#the dramaqueen was calling me out from inside the house all along

[mud-muffin]

Hi- I just saw your post about maybe having to give up art. I’m so sorry, that’s one of the hardest struggles a person can go through. I hope you find joy in your art again and stability in your future! Take it easy, and good luck

I know it's VERY late reply but i just wanted to say i'm doing better. I've been in the gutter for over a year and the last couple of months have been extra hard,, my life is still nothing but issues stacking on top of previous issues 😅 But I have a bit of work now so at least now i don't feel as worthless..

Doing art means too much to me, it's the only thing I have been able to do my entire life but what really keeps me going is sharing it with you guys :')

I have finally gotten some work from a pretty big client but they're actually so big that i don't even own the drawings i do for them, like AT ALL. Which makes me really sad, cus that means I can never share it with you guys, not even my family will ever see it... 🥲

So coming online after work to share my private art and fanart, reading comments and tags and talking about ideas, art and tv series is what mainly keeps me going ;w;)/

And for that I wanna say thank you! Both to you dear anon but also to all my followers that still sticks around my Mud-muffin <3

[userlando]

Sweet As Pie (Ethan)

Summary: Requested by a few. Ethan is a barista at your local coffee shop and he writes stupid puns on your cup every time you drop by. Word Count: 2,326 Warnings: None. A/N: I’m still reeling from 1k followers ughhh, you guys are everything. Hope you enjoy this! Let me know if you want a part two, might make it smutty. xx

It had started last semester. You had been sleep deprived during finals and had studied all night, eventually feeling like you had to go and take a walk outside for some fresh air. It was nearing 6AM by the time you had found  yourself outside the deserted coffee shop, so you had shrugged and walked in to grab something to drink. Maybe sugar and caffeine would keep you awake.

The barista that was standing behind the counter was utterly gorgeous and you had lost your voice for a second as you saw him walk around, wiping down the counter and pushing his long curls from his forehead with a rough hand, humming. His nametag had said Ethan and he looked gorgeous in the obligatory white shirt that clung to him in all the right places. You had marveled at the stripe of red at the front of his hair, stuttering out your order when he had smiled gently, greeting you.

You had watched him work, the only sound coming from the machines and the soft sound of the radio echoing in the empty coffee shop. He moved with a grace that you’d never experienced before, pink tongue poking out between his lush lips as he concentrated on the drink, already arched eyebrows almost disappearing behind his long bangs. You were mesmerized, so much so that you had barely acknowledged him saying your name as he placed the steaming cup on the counter. But you caught yourself staring, blaming it on the sleep deprivation as you grabbed the cup in your hands, thanking him with a shaky smile before walking out the door.

It was when you stood outside and brought your lips to the lid that you realized something scribbled on the side. You halted your movement, frowning as you read the black ink. “What does a house wear? A dress.” You had giggled before you could stop yourself, hand going to cover your smiling lips as you turned your head to look through the windows of the shop, your heart speeding as you found him smiling at you, looking proud.

So you went back there whenever you could, which was almost every day. Sometimes you’d even order, sit down and pretend to be busy with working on a paper, but you were really just staring at him working behind the bar. He continued to write stupid puns on your cup, making you laugh every time, and it was honestly the highlight of your day. That, along with his smiles and the short conversations you had. Well, you didn’t know if you could call them conversations because it was usually just a “Hi, what will it be today?” or “The usual?” and even “Everything alright?”

Eventually, your friend caught on, getting suspicious of your frequent runs to the coffee shop. You had tried to wave it off, explaining that you only needed your daily dose of caffeine to get through the painfully long lectures. But she wasn’t having it, which didn’t surprise you because not only were you an awful liar, but she knew you well enough to see right through you.

So on a Friday, you had scampered off to the coffee shop in the hopes of getting a few glances of Ethan. You had blown off your friend, telling her you had to study which you totally intended on doing, after getting your daily dose of the hot barista. He hadn’t been working since Monday, so you crossed your fingers as you pushed the door to the shop open, trying to bite back your beaming smile as you spotted the familiar curly hair with the swoop, his stripe purple this time. It was half-empty and you figured the usual college students were back at the Campus, getting ready for the big party that one of the sororities held tonight.

You watched as one costumer grabbed her drink, sweeping past you as she walked out of the shop so you stepped up to the counter, nervously wringing your hands as you waited for him to notice you. He eventually did, turning around and halting when he spotted you standing there. His lips broke out into a smile, cheeks dimpling beautifully before placing his hands on the sides of the cashregister.

“Hi!” He greeted you and you couldn’t help but smile back in greeting. “The usual, then?”

You opened your mouth to say yes, but then you stopped yourself.

“I’ll have the chocolate muffin too.” You said and Ethan grinned, nodding as he reached to punch in the order into the register. Your eyes locked on his fingers; thick, rough and crooked looking. And immediately your mind went to places, cheeks heating up as his voice brought you back from your reverie.

You reached for your backpocket, trying to fish the money out but a noise of disapproval made you freeze. Ethan was smiling softly.

“This one’s on me.” He said and you opened your mouth, closing it when you realized you had nothing to say.

“You don’t have to.” You settled on with a small laugh, but Ethan only shook his head, a wisp of blue falling in front of his eye.

“No, really, it’s fine. You’re sitting here, yeah?” You nodded. “Then sit, I’ll bring you your order.”

And with that he turned away, making it clear that that was the end of the discussion. So with a defeated sigh, you turned around and weaved through the tables and chairs, sitting in the far back at your usual spot by the window. You sat down with a sigh, placing your bag on your lap so you could take out your laptop and place it on the small, round table. You powered it up, bringing up the essay you were working on that was due on Monday, and went to work.

A shuffle of the feet startled you and you stopped typing as a pair of familiar looking hands placed down a small plate with a muffin on it, the mundane cup following. You glanced up, blushing when you met Ethan’s eyes.

“Thank you, Ethan.” The name slipped out of your mouth before you could stop it, and your eyes widened in mortification at being caught. Great, now he knew you were a creepy, weird stalker who knew his name.

But his smile only widened, perfect white teeth peeking out.

“No problem, Y/N.” He chuckled, turning to walk back to the counter.

You stared after him, feeling speechless and warm inside. Eventually you went back to working on your paper, only having your concentration thrown off as your hand reached the warm cup. You looked at the side of it, lips splitting into a smile as your cheeks went warm. “You’re sweeter than 3.14″

A giggle fell out of your lips as you sipped your warm beverage, eyes sweeping across the shop to then land on the hot barista who was talking with a customer. You watched in curiosity as Ethan laughed at what the guy was saying, brewing a steaming cup of what you presumed was coffee before handing the cup over to the guy who had his back to you. You froze as Ethan looked sideways, locking eyes with you and lips pulling into a small, secretive smile. You bit into your smiling lips as you watched him return his focus on the costumer, the smile on your face disappearing as the guy turned to look at you. He was the spitting image of Ethan, only he had lighter hair in a swoop on the top of his head. Your mouth fell open as you stared at each other, his lips - similar to Ethan’s - smirking mischievously and identical eyes sparkling as he turned to his twin brother.

You were struggling to keep up with the hotness of one, now there was two of them?

The clock struck 9 p.m. and you were almost done with your paper, so focused on finishing it that you didn’t pay attention to the small bell above the door ringing as someone pushed it open. You heard a murmur of a greeting, only looking up when the person sat in the chair in front of you.

“Ree!” You exclaimed in surprise as you caught sight of your best friend. “What are you doing here?”

She crossed her arms over her chest, bracelets dangling limpy from her arm. She was looking annoyed and you suspected it had something to do with you blowing her and the sorority party off to study.

“I wanted to see what was more important to you than me.” She said and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Ree was a big dramaqueen, but it was something you loved about her in some strange way. “So who is it?”

You tried to not glance at Ethan who was standing by the counter, keeping your gaze on her as you shrugged, looking as innocent as you could.

“It’s no one, I just had to write this essay for history class.” You answered.

Ree laughed like she didn’t believe you.

“I doubt that Mr. Parker is more important to you than I am.” She said, referring to your history professor. “This party is gonna be huge, Y/N. Why are you cooped up in here?”

It went so fast and you cringed when you realized what you had done. Your eyes betrayed you, quickly glancing at Ethan before settling on Ree. She caught the move though, turning her body around in her chair to find out what you were looking at. She made a sound in her throat, settling back in her chair as she groaned out a laugh.

“You’ve been lusting over the barista guy?” She asked in disbelief and you hushed her, making her laugh. “Oh my God, why didn’t I piece this together sooner?”

You shook your head, grabbing your cup to take a sip. Anything to not answer her accusations, but that was your second wrong move. Her eyes fastened on the cup and she snatched it away, turning the cup and snorting out a laugh as her eyebrows shot up.

“Oh wow, did he do this?” She asked, disbelief lacing her voice. “Have the two of you even talked?”

“Yes.” You said defensively, snatching the cup back with a glare.

“I meant outside this shop when he’s not taking your order,” She paused but you never answered her. “Y/N, wow. Just wow.”

You glared at the table, refusing to answer her. Ree shifted in her seat, sighing deeply.

“He clearly likes you, so why not ask for his number or something?” She said, tone much more gentle. “Or maybe invite him to the party tonight.”

“No, just leave it, Ree.” You said but she only rolled her eyes, looking tired all of a sudden.

She placed her elbow on the table and you watched her for a few seconds before going back to your essay. You sat in silence as you typed, sighing in relief as you read it over quickly, sending it away to your professor. Ree hummed.

“Can you go order me a cappuccino to go, please?” She asked, her hand disappearing from your view as she produced a bill from her pocket and handing it to you.

You took it, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Was this her way of having me talk to Ethan or was she up to something? Nevertheless, you took it from her and stood up, because you weren’t going to miss an opportunity to talk to Adonis himself. You looked around the empty shop as you walked up to the counter, smile pulling on your lips as Ethan spotted you.

“You sure do consume a lot of caffeine.” He said with a small laugh, tone everything but judgemental.

Your heart fluttered at the sound of his laugh.

“It’s for my friend,” You paused and gestured toward Ree with a nod of your head, making him glance at her before fastening his eyes on you. “A cappuccino, please.”

He rang it up before moving away to brew it up so you turned discreetly to glance at Ree who was smirking teasingly. You glared at her for her indiscretion before turning back to the counter as you heard shuffling feet.

Ethan held the cup out and you took it with a small smile, withholding the gasp that threatened to slip out as your fingers touched. Before you had time to thank him, a familiar hand snatched the cup from your grip and you turned with wide eyes. Ree was smirking.

“Thanks.” She pressed a smooch to your cheek before turning her attention to Ethan. “She wants to bang you, by the way.”

And with that, she rushed out the shop. The door slammed after her and silence settled over the place, you refusing to turn around as you stared at the door in mortification. A small laugh came from behind you and you looked at him, your face burning hot and your eyes wide. Ethan looked amused.

“Well, then that makes two of us.” He said and your mouth dropped open as your mind registered what he had said and implied.

He had just admitted to feeling the same way, and you didn’t even know how to react. Your arms fell to your sides, willing yourself not to stutter as you stared up at him.

“How do you feel about a party, tonight?” You asked, trying not to look too proud at having said that without stuttering or sounding like an idiot.

Ethan’s eyebrows raised and he placed a large hand on the counter, leaning on it in a way that looked so attractive that you couldn’t stop staring.

“Will you be there?” He asked curiously, teeth biting down on his delicious-looking lower lip.

You slid your gaze from his lips to his eyes.

“Of course.” You answered, smiling at him, trying to ignore the hard thumping of your heart.

Ethan flashed you a smile, hazel eyes sparkling.

“Then I’ll definitely be there.”