Eli blasted the volume of her music in her room, she doesn't have classes today but she'll have to go to the library. While listening to John.K's If We Never Met with her head dancing to the beat, she heard Aunt Susie's voice.
"I'm leaving!" she said faintly as the music sounds louder.
"If we never met," Eli softly sings, "I'd be drunk, waking up in someone else's bed."
Aside from working too much, she likes listening to music. She snaps her fingers as she leans to the chair and took a deep breath. Taylan's face suddenly pops out in her mind. Now that she thought of it, she never added anyone in the library on her social media account.
She faced her laptop and opened her account. She searched for Trace's first and saw his account. It was all pictures of cats and dogs. His profile pic was the stolen one type.
Eli giggled and added him and went next to Macky's then Jade and Dane. Their profiles don't have that much, there are some memes but they rarely post. She went to find Willow and saw tons of posts and shared posts about broken love and heartbreak.
She can't help but giggle that this arrogant, sassy, and annoying guy was this romantic.
"If you love someone, let them go. If they come back with coffee, it's meant to be." Eli reads one of his shared posts. She snorted at first but as she repeats the quote with Willow on her mind, she started bursting into laughter.
Willow's straight b!tchy face will never look like such a romantic thing. Since Eli has the habit of sharing things she likes, she forgot that the post was way back a year ago and reacted to it and shared the post. She only remembers that she's already stalking without even sending him a friend request.
Eli closed the laptop with a dark blank face from embarrassment and took her pillow and hits her laptop. "GAHH!" she screamed, "STUPIDDD!" Her face started burning up while staring at her laptop.
"Wait, I should delete it!" She mumbled and opened her laptop in a flash of light, but it's too late, Willow already sent her a friend request and he already reacted to the post she shared from his timeline.
Eli stared at her laptop for a while before accepting Willow's request and after a few seconds, he sent a message.
"Buy coffee on your way here, I'll pay you later," he said.
Eli sighed, she's not close to Willow. He always looks like he wants to kill her. He always looks at her as if she's nothing but trash, and never speaks to her unless he asks her to do something.
"Okay! : )" Eli replied to his message.
She suddenly remembers Taylan and searched his name but he doesn't have an account. She tried other social media but there's no Taylan Haima on the list.
"Odd, so he's that type? I thought he'll have multiple accounts to flirt with women." Eli said to herself.
Ben suddenly sent her a message, "I won't be coming today either, sorry. Not feeling well."
Eli felt worried, "Do you need help? I'll go there before going to the library."
"No need. Thanks."
Eli was typing when Ben added another message.
"And be careful."
It made Eli feel uneasy. Ben never tells her to be careful. They're friends but it's not necessary to say those words since they know that they care about each other.
"Okay. Get well soon. Miss you. <3"
Eli sighed, whenever Ben feels sick, he never let her help him. He never opens the door for her when she visits and pretends that he didn't hear her. Since he lives alone, she can't help but feel worried. His mother's working in another city while his Dad's in his other family.
Eli was about to take a nap but the clock says that she has to move or else she'll be late. She didn't bring anything other than her money and phone. The sun was covered by clouds this afternoon, and the wind seems to be rough and cold. She went inside the coffee shop next to her street and bought Willow and herself a cup of coffee. The fragrant made her crave that she can't resist, she'll have to fight her stomachache later.
Eli was about to open the door when she stumbles upon a guy. He's tan and has a fit built.
"Sorry," Pen said and opened the door for Eli, "Did you spill your coffee?"
Pen smiled at Eli, for some reasons, she feels familiar. Eli just stares at him. He looks like someone she already met. Her eyes widens when she saw Pen's dimples.
"Oh, you look cute!" Eli nonchalantly muttered. It's her first time seeing a guy with dimples during her 20 years.
Pen blushed. Even though he's used to people complimenting his dimples, whenever it's a girl, he can't avoid feeling flattered.
"Thanks," Pen smiled and gestured Eli to enter.
"Thank you too," Eli smiled and went inside the library, but she suddenly stops on her tracks, "Wait, sorry, but the library is not yet open," Eli awkwardly smiles at Pen for saying those words when he opened the door for her.
Pen nodded, "Yes, I'm here for the king-- I mean, Taylan," he laughs while scratching his head. He almost call Taylan the king. Why do they have to hire humans?
Eli nodded, "Alright, I'll call him--"
"No need," Pen walks towards the stairs, "I'll go to him. By the way, are you Eli?" He stops midway the stairs while looking at Eli.
"Yes," Eli placed the coffee on the table, "How did you know?"
"Macky is fond of you, he's my friend," Pen grinned, "Do you know where the beast's headquarter is?" He knows it is stupid to ask a human about this, but who knows, maybe she's the one who sent the note since she's also connected to the King in some way.
Eli's brow furrowed, "What headquarter? What's that?" she tilted her head slightly while looking at Pen.
Taylan suddenly appeared walking down on the stairs, "Stop asking Miss Eli useless questions," he said in a flat manner. He looked at Eli and the moment he smell the coffee, his chest tightened. Memories came flooding in.
The Queen loves coffee so much that she'll end up brewing herself one because the maids did not want her to have a stomachache or palpitations. She'll escape in Taylan's office while drinking her coffee because the maids are already looking for her to scold her. He'll end up drinking half-cup for her to lessen her consume of coffee.
Pen sensed the King's surrow, he looked at Eli and smiled, "We'll talk upstairs, Eli~" he said as he pushes Taylan upstairs.
Willow appeared behind Eli and took the coffee, making her take a few steps back from surprise.
"Next time, don't bring coffee in the library. You should've messaged me when you got here. Taylan doesn't like coffee."
Willow walks away while sipping his coffee but he stops by the door and stared at Eli, "Drink your coffee outside."
Eli shrugged and took her coffee. She sits by the bench with Willow in front of the library. It makes her feel awkward since she's not that close to Willow and she can't joke around with him.
"I met her during Spring," Willow started, "She was the most beautiful person I ever met."
His voice was soft and full of admiration. This is the first time Eli heard him talk like this. Willow just stares at the library building, trying to imagine her but he can't remember her face nor name.
"I loved her... so, so much. But we can't be together," Willow's voice fainted as he feel his heart throb in pain.
Eli frowned, "Did you fight for her?" she asks softly, avoiding to add any pain to Willow.
"Yes, I did, but it's not simple. I can't tell you, but the only choice I have was to stay away from her."
Eli kept her coffee on her hands in between her knees, the warmth was perfect for the cold wind. Willow rested his elbows on his leg while continuing drinking his coffee.
"Then, she met someone else," Willow's voice was agonizing. He resented that man, but he was as well happy for his love. No, that man deserves her. He's the one who made her life more meaningful. He was able to fight for her.
Eli sighed, "As what your posts said, 'If you love someone, let them go. If they come back with coffee, it's meant to be," she giggled and leaned on the bench. "It's fine, Wil."
"Wil?" Willow wrinkled his brows with what Eli called him. She's really fond of nicknames.
"Yeah," she said while staring at the tree beside them, "You can love someone even though they don't end up with you, you know. It's fine, but you have to be sure that you'll find your own love."
Eli's words were soft. Willow can't help but snort, a human is telling him what to feel and do. But it was true. He looked at Eli, the shadows of the leaves made her look like a painting, For some reasons, she looks like someone, someone important to him. He can't help but smile warmly. It feels like the Queen, his past love, was the one who said Eli's word.