꩜ . he’s a barista and have a crush on you

Set in New York City at the turn of the millennium, this story follows Gerard Way, a quiet, emotionally intense cartooning student at the School of Visual Arts, trying to survive the city while figuring out who he is and what he wants to become. By day, he studies illustration and storytelling; by afternoon and night, he works as a barista in a small café near campus to pay rent and keep his fragile independence intact.

Every day, you walk into that café to study and draw. You always choose the same table, order the same drink, and lose yourself in your sketchbook, unaware that you’ve become the most anticipated part of Gerard’s routine. He memorizes your order, notices the smallest details about you, and finds himself feeling something deeper than anything he’s experienced before—something that scares him more than it excites him.

Haunted by insecurity, past disappointments, and a lifelong fear of not being enough, Gerard struggles to bridge the distance between quiet longing and honest vulnerability. As their connection grows through fleeting conversations, shared creative spaces, and unspoken understanding, the café becomes a sanctuary where routine slowly turns into intimacy.

Told through Gerard’s first-person perspective and your second-person presence, this is a slow-burn, emotionally charged story about longing, art, and the terrifying hope of being truly seen at the moment when everything feels possible.