After reading a book at the library yesterday, Olive started to get curious about Arthur's life. Her curiosity kept growing, until she decided to search for his social media.
She went through his friends' accounts one by one until she finally found an account named "AR10," short for Arthur Ricks 10. With a curious look, Olive opened the profile.
She scrolled through his posts and the things he liked. From what she saw, Arthur seemed to enjoy educational content… and memes.
"Interesting," Olive murmured.
Without thinking too much, she followed the account. Then she noticed a phone number in the bio. After hesitating for a second, she decided to call it.
The call was answered.
"Hello, who is this?" Arthur's voice came from the other side.
Olive smiled slightly.
"It's me."
There was a brief pause.
"Oh, hey… it's you," Arthur replied, recognizing her voice.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm at a café. Just relaxing."
Arthur leaned back in his chair, glancing around the café for a moment before focusing again.
Arthur already had a feeling about where this was going.
"I'm coming over. Which café?" Olive asked.
Arthur let out a small breath before answering,
"The one where coffee spills on the table of a beautiful girl."
Olive laughed.
"You're actually funny."
Not long after, Olive arrived at the café where they first met. She looked around, searching for Arthur… and found him sitting in the exact same spot as before.
She walked up to him.
"Did you do this on purpose?"
Arthur gave a small shrug.
"Maybe. It fits the line, doesn't it?"
Olive smiled.
"What are you doing here alone? No phone, no book, just coffee? That's kind of classic."
"Waiting for someone."
"Who?"
Arthur looked straight at her.
"You."
Olive paused for a second, then laughed softly.
"You already knew I'd come here?"
"You said yesterday that today would be interesting. I just took the hint."
Olive shook her head, still smiling.
"No wonder you've been flirting this whole time."
"You were the one flirting yesterday," Arthur replied calmly.
For a moment, Olive studied his expression, as if trying to figure out whether he was serious or just playing along.
Arthur didn't look away.
They spent some time talking, drinking coffee, and sharing small laughs. The conversation flowed easily, almost too easily.
At one point, Arthur's gaze drifted past Olive.
Near the corner of the café, someone sat alone, staring at a half-finished drink. Their phone lit up again and again, but they never picked it up.
Arthur looked at it for a second longer than necessary… then looked away.
"So," he said, as if nothing happened.
After a while, Olive took out some of her artwork.
"Is it good?" she asked.
Arthur looked at it carefully.
"It's good… pretty decent."
Olive raised an eyebrow.
"'Decent'? So it's bad?"
Arthur blinked, caught off guard.
"No—wait, that's not what I meant. It's actually good."
For a brief second, Olive's smile faded… but it quickly returned.
"Relax," she said, laughing. "You panic way too easily."
Arthur let out a quiet breath, though something in his expression didn't fully relax.
Then Olive leaned forward slightly, curious.
"Can you draw?"
"Yeah."
"What do you usually draw? People, buildings… or something else?"
Arthur thought for a moment before answering.
"A perfect life… with a woman."
Olive frowned a little, not fully understanding what he meant.
"With a woman?" she repeated.
Arthur just gave a small smile.
"Something like that."
Olive kept looking at him, as if waiting for more… but nothing came.
For a brief moment, the air between them felt slightly off.
Outside, the sky had started to dim.
Inside the café, everything still looked calm.
Too calm.
Olive slowly leaned a little closer, trying to read Arthur's expression.
Arthur didn't move.
And for a second… it felt like they were both thinking about something they didn't say.
And—
To be continued.