Raven

Chapter 2

"Beckett" is all I heard after what felt like an eternity of silence. I slowly fixed my gaze to him,our eyes meeting for the first time since he sat down across from me. I had no clue what to say. I took out one earbud, giving him the most attention he was going to get. There were very few people whom I would take out both earbuds for,and this stranger was not one of them.

He smiled when I did this,it was almost like he knew how rare it was for me to even acknowledge people. We sat there for a while in an indescribable silence. It wasn't awkward but it certainly wasn't comfortable.

"So,you know my name,but I don't have the pleasure to know yours,yet"he added yet on there,making it sound more cocky than anything else. I continue to stare at the screen,trying my best to focus on anything but him and his face.

"Nicolas,Nicolas Lyons if you must know." I said trying to sound more annoyed than like a scared child. Needless to say that plan did not work out the best.

"Well, Nicolas is a very common name,not very fitting for you. Got any nicknames?"I glanced up at him as he smiled that devilish grin of his. What the hell kind of question was that? We haven't really even met yet and he's asking me for my nickname? I debate telling him before deciding that it doesn't matter since I will never see him again.

"Raven."is all I say. He raises his eyebrows as he takes a sip of his coffee.

"Raven,"he repeats,"any specific reason or is it the black hair?"

At the mention of my hair,I run my hands through it,suddenly becoming even more self conscious about it."Well," I start," that and also the fact that my favorite poet is Edgar Allan Poe and that's the only thing people know from him." I finish as I recall getting that nickname. It was sixth grade when I still had people who talked to me enough to even need to call me by anything. It had been so long since anyone had actually called me that.

"Well,Raven,I think that suits you much better than Nicolas" he said in such a matter-of-fact tone that it just blew me away. He doesn't even know me. How is he this confident and also, how can he tell what name suits me?

"OK.I told you my name and nickname,and you told me your first name,but do you have a nickname?" I ask,trying to at least carry on a conversation if he was going to be sitting here.

"Nope,well,people call me Beck but that's pretty much just my name." he, well, Beck,says. I smile and nod, really not knowing how to continue from there anymore.

He took the last drink of his coffee,throwing his head all the way back as he did. He set down the empty cup and pulled out a pen and piece of paper. He scribbled something quickly and ripped the paper out almost perfectly.

Picking the cup back up,he slid out of his seat and walked towards the door. I sighed,thank you,I thought,now I can actually focus and get back to writing. Just about the time that I put my second earbud back in, I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned,slightly aggravated at this point.

"I do believe that I forgot to give this to you,"he said,handing me a piece of paper with his name and number scrawled across it. With that,he quickly turned and strode out the door, all four sets of eyes in the place on him.

After that interaction, I was too distracted to get any work done. I kept replaying our conversations in my head. His eyes,they kept popping into my head whenever I tried to focus. Once everybody went back to doing what they originally had been doing again,I pulled out Beck's number and looked at it. I at least had some time to decide whether or not I really wanted to text him. What would happen if I did text him? It could have all been a joke. Yeah, it was probably something that he did to people like me for kicks.

But what if it wasn't?