BLACK ROSE

Late night surprises

Ashley. 

Life surely is full of surprises, both pleasant and unpleasant.

For a slight second I think my eyesight is deceiving me, only to realise it's not. What I'm seeing is reality.

He smiles at me, a cheeky smile only he can have. A smile that makes me smile too, even though I try to fight the urge so bad. Preventing a smile creeping on my face is impossible when he smiles at me.

"What a lovely surprise," he says.

I blink a few times, expecting Alex to be gone when I stop and look straight at him. I expect him just to be a creation of my mind, not a real human. I have no reason to expect him to be here with me now.

Lately I've been bumping into him a little too often. I ask myself if I should consider it a sign, a sign from above. If yes, then a little book of explanations should've come along.

"What are you doing here?" He asks. He looks the same as always, just his hair is losing its vibrant shade. It's becoming a shade of cold winter white, a little dusty.

"What are you doing here?"

I know I can't claim café mine, but I've been coming here after every practice, oftentimes stopping by before too. It's even become a place I like to study at. A place I consider mine and now he's invading my space.

"I asked first, didn't I?" When I don't answer he laughs. "Alright then, I'll go first. I came to say hi."

A lie? The truth? Hard to tell.

I nod, knowing he'll wait for my answer. He's turning out to have a strange amount of patience when it comes to answers. "I come here after every practice, before too and sometimes just to study."

"You dance, don't you?" I nod. I don't have to ask how he knows; I'm sure Mae mentioned it. "What style?"

"Contemporary."

He raises his eyebrows slightly, obviously expecting a different answer. "Contemporary." The word lingers on his tongue like when a child tries to read a new word. "I saw you more as someone who prefers hip hop." Before I can explain or say something more, he adds, "But I understand."

"You understand?" I look puzzled at him.

"You have a duality in you, Ashley." I stare blankly at him waiting for a further explanation to follow. No explanation ever comes.

"I have a duality in me?" Alex nods. "What... what kind of duality?"

He chuckles, but never answers my question. "For how long have you been dancing?"

I want to remind him I asked him a question. A question important to me, but I don't. I still don't know him, but I've understood one thing – he's the one who leads the conversation. He knows his way around words, mixing them together in strange ways and creating sentences that leave one hanging on the threat. He awakes emotions with his voice, tone and choice of words. Emotions that raise questions. Questions he never answers though.

"My whole life," I say. "Ever since I was four."

"And you never did hip hop?"

A chuckle escapes my lips. "What's with you and hip hop?"

He cocks his head to the right, smirking. "I just think you're an all-rounder."

I want to ask him what image of me he has in mind, but I bite my tongue.

"I did hip hop too, for a few years."

Dramatically he slams his hands on the table, not too loud, and looks at me. A cunning grin on his face. "I knew it."