There is a certain amount of processing time that needs to happen after world-shattering things like giant wolves turning into people in front of one's eyes, especially if one is mortal like Javi is! Of course, there have been quite a few earth-shattering things that have happened to him lately, and so at a certain point, desensitization must happen, right? Hopefully. But whether it has or not, he does seem to be at least in his right mind when he enters the cafe at the appointed time to hang with Maya. So that's good! He looks around as he steps inside, then starts toward the line to order, looking absently up at the menu.
Maya's actually running a little late - she's running to the door two patrons after Javi joined the line, yanking it open as she breathes slightly heavier than normal, looking around and pushing her hair back. Upon spotting Javi, she grins and walks over. "Hey man." She says, one hand patting at his shoulder as she arrives. "Sorry I'm late. Lost track of time." Maya's dressed pretty much normal Maya: baggy cargo shorts that go to her knees (gray), slightly scuffed boots, and a blue tank top below a button-up, her crossbody bag with its water and all. She checks the line, hands going into her pockets, before she grins at Javi. "You look better than I figured, man."
Javi turns to look when he hears Maya, and the more thoughtful look on his face (that honestly can look a little sullen if he's not careful) melts into one of his more frequent wide smiles. Maybe this is why he smiles so much. Resting Asshole Face. "Hey, Mayita," he replies, "no worries. Not in a rush to get anywhere." He steps a tiny bit to the side so that she has room to be in line, too, his smile tipping a little wryly. "Well," he admits, "to be honest it's all like fucking coming at me so hard I'm just like...'oh another fucking crazy thing, cool. Sounds good.' Prolly gonna hit me sometime and then I'll be in bed in the dark for like, a week." But he seems pretty sanguine about it, if he actually thinks that's going to happen.
Maya just nods, as if that's entirely the right response. "Yeah. I'm not exactly sure how it feels to just get all this dumped on you." Maya the Definitely Something says, checking their place in line (and who is close) before she looks at the menu, considering her options. "I was kind of focused on... other stuff when I learned about the, uh, other sides of stuff. But just as like. Rumors and whatever, you know? Kind of like you know australian people definitely exist but not everybody's met one face-to-face."
"Kinda like a ton of bricks," Javi says with that same wide grin. Yes, very sanguine indeed. But to be fair, he does seem to be generally upbeat about things, as far as she knows him. Sure, serious sometimes, but in a positive way. "Or, like, one of those Acme anvils. Getting Wile E. Coyote'd all over the place. Hopefully I don't accidentally run off a cliff." That would probably be bad. "I get that, though," he continues. "Like, I been doing my shit by myself for so long but you hear about things around here, right? You see things sometimes. Even if you're tryna keep your head down. But not, like...yeah. Like //that//."
"Wile E....oooh, right, the old acme thing, with the ostrich and the wolf." Maya snaps her fingers in recognition, the confusion passing. The line decreases, and Maya tilts in a way that implies Javi can order first - first come, first serve, apparently. Her own order, when it comes, is simple: a ham and cheese buttery flaky pastry of some sort, a coffee with milk, no sugar. Soon after, "I...wasn't expecting the body stuff." She admits. "Kind of had a moment seeing that. Probably a good thing I wasn't any closer."
Javi glances toward Maya when it takes her a moment, like he might be ready to explain -- but then she gets there on her own, and he nods. "Right," he confirms, "that guy." A beat; then: "Roadrunner, though. Not ostrich." However, it's light, informative and not like he's wondering how she could have gotten through life not knowing that one. He probably doesn't actually have to wonder that now. Clearly knowing it may come in handy for her sometime.
He gives his order, too -- bacon and egg breakfast sandwich and black coffee -- and then moves down the counter to wait, though what she says next has him making a face. "Yeah," he agrees, before his expression shifts a little guiltily. "Pretty fucking gross. Like...why, though?" He looks up to the ceiling, gesturing vaguely around like someone's going to //tell// him. "Just seemed kinda unnecessary. But whatever, guess I don't know his life."
Maya sighs, "Nah, I get the why." She says, leaning against the counter while she waits, "Maybe not the timing, but the why's kind of." She stares ceiling-ward, trying to find the words, "It's why those spaces are important. Not /that/ one. That's like. Super formal. But spaces we all kind of agree...like, spaces to do, uh..." Another look around. Maya really isn't super great at subtlety, though she's pretty good at vague. "Like, the habits and shit we really can't do elsewhere." She says with a vaguely lowered voice. "Like where if -you- get distracted, nobody calls you rude or starts snapping fingers in your face. They'd wait a minute, and nobody'd make a big deal out of it. But." A laugh, and a shrug, "That guy was still probably doing some dick-waving. Really wasn't the best time for it."
"Hm." Javi leans against the counter, shifting so. that he can look at her as she speaks. His brows pull together, and he nods slowly, his smile tilting a little wryly. "Yeah," he concedes, "guess that's fair. I mean, I'm kinda used to people being like, oh, you know, that's just Javi, he's just like that, but my shit's not really that big." He hesitates a moment, but he does add, "Only thing is, guess if, you know, people like me," mortals, maybe, "look at 'em doing that too much they can go crazy. But we're invited to it, so, you know. Yeah. Not tryna go //more// crazy." A little huff escapes him, and he shrugs. "It's all good, though. Think I'm still just regular crazy."
"Oh, shit, seriously?" Maya says, looking at Javi with surprise - news to her, apparently! She looks Javi over carefully, "Must be like...anyway. Yeah. Glad you're not crazy. Next time I'll try to be nearby and cover your eyes or something." Maya says, reaching up to scratch at her head. Apparently already working out the logistics of Protect The Ickle Mortalkins. There's a laugh at his 'regular crazy' though, "But...yeah. It's nice when people just accept you and all your weird shit without thinking it's weird." A glance behind her, as the waitress approaches, and she grins at them, before reaching for a cup, "You got black, right?" She says, handing it to him, before collecting her own plate and cup.
"Yeah, that's what I heard. Feel okay, though." Javi glances down at himself, before he shrugs. Her remark after has him letting out a little snort, but even though it's amused, it also sounds appreciative. "Nice of you," he replies. "Feel like if shit goes down I'mma have a fucking wall of people jumping in between me and it." It's a joke -- mostly, anyway. And it isn't immediately clear how he feels about it, but he doesn't spend too much time on it.
"Right," he says, both at the acceptance, and the coffee. He takes his from her with a nod of thanks, turning around to scan the interior before he picks a table and heads that way. "I dunno," he admits as he sets his plate down and settles in. "Like...when I started seeing the ghosts it freaked the shit out of me but it was also kinda...I dunno it I'm tryna say beautiful but kind of. You know what I mean? Just, like...everything got suddenly bigger in this really intense way. Some of it sucked, but some of it doesn't. Feel kinda like that now, too."
Maya follows after, setting her cup and her own plate down. "It's cause you basically know everyone and you're cute." she says with a smirk, reaching over in an attempt to mess up Javi's hair. Not for long: she's quick to drop into her seat and grab her coffee to sip instead. "Plus like. Most of cruise on survival mode. For different reasons. You don't have that yet. You're just this guy who sees stuff and getting to know us probably fucked up your life a little more, so it's good we look out for you." Maya says this all as if it's entirely normal, really, while she sips her coffee. There is a somewhat blank stare when he goes on about intense and beautiful things, before shaking her head, "Sorry. I'm not really sure I get it." She admits.
Javi laughs, one of those sudden bright things that seem to light him //all// the way up. Probably too bright for the conversation, but maybe he can't always help it. "Yeah, I'm pretty cute," he agrees with exaggeratedly wide eyes as he ducks away from her hand, though not quick enough to make it seem like he truly minds getting a little mussed. He reaches for his cup after, though, taking a slightly more thoughtful sip from it as he considers her. Something about what she says makes his gaze drop, but he doesn't exactly //argue//, just makes some vague murmur of assent. Of course, he's drinking, so maybe that's why. It's not until the end that he replies, though it's with a little wince. "Sorry," he echoes. "Probably don't make sense. I'm just weird." His smile returns, maybe a bit less wide than normal but still as genuine as it always is. "Anyway. Thanks for looking out."
Maya's hand halts, midway through bringing her pastry to her lips, looking dubiously over at Javi, "Why're you assuming you're the one with the problem, not me?" Maya asks, sounding...genuinely curious. "You already know I've got my own stuff. I'm literally the wyrder one." He can't hear the distinction, but Maya knows it! "You're the normal one here, man. No reason to apologize for being normal."
"Not assuming nothing," Javi counters with a shake of his head. "No one with problems here. Everyone's good." His smile pulls a little wider, and he reaches for his sandwich to take a bite from it -- though maybe he should have waited, because when she says he's //normal//, he nearly chokes from letting out an incredulous laugh. Luckily, there is no actual choking. He's fine. It was just a near miss. "Right," he agrees after, "pretty normal, yep." Again, there's a wry note to his amusement, but he doesn't press it too far, just shrugs. "It's not that important," he says. "Like you said. You got stuff going on I don't, so we're not gonna feel the same way about things. I got no clue what you went through except I know it was really fucking tough. So, you know. Yeah."
Javi is still treated to that dubious look, as if Maya's not certain he can even be trusted. And, considering he nearly chokes, she's proven right! She looks from him to the sandwich and back again, before shaking her head and just having a bite of her pastry, because she clearly missed something...but no reason to fuss over it. "Yeah, I guess. There's some stuff that doesn't translate. But it's cool. I don't even know what happened to me. Not really." She says this, and she means it - there's no lie intended - but one hand rests on her water bottle, and the whole of her subtly shifts forward in her seat. But she only picks up her coffee to sip again. "A lot of stuff doesn't really make sense to me, either. It's part of my thing, which sucks. But hey." She points her coffee in Javi's direction, "You're like, full of friends. I'm not like the best at feeling talk stuff, but one of them -has- to be. Or at least remember more than me about it."
"It's all good, Mayita." Javi glances down at his plate, then back up at her again. His head tilts a little to the side as he studies her more closely, his expression shifting into another thoughtful look. Another little wince flickers across his face when she says she doesn't remember, and maybe it's that that makes him take in a breath, and let it out slowly to steady himself.
"Started seeing ghosts when my brother died." She may still not understand, but the explanation itself is the offer to her, not whether she gets it or not. "So, like...it sucked, right? 'Cause it ain't him. Not really. But sometimes it still //feels// like him. Like I got this piece of him still hanging around and watching my back like he used to do for me when he was alive. So, like...yeah. It's fucking awful? But if I had to, like, //pick//? I'm glad I still got that." This time, the laugh is a little rueful. "Even though that makes me feel like shit, too. Because, like, why would you want someone you loved so much to still have to be here like that? It's fucking selfish. But still." He huffs again, "So, yeah. Guess I got mixed feelings about it."
Maya's gaze is clear when she watches Javi take a deep breath, and there's a look of sympathy when he mentions his dead brother. But then he mentions the rest. 'Ain't him' has her holding her mug with both hands, looking down at her cup. Still listening, but her fingers are now gently tapping the sides of the mug as he talks. She forces her tapping to stop somewhere around 'fucking awful', running the fingers of one hand through her hair, leaning back as her free hand reaches for her water bottle, fiddling with the cap. She could just be fidgeting, really - Maya isn't exactly the most calm of people - but his rhetorical question has her finally snapping the cap open and taking a few large gulps. Possibly... too much water at once. Because she sets the water bottle down, one hand goes to her stomach as she breaths deeply, in and out. And then she folds her arms over the table, dropping her head in her hands as she...chuckles. Laughs, even, a burst of nervous sound.
Javi has looked away again as he's speaking, but something somewhere nearer to the end pulls his attention back. Whether it's just incidental, that he's caught some part of her reaction out of the corner of his eye, or something else entirely; whatever it is, it has his gaze returning to her, and it's right about the time where the takes the excessive drink of water. His eyes widen, and it only takes him a second to take in the //rest// of her. Even the wry smile drops off his face into a very clear expression of concern -- and also some guilt. "Hey," he says, a little hesitantly, when she laughs, "sorry. Didn't mean to, like..." He trails off, helpless, and he's silent for several seconds before he tries, "You need something?" What she may need that he could actually provide for her is not clear.
"Oh, man." Maya says, when she manages to catch her breath. One hand held up to wave off Javi's concern. "No, it's just. He's /dead/ and he has one. A me-that-was. Him that was, I guess." Another laugh, "Did I ever say? There were siblings. I've got them. I'm the third of four. Maybe five? I think it's five now. And she's with them, you know? So I was just-- sorry, it was about your brother." Maya's gathering her focus, and both hands now push through her hair, her eyes closed, as she takes another deep breath, raising her head. "Sorry. Uh. I'm fine. It's just-- him-before sounds like-- I didn't take the one that was, away from my siblings. I'm less her, because /she's/ her, before. Uh. Sorry, just. I wonder what they'd think of it. My siblings. This isn't about me though, right? Yeah." Another deep breath. "It's. I left her because we can't really replace what's gone. But you can care for him, or it, or whatever." Another deep breath, and she finally opens her eyes, looking at Javi with unblinking eyes and expression somewhere between rueful and wry and... well, it's fading quickly, it's fine. "Feelings have to go somewhere, you know? If it wasn't the ghost, it'd be a potted plant or a dog or his favorite something. At least you know the difference."
"Um." Javi's eyes are really //very// wide now as he watches her -- maybe she //says// she's fine, but he is obviously not very sure about it. Anyone can //say// they're fine. As she goes on, though, his expression softens a little bit, and he shakes his head. "Nah," he murmurs, "you didn't." Tell him, that is, but it's not meant to interrupt her, and he doesn't say anything else until she's through. Even when she //is//, he doesn't speak immediately, still studying her as if he could find something else there that she isn't saying. Of course, she's said a lot, so there's plenty to consider.
"That fucking sucks," he finally says. "I'm sorry." There's not a whole lot //to// say, but he does seem to mean it, at least. And a moment later, he adds, "You're you, though. She's not. Even if they don't know. You are."
"Yeah." It's another deep breath. Somewhere down the line, someone's learned the basics of self-control via big ol' breaths. "I'm Maya." She agrees. She looks around, but no one in the cafe is too concerned with their little table - without the words, they're still quite low-key. "It's what it is. But yeah, no." She reaches for her coffee, before frowning, tapping her stomach, "Lame." She mutters, before there's a slow exhale, and she leans back in her seat. "Anyway, What I meant was. It sucks. I don't know about dead people. But - it's NOT him, right? So is it a problem? Like, is it gonna do anything or lead to him or you being fucked up or something? Because you KNOW it's not him, still."
"Yeah. You're Maya." Javi might sound more sure than //she// does, but then, he's the one who's trying to convince her of it, so he'd better be sure. There's another pause, before he offers, "It can be about you if you want it to. I mean," he amends, "if you ever need to talk about it. Or you want to. I get it. That's okay. We can."
He doesn't press her for it, though -- he answers the question instead. "Nah," he replies. "I mean, no more fucked up than anything else." He laughs wryly, then shrugs. "It's fine. He got stuck on me. Sometimes they do that. So they gotta stay by the thing they're stuck on. Like, close." He gestures vaguely in the air, a thing that wouldn't usually clarify much, though now maybe it does. Because maybe there's a ghost //right there//.
Maya gives a little half-grin at the reiteration - she's pretty sure she's Maya. She's a fantastic Maya! Except for the mussed hair and the fact that her leg is shaking, it's like the whole incident can simply...pass. "It's cool. I've just been a little stressed out lately. The shebang, classes starting up, extra practice - just haven't had a chance to really chill lately. Guess I'm on edge." Maya's not being entirely honest, but it's at least partially true. "But...thanks man. I'll remember. But it sounds like it's just your feelings you need to work on, and the situation's kind of not a big deal. At least it won't be a problem." Maya points out. She and Javi are a little over there at a table together, each with their own little snack and drink, chatting quietly with one another.
Javi probably isn't buying it. He doesn't have the sort of face that hides much of what he's thinking, and right now it's doing an excellent job of exactly that. However, he also doesn't push for anything further. "Yeah," he says eventually, "sure. Makes sense." That part of it that's true //does// make sense, yes. "Just, you know. Yeah. Let me know."
He nods, reaching for his coffee so he can take a sip, before he continues, "Right. It's all good." He smiles, shaking himself like he's trying to dislodge a burden of some sort, but it's quick. "Anyway. How you doing other than that? Excited for classes?"
Candy barges in from the back room with a bellowing cry of "Dishes! I hate doing dishes!" Her off-colored eyes narrowed as she continued her tyrade of shouting at someone named 'Carl. I swear if..."
The rant might have gone further if she hadn't realized the coffee shop still had customers. She quickly perked up, deflated, and then perked up again enough to give a huff. "Last call!" she finally decided in an authoritative announcement.
"Duuuuude. There's so much /math/ in music." Maya complains. "And like, physics and shit. I have to learn all this science and math and memorization--" There's yelling, then, and Maya starts, looking over towards the counter. There's a blank look before realization hits, "Oh. Uh." Maya looks back to Javi, "You want something else before they close up?" A pause. "My treat. This was totally supposed to be more relaxing for you, man."
"Oof, that sucks," Javi replies, with definite commiseration. He sympathizes with her plight at least somewhat. And he might have said more, too, but his attention shifts quickly to Candy and his eyebrows raise. "Damn, really?" He reaches into his pocket for his phone, checking the time, before a laugh escapes him and he lifts a hand toward Candy in acknowledgement. When he looks back to Maya, though, he shakes his head. "I'm good, girl," he says with another wide grin, enough that it's //mostly// up to his usual standard. It's pretty close, anyway. "Come on. We're friends, yeah? I'm super relaxed. Don't I look relaxed?" Well, not really, but at least no less relaxed than //usual//. "Not gonna turn down a donut, though."
Candy lifted very two empty white mugs in their direction. She had the pose of someone demanding coffee from the heavens, or some similar portriat as she stood beside the counter. "None at all?" she asked in disbelief before deflating enough to set the cups back where they belonged. "A silly place with silly hours" she decided in conclusion.
Maya grins, sliding out of the seat. "I'll grab it for you. Remind me to get your schedule, we need to hit the dance floor one of these days. Dumb exes have to stick together." She gives Javi a quick wink, before she wanders towards the counter, hands in her pockets. She's not one hundred percent back to chill, but she's slipped into another form of casual, it seems. Still, once she's near the counter she looks at Candy, "Hey. Bathing suit girl, right?" Maya asks, before she looks to the counter. "Any donuts? And one of those salted cookie things."
A short young woman with a soft frame. She stands roughly 5'3. She has dirty blond hair, pale skin, and two soft blue eyes that somehow fail to match the same hue with each other. Her simple physique doesn't necessarily stand out, but the short girl has the volume and anunciation of an opera singer, and the grammar of a far too serious English professor.
Javi stands up, too, taking the last bite or so of his sandwich and grabbing the coffee cup as he starts toward the counter with Maya. A laugh escapes him at the first remark, and he reaches a hand up to point a finger, poking it in the air in her direction a couple of times to agree. "Sure do," he says. "'Bout to be someone else's dumb ex in a minute, too." However, he says that pretty cheerfully for someone who's talking about potentially being an ex, especially if it hasn't actually happened yet. "But yeah, for sure," he continues, with plenty of enthusiasm for the idea. "Got a good spot I been wanting to check out so I'll let you know." He turns back to Candy, the point turning into a friendly wave. "Hey."
Candy 's off-colored eyes lifted up to Myra. There was almost a dejected look in the woman's face as she conceeded "Yes, we still have a few of those." she assured. Sadness didn't slow down her willingness or ability to provide the pasteries, nor did it affect her speed in wrapping up a donut in parchment paper. The only unusual consiquence was the demeanor of the barista, who went from excitedly demanding the next order to grupily folding up an old cookie and donut. She nudged both of the assembled treats to the end of the counter to Myra, stating: "Payment is unecessary, they would both be stale by tomorrow." in a verry manner-of-fact statement.
"Bathing suits." she huffed before quickly perking up "Oh yes! You owe me pants!" she ridiculously claimed.
She stood back from the counter and gave Javi a meek look. "Apologies. I am bored and uncreative..." she claimed as she ganced back and forth behind the counter. Whatever solution she might have been looking for must have been missing.
"Oh sweet, thanks." Maya says, accepting the donut and offering it towards Javi. "Wait, huh? You were /dating/ somebody? And already done? You can't just--" Oh wait, Candy's interrupting. Maya laughs. "Or you owe me another tee-shirt. But it's fine either wa--" A sudden swell of violins and flutes, the kind that plays at a very dramatic moment when someone's about to open doors, and Maya fetches her phone from one of her pockets. "Shit." She turns it on, "Heeeeey, Taylor, now's not really a-- a huh. Huh?" Maya groans, leaning back before she straightens and puts her thumb over the phone mic, "Looks like I've got to run, man. Text me if you need anything, yeah? I owe you a drink at your new fun spot. Good seeing you made it back in one piece, bathing suit girl." Maya grins, before she starts heading towards the door, "I can just grab it on my way, I'm not far. Of course I--" Whooosh. There she goes!
"Oh, nah, not like that. It's-" But whose dumb ex Javi is going to potentially be at some point in the future will have to wait, since Maya's //phone// is //ringing//. "Man, this girl got Taylor hitting her up already," he remarks, this time with eyes that are really //exaggeratedly// wide, even if he's holding back a laugh. "Fuck school, you're not gonna need that shit anymore." He can't hold it back //forever//, though, and it slips out as he lifts a hand to wave. "Yeah, will do. See you."
He's still laughing as he watches her make her exit, before he turns back to Candy, waving a hand to dismiss the apology. "All good," he says. "Not sure what you're tryna do but usually sugar helps me." He grins, reaching for a donut and lifting it to punctuate the statement, before he takes a bite.
Candy gave Javier a briefly confused look before standing upright. "I'm giving you a cookie." she explained before finally agreeing. "Sugar is the most important vitamin of the day" she stated in a non-sarcastic tone, but made sure to poke her tongue out of her lips to ensure some sense of comedy to her statement.
Javi's eyebrows raise at the reply, but a moment later he laughs again and nods to concede the point. "Yeah," he agrees. "Meant more, like...being bored and uncreative. Sorry a cookie's not that interesting, though. Not gonna be a whole lot else you can do with that except just, like...do it." Though there are probably some creative ways to give someone a pastry. Or at least, some that are more creative than others.
Candy folds her hands over her apron covered lap. She wrinkled her nose and shrugged: "The cookie had little doing to it. It was already done" she meekly stated. "You will love it though. It has choclate chips!" she boasted enthusiastically.
"Hm, yeah." No arguing with that, so Javi doesn't try, just lets out a little amused huff as he nods. "I'll definitely love it, though. Always down for chocolate chips. That's like, one of the food groups for sure."
He pushes off the counter and lifts it toward her in a semi-salute, inclining his head. "Thanks," he says. "I'll see you, yeah? Send some creative vibes your way." He takes a bite, his smile widening. Well, it is delicious. "Take care." With that, he turns to head out of the cafe.
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