✓ 𝐆𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒, adam banks

04. anna and vronsky

❛ ━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━ ❜
chapter four: anna and vronsky

tw(s): leslie is conscious about her eating and appearance, spoilers for the book anna karenina, a very short anxiety spiral
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★ ━━━ LESLIE IS STANDING in the line of the Eden Hall Café, tapping her nude patent ballet flats against the tiled floor. She inspects her reflection in the window. She is wearing a pair of brown linen shorts, a white blouse, and some gold jewelry. Louise dubbed it a teacher outfit, but Leslie's stylist says she wants her to look classy. 

Leslie isn't sure if her reflection is just warped, but she notices that her frame looks a little wider than normal. Maybe she won't get sugar or cream in her coffee today.

"Next!"

"Hi," Leslie greets warmly. "Can I get a regular iced cold brew?"

"Sure. That'll be $1.45," the cashier says.

Leslie's hands fumble in her tote bag for her wallet. In her pockets.

Nothing.

"Um, give me a second," Leslie says, her voice lilting uncertainly.

"Make that two cold brews," a voice says from behind her. Adam steps forward with a crumpled wad of cash and places it on the counter. Leslie looks up at him. Even with her height, he has a good few inches on her.

"Oh, Adam, hi. You really didn't have to do that," Leslie says bashfully, her face flushing.

"It's no problem," Adam says with a dismissive wave of his hand. When their coffees come, he pulls out a chair for her at a small round table in the center of the café. 

She sits down slowly. This is almost like a date, isn't it? Rick would go ballistic if she saw them together right now. And sure, Rick goes ballistic over a lot of irrational things, but Leslie has a strong feeling in her gut that she should get up and run out the door.

"How's Eden treating you?" Leslie asks, wrapping her fingers around the cardboard cup, taking in the warmth. "And you made Varsity, too. Congrats, Banks."

"Eden's good. Yeah, Varsity's a nice opportunity," he says. No, rehearses. This is the kind of thing he'd say in front of his father's colleagues. Loosen up, Adam.

"You know, I bet the Ducks miss you," Leslie says with a casual sip of her cold brew, drumming her fingernails against the smooth marble of the coffee table. "You guys had a great sort of camaraderie when you played on peewees. Maybe you could still be...amicable with them."

"They tolerated me while I was there, I think," Adam says after a long pause. "I don't think I ever really belonged there. With the cake-eater shit and all."

"Belonging somewhere starts with believing that you belong somewhere, I think. Feeling like you deserve a place that feels like home. You know?"

Adam looks at her. Really looks at her. In some strange way, maybe it's the way her eyes are slightly averted towards her reflection in the window, or maybe the way she said it quietly, like she didn't mean for anyone to hear, it seems as though she was saying it to herself instead of to him.