Viral Brew: A Tale of Friendship, Fame, and a Misunderstood Moment

Alex and Sam’s friendship began on their very first day of kindergarten, right outside their new classroom. Sam was struggling with her emotions after her mother had left, her tears flowing freely. That's when Alex, a fellow classmate, approached her with a kind gesture. He rummaged through his backpack and produced a handkerchief, offering it to her with a gentle nudge.

“Here,” he said softly. “Take this to dry your tears. I’m feeling a bit scared too, you know,” he confessed to Sam in a hushed tone.

The girl with fiery red hair and striking blue eyes, magnified behind her oversized red glasses, accepted the tissue and blew her nose. “Thanks,” she said, her voice hoarse from the quiet sobs that had gone unnoticed by the other children. 

“It’s going to be okay,” Alex assured her with a comforting smile.

And so began a lifelong pattern of Alex providing solace to “Sammy,” a ritual that started in their childhood and continued well into their adult lives.

His name was Alex and the teacher had happened to seat them next to each other. While she was going through the names on her attendance list, Sam found out the name of her new friend. His name was Alexander Elliott, but he preferred to be called Alex.

By the time the teacher arrived at Sam, he also found out about her identify: Morgan Samantha Fitzgerald. He later found out why she also preferred a shortening of her name because she had three older siblings, all boys. She wanted to fit in, so she asked people to call her Sam.

Throughout their childhood, Sam and Alex were inseparable. They attended the same schools and all after class activities together. They were only apart during their college years, but soon to be reunited again, in the same city, same neighborhood, and same favorite coffee shop, at “Drew’s.”

Drew’s was known as the neighborhood coffee shop. It offered the best selections of caffeinated drinks. When you walked in, you were considered family, instantly. When you were lucky to get a seat—it was such a tiny place—you could easily linger for hours.

Bookworms, coffee dates, tourists, or simply locals would flock in as early at 6:30 every morning ‘till 3:00pm. They were not there just for the caffeine. What made they stay was the overall ambiance. It was always packed for sure, and with that noisy, but no one seemed to be bothered by it.

This is where Alex and Sam would often meet and catch up with each other’s lives.

It had been a few months since Sam had been in a relationship with someone she had met on a dating app. His name was Max and he and Alex had only met once over all these months.

That day, Alex wanted to get a chance to know “mystery man” a bit better. So, he asked him several questions, nothing too personal, but just enough to know more about him. But his answers turned out vague or cliches—which is why Alex felt Max was a bit “shady.”

After that, he did not make any efforts to meet Sam’s boyfriend, again. Deep down, he could not grasp why Sam, one of the most beautiful and successful women he had ever known—except for his mom, of course—would resort to being with such an unaccomplished man. Frankly, he felt she could do better, way better!

On the other hand, Sam felt that Alex’s profession played too much into his emotions and opinion of people. He was a therapist and appeared to overthink and analyze every situation. He also had not been in a relationship for a while. The last one had turned out into a nightmare—his ex stalked him for months.

One Saturday morning, the tranquility of Alex’s weekend was disrupted by his phone ringing nonstop. It was barely seven in the morning—not even early enough for his first cup of coffee.

Alex was not a morning person, but Sammy was. That morning, she was in a state of distress, frantically reaching out and setting the stage for a day filled with laughter, tears, and a viral mishap waiting to happen.

“Are you up?”, she said over the phone.

“Well, yeah, I am up now. You woke me. What’s going on?”

“Can I come over?”

“Now?”

“Yeah now, silly”

“erm, I need to wake up first. Sammy have you been crying?”

Screams were coming from the other side of the phone. All Alex could hear was a name, Max.

“Oh dear, what happened?”

“Can I come over, yes or no.”

“No, not now”

“Fine, can we meet at Drew’s then…like in an hour?”

“An hour? No way. I need to run some errands first, but I’ll see you there. Try to get us a—” she had already hung up on him. “Seat,” he said, realizing she was no longer there.

That early morning call would set off a chain of events neither one could have predicted.

A couple of hours later, Alex arrived at Drew’s. He spotted Sam. With a cap on, pared with her sunglasses, she was seating, facing down, tapping her fingers on the table. He noticed that she had ordered some coffee for, so he rushed towards her.

As he got closer, he could see she had been crying a lot. Her nose, eyes and fingers were all red. When she was stressed, she would bite her nails and Alex found that repulsive. This time around, he just took note and did not say a thing. From distance, and because he knew her well, she had been crying. A lot!

“Hey sweetie! I tried to get here as soon as I could. Good! you got us some coffee!”

Upon seeing him, Sam stood up and gave the warmest, longest embrace. It was as if she had not seen him for years. Since she was also crying, the scene could have easily been misinterpreted by anyone in the coffee shop or at the window.

Sam cherished everything about her friendship with Alex. He was always there for her, no matter the situation. He was the kind brother she did not think she had, the twin she wished she could have (even if he was male), the doctor, the therapist (well, he was one) and most of all that reassuring and calming voice she needed.

“It’s off!” she said, while taking a seat. Amid sobs, she kept pouring tons of sugar in her coffee.

Alex reached to the lid and pulled the coffee towards him. She was not even conscious of what she was doing.

“What’s off?” he said.

“Christmas,” she replied.

“Oh, that! Christmas!” He could not help displaying a sigh of relief and disappointment. For a second, he thought she was going to say that she and Max were done, over. But no. It was just about their planned holidays.  

He was now poking fun at her, Sammy, the drama queen, was upset about the altered holiday plans and Alex was all amused.

“No, you don’t get it! We were supposed to go visit his parents.”

“And?

“It’s a big deal, Lexy!”

“.. but Sammy….are you sure? It’s in too soon? You barely know that guy, Max, Matt, Matthew…well, what’s his name again?”

“It’s Maxwell!” she yelled, while drying some tears. She was getting annoyed.

“Right, Max”

Just as Sam was about to give Alex a piece of her mind, she notices that a customer in the coffee shop was looking at her, phone in hand. She was not sure whether he was “looking looking” or just happening to be looking around and their eyes met for some reason.

Without realizing it, the customer had been taking quite a few pics of the two. He had found the situation so romantic, and he had perfect timing. The pictures would be candid moments between two friends and any of them would do well later on his social media handle.

Sure enough, hours later, the photo went viral with the caption: “Drew’s, a neighborhood gem, perfect for a romantic date!”.

The photo, with Alex and Sam caught in a warm embrace, quickly spread like wildfire online, sparking rumors of a budding romance that neither of them had anticipated.

Messages of congratulations flooded in. First, from sibling and then from friends.

“Are you too a thing?”

“Oh my God, grandma always predicted this. Congratulations!”

“When did this happen?”

“This is a surprise!’

“For real? You two? Who would have known”?

Among these, they were those who felt impacted or better yet, betrayed.

“Traitor”

As the viral photo continued to make waves online, Alex and Sam found humor in the absurdity of their situation.

"I can't believe this is happening," Sam exclaimed, scrolling through her phone and showing Alex the flood of notifications.

"I never thought a simple hug would turn into this circus!"

Despite their best efforts to set the record straight with everyone, fans and well-meaning but clueless supporters were spotted at each street corner.

Alex chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Who would've thought our morning coffee at Drew's would lead to us being the talk of the town? At least we're getting some good laughs out of it."

The more they tried to clarify the situation, the more absurd it became, leading to a series of comical misunderstandings that only fueled the speculation further.

The café had seen a sudden influx of customers, drawn in by the allure of witnessing the viral sensations in person. Despite all, Sam and Alex made a point to grab coffee there. So, they went in as they always did on Saturdays. Upon arrival, they realized that they needed to find a quick way to navigate through the crowd.

Amidst the chaos, a moment of revelation unfolded a week later. The customer who took the picture and shared it on social media came forward to explain his actions. He did not mean any harm, was just taken by the scene. As he revealed the truth, a collective facepalm moment followed, with people realizing their mistake and joining in on the laughter at the viral blunder.

Amid this, a familiar voice called out to Sam and Alex from across the room.

"Alex! Sam! Over here!" It was Drew, the owner of the cafe, waving them over to a secluded corner table.

"I've got a spot for you away from these paparazzi. Let's have a chat."

Gratefully accepting the refuge, Alex and Sam settled into their seats, far from the crowd. Drew poured them each a cup of his special blend—his usual gesture of comfort and familiarity.

"Thanks, Drew. We really appreciate this," Alex said, taking a sip of the coffee. "It's been quite a week, to say the least."

Drew nodded understandingly, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "Well, you two have certainly brought some excitement to this place. Who would've thought a simple hug could cause such a stir?"

Sam grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "I guess we're just too irresistible, huh? Who knew friendship could be so scandalous!"

And so, as the sun set on another eventful day at Drew's cafe, they raised their coffee cups in a toast to friendship, laughter, and the unpredictable twists of life.

While Alex and Sam were laughing off the unexpected fame, the cafe patrons, and social media followers, now in on the joke, turned the viral mishap into a heartwarming tale of friendship and the power of communication.