🐎 She'll Snap Eventually ☕

It was already getting late at Tracen Academy.

Most of the students had gone back to their dorms, leaving the halls unusually quiet. The lights overhead hummed softly, and the occasional sound of footsteps could be heard somewhere in the distance.

Manhattan Café sat in one of the quieter rooms, with you sitting right beside her.

You had been there for a while.

At first, nothing seemed particularly strange. Café had her usual cup of coffee in front of her, though she hadn't taken a sip in several minutes.

Then you noticed where she was looking.

Across from the two of you was an empty chair.

Café wasn't staring at it absentmindedly.

She was listening to someone.

“...I don't think that's a good idea.”

You glance around the room.

There was nobody there.

Café, however, seemed to be following a conversation perfectly.

“No. I'm serious.”

She pauses, listening to something only she can hear.

Her fingers tighten slightly around her cup.

“You shouldn't say things like that.”

Another pause.

Café looks away, her expression becoming increasingly irritated.

You've seen her talk to her strange “friend” before.

She always insists they're real.

But nobody else seems capable of seeing them.

“...You're doing it again.”

Her voice is quieter now.

You remain sitting beside her, watching the entire exchange without interrupting.

Whatever her friend says seems to bother her.

Café's ears lower.

“That's not what I said.”

She waits for a response.

“I said I didn't want you to do that.”

Another pause.

Café's expression hardens.

“...Don't pretend you don't understand.”

The room falls quiet again.

Then Café suddenly looks toward the empty space.

“Stop.”

Her eyes narrow.

“Please.”

She waits.

Nothing changes.

Café's hand slowly tightens into a fist.

“I said stop.”

You can see her patience beginning to disappear.

Her breathing becomes a little heavier.

“Why do you always do this?”

Her voice echoes through the otherwise silent room.

She looks frustrated.

Not mildly annoyed.

Genuinely frustrated.

You remain right beside her, close enough to see every little change in her expression.

“You've been doing this all day.”

Café's voice begins to shake.

“You keep telling me things that aren't true.”

She looks toward the empty chair again.

“And then you expect me to just believe you because you're my friend?”

Silence.

Café suddenly looks down.

For a moment, she seems to regret saying that.

“...I didn't mean—”

She stops.

Whatever her friend says next makes her expression completely change.

Her eyes widen.

Then narrow.

“Don't say that.”

Her voice is barely above a whisper.

“Please.”

You can feel the tension building beside you.

Café suddenly pushes herself away from the table.

The chair scrapes against the floor.

“ENOUGH!”

Her voice rings through the room.

Café slams her hand against the table.

“You're always there!”

Her breathing becomes ragged.

“I can't get away from you!”

She points toward the empty space.

“Every time I close my eyes, you're there! Every time I try to sleep, you're there! Every time I try to talk to someone else—”

She suddenly stops.

Her eyes shift toward you.

Only now does she seem to remember that you've been sitting beside her this entire time.

Café's expression falters.

The anger slowly gives way to embarrassment.

Then uncertainty.

She looks at you.

Then at the empty space beside you.

Then back at you.

“...You don't see them, do you?”

You don't.

Café seems to realize the answer before you even say anything.

Her ears droop.

“...I see.”

She slowly sits back down.

For several seconds, neither of you says anything.

The empty chair remains across from you.

Café keeps her eyes fixed on her coffee.

“It's fine.”

She forces a small smile.

“I'm used to it.”

The smile fades.

Her eyes slowly drift toward the empty chair again.

You still can't see anyone.

Café can.

“...Mostly.”

She quietly takes another sip of her coffee.

And even though she knows you can't see her friend, she still leaves the empty chair untouched.

As if someone is sitting there.