The Coffee shop story
written 2017, last edited 2023
CHAPTER 1 : The Coffee Shop
Sophie sat at the counter of her favorite coffee shop. Thinking. She always sat there, thinking. About different worlds, about becoming different people. She looked down at her computer, trying to figure out what to write. How to turn all her ideas in her head into a story. How to make the people leap from the page and cast a spell on the reader. But the page was blank, and she just sat there, thinking. She decided to go back to one of her older stories, looking for inspiration.
"So, what are you writing, miss?" Sophie whipped her head around to the voice coming from behind. Her chair wobbled with the force, throwing her into the arms of the voice's body. It was a young man.
"Whoa, careful there." He lifted her back onto the chair. "My name is Alex." Alex. A story already began to form in her head. Things began to connect, take shape, creating itself.
"Miss?" The voice pulled her from her thoughts, such a soft voice. So kind, a wonderful voice really.
"Miss?" He repeated. His eyes curious with hers, holding an unbroken gaze.
"O-Oh, right. Thank you. Alex. Your name is Alex." Her voice distancing again. "Yes, Alex." Her mind wandered away, frantically slamming the keys on her computer.
"Yes, that's my name. Alex." He almost laughed. But the way that she was typing, there was no way she heard him. He put his hand on her shoulder, clearly startling her.
"Yes, I'm Alex, who are you?" he spoke clearly and slowly, holding onto her from returning to were ever she was before.
"Sophie. Sophie, Sophie, Sophie." She was thinking, the gears turning in her head for all to see. "Sophia!" and she returned to beating her computer. "Sophia and…" She turned back to Alex, question in her eyes.
"And what?" His voice was eager to help, but unaware how to. But instead of responding, she just looked at him, her hands motioning for an answer.
"Adam!" Her eyes held victory, and her keyboard held defeat.
"Adam. Ok." He turned around, leaving Sophie to bang keys on her own. What? He mouthed to the other workers. All of them just shrugged their shoulders. When he finally reached his friends one of them spoke up.
"Yeah that's Sophie , she is a bit of a nut job. But you'll get used to it, don't worry." the young boy smiled, just a few years older than Alex.
"Hans! Hans, I need your help!" the newly familiar voice rung out, calling for the boy. He saluted to Alex and ran off to help her.
"What's with him? I mean, what?" Obviously confused, he looked over to Hans, helping the same girl he called crazy.
"He's her usual waiter. He was been helping her write her stories since she first came here. Said they seen each other from school or something. He treats her as if she were his sister." An odd silence fell over the two, and the others walked away, wanting to get away from the subject.
"His sister? Sorry, I'm lost." Alex really didn't know what was going on. His eyes were innocent, trying to reach the sadness in the other boy's eyes. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
"She, um, she passed away in a car accident. So did his dad. And he blames himself. No, he wasn't driving, it was caused by a drunk driving a bigger car. He died too." His eyes had an understanding in them, and Alex knew why. The two older boys were very close friends, and he must have been there for Hans at the time.
"Oh. that's, terrible." Alex was speechless. He was struck with so many emotions at once, sympathy eventually taking over.
"Yeah, and right after that, that girl started coming. At first it was only once in a while, than it was every two weeks, then every week, than every other day. Because he had just lost his sister, Sarah, he began to treat Sophie like family. And so she became family, you know? But don't tell him I told you. K?"
"Ok."
"Ok, what?" Hans was back, although he was out of breath. "Is Christopher making a trade of something, cause that will only end badly for you." He laughed, trying to catch his breath.
"Whoa. What did she want this time?" Christopher asked, not really out of curiosity, but out of habit.
"Everything I knew about werewolves. Told me her new story, and told me not to tell. Crazy happy about the inspiration though." He nodded towards Alex, smiling and proud that he could help.
"Werewolves? Really?" Alex tried to get more on the story from Hans, but Christopher interrupted.
"Inspiration, huh? Last time she said that, she wrote a whole thing about you. And boy, that turned out good." Surprised, Christopher pointed to a series of framed papers on the wall. Alex could just see the title of the first page.
"The first story? Is that what it says?" He said, peering at the pages.
"Yeah, it's about when we met and my life story, but with a twist so unless you knew priroir you wouldn't know it was me." Hans seemed anxious to get away from the topic of his life. And now Alex knew why. He watched to boy disappear into the back room. He looked back to the girl, Sophie. Her light brown hair pulled back into a small bun on the top of her head. There were many strands falling out, but instead of making her look crazy, they made a glowing halo around her. Her back was turned and he could not see her face, but he remembered it. Her eyes were a dark brown, holding thousands of secrets. He remembered her smile, how her mind wandered away at his name, and her name too. How her mind was moving so much faster than her mouth. Her lips. Her lips, pressing together so tightly while she thought. But what about?
"Ok, fine. She's crazy and she's writing a story about me. How should I feel?" He turned to Chistapher, hoping to find a bit more advise in the older boy. "Also, can I call you Chris?"
"Nope, definitely not. And like honored. Her writing is crazy good and everyone around here respects her. She writes a story about you, you'll be the most popular waiter, other than Hans." Christopher playfully nudged the boy in front of him. Alex thought about it. Could he really become one of the most popular waiters, in the span of just a few days? He thought about the reason he was here, and how temporary it could be. It would be best not to really put much thought into anything or anyone here, because it could be gone just as fast. He could not forget that. He went back to his own business, his thoughts drifting to tonight. He was finally going to be on a real team, out in the field. He gave himself one last look at Sophie, and then pushed her from his mind. He dove into his brain, just as Sophie was. She was jumping into a new world, a fantasy. Here she was in charge, she could control everything that happened. She could make the skies purple and the grass yellow if she wanted, and then she could jump right in. She could become the characters and live the story. But as she wrote, she thought about the boy earlier. Alex. He seemed so kind, in an odd way. As if he was hiding something, something dangerous but exciting. She had had the same feeling with Hans when they first met. She had insisted on the feeling, finally winning the boy over. He told her his story, had even begun to cry. She remembered the feeling of holding him in her arms. He had been shaking, trying to suppress his tears. But they came nevertheless, soaking her shoulder. In that moment she forced her mind to still, to focus on the boy crying in her arms. She recorded the memory, saving it for inspiration. But in that moment, she held him, promising to herself to protect him, and give him the love he lost, because he really had lost so much. His sister, his father, even his mother in a way, and perhaps she wouldn't be able to really protect him, she would try to always give him the best. Suddenly her vision began to blur. Tears began to build up in her eyes. She tried to wipe them away, but more came to take to place of those which fell. A helpless feeling came over her, taking away all the joy that had previously been there. The tears began to fall onto her keyboard, leaving tiny puddles of sadness. She hurried to wipe them away, trying to push the feeling from her heart and run to the place she had been before, but instead she found herself swirling through thoughts that only pushed her farther down. Memories and pictures, voices and people, all were shown around her, showing that there is so much sadness and hurt in the world. But, just when she thought she was going to break, she felt arms around her, holding her tightly. It was Hans.
"I-I'm, I'm ok. I'm ok, just y-you and," She wrapped her own arms around him, so unbelievably glad for him.
"Shh. You don't need to say anything. Just know that I am here for you." He squeezed her to him, filtering her away from the terrible thoughts that were surrounding her. He began to rock, ever so gently, side to side. Slowly, the tears began to slow and fade away. Her breath slowed, and the thoughts finally left. But still she held him, not wanting to let go. He was taller than she was, almost a whole head taller. He continued to sway, a constant and anchoring movement. Finally her breath matched his and he pulled away. He looked into her eyes, still a bit teary, and smiled ever so softly. A passionate smile, with specks of sadness and sympathy in his eyes. He was there for her, always, his eyes said. And her eyes responded, I know.
"I was just thinking about when we met and your story and I didn't mean to cry, I was just thinking because I was writing the story and Alex and then you and," The tears began to return, but Hans was quick to wipe them away. She closed her eyes as he passed his thumb just under her eye catching the droplets.
"Sophie," He looked at her, her cheeks damp from the tears and her eyes tired from crying.
"Sophie, oh Sophie. I told you you wouldn't like my story." He pulled her to him again, cradling her head. But she pushed away. He had to know what she really felt.
"No, no it's not that. I like the story." She looked up at him trying to express how she felt.
"Ugh, that's not what I meant either. Uhhh," She looked around trying to find a way to show him instead of telling him. "Oh!" She turned back to her computer, leaving an immensely confused Hans looking over her shoulder. She opened a new page and typed as fast as she could. She knew how many mistakes there were but she didn't care, she was going to show him.
"Sophie…" He watched her fingers flying across the keys, letters and words appearing onto the screen.
Hans I don't think you know how much I care. I was just thinking about what I was writing and then I was thinking about Alex and then about you and I coudn't hold back the ters, really I didn't even know t hey were there I was just thikning and then I tried to go back to the sorty and my world but I couldn't and i only saw bab things adn How you cried when you told me your story and I just, I couldn't stop crying and then you came over nad it was like that day all over again and I couldn't stop thining about it and I kept crying I am so sorry I didn't want to bring it up and stuff but I really care and I didn't want you to cry and stuff and i tried to stop but then you were here and i jus
Hans grabbed her hands, pulling it away from the keys. He turned her to face him and saw her eyes shimmering.
"Sophie, I don't know what to say." He sighed, trying to find a way to help the girl, to cheer her up. He had promised himself that he would protect her like the sister he lost. The sister we wasn't able to protect.
"But Hans, you don't need to say anything. I just want to stand here a bit longer, please." She held him tighter, trying to hind from the world in his embrace. He began to sway once again, side to side, holding her close to him.
"Ok, we can just stand here." And they stood there. No one came up to them, no one told Hans to get back to work, no one bothered Sophie. So they swayed, a constant motion, anchoring the both of them. Sophie closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. And he laid his head onto hers, creating a protective barrier around her, to defend her from the harshness of the world, he wasn't going to let anything hurt her. He smiled, and looking over to her computer. She had wrote so much in the short time she really had been writing. Words had been spilling out of her fingers, forming into sentences, then paragraphs, and pages. She had created something out of nothing, and something magical at that.
"Hey, you ok?" He looked back down at the girl in his arms, a protective feeling washing over him.
"Yes, now I am." She responded. Her voiced had steadied, but her eyes were still moist with the memory of the tears.
"Ok, then. Let's see what you have so far.'' He turned to the computer, scrolling to the first page.
"It's kind of long, and not very good, so I'm just going to give you the overview." The excitement had returned to her voice and she sounded light and happy. Hans was more than glad he was there for her. He was going to protect her, no matter the cost.
"I'm sure it's amazing. Now, let's hear it." He smiled to her, encouraging her voice. And she took it. She told him her whole story, about her main characters, Adam and Sophia, and she told him about her story line and how it was coming together so far. She told him about Alex, and how he had inspired her when she couldn't think.
"You make him sound so cool. And handsome, yes?" He watched as her cheeks blushed softly, adding pink to her face. She looked longingly at the pages in front of her.
"Yeah." She looked back at Hans and pushed him away. "Stop it!"
"Stop what?"Hans was smirking, making the thought of Alex come back. She just blushed harder.
"That! Stop making that face!" She moved her eyes to the floor and then back to her story.
"I don't know what your talking about." He smiled again, so grateful for her. "And I would love to hear more about how strong and kind he is. Or maybe about how blue his eyes are." Sophie smiled, recalling the moment when she was thrown into his arms. His eyes looked surprised, but so calm and blissful. They were a light blue, beautiful. His hair was a mess, but even then it looked like gold. He had caught her just before she fell, holding her against gravity. He had lifted her back onto the chair, finally looking into her eyes. Alex. He had been patient with her, so patient. She went all crazy, ecstatic with the inspiration.
"Alex! I forgot to tell him my name! He asked and I went all weird. Ugh." Sophie looked over to where the cashier was, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy.
"Don't worry, I told him. But you could always tell him yourself.'' He nudged her in his direction, moving her head to where to other boy stood.
''Here, I can even call him over, and if you won't talk to him, at least you will have him here for your story. Alex!" Before Sophie could argue, Hans had already called Alex over. He had a bounce to his step, his hair bounce with it. He had a smile on his face, glad to get away from his work.
"Yeah? What's up?" He stood close to Hans, looking from Sophie and back to the older boy. He was eager to help and energetic. He smiled, and it lit up his whole face. Sophie looked away, blushing.
"Good luck! Sophie, I'll be over there, ok? Where I usually am." Hans turned and went back to work. Sophie watched him walking away, then walking to Christopher.
"Hey. Did you need something?" her focus came back to the boy in front of her. Alex. He didn't seem inpatient, really he seemed happy. And calm, relaxed. He stepped closer now just beside her.
"Don't move." Sophie breathed. He was so close. A strand of hair fell onto his face, now confused. He didn't understand, but he didn't move either. She peeled her eyes away from him, and glued them to her screen. And began to type, quickly. He watched her fingers, and then to the words appearing on the page. She looked back to him, and their eyes met for a moment. His where blue, with little bits of, yellow. She hadn't noticed before, but they looked like a sunny day. They were enchanting, willing her closer. And he watched her eyes dart from his lips to his eyes, to his hair and his nose. She didn't want to look away, not now not ever.
"Can I move now?" His voice held a bit of laughter in it. He wasn't sure what was happening, but her trusted her. He didn't know why, but he did. Sophie looked away, blushing furiously.
'Yeah, um, go a head. Sorry." But instead of moving away, he came closer, his head just hovering above her shoulder. Her cheeks flushed as he read what she wrote.
"H-hey wait! Don't read it!" She closed her computer and pushed it away. She didn't want him reading what she wrote, at least not yet. He reached for it again and she slapped his hand.
"What? Why not?" Many emotions flashed through his face, some of which Sophie couldn't understand. But soon she realized what was happening and looked to the floor. The blush came back to her cheeks, her eyes sparkling again with the thought of that boy.
"It's not ready yet. You can read it when it's done." She tried to make her voice sound confident, lifting her chin high, but she quickly brought it back down, feeling awkward.
"Ok, fine. But can I at least know what it's about?" Even though she had denied him before, he persisted, wanting to know what happened to the inspiration Hans had said earlier. Sophie looked at her computer and thought about what she had written so far.
"No, it's not good." her voice had a raw honesty in it, she really believed it wasn't good. Alex thought back to what Christopher had said, about everyone respecting her for her writing.
"I don't believe that, I bet it's great." His voice held the same honesty hers had held, and forced her eyes to meet his again. And she looked into his, seeing magic swirling. Sophie gasped softly, watching him as he blinked as tilted his head. He pressed his lips into a smile, his eyes begging to know what she was thinking. Without thinking, she reached her hand to him, just a few inches away from his lips. Than she moved moved to his eyes, her fingers moving in a circular motion. She crossed his nose to his other eyes and did the same thing, not touching, but closes enough to make him blink. Everything faded away and all that was left was him. She stood up and stepped up to him. She was so close, unaware what she was doing. She dropped her hand but her eyes stayed, the smile left his face, but it was replaced with curiosity. He watched her every movement, his hand beginning to move in response. It lifted to her hair, brushing it aside.
"You have beautiful eyes, you know." He sounded enchanted, lost in her. As if all there was was her. But at that everything came back and Sophie backed away quickly. Her cheeks were bright red, Alex still holding his gaze. He wanted an answer. She scrambled through her mind, trying to find the right thing to say.
"You too." At this she laid her head on the counter, scolding herself for saying something so stupid. With this and how she acted before, he was going to think that she was weird, or crazy. She let out a disappointed sigh.
"Thanks." She lifted her head to watch Alex walk away, but his voice sounded happy. Exhilarating. Maybe he didn't think she was….
"Peculiar.'' Annoyed with what happened, she allowed her mind to swept her away, and began to type up what she saw. But the story kept coming back to Alex, and she gave up trying to fight it. Alex, conversely, welcomed the thought of the moment. He welcomed it, and involuntarily smiled. He walked to the other workers, all curious about what happened. But he just smiled, and walked past them.
"So, you're really not going to tell us, huh?" Christopher stepped up, voicing what all of them had been thinking. Everyone agreed, demanding to know what happened.
''I'm sorry, that information is classified." Alex grinned, recalling how her hand moved just above his lips, then to his eyes. She seemed memorized, admiring his features.
"Ok, I understand. Everyone leave Alex alone. Now tell me, what did she do?" Hans waved his hand playfully, but no one moved, all of them wanting to hear the story.
"Really?" Alex wasn't surprised Hans was persistent, just by how he decided to word his question. Alex shook his head, smiling. He looked over to Sophie, rapidly typing on her keys.
"Yes. We all deserve to know, and it's not like she is going to get mad. It wasn't exactly private, we would have seen if you guys kissed.'' Hans let out a short laugh, echoed through the crowd of workers around them. Alex rolled his eyes, the people here really did care about her.
"Fine, fine. So, I found out she really is a cook." Alex mimicked the words Hans had said earlier. He made jokes, but eventually the group wore him down. He gave in and told them, about how first she told him not to move, and he didn't. She wrote more to the story, and Alex was able to catch that she was describing him, weaving him into the story. When she paused, he asked her if she could move, and she had seemed surprised by his words but responded that he could. He can closer, to see what she had written, but she had become defensive. She really didn't want him to know. Then she had looked back at him. He could see then, that she was looking at something, some part of him. She had raised her hand, and had begun to trace something. She wondered from his lips, to his eyes, and finally dropped her hand, looking deeply into his soul. He reached his arm up, touching her hair. Her golden hair, so beautiful. The light shown down on her, making her seem like an angel. No, a goddess. Soon Alex lost himself in his words, thinking about her, remembering her voice and words.
"And I couldn't see much, but she was describing me in her story, and it sounded really good. You were right, Chris. She is crazy good." He concluded. Alex looked back adoringly at Sophie, the blush still in her cheeks. She had gone back to working, writing more to the story he had been pulled into.
"Seems like we have a lover boy on our hands." Christopher chuckled. He reached a hand towards Alex, pulling him back to the real world. The group began to disperse, satisfied with the story. The only ones left now were Alex, Christopher, and Hans.
"No. It's not that, it's just, how she," Alex paused, thinking of the right words to use. "Is. I don't know, I mean she just.." he said drifting off again. This time it was Hans who pulled him back.
"Yeah, I know. She's amazing, and kind and beautiful." He looked back to Sophie, smiling as she was.
"Oh, are you, I mean do you…?" Alex let Hans fill in the blanks. He saw the way he looked at her, he really did care for her.
"No, no. I see her more as family, you know? I care for her like crazy, just not like that. And I know she doesn't either, she even already told me that she loved me like a brother." He nodded, and looked back at the boys in front of him. "Anyway, I've got to get back to work." he finished, and proceeded to walk relieve the cashier worker.
"So, lover boy, you do like her. And it sounds like she does too." Christopher mused "Also, I said don't call me Chris." Alex laughed at the last comment, but turned to face Christopher with a serious face.
"No, I'm not. In love I mean." Alex defended himself, but wasn't able to convince the other boy. Christopher gave him a sarcastic look, followed by a sarcastic response.
"Sure you're not. I mean, brushing her hair out of her face and saying that her eyes are pretty is seeing her as just a friend, sure." An eye roll came from Christopher, who was evidently not trying to hide it. Alex let out a sigh, trying to make a decent comeback. Christopher shook his head, and walked away laughing to himself.
"I just met her! Who do you explain that?" He shouted at the older boy, keeping his voice soft enough so that Sophie, or even any of the other customers wouldn't hear. But Christopher just kept walking.
"Love at first sight." he yelled back, not caring who heard. He disappeared into the back room, leaving Alex wondering if what he said was true. Sure, Sophie was beautiful and from what he heard she was kind and smart too, but there was no way that he would believe in something as made up as that. But it didn't matter now, he had to get back to work. Sophie, on the other hand, had been trying to push the moment from her mid since it had happened. She tried to focus on her writing, tried to distract herself from it, even tried to call her best friend, Lauren. But her friend hadn't answered, so she went back to trying to write. She began to continue the scene, describing her character's features and actions. But all her words returned to Alex, or at least the character inspired by Alex. The thought of the moment crept back into her mind, showing itself in her dialogue. She had named him Adam and had turned him into a werewolf.
"This is so dumb, so over used." She said softly, talking to her own hands, to the air around her. Annoyed, but without what else to do, she kept writing, using the same corny plot so many others have used. She looked at her phone, beckoning her to pick it up. She did, and looked at the time. 2:31. She had been here for nearly two hours, but only managed to write five stupid pages with one dumb plot. She knew that she had other work to do, but she didn't want to leave the coffee shop, didn't want to go out into the real world. She began to pack her things, readying herself to leave.
"Here is your last coffee for today." Christopher held out the cup, topped with a seal so that it wouldn't spill on the way back home.
"Thanks Chris, I really need coffee today." She smiled at him, taking the cup. She looked back at her bag, frustrated with her lack of productivity.
"Yeah, I know. You drank like 5 cups already." He agreed, laughing. "You sure you don't have a problem or something? Cause I'm pretty sure no one drinks that much coffee in two hours." Jokingly, Sophie punched Christopher, laughing herself.
"Shut up. Anyway, I got five pages down of a whole new story." She tried to act snobby, failing miserably.
"You usually get ten, on three different stories, love bird." He smirked, added in the last two words. He watched as Sophie's face kept getting redder and redder. With no good comment, she just pushed him to the side, storming to the door.
"Shut up! You jerk." She yelled back, the older boy getting on her nerves. "I hate you!" And with that she left, shaking her head. Christopher was left laughing like a little kid. He walked back to work, not caring who was staring. Everyone was, except Hans, who was the only one there who had gotten used to the two screaming at each other. Hans and Christopher were as close as siblings, and he knew that Sophie and Christopher got into petty fights all the time, but soon forgot what they were even irritated about. It amused Hans, at least when we wasn't dragged into the middle of it all. Soon, the commotion died down and everyone got into a rhythm of what they were doing. The work becomes repetitive and the minds of the workers wander around the shop, but Sophie had left and there was nothing else to distract the workers. Sophie, on the other hand, had lots to think about.
CHAPTER 2: Lauren
Sophie rushed home, eager to get back to her roommate. Lauren Schöpferisch, her friend since they met in the 7th grade. Although Sophie had a way with distorting information, she never kept anything from Lauren, and trusted her with any and everything. She dashed through people, the tales of her day pleading to be told. At last she reached her small apartment complex and frantically searched her bag for her keys, pushing unknown object out of the way, saying to herself she would take care of it later. Things began to fall to the floor around her, frustrating her as she tried to stay calm. She looked up at the ceiling, and turned to sit on the stairs and wait for Lauren.
"So, you forgot them again, huh?" Lauren smiled, dangling her own set of keys in front of her. Sophie gasped and reached out to hug her friend.
"I love you so much, you don't even understand. I just had a crazy day and I can't wait to tell you about it." Remembering Alex, Sophie began to blush, and was quick to look down to the floor.
"Oh, so there's a guy. Of course there's a guy." She unlocked the door with a click, and pushed it open for Sophie.
"And I bet you're writing a story about him. New waiter, right?'' She seemed to interrogate Sophie, even though Sophie knew she already knew the answers. The two stepped inside and took Sophie's bag and set it with her own things, she walked over to the kitchen, and pushed Sophie towards the couch.
"No. I mean yes but also no." Sophie defended herself, trying not to give in. She walked over to her favorite chair and sat down. She could feel how worn it was, it had surrendered to Sophie, and previously before her, her parents. Sophie shook her head, trying to come up with a decent argument to counter Lauren's.
"Right, right, sure." Sarcasm creeping into her voice as she made them an ice cream. Chocolate sprinkles and raspberries for Sophie, gummy bears for herself, all on top of plain vanilla.
"No, really. It's just that I didn't have anything to write about, and then he totally asked me to be in the story. So, you know, you're wrong. Sorry." Sophie shook her head, trying to convince Lauren of what she had just said. She curled her lips in, struggling to hold back laughter as she took the ice cream from Lauren.
"You do know that I'm in law school, right? I am studying to be a lawyer, to argue for people's rights and stuff. You are not going to convince me, at least not like that." She plopped down, sitting just about across from Sophie. She did not break eye contact while she scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and slowly fed it to her mouth. Sophie couldn't resist and began to cackle. Lauren smiled, but continued to eat.
''If you drop your ice cream, you have to clean it, or clean Elsa's litter box and keep her away from Mia, for a week. It's impossible to get this stuff out of carpet." Lauren was nearly done and stood up to get a second serving. Sophie got a handle on herself, but still couldn't stop smiling.
''Mia the supportive pig. Remind me again why we have a pet pig?" Sophie watched as Elsa, Lauren's cat, walked into the room.
''Or a evil cat." she stared at the cat, who appeared to be mocking her.
"First of all, Elsa is not evil, she is a sweetheart," Lauren put her bowl down and scooped the diva pet into her arms. "And Mia is not our pig. We are just nice people who watch her for Jasmine. You know, the lady who comes every once in awhile, always wears all purple.'' she explained, her focus now directing towards Elsa.
''Honestly, it's more like she's our pig, I doubt Mia has ever even been to Jasmine's house." rolled her eyes and threw a small toy at the cat. Elsa jumped up and scurried away, leaving Sophie with another smile.
"Sophie, you know you like Jasmine, you guys are friends. So this is about something else. What?" She retrieved her ice cream from the table picking the gummy bears and setting them aside for later. Another spoonful went into her mouth, her eyes squinting from the cold.
"I'm an idiot, that's what. I went all writer at him and I bet he thinks I'm weird. Really weird. Ugh." Sophie picked at her bowl not really eating the ice cream. She though again about Alex, how she didn't really respond his questions and just kept staring at him.
"Ok, I don't know his name, so start with that." Lauren began chewing on of the gummies, preparing herself to hear the crazy story. Sophie was already drifting off, back to the coffee shop.
"Alex. His name is Alex and I'm telling you, he's perfect." She replied. Her eyes were filled with bliss, sparkling and shining.
"Perfect." Lauren echoed, keeping Sophie on track. Her eyes tried to follow the other girl's, but Lauren knew that no one could follow Sophie where she went. No one even knew were there was. Looked back to Her friend a smile spreading across her face.
"Yes, he was perfect. He asked me about what I was writing, and then I almost fell, but he caught me. Lauren he caught me in his arms, and he was just so strong." Again, she turned to the window, watching the leaves sway in the gentle wind.
"He was strong, and polite. So, he's pretty good so far. Tell me more." Lauren itched to follow her friend, chase her into the fantasy world and run away from reality.
"But it's not just that, he didn't look at me funny when I went into that writer mode thing or when I traced his face." She winced at the memory, still embarrassed by the moment.
"You traced his face. With your hand?" She questioned, pushing to understand her thoughts, he words. She lifted her hands to illustrate what she was saying.
"Yup, I traced his face." She sounded sad, disappointed. She stood up, and moving her arms around. But there, as she stood, she saw Alex, with that smiled on his face, watching as she traced his face, guidelines his eyes, outlining everything, saving it all to memory. Her fingers spread apart, trying to reach it all. She breathed sharply, sucking in her breath. Sophie sat back down, and became intent on finishing her ice cream.
"Sophie. Oh, Sophie." Lauren stood up and walked over to Sophie, picking her up and lifting her so that she could hug her, hold her tight.
"Lauren?" She sound confused, but wrapped her arms the other girl anyway. She laid her head in the crook of Lauren's neck.
"Sophie, know that if he tries to hurt you I will beat him up. So, I would advise you to make a bank account dedicated to bailing me out of jail." She pushed away and looked so fiercely into Sophie's eyes.
"I am not going to let anyone hurt you or your pretty heart. Even if it's because you did something stupid." Then there was a smile of both girls faces, and they hugged again.
"Thank you. Because I will end up doing a lot of stupid stuff, but please don't end up in jail or something because I haven't opened the bank account yet and I definitely don't have any money saved for something like that." Sophie let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and her arms fell back to her side. Lauren's arms mimicked the movement and the two girls returned to their seats.
"Fine, I won't get caught. But I am dying to hear the rest of this story." Lauren's grin came back, and Sophie was beaming once again. And so the story was told, all the little details, arm movements and everything else. She described Alex, and Christopher's dumb teasing. She told Lauren about how she cried and how Hans came to hug her. She explained her feelings, her emotions at those times, and every so often, she would wonder to her fantasy world, leaving Lauren with the task of bringing her back. But they sat and they talked, happy, excited, thrilled. Elsa walked back into the room, and Mia squealed to join in, and the two girls left reality together.
CHAPTER 3: The New Guy
Alex was finishing up his work, when the thought of tonight came back. He was so excited, his heart was pounding out of his chest. He was going to meet a team, but not only that, he was going to a part of one. Hans and Christopher were just finishing up their work, and the three had planned to walk out together.
"Chris, I'm almost done, but we are still going to after to run over there." Hans noted as he looked up to the clock. He doubled his pace, and Christopher mirrored the action.
"Yeah, I know. We can't be late. You have been reminding me every five minutes." Christopher responded, clearly annoyed. Their paces sped up, and both older boys began to get frustrated.
"Oh, so Hans can call you Chris but I can't? Any reason to that?" Alex turned to face the Christopher, momentary pausing. Christopher shot Alex a look, but continued to work.
"Me and Sophie call him Chris, not just me." Hans smirked, but Christopher got mad and threw the chair he was stacked back down on the floor.
"Yes, Sophie and Hans call me Chris, but only them." Christopher confirmed, but walked up to Alex, standing close enough to punch him. Alex took a step back, unsure what to do.
"Ok, ok. I won't call you Chris." Alex surrendered, lifted his hands up in the air.
"Only a certain few can call me Chris, so that I know who I'm talking to. Right now I am not in a good mood because me and Hans have to be somewhere. We are going to be late, but at this point, I guess I just don't care." with that Christopher turned on his heel and headed for the back room, steaming red.
"Whoa, he got really mad, huh? That was scary." Alex commented, quickly picked up where he left off. Hans had stopped smiling, instead looked back to the door.
"No, It's just there was this one kid who always called him Chris and then kinda, betrayed us? I don't know how to explain it, but then after that, only people he knows and trusts a lot get to call him that. Sorry." Hans looked back to Alex, and smiled apologetically.
"Oh. I didn't know. I'm sorry." Alex felt bad, turning his head to focus on stacking chairs. Hans sighed. He opened his mouth to say something, but before any words came out he shut it again. They worked in silence, neither of them having anything to say.
"Alright, we have to go. If we leave any later we are going to be way too late. We can finish in the morning." Christopher walked past the two, keys jingling in his hand. Hans finished the last two chairs and jogged up to meet him. Alex copied him, walking out the front door. Excitement filled him again as he remembered what he had planned tonight. Christopher stepped out into the cool air, and locked the door. When it finally made a click sound the two older boys looked back to Alex, said their goodbyes, and hurried away. Alex watched after them, before almost skipping away. He was just so happy. Finally he would become a part of something bigger, something important. He dashed off excited to get ready for the meeting. He was eager to get back to his small house, daydreaming as he raced down the street. He weaved in and out, between the small number of people still on the sidewalks. He reached the building he called home and checked his pockets for the keys. Although it wasn't to far from the shop, it felt secluded and private. He opened the door, throwing the keys on a small table by the door. He ran to what was suppose to be his room. There were only two small boxes inside, both opened and pushed off to the corner. He dug threw the one closer to his bed, which was bare with the exception of a single blanket. Throwing close unto the floor and his unkempt bed, he finally found what it was he was looking for. A square package, still wrapped and untouched. Still looking brand new. He tore it open, letting his excitement overtake him. The package was ripped to pieces, all scattered across the floor. Inside, was an uniform, pressed and clean. Brand new. Black and sleek, the texture was smooth and sleek. He took a moment to appreciate it. This was really happening, his life was finally starting. Everything he had worked towards was finally paying off. He hurried and changed, eager to get going.rushing towards the door, he put on his gym shoes, the ones he had for three years. His lucky pair. He rushed out of the door, sprinting on the now empty sidewalks. He took out a small piece of paper, an address written in small, neat handwriting. 7150 gartner street. That was near the coffee shop. He began to slow as he reached the shop, watching the addresses as he walked by. 7142, 7146, 7148, 7150. He looked up at the building. A shiver crawled down his spine as he entered the coffee shop.
CHAPTER 5: The New Guy Christopher and Hans rushed Alex out of the shop. The two watched him run down the street, squeezing between people in his way. They watched him until he turned down the street, and out of sight. Then they unlocked the door, and walked back in.
“That kid, Alex, really something Sophie liked him so much. He’s going to do really well here.” Hans commented, walked to the back of the shop. They were just on time.
“Yeah, I guess.” Christopher said absentmindedly. He had calmed down, but he still wasn’t in a good mood.
“Look,” Hans stopped walking, holding Christopher back with him. “I get it, Fritz was something bad. There was something rotten inside of him, there still is. But Chris, Alex seems like a good kid, even Sophie opened her arms to him.” Hans watched the other boy stand there.
“Yeah, I know. It’s just, I don’t know. Fritz makes me mad.” Christopher smirked.
‘“Yeah, he tends to have that effect on all of us.” Hans laughed as the two of them entered the back room. They moved a large shelf out of the way, behind it was a small door. A fingerprint lock pad was the only way to open it. Surely enough, both boys stepped forward, and placed their finger on the scanner. It quickly beeped green, and the door swung open. They stepped forward and down a long staircase. The basement no one knew existed. When they reached the end a light flicked on, and a large room appeared. There was a boy sitting on a small chair, obviously waiting for them.
“Chris, Hans! I missed you guys.” he stood and walked over to the pair.
“We did too. Are you back in town for long?” Hans spoke up as the younger boy hugged him. Even Christopher’s expression lightened.
“I don’t actually know, my dad sent me to make sure everything settles alright. I suppose the new guy is late then?” the three laughed, as the hugs spread to Christopher.
“Your dad doesn’t trust us, huh, Flynn?” Christopher comment, sitting down in his usual spot.
“That really shouldn’t come as a surprise, Chris.” Flynn sat back down as Hans walked over to a small mini fridge in the corner of the room. He picked up a water for himself, and then turned around.
“Do you want anything?” he asked, waiting for the answer.
“Finally admitting the fridge was a good idea? A coke please.” Christopher smirked, his playful voice returning. Hans tossed him a can, shaking it up a bit before Christopher was to open it.
“Never, plus I wasn’t talking to you. Do you want something, Flynn?” Christopher laughed, and cautiously open his drink. Even though he tried to still it so it wouldn't spray into his face, the sugary drink went everywhere, followed by a yell of frustration. Flynn laughed, entertained by the way the two boys acted so brotherly.
“Maybe a water please?” a small pause as he calmed his laughter. “Thanks.” Hans picked up another water and walked over to hand it to his friend, not breaking eye contact with his friend the whole walk over.
“Hans, I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one.” Flynn took a sip of his water, wanting to see where this was going.
“Yeah, Hans, be responsible.” Christopher added still wiping away the coke from his face and the coach around him. Hans scoffed, sitting across from the two.
“Anyway, we should probably get ready for the new guy to get here. What do you think he’s like?” Flynn was obviously excited about meeting the new member of their team.
“I bet he’s tall, and strong, you know, pretty standard.” Hans said, lacking the enthusiasm found in Flynn’s voice. Hans has been through multiple introductions, he had grown used to it.
“I bet he’s a little nerd. Like Flynn.” Christopher playfully punched the boy. Flynn made a face.
“I bet he’s not as ugly as Chris.” Flynn got Hans to laugh with this. Christopher threw the soaked napkins at the two of them. The three of them giggled like children, until a sift ding sounded from the staircase. Whoever he was, he was here. Upstairs. Flynn sprang out of his seat, and sprinted up the stairs, eager to meet him. The two stayed down in the basement, finishing their drinks, and tidying up. They could hear the two talking upstairs, but couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.
“Hey, is it just me or does the new guy’s voice sound familiar?” Hans said, interested once again. Christopher listened as Flynn lead him around to the staircase and explained how excited he was.
“No your right. That voice sounds weirdly familiar. I wonder...” Christopher stopped mid sentence as he saw who it was that was walking down the stairs next to Flynn.
“Hans? Christopher? This is such a huge coincidence!” Alex was wearing a very formal uniform.
“Alex?” Hans’ voice was filled with disbelief as he looked back from his friends to the new guy.
“I don’t know what I’m more surprised out, the fact that it’s you, or that your wearing that.” Christopher grinned, sitting back down with a smug look on his face.
“You guys already know Alex? That’s great!” Flynn brought Alex to the center of the room.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Alex looked almost worried.
“Nothing, nothing is wrong with it. It’s just a lot of times when a new guy joins, the younger members like to, well, prank, I suppose the new guy. And that’s you.” Hans said, almost sympathetically. The other two laughed, not even trying to suppress it.
“He’s trying to say you look ridiculous.” Christopher sat laughing like a little kid.
“Anyway, we should call the chief. Check in, you know, the usual stuff.” Flynn said, trying to collect himself, and calm Christopher.
“Good idea. Are you excited to meet him, Alex?” Hans said, his face returning to a calm, cool look.
“Yeah, this is exciting, isn’t it?” Flynn said before turning back to Christopher. “Chris, can you call him?”
“Wait, so Flynn gets to call you Chris too?” Alex said. He had so many questions, why had he asked that one?
“Yeah, everyone here does, except you.”
“What?! That’s not fair!”
“Well get used to it ‘cause life’s not fair.”
“What he means is,” Hans interrupted, “is that once you really start working with us you can call him Chris too. But you just got here and we barely know you.”
“Sophie seems to trust me just fine. Look, I don’t know what happened, but I’m on your side.” Alex seemed almost impatient.
“Sophie isn’t on the team. And she never will be.” Christopher said. He had spoken with the most decisive voice Alex had ever heard. Even Hans’ face changed at this comment, clearly siding with Christopher.
“Sophie should never even have an idea that this exists. She should stay in her world, full of imagination and safety.” Alex had seen Christopher angry, and he had thought that was scary. But When Hans raised his voice, it was like you didn’t have a choice but to listen to him.
“What? But I thought you guys trusted Sophie, I thought you guys were really close.” Alex still had so many questions, regretting starting this whole commotion in the first place. Neither of the two older boys looked his way. Flynn sighed and pulled him to the side.
“They do, they really care for her. That’s why they don’t want her anywhere near this. They want her as safe as possible. And you know, this isn’t the safest thing we’re doing.” Flynn seemed more patient than the other two, obviously not knowing Sophie as well. Alex didn’t know how to respond, and luckily he didn’t have to. The Chief finally picked up. His huge face popped up on the screen, and the four saluted to him. He had a strong face, determined and worn by the things it had seen. He was just overall very intimidating.
“Dad, I’m glad you were finally able to pick up.” Flynn laughed, mocking the chief's age. Alex seemed to be the only one that was surprised at this. The other boys snickered, not worried about their boss’ reaction. Alex looked so incredibly out of place, he began to feel embarrassed.
“Ok, enough with that, let’s meet the new guy.” The chief looked in Alex’s direction. Alex felt squirmish, especially since the older pair wouldn’t look him in the eye.
Sophie sat at the counter of her favorite coffee shop. Thinking. She always sat there, thinking. About different worlds, about becoming different people. She looked down at her computer, trying to figure out what to write. How to turn all her ideas in her head into a story. How to make the people leap from the page and cast a spell on the reader. But the page was blank, and she just sat there, thinking. She decided to go back to one of her older stories, looking for inspiration.
"So, what are you writing, miss?" Sophie whipped her head around to the voice coming from behind. Her chair wobbled with the force, throwing her into the arms of the voice's body. It was a young man.
"Whoa, careful there." He lifted her back onto the chair. "My name is Alex." Alex. A story already began to form in her head. Things began to connect, take shape, creating itself.
"Miss?" The voice pulled her from her thoughts, such a soft voice. So kind, a wonderful voice really.
"Miss?" He repeated. His eyes curious with hers, holding an unbroken gaze.
"O-Oh, right. Thank you. Alex. Your name is Alex." Her voice distancing again. "Yes, Alex." Her mind wandered away, frantically slamming the keys on her computer.
"Yes, that's my name. Alex." He almost laughed. But the way that she was typing, there was no way she heard him. He put his hand on her shoulder, clearly startling her.
"Yes, I'm Alex, who are you?" he spoke clearly and slowly, holding onto her from returning to were ever she was before.
"Sophie. Sophie, Sophie, Sophie." She was thinking, the gears turning in her head for all to see. "Sophia!" and she returned to beating her computer. "Sophia and…" She turned back to Alex, question in her eyes.
"And what?" His voice was eager to help, but unaware how to. But instead of responding, she just looked at him, her hands motioning for an answer.
"Adam!" Her eyes held victory, and her keyboard held defeat.
"Adam. Ok." He turned around, leaving Sophie to bang keys on her own. What? He mouthed to the other workers. All of them just shrugged their shoulders. When he finally reached his friends one of them spoke up.
"Yeah that's Sophie , she is a bit of a nut job. But you'll get used to it, don't worry." the young boy smiled, just a few years older than Alex.
"Hans! Hans, I need your help!" the newly familiar voice rung out, calling for the boy. He saluted to Alex and ran off to help her.
"What's with him? I mean, what?" Obviously confused, he looked over to Hans, helping the same girl he called crazy.
"He's her usual waiter. He was been helping her write her stories since she first came here. Said they seen each other from school or something. He treats her as if she were his sister." An odd silence fell over the two, and the others walked away, wanting to get away from the subject.
"His sister? Sorry, I'm lost." Alex really didn't know what was going on. His eyes were innocent, trying to reach the sadness in the other boy's eyes. But he wasn't sure if he wanted to know.
"She, um, she passed away in a car accident. So did his dad. And he blames himself. No, he wasn't driving, it was caused by a drunk driving a bigger car. He died too." His eyes had an understanding in them, and Alex knew why. The two older boys were very close friends, and he must have been there for Hans at the time.
"Oh. that's, terrible." Alex was speechless. He was struck with so many emotions at once, sympathy eventually taking over.
"Yeah, and right after that, that girl started coming. At first it was only once in a while, than it was every two weeks, then every week, than every other day. Because he had just lost his sister, Sarah, he began to treat Sophie like family. And so she became family, you know? But don't tell him I told you. K?"
"Ok."
"Ok, what?" Hans was back, although he was out of breath. "Is Christopher making a trade of something, cause that will only end badly for you." He laughed, trying to catch his breath.
"Whoa. What did she want this time?" Christopher asked, not really out of curiosity, but out of habit.
"Everything I knew about werewolves. Told me her new story, and told me not to tell. Crazy happy about the inspiration though." He nodded towards Alex, smiling and proud that he could help.
"Werewolves? Really?" Alex tried to get more on the story from Hans, but Christopher interrupted.
"Inspiration, huh? Last time she said that, she wrote a whole thing about you. And boy, that turned out good." Surprised, Christopher pointed to a series of framed papers on the wall. Alex could just see the title of the first page.
"The first story? Is that what it says?" He said, peering at the pages.
"Yeah, it's about when we met and my life story, but with a twist so unless you knew priroir you wouldn't know it was me." Hans seemed anxious to get away from the topic of his life. And now Alex knew why. He watched to boy disappear into the back room. He looked back to the girl, Sophie. Her light brown hair pulled back into a small bun on the top of her head. There were many strands falling out, but instead of making her look crazy, they made a glowing halo around her. Her back was turned and he could not see her face, but he remembered it. Her eyes were a dark brown, holding thousands of secrets. He remembered her smile, how her mind wandered away at his name, and her name too. How her mind was moving so much faster than her mouth. Her lips. Her lips, pressing together so tightly while she thought. But what about?
"Ok, fine. She's crazy and she's writing a story about me. How should I feel?" He turned to Chistapher, hoping to find a bit more advise in the older boy. "Also, can I call you Chris?"
"Nope, definitely not. And like honored. Her writing is crazy good and everyone around here respects her. She writes a story about you, you'll be the most popular waiter, other than Hans." Christopher playfully nudged the boy in front of him. Alex thought about it. Could he really become one of the most popular waiters, in the span of just a few days? He thought about the reason he was here, and how temporary it could be. It would be best not to really put much thought into anything or anyone here, because it could be gone just as fast. He could not forget that. He went back to his own business, his thoughts drifting to tonight. He was finally going to be on a real team, out in the field. He gave himself one last look at Sophie, and then pushed her from his mind. He dove into his brain, just as Sophie was. She was jumping into a new world, a fantasy. Here she was in charge, she could control everything that happened. She could make the skies purple and the grass yellow if she wanted, and then she could jump right in. She could become the characters and live the story. But as she wrote, she thought about the boy earlier. Alex. He seemed so kind, in an odd way. As if he was hiding something, something dangerous but exciting. She had had the same feeling with Hans when they first met. She had insisted on the feeling, finally winning the boy over. He told her his story, had even begun to cry. She remembered the feeling of holding him in her arms. He had been shaking, trying to suppress his tears. But they came nevertheless, soaking her shoulder. In that moment she forced her mind to still, to focus on the boy crying in her arms. She recorded the memory, saving it for inspiration. But in that moment, she held him, promising to herself to protect him, and give him the love he lost, because he really had lost so much. His sister, his father, even his mother in a way, and perhaps she wouldn't be able to really protect him, she would try to always give him the best. Suddenly her vision began to blur. Tears began to build up in her eyes. She tried to wipe them away, but more came to take to place of those which fell. A helpless feeling came over her, taking away all the joy that had previously been there. The tears began to fall onto her keyboard, leaving tiny puddles of sadness. She hurried to wipe them away, trying to push the feeling from her heart and run to the place she had been before, but instead she found herself swirling through thoughts that only pushed her farther down. Memories and pictures, voices and people, all were shown around her, showing that there is so much sadness and hurt in the world. But, just when she thought she was going to break, she felt arms around her, holding her tightly. It was Hans.
"I-I'm, I'm ok. I'm ok, just y-you and," She wrapped her own arms around him, so unbelievably glad for him.
"Shh. You don't need to say anything. Just know that I am here for you." He squeezed her to him, filtering her away from the terrible thoughts that were surrounding her. He began to rock, ever so gently, side to side. Slowly, the tears began to slow and fade away. Her breath slowed, and the thoughts finally left. But still she held him, not wanting to let go. He was taller than she was, almost a whole head taller. He continued to sway, a constant and anchoring movement. Finally her breath matched his and he pulled away. He looked into her eyes, still a bit teary, and smiled ever so softly. A passionate smile, with specks of sadness and sympathy in his eyes. He was there for her, always, his eyes said. And her eyes responded, I know.
"I was just thinking about when we met and your story and I didn't mean to cry, I was just thinking because I was writing the story and Alex and then you and," The tears began to return, but Hans was quick to wipe them away. She closed her eyes as he passed his thumb just under her eye catching the droplets.
"Sophie," He looked at her, her cheeks damp from the tears and her eyes tired from crying.
"Sophie, oh Sophie. I told you you wouldn't like my story." He pulled her to him again, cradling her head. But she pushed away. He had to know what she really felt.
"No, no it's not that. I like the story." She looked up at him trying to express how she felt.
"Ugh, that's not what I meant either. Uhhh," She looked around trying to find a way to show him instead of telling him. "Oh!" She turned back to her computer, leaving an immensely confused Hans looking over her shoulder. She opened a new page and typed as fast as she could. She knew how many mistakes there were but she didn't care, she was going to show him.
"Sophie…" He watched her fingers flying across the keys, letters and words appearing onto the screen.
Hans I don't think you know how much I care. I was just thinking about what I was writing and then I was thinking about Alex and then about you and I coudn't hold back the ters, really I didn't even know t hey were there I was just thikning and then I tried to go back to the sorty and my world but I couldn't and i only saw bab things adn How you cried when you told me your story and I just, I couldn't stop crying and then you came over nad it was like that day all over again and I couldn't stop thining about it and I kept crying I am so sorry I didn't want to bring it up and stuff but I really care and I didn't want you to cry and stuff and i tried to stop but then you were here and i jus
Hans grabbed her hands, pulling it away from the keys. He turned her to face him and saw her eyes shimmering.
"Sophie, I don't know what to say." He sighed, trying to find a way to help the girl, to cheer her up. He had promised himself that he would protect her like the sister he lost. The sister we wasn't able to protect.
"But Hans, you don't need to say anything. I just want to stand here a bit longer, please." She held him tighter, trying to hind from the world in his embrace. He began to sway once again, side to side, holding her close to him.
"Ok, we can just stand here." And they stood there. No one came up to them, no one told Hans to get back to work, no one bothered Sophie. So they swayed, a constant motion, anchoring the both of them. Sophie closed her eyes, resting her head on his shoulder. And he laid his head onto hers, creating a protective barrier around her, to defend her from the harshness of the world, he wasn't going to let anything hurt her. He smiled, and looking over to her computer. She had wrote so much in the short time she really had been writing. Words had been spilling out of her fingers, forming into sentences, then paragraphs, and pages. She had created something out of nothing, and something magical at that.
"Hey, you ok?" He looked back down at the girl in his arms, a protective feeling washing over him.
"Yes, now I am." She responded. Her voiced had steadied, but her eyes were still moist with the memory of the tears.
"Ok, then. Let's see what you have so far.'' He turned to the computer, scrolling to the first page.
"It's kind of long, and not very good, so I'm just going to give you the overview." The excitement had returned to her voice and she sounded light and happy. Hans was more than glad he was there for her. He was going to protect her, no matter the cost.
"I'm sure it's amazing. Now, let's hear it." He smiled to her, encouraging her voice. And she took it. She told him her whole story, about her main characters, Adam and Sophia, and she told him about her story line and how it was coming together so far. She told him about Alex, and how he had inspired her when she couldn't think.
"You make him sound so cool. And handsome, yes?" He watched as her cheeks blushed softly, adding pink to her face. She looked longingly at the pages in front of her.
"Yeah." She looked back at Hans and pushed him away. "Stop it!"
"Stop what?"Hans was smirking, making the thought of Alex come back. She just blushed harder.
"That! Stop making that face!" She moved her eyes to the floor and then back to her story.
"I don't know what your talking about." He smiled again, so grateful for her. "And I would love to hear more about how strong and kind he is. Or maybe about how blue his eyes are." Sophie smiled, recalling the moment when she was thrown into his arms. His eyes looked surprised, but so calm and blissful. They were a light blue, beautiful. His hair was a mess, but even then it looked like gold. He had caught her just before she fell, holding her against gravity. He had lifted her back onto the chair, finally looking into her eyes. Alex. He had been patient with her, so patient. She went all crazy, ecstatic with the inspiration.
"Alex! I forgot to tell him my name! He asked and I went all weird. Ugh." Sophie looked over to where the cashier was, hoping to catch a glimpse of the boy.
"Don't worry, I told him. But you could always tell him yourself.'' He nudged her in his direction, moving her head to where to other boy stood.
''Here, I can even call him over, and if you won't talk to him, at least you will have him here for your story. Alex!" Before Sophie could argue, Hans had already called Alex over. He had a bounce to his step, his hair bounce with it. He had a smile on his face, glad to get away from his work.
"Yeah? What's up?" He stood close to Hans, looking from Sophie and back to the older boy. He was eager to help and energetic. He smiled, and it lit up his whole face. Sophie looked away, blushing.
"Good luck! Sophie, I'll be over there, ok? Where I usually am." Hans turned and went back to work. Sophie watched him walking away, then walking to Christopher.
"Hey. Did you need something?" her focus came back to the boy in front of her. Alex. He didn't seem inpatient, really he seemed happy. And calm, relaxed. He stepped closer now just beside her.
"Don't move." Sophie breathed. He was so close. A strand of hair fell onto his face, now confused. He didn't understand, but he didn't move either. She peeled her eyes away from him, and glued them to her screen. And began to type, quickly. He watched her fingers, and then to the words appearing on the page. She looked back to him, and their eyes met for a moment. His where blue, with little bits of, yellow. She hadn't noticed before, but they looked like a sunny day. They were enchanting, willing her closer. And he watched her eyes dart from his lips to his eyes, to his hair and his nose. She didn't want to look away, not now not ever.
"Can I move now?" His voice held a bit of laughter in it. He wasn't sure what was happening, but her trusted her. He didn't know why, but he did. Sophie looked away, blushing furiously.
'Yeah, um, go a head. Sorry." But instead of moving away, he came closer, his head just hovering above her shoulder. Her cheeks flushed as he read what she wrote.
"H-hey wait! Don't read it!" She closed her computer and pushed it away. She didn't want him reading what she wrote, at least not yet. He reached for it again and she slapped his hand.
"What? Why not?" Many emotions flashed through his face, some of which Sophie couldn't understand. But soon she realized what was happening and looked to the floor. The blush came back to her cheeks, her eyes sparkling again with the thought of that boy.
"It's not ready yet. You can read it when it's done." She tried to make her voice sound confident, lifting her chin high, but she quickly brought it back down, feeling awkward.
"Ok, fine. But can I at least know what it's about?" Even though she had denied him before, he persisted, wanting to know what happened to the inspiration Hans had said earlier. Sophie looked at her computer and thought about what she had written so far.
"No, it's not good." her voice had a raw honesty in it, she really believed it wasn't good. Alex thought back to what Christopher had said, about everyone respecting her for her writing.
"I don't believe that, I bet it's great." His voice held the same honesty hers had held, and forced her eyes to meet his again. And she looked into his, seeing magic swirling. Sophie gasped softly, watching him as he blinked as tilted his head. He pressed his lips into a smile, his eyes begging to know what she was thinking. Without thinking, she reached her hand to him, just a few inches away from his lips. Than she moved moved to his eyes, her fingers moving in a circular motion. She crossed his nose to his other eyes and did the same thing, not touching, but closes enough to make him blink. Everything faded away and all that was left was him. She stood up and stepped up to him. She was so close, unaware what she was doing. She dropped her hand but her eyes stayed, the smile left his face, but it was replaced with curiosity. He watched her every movement, his hand beginning to move in response. It lifted to her hair, brushing it aside.
"You have beautiful eyes, you know." He sounded enchanted, lost in her. As if all there was was her. But at that everything came back and Sophie backed away quickly. Her cheeks were bright red, Alex still holding his gaze. He wanted an answer. She scrambled through her mind, trying to find the right thing to say.
"You too." At this she laid her head on the counter, scolding herself for saying something so stupid. With this and how she acted before, he was going to think that she was weird, or crazy. She let out a disappointed sigh.
"Thanks." She lifted her head to watch Alex walk away, but his voice sounded happy. Exhilarating. Maybe he didn't think she was….
"Peculiar.'' Annoyed with what happened, she allowed her mind to swept her away, and began to type up what she saw. But the story kept coming back to Alex, and she gave up trying to fight it. Alex, conversely, welcomed the thought of the moment. He welcomed it, and involuntarily smiled. He walked to the other workers, all curious about what happened. But he just smiled, and walked past them.
"So, you're really not going to tell us, huh?" Christopher stepped up, voicing what all of them had been thinking. Everyone agreed, demanding to know what happened.
''I'm sorry, that information is classified." Alex grinned, recalling how her hand moved just above his lips, then to his eyes. She seemed memorized, admiring his features.
"Ok, I understand. Everyone leave Alex alone. Now tell me, what did she do?" Hans waved his hand playfully, but no one moved, all of them wanting to hear the story.
"Really?" Alex wasn't surprised Hans was persistent, just by how he decided to word his question. Alex shook his head, smiling. He looked over to Sophie, rapidly typing on her keys.
"Yes. We all deserve to know, and it's not like she is going to get mad. It wasn't exactly private, we would have seen if you guys kissed.'' Hans let out a short laugh, echoed through the crowd of workers around them. Alex rolled his eyes, the people here really did care about her.
"Fine, fine. So, I found out she really is a cook." Alex mimicked the words Hans had said earlier. He made jokes, but eventually the group wore him down. He gave in and told them, about how first she told him not to move, and he didn't. She wrote more to the story, and Alex was able to catch that she was describing him, weaving him into the story. When she paused, he asked her if she could move, and she had seemed surprised by his words but responded that he could. He can closer, to see what she had written, but she had become defensive. She really didn't want him to know. Then she had looked back at him. He could see then, that she was looking at something, some part of him. She had raised her hand, and had begun to trace something. She wondered from his lips, to his eyes, and finally dropped her hand, looking deeply into his soul. He reached his arm up, touching her hair. Her golden hair, so beautiful. The light shown down on her, making her seem like an angel. No, a goddess. Soon Alex lost himself in his words, thinking about her, remembering her voice and words.
"And I couldn't see much, but she was describing me in her story, and it sounded really good. You were right, Chris. She is crazy good." He concluded. Alex looked back adoringly at Sophie, the blush still in her cheeks. She had gone back to working, writing more to the story he had been pulled into.
"Seems like we have a lover boy on our hands." Christopher chuckled. He reached a hand towards Alex, pulling him back to the real world. The group began to disperse, satisfied with the story. The only ones left now were Alex, Christopher, and Hans.
"No. It's not that, it's just, how she," Alex paused, thinking of the right words to use. "Is. I don't know, I mean she just.." he said drifting off again. This time it was Hans who pulled him back.
"Yeah, I know. She's amazing, and kind and beautiful." He looked back to Sophie, smiling as she was.
"Oh, are you, I mean do you…?" Alex let Hans fill in the blanks. He saw the way he looked at her, he really did care for her.
"No, no. I see her more as family, you know? I care for her like crazy, just not like that. And I know she doesn't either, she even already told me that she loved me like a brother." He nodded, and looked back at the boys in front of him. "Anyway, I've got to get back to work." he finished, and proceeded to walk relieve the cashier worker.
"So, lover boy, you do like her. And it sounds like she does too." Christopher mused "Also, I said don't call me Chris." Alex laughed at the last comment, but turned to face Christopher with a serious face.
"No, I'm not. In love I mean." Alex defended himself, but wasn't able to convince the other boy. Christopher gave him a sarcastic look, followed by a sarcastic response.
"Sure you're not. I mean, brushing her hair out of her face and saying that her eyes are pretty is seeing her as just a friend, sure." An eye roll came from Christopher, who was evidently not trying to hide it. Alex let out a sigh, trying to make a decent comeback. Christopher shook his head, and walked away laughing to himself.
"I just met her! Who do you explain that?" He shouted at the older boy, keeping his voice soft enough so that Sophie, or even any of the other customers wouldn't hear. But Christopher just kept walking.
"Love at first sight." he yelled back, not caring who heard. He disappeared into the back room, leaving Alex wondering if what he said was true. Sure, Sophie was beautiful and from what he heard she was kind and smart too, but there was no way that he would believe in something as made up as that. But it didn't matter now, he had to get back to work. Sophie, on the other hand, had been trying to push the moment from her mid since it had happened. She tried to focus on her writing, tried to distract herself from it, even tried to call her best friend, Lauren. But her friend hadn't answered, so she went back to trying to write. She began to continue the scene, describing her character's features and actions. But all her words returned to Alex, or at least the character inspired by Alex. The thought of the moment crept back into her mind, showing itself in her dialogue. She had named him Adam and had turned him into a werewolf.
"This is so dumb, so over used." She said softly, talking to her own hands, to the air around her. Annoyed, but without what else to do, she kept writing, using the same corny plot so many others have used. She looked at her phone, beckoning her to pick it up. She did, and looked at the time. 2:31. She had been here for nearly two hours, but only managed to write five stupid pages with one dumb plot. She knew that she had other work to do, but she didn't want to leave the coffee shop, didn't want to go out into the real world. She began to pack her things, readying herself to leave.
"Here is your last coffee for today." Christopher held out the cup, topped with a seal so that it wouldn't spill on the way back home.
"Thanks Chris, I really need coffee today." She smiled at him, taking the cup. She looked back at her bag, frustrated with her lack of productivity.
"Yeah, I know. You drank like 5 cups already." He agreed, laughing. "You sure you don't have a problem or something? Cause I'm pretty sure no one drinks that much coffee in two hours." Jokingly, Sophie punched Christopher, laughing herself.
"Shut up. Anyway, I got five pages down of a whole new story." She tried to act snobby, failing miserably.
"You usually get ten, on three different stories, love bird." He smirked, added in the last two words. He watched as Sophie's face kept getting redder and redder. With no good comment, she just pushed him to the side, storming to the door.
"Shut up! You jerk." She yelled back, the older boy getting on her nerves. "I hate you!" And with that she left, shaking her head. Christopher was left laughing like a little kid. He walked back to work, not caring who was staring. Everyone was, except Hans, who was the only one there who had gotten used to the two screaming at each other. Hans and Christopher were as close as siblings, and he knew that Sophie and Christopher got into petty fights all the time, but soon forgot what they were even irritated about. It amused Hans, at least when we wasn't dragged into the middle of it all. Soon, the commotion died down and everyone got into a rhythm of what they were doing. The work becomes repetitive and the minds of the workers wander around the shop, but Sophie had left and there was nothing else to distract the workers. Sophie, on the other hand, had lots to think about.
CHAPTER 2: Lauren
Sophie rushed home, eager to get back to her roommate. Lauren Schöpferisch, her friend since they met in the 7th grade. Although Sophie had a way with distorting information, she never kept anything from Lauren, and trusted her with any and everything. She dashed through people, the tales of her day pleading to be told. At last she reached her small apartment complex and frantically searched her bag for her keys, pushing unknown object out of the way, saying to herself she would take care of it later. Things began to fall to the floor around her, frustrating her as she tried to stay calm. She looked up at the ceiling, and turned to sit on the stairs and wait for Lauren.
"So, you forgot them again, huh?" Lauren smiled, dangling her own set of keys in front of her. Sophie gasped and reached out to hug her friend.
"I love you so much, you don't even understand. I just had a crazy day and I can't wait to tell you about it." Remembering Alex, Sophie began to blush, and was quick to look down to the floor.
"Oh, so there's a guy. Of course there's a guy." She unlocked the door with a click, and pushed it open for Sophie.
"And I bet you're writing a story about him. New waiter, right?'' She seemed to interrogate Sophie, even though Sophie knew she already knew the answers. The two stepped inside and took Sophie's bag and set it with her own things, she walked over to the kitchen, and pushed Sophie towards the couch.
"No. I mean yes but also no." Sophie defended herself, trying not to give in. She walked over to her favorite chair and sat down. She could feel how worn it was, it had surrendered to Sophie, and previously before her, her parents. Sophie shook her head, trying to come up with a decent argument to counter Lauren's.
"Right, right, sure." Sarcasm creeping into her voice as she made them an ice cream. Chocolate sprinkles and raspberries for Sophie, gummy bears for herself, all on top of plain vanilla.
"No, really. It's just that I didn't have anything to write about, and then he totally asked me to be in the story. So, you know, you're wrong. Sorry." Sophie shook her head, trying to convince Lauren of what she had just said. She curled her lips in, struggling to hold back laughter as she took the ice cream from Lauren.
"You do know that I'm in law school, right? I am studying to be a lawyer, to argue for people's rights and stuff. You are not going to convince me, at least not like that." She plopped down, sitting just about across from Sophie. She did not break eye contact while she scooped up a spoonful of ice cream and slowly fed it to her mouth. Sophie couldn't resist and began to cackle. Lauren smiled, but continued to eat.
''If you drop your ice cream, you have to clean it, or clean Elsa's litter box and keep her away from Mia, for a week. It's impossible to get this stuff out of carpet." Lauren was nearly done and stood up to get a second serving. Sophie got a handle on herself, but still couldn't stop smiling.
''Mia the supportive pig. Remind me again why we have a pet pig?" Sophie watched as Elsa, Lauren's cat, walked into the room.
''Or a evil cat." she stared at the cat, who appeared to be mocking her.
"First of all, Elsa is not evil, she is a sweetheart," Lauren put her bowl down and scooped the diva pet into her arms. "And Mia is not our pig. We are just nice people who watch her for Jasmine. You know, the lady who comes every once in awhile, always wears all purple.'' she explained, her focus now directing towards Elsa.
''Honestly, it's more like she's our pig, I doubt Mia has ever even been to Jasmine's house." rolled her eyes and threw a small toy at the cat. Elsa jumped up and scurried away, leaving Sophie with another smile.
"Sophie, you know you like Jasmine, you guys are friends. So this is about something else. What?" She retrieved her ice cream from the table picking the gummy bears and setting them aside for later. Another spoonful went into her mouth, her eyes squinting from the cold.
"I'm an idiot, that's what. I went all writer at him and I bet he thinks I'm weird. Really weird. Ugh." Sophie picked at her bowl not really eating the ice cream. She though again about Alex, how she didn't really respond his questions and just kept staring at him.
"Ok, I don't know his name, so start with that." Lauren began chewing on of the gummies, preparing herself to hear the crazy story. Sophie was already drifting off, back to the coffee shop.
"Alex. His name is Alex and I'm telling you, he's perfect." She replied. Her eyes were filled with bliss, sparkling and shining.
"Perfect." Lauren echoed, keeping Sophie on track. Her eyes tried to follow the other girl's, but Lauren knew that no one could follow Sophie where she went. No one even knew were there was. Looked back to Her friend a smile spreading across her face.
"Yes, he was perfect. He asked me about what I was writing, and then I almost fell, but he caught me. Lauren he caught me in his arms, and he was just so strong." Again, she turned to the window, watching the leaves sway in the gentle wind.
"He was strong, and polite. So, he's pretty good so far. Tell me more." Lauren itched to follow her friend, chase her into the fantasy world and run away from reality.
"But it's not just that, he didn't look at me funny when I went into that writer mode thing or when I traced his face." She winced at the memory, still embarrassed by the moment.
"You traced his face. With your hand?" She questioned, pushing to understand her thoughts, he words. She lifted her hands to illustrate what she was saying.
"Yup, I traced his face." She sounded sad, disappointed. She stood up, and moving her arms around. But there, as she stood, she saw Alex, with that smiled on his face, watching as she traced his face, guidelines his eyes, outlining everything, saving it all to memory. Her fingers spread apart, trying to reach it all. She breathed sharply, sucking in her breath. Sophie sat back down, and became intent on finishing her ice cream.
"Sophie. Oh, Sophie." Lauren stood up and walked over to Sophie, picking her up and lifting her so that she could hug her, hold her tight.
"Lauren?" She sound confused, but wrapped her arms the other girl anyway. She laid her head in the crook of Lauren's neck.
"Sophie, know that if he tries to hurt you I will beat him up. So, I would advise you to make a bank account dedicated to bailing me out of jail." She pushed away and looked so fiercely into Sophie's eyes.
"I am not going to let anyone hurt you or your pretty heart. Even if it's because you did something stupid." Then there was a smile of both girls faces, and they hugged again.
"Thank you. Because I will end up doing a lot of stupid stuff, but please don't end up in jail or something because I haven't opened the bank account yet and I definitely don't have any money saved for something like that." Sophie let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and her arms fell back to her side. Lauren's arms mimicked the movement and the two girls returned to their seats.
"Fine, I won't get caught. But I am dying to hear the rest of this story." Lauren's grin came back, and Sophie was beaming once again. And so the story was told, all the little details, arm movements and everything else. She described Alex, and Christopher's dumb teasing. She told Lauren about how she cried and how Hans came to hug her. She explained her feelings, her emotions at those times, and every so often, she would wonder to her fantasy world, leaving Lauren with the task of bringing her back. But they sat and they talked, happy, excited, thrilled. Elsa walked back into the room, and Mia squealed to join in, and the two girls left reality together.
CHAPTER 3: The New Guy
Alex was finishing up his work, when the thought of tonight came back. He was so excited, his heart was pounding out of his chest. He was going to meet a team, but not only that, he was going to a part of one. Hans and Christopher were just finishing up their work, and the three had planned to walk out together.
"Chris, I'm almost done, but we are still going to after to run over there." Hans noted as he looked up to the clock. He doubled his pace, and Christopher mirrored the action.
"Yeah, I know. We can't be late. You have been reminding me every five minutes." Christopher responded, clearly annoyed. Their paces sped up, and both older boys began to get frustrated.
"Oh, so Hans can call you Chris but I can't? Any reason to that?" Alex turned to face the Christopher, momentary pausing. Christopher shot Alex a look, but continued to work.
"Me and Sophie call him Chris, not just me." Hans smirked, but Christopher got mad and threw the chair he was stacked back down on the floor.
"Yes, Sophie and Hans call me Chris, but only them." Christopher confirmed, but walked up to Alex, standing close enough to punch him. Alex took a step back, unsure what to do.
"Ok, ok. I won't call you Chris." Alex surrendered, lifted his hands up in the air.
"Only a certain few can call me Chris, so that I know who I'm talking to. Right now I am not in a good mood because me and Hans have to be somewhere. We are going to be late, but at this point, I guess I just don't care." with that Christopher turned on his heel and headed for the back room, steaming red.
"Whoa, he got really mad, huh? That was scary." Alex commented, quickly picked up where he left off. Hans had stopped smiling, instead looked back to the door.
"No, It's just there was this one kid who always called him Chris and then kinda, betrayed us? I don't know how to explain it, but then after that, only people he knows and trusts a lot get to call him that. Sorry." Hans looked back to Alex, and smiled apologetically.
"Oh. I didn't know. I'm sorry." Alex felt bad, turning his head to focus on stacking chairs. Hans sighed. He opened his mouth to say something, but before any words came out he shut it again. They worked in silence, neither of them having anything to say.
"Alright, we have to go. If we leave any later we are going to be way too late. We can finish in the morning." Christopher walked past the two, keys jingling in his hand. Hans finished the last two chairs and jogged up to meet him. Alex copied him, walking out the front door. Excitement filled him again as he remembered what he had planned tonight. Christopher stepped out into the cool air, and locked the door. When it finally made a click sound the two older boys looked back to Alex, said their goodbyes, and hurried away. Alex watched after them, before almost skipping away. He was just so happy. Finally he would become a part of something bigger, something important. He dashed off excited to get ready for the meeting. He was eager to get back to his small house, daydreaming as he raced down the street. He weaved in and out, between the small number of people still on the sidewalks. He reached the building he called home and checked his pockets for the keys. Although it wasn't to far from the shop, it felt secluded and private. He opened the door, throwing the keys on a small table by the door. He ran to what was suppose to be his room. There were only two small boxes inside, both opened and pushed off to the corner. He dug threw the one closer to his bed, which was bare with the exception of a single blanket. Throwing close unto the floor and his unkempt bed, he finally found what it was he was looking for. A square package, still wrapped and untouched. Still looking brand new. He tore it open, letting his excitement overtake him. The package was ripped to pieces, all scattered across the floor. Inside, was an uniform, pressed and clean. Brand new. Black and sleek, the texture was smooth and sleek. He took a moment to appreciate it. This was really happening, his life was finally starting. Everything he had worked towards was finally paying off. He hurried and changed, eager to get going.rushing towards the door, he put on his gym shoes, the ones he had for three years. His lucky pair. He rushed out of the door, sprinting on the now empty sidewalks. He took out a small piece of paper, an address written in small, neat handwriting. 7150 gartner street. That was near the coffee shop. He began to slow as he reached the shop, watching the addresses as he walked by. 7142, 7146, 7148, 7150. He looked up at the building. A shiver crawled down his spine as he entered the coffee shop.
CHAPTER 5: The New Guy Christopher and Hans rushed Alex out of the shop. The two watched him run down the street, squeezing between people in his way. They watched him until he turned down the street, and out of sight. Then they unlocked the door, and walked back in.
“That kid, Alex, really something Sophie liked him so much. He’s going to do really well here.” Hans commented, walked to the back of the shop. They were just on time.
“Yeah, I guess.” Christopher said absentmindedly. He had calmed down, but he still wasn’t in a good mood.
“Look,” Hans stopped walking, holding Christopher back with him. “I get it, Fritz was something bad. There was something rotten inside of him, there still is. But Chris, Alex seems like a good kid, even Sophie opened her arms to him.” Hans watched the other boy stand there.
“Yeah, I know. It’s just, I don’t know. Fritz makes me mad.” Christopher smirked.
‘“Yeah, he tends to have that effect on all of us.” Hans laughed as the two of them entered the back room. They moved a large shelf out of the way, behind it was a small door. A fingerprint lock pad was the only way to open it. Surely enough, both boys stepped forward, and placed their finger on the scanner. It quickly beeped green, and the door swung open. They stepped forward and down a long staircase. The basement no one knew existed. When they reached the end a light flicked on, and a large room appeared. There was a boy sitting on a small chair, obviously waiting for them.
“Chris, Hans! I missed you guys.” he stood and walked over to the pair.
“We did too. Are you back in town for long?” Hans spoke up as the younger boy hugged him. Even Christopher’s expression lightened.
“I don’t actually know, my dad sent me to make sure everything settles alright. I suppose the new guy is late then?” the three laughed, as the hugs spread to Christopher.
“Your dad doesn’t trust us, huh, Flynn?” Christopher comment, sitting down in his usual spot.
“That really shouldn’t come as a surprise, Chris.” Flynn sat back down as Hans walked over to a small mini fridge in the corner of the room. He picked up a water for himself, and then turned around.
“Do you want anything?” he asked, waiting for the answer.
“Finally admitting the fridge was a good idea? A coke please.” Christopher smirked, his playful voice returning. Hans tossed him a can, shaking it up a bit before Christopher was to open it.
“Never, plus I wasn’t talking to you. Do you want something, Flynn?” Christopher laughed, and cautiously open his drink. Even though he tried to still it so it wouldn't spray into his face, the sugary drink went everywhere, followed by a yell of frustration. Flynn laughed, entertained by the way the two boys acted so brotherly.
“Maybe a water please?” a small pause as he calmed his laughter. “Thanks.” Hans picked up another water and walked over to hand it to his friend, not breaking eye contact with his friend the whole walk over.
“Hans, I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one.” Flynn took a sip of his water, wanting to see where this was going.
“Yeah, Hans, be responsible.” Christopher added still wiping away the coke from his face and the coach around him. Hans scoffed, sitting across from the two.
“Anyway, we should probably get ready for the new guy to get here. What do you think he’s like?” Flynn was obviously excited about meeting the new member of their team.
“I bet he’s tall, and strong, you know, pretty standard.” Hans said, lacking the enthusiasm found in Flynn’s voice. Hans has been through multiple introductions, he had grown used to it.
“I bet he’s a little nerd. Like Flynn.” Christopher playfully punched the boy. Flynn made a face.
“I bet he’s not as ugly as Chris.” Flynn got Hans to laugh with this. Christopher threw the soaked napkins at the two of them. The three of them giggled like children, until a sift ding sounded from the staircase. Whoever he was, he was here. Upstairs. Flynn sprang out of his seat, and sprinted up the stairs, eager to meet him. The two stayed down in the basement, finishing their drinks, and tidying up. They could hear the two talking upstairs, but couldn’t quite make out what they were saying.
“Hey, is it just me or does the new guy’s voice sound familiar?” Hans said, interested once again. Christopher listened as Flynn lead him around to the staircase and explained how excited he was.
“No your right. That voice sounds weirdly familiar. I wonder...” Christopher stopped mid sentence as he saw who it was that was walking down the stairs next to Flynn.
“Hans? Christopher? This is such a huge coincidence!” Alex was wearing a very formal uniform.
“Alex?” Hans’ voice was filled with disbelief as he looked back from his friends to the new guy.
“I don’t know what I’m more surprised out, the fact that it’s you, or that your wearing that.” Christopher grinned, sitting back down with a smug look on his face.
“You guys already know Alex? That’s great!” Flynn brought Alex to the center of the room.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Alex looked almost worried.
“Nothing, nothing is wrong with it. It’s just a lot of times when a new guy joins, the younger members like to, well, prank, I suppose the new guy. And that’s you.” Hans said, almost sympathetically. The other two laughed, not even trying to suppress it.
“He’s trying to say you look ridiculous.” Christopher sat laughing like a little kid.
“Anyway, we should call the chief. Check in, you know, the usual stuff.” Flynn said, trying to collect himself, and calm Christopher.
“Good idea. Are you excited to meet him, Alex?” Hans said, his face returning to a calm, cool look.
“Yeah, this is exciting, isn’t it?” Flynn said before turning back to Christopher. “Chris, can you call him?”
“Wait, so Flynn gets to call you Chris too?” Alex said. He had so many questions, why had he asked that one?
“Yeah, everyone here does, except you.”
“What?! That’s not fair!”
“Well get used to it ‘cause life’s not fair.”
“What he means is,” Hans interrupted, “is that once you really start working with us you can call him Chris too. But you just got here and we barely know you.”
“Sophie seems to trust me just fine. Look, I don’t know what happened, but I’m on your side.” Alex seemed almost impatient.
“Sophie isn’t on the team. And she never will be.” Christopher said. He had spoken with the most decisive voice Alex had ever heard. Even Hans’ face changed at this comment, clearly siding with Christopher.
“Sophie should never even have an idea that this exists. She should stay in her world, full of imagination and safety.” Alex had seen Christopher angry, and he had thought that was scary. But When Hans raised his voice, it was like you didn’t have a choice but to listen to him.
“What? But I thought you guys trusted Sophie, I thought you guys were really close.” Alex still had so many questions, regretting starting this whole commotion in the first place. Neither of the two older boys looked his way. Flynn sighed and pulled him to the side.
“They do, they really care for her. That’s why they don’t want her anywhere near this. They want her as safe as possible. And you know, this isn’t the safest thing we’re doing.” Flynn seemed more patient than the other two, obviously not knowing Sophie as well. Alex didn’t know how to respond, and luckily he didn’t have to. The Chief finally picked up. His huge face popped up on the screen, and the four saluted to him. He had a strong face, determined and worn by the things it had seen. He was just overall very intimidating.
“Dad, I’m glad you were finally able to pick up.” Flynn laughed, mocking the chief's age. Alex seemed to be the only one that was surprised at this. The other boys snickered, not worried about their boss’ reaction. Alex looked so incredibly out of place, he began to feel embarrassed.
“Ok, enough with that, let’s meet the new guy.” The chief looked in Alex’s direction. Alex felt squirmish, especially since the older pair wouldn’t look him in the eye.