Immortals (ON HOLD)

Chapter 6

Ariel

            I awoke to the sound of the front door closing. I realized my mom must’ve just left, and I sat up and stretched. I slipped on a pair of warm socks, going downstairs and making myself a bowl of oatmeal. I dusted the living room as I waited for it to cool, and watched TV as I ate. There were news reports of some recent murders, each victim drained of blood due to their throats being slit. I remembered last night, swallowing hard. What if it was the same person??! I washed out my bowl and did the other dishes, drying them and putting them away. I finished dusting and got a shower, changing into a light auburn v-neck sweater, khaki-colored skinny jeans, and my fawn EMU King Cross boots. I put my necklace, bracelet and ring on, allowing my hair to dry before running the vacuum. Once I was finished, I grabbed my hoodies, scarf, favorite light gray and navy blue striped tote bag, book and car keys, and headed to the nearest café, which also happened to be one of my favorites. Obscene Caffeine was a popular coffee house for teens, though Star Bucks was still number one. I personally hated crowds, and Star Bucks was always packed.

I ordered my usual maple-cinnamon hot chocolate (since I really didn’t like coffee all that much), and a few chocolate chip cookies, since the little packet of oatmeal didn’t fill me up (it never did). I smiled down at my steaming Styrofoam cup, opening the lid to allow it to cool. I noticed how empty the store was today, and took my usual seat by the window. They even had a little library here, which was technically another store, but combined into one (like Borders, only smaller and with fewer books). I couldn’t get into my book because the lack of people in the store bothered me. There were only eight people, and three of them were working. An older man sat comfortably in the black leather chair of the “library”, a young, frazzled looking blonde woman was ordering some massive espresso double-something-or-other coffee, a teenage couple was enjoying some scones and coffee a few tables away from me, and a boy around my age was looking through the limited library on the other side of the café. He faced me and turned back around so quick, I thought I was imagining things. My body tingled as I stared at him, and I rubbed my arms to stop the feeling. It wasn’t the sensation of butterflies flapping around in my stomach, but rather the prickling, slightly annoying feel of goosebumps, without the actual bumps.

At any rate, he looked totally out of place. His darker complexion obviously said he wasn’t from around here, as well the fact that he walked with a sort of tentative quality. He was muscular, and actually very good-looking, and I was embarrassed when I noticed that I had been staring at him for so long. His dark brown-almost black-hair, a mixture of careless - yet planned casual disarray- screamed that he was from somewhere else. Most guys here had their own definite style, and it was oddly refreshing to see someone who just ran a handful of product through their hair and called it a day. His slight cleft chin was also very foreign, since not many inhabitants of the city had one. He had a dark, mysterious air about him, but I looked down at my book and began reading like I had planned. I sipped my hot chocolate and ate one of my cookies, all the while hoping my mom didn’t find out I had left the house. Just as I was getting to the good part of my story (the main characters were just about to proclaim their love to each other, and I was sorta’ smiling like an idiot), a voice interrupted me, and I immediately wore my usual “poker face”, as Emma and Dexter put it. “Excuse me…I’m sorry to bother you, but I couldn’t help noticing your amu…necklace.” Well, at least that was a new pick-up line… I looked up, startled to find the boy I had been looking at earlier. I refused to let myself blush, but couldn’t deny the fact that his pale green eyes, emeralds under a calm ocean, were drawing me toward him.

I shook the dopey feeling from the back of my head; it had to have been from my stupid romance novel. “Oh…thanks,” I muttered, taking it in my palm. “My parents gave it to me…” “It’s really unique,” he continued, his voice deep with masculinity. It gave away little about him, like I imagined my voice did. “It’s a fire agate, but that’s all I know.” “The symbol on it is really…” “Weird?” I finished, my lips curving into a weak smirk. His eyes finally met mine, and he smiled crookedly. I had never seen something so unrehearsed and carefree look so flawless. I refused to let the breath be knocked out of me, and figured at least this guy wasn’t some pervert. “I’m Dimitri,” he started, outstretching his hand. I put on my best (which meant totally fake) smile, shaking his hand gently. “Ariel,” I murmured, noticing how warm he was. I also noticed he wasn’t wearing a jacket, even though the temperatures were in the thirties. If anything, someone foreign to our city who was used to hotter weather should’ve been bundled up to the nose, by now. “Mind if I sit down?” He asked, and I could tell the phrase was new to him. He was probably used to girls throwing themselves at him, with the way he looked. Even the disheveled blonde who had been ordering coffee was gawking at him, and the girl with her boyfriend secretly stole glances from him every now and then. The two counter girls were all but recording our conversation, glaring at me jealously. I ignored them, like I did to every other complete stranger.