Once upon a laundromat

    Liam wasn't sure how to feel. Theo was a romantic, he cared deeply and he loved without holding anything back. To Liam, it was obvious this was a date and he could feel a hollow forming in his stomach.

"Theo!"

    The girl turned towards him as well. Liam couldn't figure out much about her just by looking. She just seemed... normal. Nothing to write home about, either good or bad way. He didn't like the situation. 

"What's this?" he signed 

    Theo looked like a kid who'd been caught in his mischief. Good. At least he was feeling bad about leaving him out.

"I'm... on a date" Theo signed back

"Is this the girl from the bookshop?"

"Yes"

"You should've told me about this. Do this again and I will kill you"

"No you won't, you love me too much" he smirked

"I wouldn't recommend putting it to the test"

"Sorry, it was a little sudden. I was really nervous and I got caught in my own thoughts"

"I'll forgive you AFTER you introduce us. I would make it happen sooner rather than later, if I were you" 

    Liam smiled at him, but it wasn't a very reassuring smile. While Liam wouldn't ever hurt him, however he seemed to be considering it.

"Yes, sir. I'll ask her"

    They said they're goodbyes and Liam continued on his way to the laundromat. He could feel the stress clutching at him. Theo was the most important person in his world, Liam wasn't ready to see him get hurt again. For God's sake, he had come out to do his laundry, not ruin his digestion for the rest of the week!

    As usual, he entered the building and talked to the old lady that owned the place for a few minutes. He couldn't bring himself to care about the stories, but it always made her happy when he listened and that he cared about. Walking a little further in, he noticed a girl crouched in front of a washing machine. She was frowning at the poor thing like it had just cursed at her. 

    With a small chuckle he got closer and crouched next to her. Her hair was so blonde and curly that he found it hard to think it was natural, then she turned her big green eyes towards him and he stopped thinking. She looked at him, waited for him to say something. When he didn't, she spoke.

"Do you know how these work?"

"The washing machines?" 

    No, the lightbulbs. He was a bloody genius, wasn't he? On her part, the girl seemed to find her question more embarrassing than his answer.

"I know how to load one, I'm just not familiar with this model. The one at home had a digital display, unfortunately it broke, so here I am"

    Thank God for small favors, and he supposed capitalism as well.

"Luckily for you, I'm a regular. I'm familiar with them to an unfortunate degree, as I use them at least once a week"

"How come?"

"It's cheaper than owning one"

"Fair point. This is a little embarrassing, but since I forgot my phone, I can't even look up the wash cycles..."

"What are you washing?"

    She turned bright red, then Liam thought about about it and did as well. He really had a talent for putting his foot in his mouth.

"I just want to know what type of cycle you need for them"

"Obviously. Jeez, sorry for making it weird "

"Nah, you're fine" he shrugged 

    Liam found the appropriate one and turned on the washing machine. 

"There we go. It should be fine now. If you need help with the dryer, I'll be..."

"Thanks, thanks, thanks!"

    He forgot what he was about to say, when he found himself with the girl throwing her arms around him. Before he could process it, she pulled away and crouched back down to watch her clothes turn. As he did his own laundry, he kept peaking at her, unsure of what, if anything he should say. Fortunately for him, the sprite seemed to be very sociable.

"What's your name?" she asked 

"Liam" he replied 

"I'm Sonia, nice to meet you!" 

"Same"

    Her smile was infectious. Sonia, huh? He like that, somehow it fit. He wanted to call her by her name, the feeling of her name on his lips promised to be intoxicating. 

    Sonia had been a little spooked of him, after he'd popped next to her without a word. The fact that he'd been quiet afterwards hadn't helped. Now she liked him a lot better. Liam looked like he'd be trouble, but seemed like a kind person. She wanted to know more about him.

"Are you always the one who does the laundry?" Sonia asked 

"Yeah. I live alone, so it can't be helped" Liam replied 

"Aren't you a little young for that?"

"I guess. I am 19 though. I didn't get along with my dad, so I thought it would be better for us to live separately"

"How long have you been on your own?"

"Not sure" he sighed "About 3 or 4 years, probably closer to 4. How come you're the one doing the laundry?"

"Dad is at work and mom is taking our washing machine to get it fixed" 

"Fair enough. Though, doesn't that mean that you not having your phone is a big problem? What if they try to contact you?"

    Sonia paled instantly. He really had a way with the ladies, didn't he?

"I'll look after your stuff" he waved her away "Get going"

    He cringed at his own tone. It was in his nature to be curt, sometimes even mean sounding. Theo was used to it and Liam had fixed his bad habits somewhat. Still, to talk to a girl he didn't know like that was a new low even for him. On the other hand, Sonia was unfazed.

"I owe you one!"

    She ran out the door, entirely fine by the looks of it. He was ready to make himself comfortable and spend the next hour staring at the wall. To his surprise, not ten minutes later, Sonia was back, red faced and out of breath.

"You didn't have to run, I'm not going anywhere" 

"I figured"

"Then why did you run?"

"It's an ambush."

"What do you mean?" he chuckled 

"Well, if I took my time you might've been able to leave without talking to me anymore"

"I wouldn't have offered to watch your stuff if I wanted to avoid you"

    At this, Sonia blinked rapidly. Liam was not going to go anywhere, this was way too entertaining. She frowned a little, considering his words.

"You make a very good point"

    He took a few steps towards her, unlocked his phone and gave it to her. She was thrown off balance by the crooked smile he gave her. 

"Here. You can put your number in and then you won't have to worry about me going away"

    After doing just that, she handed him the phone back. Right away, she got a call on her phone.

"Now you have mine as well"

"You can always just block my number" she looked at his face "Your eyes are so dark I can barely tell where your iris ends and your pupil starts"

"Yes, it's like that for some people" he laughed "I'm also not blocking your number. Pinky promise"

    He was mostly joking, but the expression on her face was very solemn. She intertwined her finger with his for a moment and it was enough to give her butterflies.

"I'll hold you to it" she said "So.... how is life living alone?"

"You sure have a lot of questions, madam. What about you? What do you do? What makes you get out of bed in the morning?"

"Aside from school, it would have to be music. I have a band. We're pretty good, if I may say so myself... except for our guitarist who is reliably unreliable"

"He sounds like fun" he drawled 

"Believe me, I'd replace him if I could. Unfortunately, he's the best we could find" she sighed 

"I could give it a try"

"You play?"

"It's one of the ways I've been making the money to live by myself"

    Her face brightened up, she took his hands in hers. Her touch was all the more persuasive because it didn't mean to be.

"Please try. Oh, to think I might have a good guitar! This will be amazing, if it works!"

    By the time they left the laundromat, he knew all the basic information about her and then some. On top of that, she'd dragged out more about him then he'd ever shared in one day. Somehow, he couldn't bring himself to care. It made her happy and that's something he cared about.