Imperial Coffee

Stranger: Part Fourteen

Cinder didn't know how long she could look at his face, so the moment she was up she made a beeline to the kitchen. Coffee for him; tea for her. He always complained how he couldn't survive the day without his caffeine in the morning.

She hummed, trying to fill the silence. Cress was out, though it was too early for her to be at work. Perhaps she'd left when Thorne came in to give them privacy.

"Something you wanted to tell me?" Cinder asked. Thorne sat on the side of her bed.

"A lot, really." His voice was casual, almost sure of himself. She couldn't tell if it was fake or not, but she appreciated it. She was back at her apartment after a good night's sleep; if she was going to fake being comfortable, the time was now.

"Well, I'm all ears." Cinder poured the coffee into a tall mug and picked up her tea.

"Um, what happened the last time I saw you...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to such fast conclusions and it was rude of me. We never dated, so even if you and Kai were dating or something, I had no right to be angry about it."

"I should apologize too." Cinder turned around, walked over to the bed, and handed Thorne his coffee. She sat across from him on the floor, holding her tea and letting its warmth soak into her fingers. His hands were resting together in his lap. Perhaps he hadn't been biting his nails after all. "I made a lot of assumptions too. Sorry. I of all people should know you're not always the guy you project."

Thorne shrugged. "And I of all people should have known better than to spring something like that on you. I didn't even have a chance to explain. Most people would prefer something blunt, but I guess I should have figured out it's not the same for you."

Cinder nodded and held out her hand. Thorne tilted his head in question but took it, and they shook on it.

"There. We promise not to let this get between us now, okay?" Cinder announced, smiling.

"Is it just me, or are you in an extra good mood?"

Cinder stood up and pulled him from the bed.

"Maybe. You woke me up super early, let's go out before work." Cinder went towards her clothes drawer, and Thorne leaned against the doorframe.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," said Cinder. "That's what's different."

They found Cress sitting by the vending machine when they walked out, and Cinder pulled her out with them. Cress protested at first, but when Thorne smiled and asked her to come along she stopped arguing.

"Where are we going, exactly?" Cress asked. "I can't be late to work."

"Anywhere," Cinder said.

The air was cold, colder than the mornings in LA. Cinder pulled her jacket tighter, watching her breath fan out before her. She thought of Peony, how she should call Iko as soon as she had a moment to spare.

But she missed Thorne and Cress, and the three days were just enough for her to realize that; they'd all missed someone.

Now, she missed Iko. She missed Peony. That's just what life was—a balance between missing some and appreciating others. Cinder wanted to appreciate, how she hadn't before, how she never had.

"Well, where do you want to go?" Cinder asked.

Thorne raised an eyebrow and pointed at a bus stop. "Let's go somewhere fun."

Cinder frowned. "And what's your definition of 'fun?'"

He smiled, already walking towards the curb. "It's a ten-minute bus ride away."