Extra Cafè episode

Lucille POV:

The café smelled like coffee and melted chocolate, the warmth seeping into Lucille’s hoodie as she sat across from Asha. She rested her chin on her hand, watching as the girl fidgeted with her cup, fingers curling and uncurling around it like she wasn’t sure what to do with her hands.

Cute.

Lucille had been watching her since they met, not in a creepy way—at least, she hoped not—but because something about Asha intrigued her. She was jittery in a way that made Lucille’s brain short-circuit, like she wanted to figure her out but didn’t have the right words to ask. So she settled for watching, observing the way Asha’s face flushed over the smallest things. Like right now.

Asha caught her staring and squirmed. “What?”

Lucille blinked. “I’m just trying to figure something out.”

Asha stiffened. “Figure what out?”

Lucille tilted her head. “If you’re a vampire.”

Asha choked on her drink. Interesting.

“W-what?”

Lucille picked at her pastry, completely unfazed. “Well, you’ve got the ears. The teeth. And your whole vibe is very ‘creature of the night.’”

Asha looked ready to either bolt or spontaneously combust. “Maybe it’s just a really good costume.”

Lucille hummed, unconvinced. “Maybe.”

A beat of silence passed. Asha was blushing again, and Lucille had the sudden, overwhelming urge to poke her cheek just to see if it got redder.

Instead, Asha spoke up. “S-so, Luci—wait, can I call you Luci?”

Lucille raised a brow. No one called her that anymore. She considered it for a second, then shrugged. “Sure.”

Asha nodded, visibly relieved. Cute. Again. “Cool. Cool, cool… So, uh, what do you like to do? Any hobbies?”

Lucille leaned back, stretching her arms over her head. “I like making weird playlists. And watching really bad horror movies. Like, the ones where the monster is just a guy in a rubber suit.”

Asha laughed, and Lucille felt something settle in her chest. She liked that sound.

“That’s… oddly specific.”

Lucille smirked. “Yeah, well. I contain multitudes.”

Asha rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. “Alright, mystery girl. What’s the worst horror movie you’ve ever seen?”

Lucille barely had to think. “Oh, there’s this one where the vampire sparkles in the sunlight.”

Asha groaned. “Okay, yeah, that one’s bad.”

Lucille pointed at her, grinning. “Knew it. You are a vampire.”

Asha sputtered, turning an even darker shade of red. “That—! That wasn’t—!”

Lucille laughed, a quiet thing, warm and real. She liked this. She liked her. She wasn’t sure how to say it, though, so she settled for teasing her instead.

She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table, closer now. “So,” she said, eyes glinting, “if you were a vampire, would you tell me?”

Asha’s breath hitched. Lucille caught the way her fingers twitched against her cup, how her pupils dilated just a little.

“Uh,” Asha managed.

Lucille grinned. “That’s what I thought.”

Before Asha could combust completely, the bell above the café door chimed. Lucille didn’t think much of it—until a voice, sickeningly familiar, cut through the air.

“Cille?”

Lucille went completely still.

She didn’t need to look up to know who it was. The voice alone was enough to make her stomach twist, to send her mind back to late nights where she felt like she was screaming into a void, like her thoughts weren’t her own.

But she looked up anyway.

Her ex stood beside them, smiling like she belonged there, like Lucille hadn’t spent months trying to untangle herself from the weight of her presence.

“Wow,” she said, like she was pleasantly surprised. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

Lucille couldn’t speak. Her throat felt tight, her body locked in place. She wanted to say something—anything—but the words weren’t coming.

Her ex, of course, kept talking. “You look good. Guess you’ve been doing well since… y’know.” She sighed, all wistful, as if remembering something fond. “We had some good times, huh?”

Lucille stared at her hands.

She could feel Asha glancing at her, like she was waiting for a response. But there was nothing. Just static in Lucille’s head, a quiet kind of exhaustion that settled in her bones.

Her ex kept going. “I was actually just thinking about you the other day. All those late nights, those long talks… Man, we really had something special, didn’t we?”

Lucille swallowed, but still, no words came.

Then, suddenly, Asha spoke.

“Huh,” she said, voice light but pointed. “You say ‘good times’ like they were mutual.”

Lucille blinked.

Her ex’s attention snapped to Asha, as if just now noticing her for the first time. “And you are…?”

Asha smiled, easy but sharp. “Asha.” She took a sip of her drink, slow and deliberate. “You know, the person Luci actually chose to hang out with today.”

Lucille felt something shift inside her. Asha wasn’t getting in the middle of it—wasn’t speaking for her—but she was nudging the weight off, just enough to make it bearable.

Her ex let out a short laugh, but it was thinner now. Forced. “Right. Well. I was just being friendly.” She looked back at Lucille. “No hard feelings, right Cille?”

Lucille met her gaze, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she didn’t shrink under it. She let out a slow breath, then gave the smallest shake of her head.

No words. Just that.

Her ex hesitated for a fraction of a second—just long enough for Lucille to know that, for once, she had control of the moment.

And as if saving her, the batista called out an order.

"Mocha Frappe to go for..Saera?

Then, with a huff, the girl turned and walked away.

The café settled back into its usual hum of quiet conversations and clinking cups. Lucille exhaled, finally feeling like she could breathe again.

Asha’s voice was soft when she spoke. “Hey.”

Lucille looked at her.

“You okay?”

Lucille was quiet for a moment. Then, slowly, she nodded.

Asha nodded too, like that was enough of an answer for now. A beat passed. Then—

“So. Cille, huh?”