in a library. 

"The hot Carmel apple cider sounds good," I said before walking to the counter and orders. 

"Hot chocolate," Waverly mumbles and gives a boy the money and I do the same. 

"Just plain hot chocolate?" I tease. She shrugged. Grabbing our drinks we went to a two-seat table was near the window. 

The shop wasn't big. A bookshelf lined one wall, three booths on another, the counter took up the other wall and a window where small tables were against. In the middle of the shop, there were bigger tables that seat more people, but I had never needed to use them since it was usually just me and my best friend, Brina. Waverly was my other friend, but we rarely ever hung out here. 

Autumn colored flowers rested in vases in the middle of all the tables, and Salem the pale orange cat sniffed at the ones nearest to us. 

"Hey kitty," Waverly crooned and reached out to scratch behind his ears. 

"Is something wrong?" I finally ask. She never came here with me and she despised animals with a passion. 

"No," she muttered. I shook my head slightly in disappointment before taking a sip of the hot drink. Carmel and apple burst among my taste buds as the drink made my belly warm. Closing my eyes with delight I almost didn't see Waverly's tears begin to fall. 

"Liar," I opened my eyes back up and grabbed her hands, forcing her to look me in the eyes. "What's wrong?" 

"Wesley broke up with me," a choked sob wracked her body and I got up to hug her. 

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," I whispered against her hair. I was more attracted to girls, but I had seen that Wesley fit all of the stereotypes surrounding jocks. Brina and I had been too afraid to say anything when we saw how happy he had made her. 

"Here," reaching up, I grabbed an orange and black paper butterfly, one of many that had been dangling from the ceiling, and put it in her hair. "You're too beautiful to cry over someone like him, think of it like this, he was a cacoon and now you're free to spread your wings." Waverly sniffed and gave a small smile. 

"Thank you," she whispered. I nodded and sat back down to sip on my Carmel drink. 

"I heard the coffee shop was doing an art fundraiser," I changed the subject. "It goes to Save the Turtles, you draw a turtle and color it in autumn colors." Waverly's face immediately lit up. Drawing was her passion and there was no doubt she would win if she were to enter it. "It's a five-dollar submission fee, and the winner gets to go to the aquarium for free next month." 

"I'm entering!" Waverly said with some excitement, as she pulled out a small sketchbook from her purse and went to work. 

Thirty minutes later she held up a cute drawing of a baby turtle, shaded and beautifully colored with orange, brown, and red. "What do you think?" 

"The details are good," I replied critically. "Colors are amazing. It looks beautiful!" 

"Tha-" she began to say before a scream tore through her windpipe. A green spider had made its way onto the table and Waverly was bashing it with her sketchbook. 

"Everything okay over here?" The male cashier asked as he rushed over. 

"A spider," I rolled my eyes. "Or was a spider," a grimace at the spiders' guts, which was all over Waverly's once beautiful turtle drawing. 

"That looks amazing," the guy gently pried Waverly's fingers from the book to get a better look. "I'm guessing you're entering?" Waverly had gone quiet and gave a subtle nod. 

"Name's Landon," he greeted before setting the book down. After a few awkward seconds, I introduced both of us. He gave a grin at Waverly before leaving. 

"You can't tell me you didn't notice," I say pointedly taking another gulp of my chilling cider. 

"Notice what?"

"He was totally into you!" I sputter with surprise. Usually, she was the one trying to set me and Brina up, but now it was my turn. 

"Even if he was, I'm still in love with Wes," she whispered agonizingly. 

"Wes is probably gay and used you as a cover-up," I say sourly. She gave me an astonished look before getting up and leaving the shop. I sat there, shocked, before giving a huge sigh. 

"Candy corn?" A girl asks as she takes Waverly's now-vacated seat. "It always helps me when I have friend troubles." Her hair was an Auburn color, freckles lined her high cheekbones, and brown eyes gazed at me warmly. 

"It's fall minus well gain some pounds," I laugh and grab a hand full of candy corn to stuff in my mouth. "Thanks," I smile at her. She had to be the most gorgeous girl I have ever seen in my life. 

We sat there in comfortable silence for a while before I got the courage to ask, "Want to go to the pumpkin patch this Saturday?" 

"Deal," her eyes lit up with excitement. "By the way my name is Hazel." 

"Abigail," I whisper as I slowly began to fall in love in the autumn coffee shop.