In the Making

Chapter One: Sudden Meetings

A deep sigh escaped his lungs and rose into the cold night sky in a warm vapor, seeming to never disappear as it ascended into the windless air. "The lights are so pretty here.", he thought to himself, looking up at the bare, light-strewn trees lining the streets freshly layered with glimmering snow. He pulled his coat tighter around him and started down the sidewalk, glancing down at his phone. "Seven-thirty already?" he whispered, shoving it back in his pocket. "I guess I need to eat then..." He looked around the empty, frozen streets before stopping at a crosswalk and shaking his head. "Nothing's open this late..." he sighed, "If I can't find somewhere to eat soon, I'll just grab something on the drive home."
The signal turned green and he continued across the street, silently cursing at the wind and shivering. "Figures...how fitting this is for me. Alone in the cold during christmas time." He continued grumbling to himself as his pace quickened, growing impatient and wishing the night would just end already. He didn't even look up at the glowing neon sign at the end of the street getting closer with each frustrated step.
~~
"The next moment the entire structure collapsed. The large crowd let forth a collective moan of despair as -on the evidence of the scream- it was thought that a grisly death had occurred. All delight vanished. Now a tragedy had been witnessed." she read from her book she clutched in her left hand. She continued reading as she lifted her cup to her lips and sipped the last of the warm tea, setting it back on the neatly folded napkin laying on the red mahogany table.
A red-headed waitress shuffled over to her table with a tea pot in her manicured hands. "Refill, hon?" she asked in a strange accent. The paler girl nodded, never looking up from her book. The older woman smiled and poured her a new cup, looking down at the thinner girl. "Anythin' else?" She shook her head. "Alright, sweetie. You know where I am if you need anythin'." She nodded. The woman smiled and returned to her seat at the counter. "'No,' continued Mr. Middleditch, 'I shouldn't like to have him hovering over my shoulder.'", she sighed and set down the book, looking out the window at the dark, empty street. She stared at the slowly falling snow for a moment before glancing around the small, dimly lit cafe. There wasn't a soul present besides herself and the waitress.
She looked down at her tea and chucked to herself. "How like me...alone during Christmas time."
~~
He continued down the sparkling, white sidewalk and checked his phone one more time. "Eight-o'clock...jeez it's late-" he looked up from his phone just in time to see a young, blue-haired girl through a cafe window, leaned over a book. In that instant, time seemed to slow and everything else around him vanished...except for the girl. He stared at her delicate collarbone, her porcelain-white skin, her smallish pink lips, and her big topaz eyes. His heartbeat picked up and his face felt warm. His breath suddenly hitched in his throat when she looked up at him, fully revealing her flawless features. But he thought his heart stopped completely when she flashed him a brilliant and warm smile, her eyes sparkling beneath a few strands of silky blue hair.
Suddenly, the unthinkable happened; he wasn't paying attention when he stepped on a frozen puddle. Time came spiraling back at him as he hit the ground hard, cringing at the sudden pain in his head. He sat up and held his head, trying comprehend what just happened. "W-was that real?... What the hell just happened?!" He looked down and picked his phone off the ground, groaning in despair upon seeing the gigantic crack in the screen. "Great...just fan-fucking-tastic..." "Oh my god, are you ok?!" he froze at the sound of a soft, feminine voice. He shuddered as he felt a soft hand on his shoulder. "Oh shit...your phone's busted. But as long as you're ok, it's fine right?" He looked up into a pair of honey eyes only a foot or two from his face.
She was knelt in front of him with a small hand resting compassionately on his shoulder and a concerned look on her face, which was close enough to his that he could feel the warmth of her breath against his reddening cheek. He tried his hardest to say something, anything to her. "C'mon...you already fell on your ass and now she has to help you... The very least you can do is thank her and be on your way." he screamed in his head. She furrowed her thin eyebrows and bit her lip. "You're ok, right?" He forced out a few words, "Y-yeah...thanks." He rubbed the back of his head and tried to smile. She smiled and covered her mouth as she let out an ungodly cute giggle.
He blushed harder and shoved his phone in his pocket, trying to stand but almost falling back down. "Hey! Careful! You're still standing on ice." she warned, grabbing his hand and keeping him from another headache. He looked at their intertwined hands and forgot how to breath. She giggled again and made sure he was safe before she let go. She blushed when he stood up straight and smiled at her. "Oh my god, he's hot... Just don't fuck yourself over, you dork." she thought. "Just look at him...those warm chocolate eyes, those perfect lips, that sexy jawline! Oh my lord, if you make the same mistake..." she shook here head before she could finish the thought.
"I-I'm Autumn..." she stammered, holding out her hand and fighting a blush. He blinked and smiled, taking her hand in his and shaking it once. "I'm M-Matt..." he replied politely, scratching the back of his head. She smiled like an idiot and stared in his eyes, not realizing that they were still holding hands. He looked at their hands and cleared his throat, blushing. "Hmm?" she asked, in a daze. He squeezed her seemingly fragile hand in his. She gasped and quickly shot her hand to her side, using the other to cover her mouth and hide the mad blush that broke through the surface. He let out a low chuckle and stuck a hand in his pocket. "Mother of god, if he keeps this up, I swear I'm gonna explode." she thought to herself as she cleared her throat and glanced around, suddenly very aware of how cold it was.
"D-do you wanna go inside? Its only gonna get colder out here..." she offered. He shivered and nodded. She smiled and headed into the cafe with Matt following close behind. "My table's in the back-" she was stopped by the red headed waitress who was staring at Matt and smiling. "Table for two?" she cooed. Autumn fought a blush and sighed. "No, Harley...he'll just sit with me at my previous table." she almost growled. He looked at her and blushed slightly. "Alright, hon... No problem. I'll just leave you lovebirds be until you need me." she winked a heavily lined eye. Autumn made a small 'tck' noise and dragged Matt to the back of the cafe where a small table sat in front of a dimly illuminated window. A cup of tea sat on her side next to a small, deeply creased book; 'The Seer of Shadows' boldly printed on the front. She smiled and motioned for him to sit as she started removing her winter layers.
He blushed a deep red as she took off her over-sized coat to reveal her thin, curvy physique hugged by a skin-tight, black long sleeve shirt; the collar began a few inches below her collarbones and ended just at her hips. "He's staring at you he's staring at you he's staring at you..." she squealed in her head as she wrapped her coat around the back of her chair. She finally sat down and smiled at him, crossing her legs under the table. They sat there for a moment in silence, unable to find anything to say. "Say something..." they thought simultaneously.