Once More, With Strangeness

Chapter 3

 Becca pulled her coat tighter against her body as a wicked winter wind whipped over her. Shivering, she picked up the pace, rushing toward the coffee shop down the street. She had decided to head into town after another sleepless night. Becca could only handle staring at those same four walls, watching the same boring shit on television for so long. She decided to head into town to get her mind on something else and to treat herself to a fancy coffee. She just wasn't sure if she wanted a latte or a Mocha. She might benefit from the extra sugar with how little she was eating.

Pushing open the door, she sighed in pleasant relief when the heat washed over her. The scent of freshly brewing coffee hit her nostrils and she inhaled deeply, letting the scent and sounds of the shop calm her jangled nerves. Maybe she would even get one of their delicious cinnamon muffins while she was here and sit at a table for a while.

It was nice to get out of that house. Maybe Ivy was right and she was torturing herself. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to get out occasionally. If she cleared her mind, perhaps she would have a better chance at coming up with a solution to getting Eddie back because so far, she had been coming up empty. It didn't help that her interdimensional and monster guru was long gone. Malcolm was always better with the researching and book stuff. Becca thought she might just see if Ivy would be willing to lend a hand.

She missed her best friends. Jax had headed back to Toledo with Malcolm. He wasn't angry at Becca and he usually called every couple weeks to check in on her. The conversations were awkward though because, though he wasn't angry, she knew he agreed with Malcolm. He didn't have to say it. Becca knew he thought she should also let it go and move on. He had a hard time understanding how she could be so wrapped up in a guy she'd only known for a couple of weeks. Becca did not have the energy to try to get him to understand and she wasn't sure he ever could anyway.

The truth was, she didn't understand it. The difference was, she didn't need to. Becca didn't care about the why or the how. She just knew, down in the very depths of her, that Eddie was meant to be hers. She knew he was her other half and that she couldn't move on because there would never be anyone else for her. Her feelings for him came fast and they were intense but they were the most real thing in her life. Everything about her life was absolutely insane, but Eddie was the one thing that just made sense to her.

Maybe Jax wasn't around but Ivy was. She had stayed for Robin and Becca had been pushing her away at every turn. She could try to remedy that. She could get her best friend back. She knew Ivy would be willing to help whether she thought it was futile or not. Ivy would be there for her even if she thought Becca was crazy.

And she might actually be crazy. After last night, thinking she saw that demobat, Becca started to get really scared. What if she was losing her mind? What if all of this had caused her to crack and she was just a step away from rocking in a corner, losing all sense of reality? How would she ever find Eddie when she couldn't distinguish between reality and fantasy? Was she just seeing what she wanted to see? But why would she want to see one of those monsters? Those bastards were the reason she had lost the man she loved.

Lost in her own thoughts, she wasn't paying attention and as she moved toward the counter she ran into someone, hard. They cursed as their coffee fell to the floor, its contents spilling everywhere. Becca jumped back to keep from getting hit with the liquid. She looked up to apologize and found herself looking right at one of the last people she wanted to see, Steve Harrington.

"Becca!" he said, his eyes wide, mouth hanging open in shock. "I...uh...shit." He ran over and grabbed a bunch of napkins from the counter and Becca followed suit, helping to mop up the mess on the floor.

"Sorry about your coffee," she muttered softly, tossing the soaked napkins in the trash. "I guess I wasn't watching where I was going. My mind has been a bit occupied lately."