"Next week's seminar will be on Chomsky's Language and Thought. Make sure you come prepared," the linguistics professor, whose name Sehun has long forgoten, says dryly as the lecture hall begins to stir at the end of their class.

Suhun sits quietly for a while, not wanting to move from his comfortable seat. He sighs deeply. He has completely forgotten about the seminar next week. How in the world is he supposed to read Chomsky in less then four days?

A figure appears next to his seat and Sehun immediately recognizes the voice. "Well I'm screwed," Kris, the only friend Sehun has on campus, says as he scratches the back of his head. Sehun guesses that Kris has also let the seminar slip his mind until now.

"Same," Sehun answers with a chuckle.

"How about I read the first half, you read the second half and then we meet at my place on Sunday and exchange notes. I'll get some beer and chips," Kris suggests with a wry smile and Sehun chuckles.

"Sounds like a plan."

They make their way out of the lecture hall and down the long corridor of the main college campus building. Sehun has no other classes for  the day, but he gladly walks with Kris to his friend's next lesson. He waves his friend good bye with a promise to meet up for video games this weekend and decides to find a place to start reading his part of Language and Thought.

He tries the campus library, but almost turns in the doorway as soon as he sees how crowded it is. He is quite surprised at how many students chose to spend their Friday evening in a library rather then binge drinking at some sorority party.

After searching through the library shelves and finally finding some reading material he has been meaning to pick up, Sehun decides to head home, hoping he can resist the temptation of his TV and the piles of video games on his floor in favor of some quality reading. He raises the fur collar of his jacket and digs his hands into his pockets before stepping out into the cold winter air outside.

He takes the first left and heads down a crowded shopping street. People are walking, talking, making plans for the night and the upcoming weekend. Sehun walks alone, but he doesn't mind. He likes being on his own; his thoughts are really the only company he needs.

He looks down at his feet. When he first came to the new and unfamiliar city he found it intimidating and nerve-wracking; streets and allies leading every which way away from his destination, so many people moving at the same time in unison. He had only made the move because the city University was one of few in the country that offered courses that Sehun would later want to major in: Literature and Philosophy. He chuckles at how boring and dull his choices must seem to those who didn't know him.

Then again he is pretty sure they seems boring and dull to those who know him, too.

He is lucky to have found Kris, the only other person on campus who is as distant and reserved around others as Sehun is. It's not that they don't want to make friends or have trust issues, it's just that they have different interests than other kids their age. While their classmates are out drinking and partying, Sehun and Kris are either discussing the plot of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde for the umpteenth time or playing Mortal Combat in Sehun's apartment.

As Sehun walks, lost in his own thoughts, a puff of warm air suddenly hits him. He breathes in the smell of freshly baked bread and coffee and can't help but slow his stride. The sensation brings a welcomed sense of warmth in the otherwise harshly cold wind. He looks up and sees an old man leaving a coffee shop directly to his left.

He looks up at the sign hanging over the door, not remembering noticing a coffee shop there before.

Reindeer Coffee Shop, swirly lines on a light blue sign spell out.

He suddenly feels how heavy the messenger bag over his shoulder has become from all the books inside, and how he could kill for a hot beverage in the freezing cold. 

He closes the distance between him and the door and hesitantly places his hand on the handle.

You should be reading Chomsky, a voice inside his head tells him.

Sehun shrugs. Who knows, the coffee shop might offer him a nice, new environment to study in. And if not, he'll just drink his coffee and study later.

As he steps through the doors, he gives the place a quick onceover. It's not too busy and everyone seems to be keeping conversation on a down-low. The indie song playing in the background happens to be one of Sehun's favorites and he therefor decides the place will do for today's study session.

He recognizes most of the customers as students from the college campus, but he knows no one by name. He has a vague idea of what classes they take but he has no desire to join any of them for coffee in an effort to get to know them better.

Sehun makes his way over to the counter but slightly regrets it when he sees the girl working the till is a classmate from his philosophy class. He looks instead at the cakes and cookies behind glass cases on the counter, hoping to avoid conversation with the girl by seeming to choose what he wants to eat. To Sehun's relief, the girl turns away from him and disappears.

He contemplates for a moment what he wants and opts for a latte and a scone, and just on time another barista appears behind the counter. This time it is a male; a guy who Sehun has never seen around campus before. The guy has a young face with large eyes and slightly curly blond hair and Sehun guesses that if he is in college he must be a junior.

The barista wipes his hands on his black apron and looks up at his new costumer. He gives Sehun a shy smile. "Hi, how can I help?" he asks cheerfully. Sehun places his order, takes his coffee and walks over to an empty table after hearing that "the scone might be a while, but go ahead and make yourself comfortable".

He picks a table by the far wall, avoiding the large sofa on the other end of the room where a group of teenage girls are gossiping over their crushes. He sets down his bag, shrugs out of his jacket and sinks down in a vintage armchair by his table. The song in the speakers changes to something Sehun has never heard before, but he decides he might like it in the cozy coffee shop anyway.

He digs through his bag and finds the used and ragged copy of Language and Thought and starts flipping through the pages. It is lighter than he expected, only about a hundred pages. He thinks about sending Kris a sassy text saying "I don't need your help, douchebag. I'm a master of Chomsky!" but he decides not to since he kind of wants the free beer his friend promised. He goes back to the first page and quickly loses himself in the study of cognitive linguistics.

A few minutes later the blond barista comes over and places Sehun's scone down on the table, careful not to disturb him, with a mumbled "Sorry about the wait". Sehun is too engrossed in his reading to acknowledge the deed and hopes the barista wont take offense by him not giving his thanks. It is only when the barista doesn't leave right away as excepted that Sehun starts paying attention to him. 

From the corner of his eye, Sehun notices the barista tilting his head to try and catch the title of the book he's reading. Sehun shifts slightly and tilts the book, and surely enough the barista's head  tilts with it. Sehun shoots the other a quick glance over the top of the page and their eyes meet. The barista's eyes widen and a sight blush colors his cheeks. Sehun can't  help but think the boy looks like a deer caught in the headlights of  a car and he tries to hold back the smile that tugs at the corners of his mouth at the sight of how sweet the boy looks. Maybe that's who they named the shop after.

The barista hurries away, almost tripping over his own feet as he makes his  way back to the counter. Sehun stares after him, wondering how much of the title he caught.

He's probably judging you this very moment, Sehun thinks, but tries not to be bothered about it.

It is about six o'clock when Sehun notices he is about halfway through the book, with three pages of sloppily scribbled notes by his side, and decides it is time to leave. He gazes out the window and shudders; he can barely see the people in the street for the large flakes of white falling from the sky. He gathers his things and makes his way toward the door.

As he passes the counter he hears a cheerful voice behind him. "Be careful out there, all the snow makes the street very slippery."

Sehun turns and stares right at the blond barista who had served him his coffee a few hours earlier. He is not quite sure if the barista was talking to him; but he is smiling right at Sehun, so who else could he mean?

He gives the barista an awkward nod and tries to smile, but regrets it when the barista blushes again and turns away. Sehun never liked his own smile all that much, and apparently has good reason not to since it makes strangers turn away from him. Maybe the guy hadn't been talking to him after all.

***

Sehun wakes up two days later, on a cold and depressing Sunday, with a terrible headache and very little recollection of the weekend. He remembers how his and Kris' promise to meet for video games had turned into a night at the bar the day before, but everything else is a bit of a blur. He groans as he rises from his bed. Maybe he isn't so different from other college students after all.

He checks his phone and sees he has already slept past noon. He has three new texts from Kris asking him for his reading notes from Language and Thought, and from the amount of exclamation marks after the word please Sehun can tell his friend is quite desperate.

He rubs the sleep from his eyes and walks on shaky legs to the kitchen. He still has another 40 pages to read and then he has to compile his notes, and he suddenly feels like going back to bed again and forgetting about the rest of the world and his future. He flings himself onto the couch in the living room and turns on the TV.

Three hours later, while he is humming along to the end credits of his favorite drama show, he looks at the digital clock on the DVD-player. He hasn't read a single word all day. He groans loudly. He needs to get out of his dorm room; there are too many distractions hindering him from studying. Kris' dorm is not an option. It is really the last place on earth he would go to study. He thinks back on places where he can focus and suddenly sits up with a jolt.

The coffee shop!

He smiles as he pulls on a blue, knitted sweater and tries not to fall over when he jumps into a pair of jeans. He grabs his reading glasses off the bedside table, flings his bag over his shoulder and rushes out the door, not wanting to loose anymore valuable reading time.

As he rushes past shop windows and alleyways he realizes the only thing he really remembers from the coffee shop is the awkward encounters he had with the barista. He does not remember how the coffee tasted, or if he liked the scone he had ordered; he only remembers how the blond stranger had tried to read the title of Sehun's book, how he had hurried away shyly like a scared child when their eyes had met, and how he had blushed and turned away when Sehun had smiled at him just before leaving.

Sehun shakes his head. Why was he remembering all of this? A part of him wishes that the barista wont be at the coffee shop today. He wishes that the other would have caught a cold because of the freezing weather; but he instantly regrets his wish, realizing what a terrible human being he is.

He walks into the coffee shop and smiles at the familiar surroundings. He remembers exactly what table he sat at last time and sees that it is vacant today as well. He heads over to it and hangs his jacket over the empty chair, making sure no one else takes it as he goes to order his coffee.

As he places his order with a female barista he doesn't know, he starts to look around. The blond, curly haired barista from Sehun's last visit is no where to be seen. He starts to worry that his wish about the other catching a cold had somehow come true on his way to the coffee shop and he wishes he could turn back time and undo the wish.

As he picks up his coffee, and the scone he had remembered was in fact quite delicious, he hears a door close and he looks up. His eyes fall upon a small, lean figure carrying a large box appearing from a back door into the café and it takes him only a second to recognize the blond hair on the figures head. Sehun smiles, happy that the barista seems to be fine and not have a cold. He looks down into his coffee, avoiding eye contact with the blond, as he walks back over to his table.

Time passes quickly and Sehun's coffee has gone cold when he lifts the cup to his lips. He picks up his cellphone and sees that he has two knew messages. He ignores them, but sees that it is just passed six o'clock. He is just about to go back to his reading of the never ending Language and Thought when Sehun notices someone looking at him from the corner of his eye.

He glances up carefully and, sure enough, the blond barista is looking at him. Or more specifically, Sehun notices: looking at his bright blue, knitted sweater. Sehun shifts in his seat, trying to get the other to stop staring. The large sweater had been a present from his overly protective mother last Christmas and Sehun has always felt a bit self-conscious wearing it in public.

The baristas eyes do not, however, move from him. Instead they move along his arm and watch Sehun's fingers play around the handle of the coffee cup. The female barista who took Sehun's order suddenly appears and says something to the other, but the blond does not move his gaze from Sehun's hand.

Why won’t the guy stop staring?

Sehun turns back to his book, only to look up a minute later to see if the barista is still looking at him. He looks around him quickly and realizes the blond, young man is gone. Instead of feeling relieved, Sehun starts to wonder where he might be. He looks out the window and sees the heavy snow fall almost vertically in the strong wind and hopes the blond isn't walking through it on his way home. Hopefully he would wait in the warm coffee shop, at least until the snow stops.

Hours pass and it's only when he hears the sharp clatter of cups that Sehun looks up from his books and his notes again. He sees that the shop is completely empty except for himself. He pulls out his cell phone again and sees that it is suddenly slightly passed eight. Just as worry starts to set in he sees the, by now, familiar face of the blond barista appear behind the counter, not taking any notice of the customer still sitting by one of the tables.

"Excuse me," Sehun yells out to him. The blond looks up, startled. "How long are you open?" Sehun asks, trying to sound kind.

"Uhm," the barista hesitates. "Until eight o'clock," he says with a shy smile.

Sehun looks at his phone again. It's twelve minutes past eight, and Sehun panics.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'll leave right away…" He starts gathering his papers put drops half of them on the floor. He hears a small giggle from the other end of the room.

"It's fine, finish what you're doing. I need to clean up anyway," the barista smiles widely at him.

Sehun freezes for a moment, not sure what to do. The barista's smile is sweet and welcoming. Somehow Sehun feels like he should sit down and finish his work, or else he might hurt the other's feelings. Therefore he calmly gathers his papers and returns to his seat.

Ten minutes later Sehun stands up at puts on his coat. He has successfully prepared everything he needs for the seminar and is suddenly immensely thankful to the barista for letting him stay and finish.

He looks up and sees the blond he was just thinking about standing by the door, dressed in a khaki parka, waiting for him. His large eyes seem happy and the friendly, sweet smile that never seems to go away is of course still in place.

"Ready?" he asks Sehun cheerfully.

Sehun only nods and hurries towards the door. The barista opens it for him and he mumbles a quick thank you as he passes. He rushes down the stares but stops suddenly. He wants to leave, he wants to go home and turn in for the day, but the blonde behind him is fiddling with the lock on the door to the café and Sehun feels an urge to wait for him.

He doesn't even know if they are heading the same direction.

He shakes himself and takes another step forward, but stops again when he hears the other descend the stairs with light steps.

"Thanks for waiting," the blond chirps as he runs up to Sehun's side.

Luckily they are heading the same direction, but it turns out to be an awkwardly silent walk.

The blond by Sehun's side is the first to attempt conversation. "So are you a college student here?" he asks.

"Yeah," Sehun answers dryly but then ads, "I'm taking literature and philosophy."

"Oh, that sounds…" the barista starts giggling. "Interesting?"

Sehun stares at the other at first but then smiles. He doesn't usually like it when people make fun of what he does, but this feels different. There is something about the way the guy laughs that makes Sehun feel comfortable.

"I'm sorry," the barista ads. "I really don't know a lot about those two subjects, that's all. I'm sure it's really interesting. You must be really good in your classes," he says and smiles up at Sehun. "You seem to study quite a lot."

Sehun suddenly feels heat rise in his cheeks.

What's up with this guy? He doesn't even know Sehun and he is encouraging him in his studies.

"I guess," he mumbles shyly, wishing he didn't appear to be so boring.

"Well you're always welcome to the coffee shop to study," the barista says kindly. "As long as you buy something," he then ads with a shrug and Sehun laughs. He doesn't know why but the air around them suddenly feels lighter and Sehun is happy he waited by the foot of the stairs.

The barista stops at a bus stop along the road and explains he lives right outside of town, and that his bus should arrive in a couple of minutes. They say their awkward good byes for now and Sehun hurries away down the street. As he turns a corner he feels his heart pounding slightly. He has never been good with interacting with new people, or people he knows for that matter, and is surprised at how much he enjoyed the short walk to the bus stop with the barista.

He feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and he whips it out and looks at the bright screen. It's a new text message from Kris.

Where are you?

Sehun reads and rolls his eyes.

Are you my mother?

He sends back in response.

I might as well be.

He doesn't want to answer, but then he thinks of the beer and the company he is turning down and almost contemplates sending Kris a text saying he'll be over in a minute. He heads down another dimly lit street and Sehun's thoughts turn to his empty student dorm room awaiting him a few blocks away. He thinks about how cold and dark it is; how he never came around to decorating it properly since the day he moved in about a two years ago.

He shudders and decides to think of something pleasant. He closes his eyes. He pictures the warm colors and the nice scent of the coffee shop he has just left. He  remembers the candles on the decorative bookshelf on the wall over his head and the patterned pillows on the couch in the corner and he remembers how comfortable they make him feel.

Suddenly Sehun doesn't feel like going home.

He remembers the barista watching him as his fingers moved along the outside of his cup.

Sehun stops for a second. Maybe he could ask the barista if he could spend the night in the coffee shop, sleeping on that couch in the corner. The thought seems appealing.

Nah, Sehun thinks as he continues down the empty street, his bus has probably already left.