The Medallion

Halo: The Meeting

It was finally time to meet this mysterious man of hers. We agreed to meet for pizza and then follow it up with a nice afternoon at the beach. Well, that was the plan anyway.

I made it first, well, the first of us to make it. Jace was already there when I arrived. He leaned against the outside wall away from the door looking suspicious. He seemed to be lurking in the shadows trying not to be seen.

"Jace?" I called.

He glanced up at me, eyes dark and mysterious.

"It is Jace, right?"

He nodded. "Halo?"

I smiled. "That's right. I'm glad she talks about us."

"All the time. Sometimes I wonder if I occupy her thoughts at all."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Very much so."

He seemed to relax a little after that. I imagine it can be difficult to be around a group of unfamiliar people who are no doubt scrutinizing your every move.

"Want to go in?" I asked.

He stared at me as if trying to figure me out, perhaps I had an ulterior motive.

"I promise I won't bite."

"Do you?" So suspicious.

I grabbed his arm and dragged him in. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

A lady near the door gave us a smile and told us we could sit wherever we wanted. I asked her for two waters before dragging him to a large, corner booth.

"You are very forceful," he said as I pushed him into the seat.

"Nah, just overly exuberant."

"To say the least?"

The lady put two waters in front of us and examined the booth. "Waiting on friends?"

"Yes," I replied. "They should be here shortly, but we'll probably all have the lunch buffet though I'm not sure what they'll want to drink."

The lady nodded. "That's fine. Just go up and grab a plate whenever you're ready and give a shout when they arrive so I can get their drinks."

"You got it!" I shot her the finger guns.

"Hold on," said Jace. "I think we can all agree on a pepperoni?"

I nodded.

"A large then, I'll buy for the table. And five plates, please."

The lady nodded and left.

"You seem to be very astute," I said.

"I like to observe a situation. Nilla has many caring friends in her corner."

"That she does."

We sat in silence for a moment. He seemed less nervous but he was still watching my every move.

"So," I said. "How'd you two meet?"

"She..." he cleared his throat and looked away. "I saw her taking pictures around the beach and followed her."

It felt like a deflection, like it wasn't the complete truth, but the stalker part sounded plausible. "How long did you follow her?"

"I... needed to work up the courage. It seemed... it never seemed like a good time, but I knew it would scare her if I continued to be so...."

"Creepy?" I took a sip from my glass.

He nodded. "Was that wrong of me?"

I hesitated. "Well, I guess if you didn't intend to hurt her and just wanted to say hi then it was okay. I'm not sure. It's still creepy to just follow someone."