of ebony and gold

I

of ebony and gold: I

Walter Gallagher mostly spent his days in his father's coffee shop, Hartley Cavern, after his mother died. He kept to himself, cleaning up and handling refills once and a while. His father was conversing with the usual customers which left him to man the counter. His dark eyes glanced up to watch the grey clouds, waiting for the rain to fall. While this distracted him briefly, soon he returned to his work. He didn't see her walk in, but he heard the ringing from the door. He dismissed the bell as a signal the entrance of a regular customer. But he didn't realize just how irregular she actually was.

Either way, he didn't look up.

She made her way past the countless couples and the sweet smelling coffee mugs until she reached the counter, taking a seat on the tall stool. She, too, didn't pay much attention to her surroundings. The boy behind the counter never spared her a glance. His dark hair covered his eyes, but she could make out a purple tent around the right one: a bruise. He kept his head down, fiddling with something she could not see. Curiosity got the best of her. She raised her head, leaning forward to see what was so interesting, but before she could catch a glimpse, he moved his hands away.

"Do you mind?"

His voice was sharp and cold, empty of any other emotion besides annoyance. His eyes were just as hollow, as if he saw her shape, recognized her as a human, but didn't truly see her, didn't see her as a person. He didn't like someone snooping and sticking their nose in his business. Especially one who looked as odd as she did.

She wore a white t-shirt under a brown jacket with a small hood that barely covered her mane of gold hair. Her shorts, which showed off her caramel legs, which he could see them over the counter, certainly didn't help against the cold outside. She definitely wasn't dressed for this weather which meant she wasn't from around here.

"Curiosity killed the cat."

He wanted to be curt with her. To show her that he wasn't one to mess with. He hated small talk more than the usual, and wasn't going to step an inch out of this comfort zone.

But she wasn't taken back like he had wanted. Instead, she smiled. It was a genuine smile that he hadn't seen in.... ever. No one around here smiled like that. No one's eyes brightened the way hers did. As if her gold eyes could get any brighter. Her lips were pink, accentuating her flawless honey skin. Everything about her seemed theoretically perfect. But she wasn't. He knew this because no one was, especially not the beautiful girl sitting in front of him that made him never want to look away. She, too, knew she wasn't perfect; in her own eyes, she was anything but.

"It's a good thing I'm not a cat."

He definitely didn't expect her to reply. He let his guard down and raised his head. His eyes narrowed, causing his to grimace. He reached up to touch his eye, still not looking away from her. She had a strange accent he had never heard before, and, to his disgust, it intrigued him. If he could smile, he probably would have. His grim frown didn't waver, but his eyes shined brighter than the dim darkness they were before. If she had known him, she would have noticed this change in him. But she didn't know him, and he would like it to stay that way.

What Walter saw would give Equality's 'Golden One' a run for her money. Her smile was irritatingly blinding. Everyone told her that. Her smile reminded people of all the bad they've done and all of the good they were capable of doing. Her smile was of something to be aware. Between two plump, pink lips and shown through bright ivory white teeth, her smile was heavenly, but unearthly. As if it didn't belong here.

She was different, that much was true. When people saw her, they did a double take, whipping their heads back to sneak an ounce of a glance at her. But what they saw was not how beautiful she was, but they sensed that there was something more, underneath the nail polish and the unruly hair. Yes, she was different and everyone knew that. But whether that difference was seen as a good thing or a bad thing, was unknown to all.