Same Day
Jenna's POV
There's a certain kind of courage it takes to walk into that cafe. Not the kind you need for school finals. Not the kind Hunters talk about when fighting vampires.
A different kind.
The kind where your hands feel just slightly too cold, your steps just slightly too noticeable, and every little thing you do feels like it's being watched even when it's not. That's what it feels like every time I stand outside Odd Jobs.
Hello readers, you may be wondering who the heck is Jenna. Don't worry, I'm nobody.
I adjust my bag.
Check the door.
Take a breath.
Then walk in like I've done this a hundred times before.
Even though it never feels any easier.
The bell rings softly as I step inside, and immediately, the world changes.
It's louder than most cafes, not in a bad way, just… alive.
Someone's laughing. Someone's arguing. Someone's definitely saying something they shouldn't be saying in public.
I don't look at them right away.
I never do.
Instead, I walk to the counter, order the same thing I always do, and sit at the same table I always choose just far enough to watch without being seen as watching.
And that's enough.
That's always been enough.
Jenna: "They're really something."
Aoi: "You say that every time."
My best friend Aoi sits across from me, sipping her drink like she doesn't have a care in the world.
Jenna: "Because it's true every time."
I glance over.
They're all there today.
A few of them just returned from some errand. Chifuyu's leaning back in a chair like he owns the place. Kagura's halfway standing on the table. Diego is doing something that probably shouldn't be allowed. Shinatsu looks like she's tolerating all of it, but not really stopping it either.
And then—
Him.
Nicholas.
He's behind the counter, smiling like always, taking orders, moving naturally like hewas born for this.
Out of all them, he seems the most normal. Not in a bad way, it's just the others immediately come off as different from the average person.
Jenna: "…They're famous, you know."
Aoi shrugs: "Yeah."
Jenna: "Not just famous. Like… everyone knows them."
Aoi: "Yeah."
Jenna: "…And they act like that."
Aoi: "Yeah."
I look at her.
Jenna: "Why are you so calm about this?"
Aoi pauses. Then casually says something that completely destroys my sense of reality: "I mean, I'm friends with a few of them."
My brain stops.
I stare at her.
My best friend who I've known forever drops news that I've never heard before. Like a son or daughter telling their parent of a relative they've never heard of. Like… eh?? Why is this the first I'm hearing of this? How?
Jenna: "…What."
Aoi blinks.
Aoi: "What?"
Jenna: "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT?!"
My voice comes out louder than I intended. A few heads turn. I immediately shrink back into my seat.
Jenna: "…Sorry."
Aoi: "It's not that hard."
Jenna: "Not that hard?!"
Aoi: "Yeah. You just come here a few times a week and talk to them."
I stare at her like she just said something completely unreasonable. I come here more than a few times a week, as for the other thing she said…
Jenna: "That's the problem."
Aoi: "What is?"
Jenna: "I don't know how to talk to them."
Aoi: "…Just talk."
Jenna: "About what."
Aoi: "Anything."
Jenna: "I can't do that."
Aoi leans forward slightly: "You're good at going with the flow."
Jenna: "Not here."
Aoi studies me for a second.
Then—
She stands up.
Jenna: "…What are you doing."
Aoi: "We're going."
Jenna: "…Where."
Aoi: "Over there."
She points.
At them.
My heart rate instantly raised.
Jenna: "No."
Aoi: "Yes."
Jenna: "No."
Aoi grabs my wrist: "Yes."
Jenna: "AOI—"
Too late.
I'm being dragged.
Physically.
Across the cafe.
Toward them.
Toward him.
This is how it ends.
This is how I die.
We stop.
Right there.
In front of them.
Up close.
Too close.
Aoi waves like this is completely normal: "Hey."
Kagura turns first: "What's up Aoi!"
Diego leans over: "Ordering another chocolate croissant? They're good, but you should eat them in moderation before you gain weight."
Aoi nods: "I'll go ahead and report you."
Diego: "I was joking, just joking!"
Aoi smiles: "So was I. Or was I?"
Kagura and Chifuyu then punch Diego upside his head.
Just being this close is overwhelming me for some reason. Maybe I just don't know how to act around celebrities. To make matters worse—
I like one of them.
His name is Nicholas.
It feels different, thinking it properly instead of "the boy from Odd Jobs."
Like I've already crossed some invisible line just by knowing it.
I look at him every time I come.
I try not to, but I do.
And when I see him, it's like my heart tingles in this quiet, embarrassing way I can't explain.
He greets me and takes my order the same way he does with everyone else. So why does it feel like it matters so much when he says them to me?
I've practiced talking to him.
So many times.
I walk up.
I order calmly.
I say "thank you."
Maybe even add something small like I'm a normal person who can hold a simple conversation.
But when I'm actually there…
Everything disappears.
I become painfully aware of myself.
How awkward I must seem.
How quiet I sound.
And I panic.
What if he thinks I'm strange?
…He probably already does.
Still—
I keep going back.
Not because I'm brave.
But because I can't stop.
Sometimes I think…
If I just said one more sentence—
Maybe something would change.
Aoi nudges me slightly.
Aoi: "Go order while Nicholas is still at the register. And actually talk to him."
I shouldn't have told her I like him.
Jenna: "…I'm going to pass out."
Aoi: "You'll be fine."
Jenna: "I won't."
Aoi: "You will."
Jenna: "…I hate you."
Aoi: "I love you too."
I step forward.
Each step feels heavier than the last.
The counter gets closer.
He gets closer.
Nicholas looks up and smiles: "Hey, good to see you're doing well, Jenna!"
Everything stops.
My brain crashes.
Jenna: "Wha— How do you know my name?"
Nicholas tilts his head slightly, still smiling: "Your friend told me."
I turn.
Slowly.
Aoi is behind me.
Sticking her tongue out.
Jenna: 'AOI!!' I screamed on the inside.
Nicholas chuckles softly, completely unfazed: "What can I get for you?"
I had already ordered, so I didn't want to seem like a pig like Aoi. Somewhere in the deepest, most delusional part of my heart, a terrible idea rose to the surface. I gathered up every scrap of courage my body had managed to store over 18 years of living to say this.
Jenna: "How about your number. Heh. Just kidding."
Silence filled the cafe.
Not normal silence either. Not the kind where people simply had nothing to say. This was the kind of silence where time itself stopped to watch the consequences unfold. My eyes were closed as I forced out that awful smile, and I could physically feel the entire room staring at me. I could imagine Aoi beside me, already folding in on herself trying not to laugh. I wanted to rewind time. I wanted to leave my body. I wanted the floor to open up and carry me peacefully into the center of the earth.
Then I opened my eyes.
Nicholas was bright red.
Not mildly flustered. Not politely surprised. Completely, unmistakably flustered.
And that was the last thing I saw before everything went black.
Kagura: "Hey! Hey! Don't die in the café, that's bad for business!"
Aoi: "Jenna! Wake up!"
I slowly opened my eyes and found myself staring at the ceiling. This alone was confusing, because I was fairly certain I had not entered the cafe by lying on my back. My vision cleared just enough for me to realize a small crowd of worried faces hovering above me like I was some fainting Victorian heroine who had wandered into the wrong century.
Esmarie: "She's back!"
Ariel: "It's not even that hot girl, don't go passing out from heat stroke."
Shinatsu: "Why're you talking like that…"
Iris: "Y-You passed out from embarrassment. I know the feeling."
Diego: "Look at you, Nicholas. Making girls pass out, you're becoming the next MJ."
Beatrice: "How are you feeling?"
Nicholas was there too, just slightly back from the others, still looking more flustered than I thought a human being should be capable of looking. That somehow made everything worse.
I sat up too fast, then immediately regretted it when the room tilted.
Jenna: "I'm okay."
That was a lie. I was not okay. I had just died, resurrected, and returned to the place of my death, which was unfortunately still a cafe full of witnesses.
Aoi gave me a look that said she was enjoying this far more than friendship should allow: "You sure?"
Jenna: "Yes."
Aoi's smile widened: "Okay, good."
She patted my shoulder, then stood up with all the ease of someone handing a live grenade to another person and casually walking away.
Aoi: "I'll wait outside."
Jenna: "You're leaving?"
Aoi: "You've got this."
Before I could stop her, she was already halfway to the door. She waved once without looking back and disappeared into the evening like a traitor fleeing the scene of a crime.
That left me sitting on the couch, painfully alive, while Nicholas stood a few feet away, clearly unsure whether to step closer or respectfully evaporate.
The awkwardness settled in so fast it almost had weight.
Kagura, of course, noticed immediately. Her eyes moved from me to Nicholas and back again, and then she smiled in a way that instantly made me afraid: "You two should talk."
Nicholas blinked: "Here?"
Kagura's smile somehow became even more giddy: "No, no. Go use the living room."
Caesar: "That's a great idea."
My soul tried to leave again.
Yuji: "Yeah, what's the worst that could happen? She already passed out."
Jenna: "Please don't remind me."
Chifuyu: "Just don't do anything that'll make her pass out again, Nicholas."
Nicholas and I looked at each other, then toward the door that led to where they live.
I wanted to protest. I wanted to disappear. Instead, for reasons I still cannot explain, I stood up.
Kagura clasped her hands together: "Aww, they're going."
As Nicholas and I walked past the others, I could feel every single one of them smiling at us in one way or another. Not maliciously. Just like they were collectively nudging us forward with the force of shared amusement.
It was somehow more terrifying than open judgment.
We passed through the doorway into the living room and immediately discovered Marlon sitting at the dining table with an alarming amount of chocolate donuts and a glass of milk. He looked up mid-bite, froze for one split second as he understood the situation, then moved with surprising speed. He wiped his mouth, cleared his throat, and stood up like he had definitely not just been annihilating donuts in private.
Marlon gave Nicholas two firm pats on the back: "Good luck."
Nicholas watched him go.
We sat down at the dining table.
The silence that followed was not the comfortable kind. It was the kind that arrived with folded arms and waited expectantly for one of us to ruin everything.
Nicholas laughed softly, clearly trying to ease the tension: "Hehe. Sorry, did I surprise you?"
Jenna: "No! Not at all."
What an obvious lie. I freaking passed out.
Nicholas's smile turned sheepish: "It's just that it's been a while since I was asked that. I didn't know how to react."
A while huh…
No, that doesn't matter!
Nicholas looked at me carefully. There was still that gentle awkwardness in his expression, but now there was something else too. Curiosity. Maybe even hope, if I was allowed to be that insane.
Nicholas: "Did you mean what you said?"
My heart skipped several beats in a row. It had gotten to this point. There was no escaping it now. If I retreated here, I would be disappointing my ancestors. So I forced myself upright, clenched my hands in my lap so they'd stop shaking, and answered before fear could stop me.
Jenna: "Yes! The truth is, I want to get to know you better. Which is why I asked for your number."
Nicholas: "Does that mean… going out?"
Oh my god. I'm actually going to die from a heart attack.
My face felt so hot I was honestly shocked the table wasn't catching fire.
Jenna: "Yes, I like you! Will you go out with me?"
I bowed so deeply and so quickly that my forehead hit the table with a humiliating little thud.
The silence that followed felt endless. Not hostile, just long enough for every worst-case scenario my brain had ever invented to come marching through in perfect formation.
Then Nicholas finally spoke: "I don't have any experience. But if you think I'm good enough, I'd love to go out with you."
I jerked upright as fast as I hit the table: "Eh?" My brain had fully failed to process the sentence in real time. "No experience? I thought you said it's been a while since someone asked for your number."
Nicholas looked embarrassed now, but in a completely different way than before: "Yeah. I declined them."
That answer somehow stunned me more than his first one.
Nicholas looked down at his hands for a moment, then smiled awkwardly: "I just didn't feel proud of myself at the time and didn't think I was ready." He laughed under his breath. "Heh. Such a stupid excuse."
Jenna: "That's not true at all!"
The words came out much faster and more strongly than I expected. Nicholas looked up, clearly caught off guard by how immediate my response was.
I swallowed and kept going, because if I stopped now I knew I would lose the ability to speak entirely.
Jenna: "That's not stupid. If you didn't think you were ready, then you didn't think you were ready."
Nicholas watched me carefully.
Jenna: "That's… actually kind of admirable."
He blinked.
Nicholas: "Admirable?"
Jenna: "Yeah. Most people would just say yes because they're flattered or because it's convenient or because they don't know how to say no."
I looked down at the table, suddenly aware of how much of my soul was currently lying on it.
Jenna: "You took it seriously."
Nicholas was quiet for a moment.
Then he smiled, smaller this time, but warmer too.
Nicholas: "Thanks."
The atmosphere softened after that. Not entirely. I was still me, and therefore still one wrong thought away from imploding, but the fear had changed shape. It wasn't the fear of immediate annihilation anymore. It was the quieter, stranger fear that comes when something you wanted actually starts becoming possible.
Nicholas: "Honestly, I didn't expect that from you."
I stared at him: "That's fair."
Nicholas: "No, I mean—sorry, that came out wrong." He rubbed the back of his neck. "You're always so quiet when you come in. I thought maybe you just liked the drinks and didn't really want to talk."
I looked away: "I did want to talk."
Nicholas: "You did?"
Jenna: "Very much, actually."
I let out a long breath: "I just never knew what to say."
He looked genuinely surprised.
Nicholas: "Really?"
Jenna: "I've rehearsed conversations in my head."
Nicholas stared for one beat too long, and I immediately regretted admitting that."
Jenna: "That sounded weird."
Nicholas smiled: "No…"
Jenna: "I knew it."
Nicholas laughed softly.
That somehow made everything even worse, because now he was being kind while I was busy humiliating myself in layers.
Nicholas rested his arms lightly on the table: "What did you rehearse?"
Jenna: "I can't tell you that."
Nicholas: "Why not?"
Jenna: "Because then you'll know."
Nicholas looked amused: "Know what?"
Jenna: "How much I panicked over basic sentences."
Nicholas's expression softened again: "Jenna."
Just hearing him say my name like that should not have had the effect it did. It was unfair. Deeply unfair.
Nicholas: "I won't judge you."
The quiet certainty in his voice made it impossible to brush off.
Nicholas: "If anything, I'm kind of relieved."
Jenna: "Relieved?"
Nicholas nodded.
Nicholas: "Yeah. I actually thought maybe you didn't like me."
There are moments in life where a person learns something so shocking that the body simply cannot process it in a dignified way. This was one of those moments.
Jenna: "…What."
Nicholas: "Not like that—I mean—" He stopped, winced, then tried again. "I just meant you always seemed pulled back around me especially, so I thought maybe I was making you uncomfortable."
I stared at him in complete disbelief:I passed out because you blushed."
Nicholas covered his face with one hand and laughed into it, which only made me feel weirder because apparently this was real and not some fever dream caused by dying in a cafe.
Nicholas: "That you did."
We sat there in mutual embarrassment for a moment that somehow wasn't painful anymore.
It was awkward, yes. Deeply. Respectfully. But it wasn't hopeless.
For the first time since I had started coming here, I didn't feel like I was staring at some impossible distance between us. We were just two people sitting at a table, trying not to combust.
Which, given my track record, was already progress.
I folded my hands in my lap: "So… If we're… going out… You need to defeat my evil exes."
Nicholas: "I'm not Scott Pilgrim!"
Jenna: "Hehe. I'm surprised you got that reference."
Nicholas: "Hey, that was one of my favorite movies as a kid."
We both laughed.
The tension cracked just enough to let air in.