Guns, Bullets & Bones [Tokyo Ghoul]

Ch. 4 ~ Friends In Unlikely Places

     Dylan nudged the last few crumbs of the cake around for a moment before spearing them on his fork and shovelling them into his mouth, groaning in satisfaction. He scooted the plate across the table a little and leaned back in his chair, stretching. His eyes closed in content, and he folded his arms behind his head, peacefully, completely forgetting he was in public for a moment. The chair opposite him was pulled out again, the legs scraping against the tiled floor.

    "I see you enjoyed that." A voice spoke and he cracked an eye open, only to see Rio across from him, leaning on her closed fist. He nodded and settled back in his chair.

   "Yeah, it was good." He said, silently wondering what she was doing at his table. He doubted she actually cared if he enjoyed it or not. He wondered if he should use her name or not, but decided he would seem like a creep considering she hadn't actually told him, and would probably earn himself a punch in the nose. He'd done that one too many times, and he wasn't particularly keen to get another so soon.

     "I can tell." Another smug grin. "You did have three slices, after all."

    Dylan groaned inside his head and felt stupid to realise he was blushing in embarrassment once again. Did she come over to make fun of me? he wondered in outrage.

    "Whatever." He scowled at the creamy table top and found himself scratching at some flaking paint. The girl frowned and reached out, slapping the back of his hand, and he recoiled a little, drawing his hand up to his chest in shock and annoyance. "What did you come over here for anyway? I highly doubt you actually care about whether I enjoyed that or not, haven't you got something better to do?"

    "I'm on a break." She said carelessly. "Why shouldn't I care?" She disregarded most of what Dylan had said, and folded her arms on the table top, pinning him with an intense look.

    "I don't know." He muttered in reply to the uncomfortable question, and he thought wistfully how much he'd love to just get up and walk away from this place, and strange girl he'd found lurking in an alleyway, and never come back to this place, even if the cakes here were the best he swore he'd ever tasted.

    "Of course I care, we're friends." The girl gave a half smile and Dylan felt a strange, heady rush. She's mocking me.

   "Since when!?" Dylan scoffed indignantly, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back in his chair, tilting his chin up defiantly.

    "Since I said so. So, just now." She gave a small smirk and her eyes shoved devious intentions. Now would be a good time to book it, Dylan thought, then I'd get away without paying the bill, too.

   "Oh, really?" Dylan scoffed again, his eyebrows knitting together in annoyance. He needed new friends, but this definitely was not how, or with who, he envisioned it.

    "Yeah." She said, her smile spelled out trouble with a capital 'T' and Dylan felt his stomach clench and lurch. She was the kind of person who looked like they knew how to get exactly what they wanted. "My name is Rio."

         "Y-Yeah, I know." Dylan said, and his eyes widened at the disgusted look Rio pulled, and he found himself tripping over his own words trying to correct himself. Mentally slapping himself the whole time, too. "I-I heard one o-of the other g-girl say it!"

     "Ah, good." She sighed in relief, and flicked a silky strand of pastel blue from her eyes. A playful smile danced on her face, and Dylan felt himself flush once again. "I was worried I'd picked up a creeper."

    "My name's Dylan, so, you can stop calling me 'kid'." He gave a slight head shake, silently wondering where his confidence had come from, especially in such a situation, but for once he thanked the Gods for his confidence burst. Normally he'd worry about coming across as rude, but with someone so intimidating, he hoped that it gave the 'don't mess with me' vibe. It probably seemed like he was trying too hard, which in all fairness, he was.

    "Dylan." She repeated, pondering over the sound of his name. She sucked her teeth for a moment. "An English name... Nice... Eccentric parents, or English descent?"

    "Both." He murmured after a moment of embarrassment. "Mom's English, but lived in Tokyo almost her whole life. She's might as well be a native, but she just had to chose an English name, as if I didn't stick out enough already..."

    Dylan finished his little rant and just stared at the table top. He didn't need to tell her that. It wasn't incriminating, or particularly personal, but it was about himself all the same, surely it was too soon for him to treat her like a real friend. What had possessed him to be so... open? He didn't like to dwell on it too much, just sitting in silence for a moment, while Rio seemed deep in thought.

    "My break's about over, I need to get back to work..." She grumbled, standing up and scraping the chair across the tiles with an ear splitting sound. Dylan cringed at the sounds and wished he could curl in on himself.

   "Right..." He said after straightening himself out, and he plastered a weary smile on his face. "I'll see you around, I guess."

    "You'll wait 'til my shift ends, right?" She asked, a small smile tugging at her lips, and out of all of the snide and mocking grins, or teasing smirks he'd seen so far, this one seemed the most genuine, and Dylan almost felt like he could call her a friend.

    "I...?" He was at a loss for word, eyebrow quirked. He had hoped to get out of there as soon as possible, but now he was actually considering waiting around for this girl he'd known not even a day, he wasn't even sure he'd call her a friend.

     "So you can walk me home?" She quirked an eyebrow and the teasing smile on her face told him he should've known. His own eyebrows raised in confusion.

    "I didn't know you needed an escort. You seem like you can take care of yourself." Dylan gave a nonchalant half shrug, and gazed around the café, feigning indifference. Rio's hand slammed down on the side of the table and the knick-knacks and cutlery on the table juddered and chimed from the force, and Dylan coiled in on himself from the shock, olive eyes as wide as dinner plates.

    "Humour me." She gave him a sharp glare which turned into a sickly sweet smile, before she swiped his empty plate off the table and clicked away in her shiny black heels.

    Silently, Dylan scolded himself for not running while he still had the chance.

~