I'll Protect You (Original Version)

I'm a walking contradiction--yes, like the song.

Chapter Forty - I'm a walking contradiction--yes, like the song.

Alec had driven us to a nice looking coffee shop. It was charming place, with golden lights and orbs, circular wooden tables and chairs. The menu was printed with orange chalk, the cliché girly font. The person who made the signs even went as far as to draw pumpkins, bats, and ghosts on the sides and corners.

Man, I made good looking ghosts. And yes, I was in Paradise Coffee.

Alec had gotten us here pronto, keeping painfully quiet while I blubbered, sobbed, hiccuped, and sniffled my way hair, my make-up smeared, my tears drying and crusting on my cheeks. I remembered how he practically almost had to carry me into the coffee shop, where everyone stared. Alec had gone to the counter to get some paper towels.

He came back, wiped away the smeared mascara and eyeliner until I had the bare minimum on. A barista had come by. Macie, in fact. A coworker of ours who instantly asked why the hell I had brown hair.

Alec just said, "She put on fake dye to resemble the princess of Cimeria, but something happened." He then ordered hot chocolate with extra whip cream for us, with a shot of expresso in his.

"That's not hot chocolate," I muttered when Macie came back. She flipped her blonde ponytail over her shoulder and patted my shoulder sweetly, her kind smile tinged with worry.

"You should keep your hair this color, Park," Macie voiced. "You look absolutely gorgeous. You're just as beautiful as the princess."

Oh, the irony in that statement almost made me laugh. Macie gave me a soft smile before patting my brown hair and walking away, catching the eyes of many gentlemen in the shop (though whether or not they were gentlemen was entirely debatable).

Alec sighed, his pale jade eyes piercing through me like daggers."Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," I lied for about the fifteenth time. Alec scoffed again, leaning back against his seat, crossing his arm across the baseball tee he wore.

"Yeah, and I'm the queen of England," Alec drawled sarcastically. "You've been crying over the fact that you kissed him for fifteen minutes. Sparrow, you were bawling in the parking lot. I don't get it! There's something you're not telling me!"

I merely stared in a glum state at my hot chocolate. I thought long and hard, trying to find out why I had freaked out over a simple kiss.

Wait, simple kiss? the voice in my head said scathingly. That was not a kiss--that was a make-out session and you know it.

"Gods, shut up!" I said out loud, slamming my head against the table.

"I didn't say anything," Alec said, confused. Then a look of knowledge flickered across his face and he dared chuckled at my state.  "So you're talking to voices in your head. Glad to know you're still functioning alright."

"I'm such an idiot, Alec!" I moaned, face-palming myself so hard that I probably rewarded myself with a red hand mark. Alec made a noise that allowed me to know he agreed whole-heartedly.

"I've never seen a girl cry over the fact that she kissed a guy she obviously likes," Alec remarked casually. He was twirling the metal spoon around his cup when I lifted my face out of my palms. Alec's middle shouldn't be Rivers. It should The Unhelpful Jerk. Alexander The Unhelpful Jerk Darkwood.

Sounds ten times more catchy.

"I've never seen such stupidity in one person before but look what we have here," I snorted, kicking him in his shins with my sneakers.