A Rose With Teeth and Claws

Theseus?

Present day~

Talia had just finished writing down another drawing/painting idea. It had been a few weeks since she had lost her temper with that lady at work and was now back, full-time. But the problem was, she still didn't remember. Ever since her dream, she had been having constant headaches and random flashes of pictures that made no sense. It was really starting to piss her off.

She was currently working and a customer asked, "Could I please get a refill?" He was a decent guy; nicely dressed, polite, not impatient. His long, golden, shaggy hair shone in the sunlight. His purple shirt and light blue jeans looked way too bright for the room. He looked about nineteen by his features and stance.

He is quite handsome, yet not nearly as handsome as... No brain! Stop it!

Talia snapped at him from stress. "I don't know, what do you want?"

He didn't seem bothered though. "Dr. P."

"Well, it's not in my hand and I don't have any nearby so I can't get any right now." She said sassily.

He just smiled. "Oh, okay. That's alright, I'll get it myself."

He hopped right up to go get the pitcher, not in the least put off by Talia's foul mood, which only served to irritate her even more so.

What is with this guy?

As he sat back down, she slung her arm over his shoulder and said, "Look, pal, you're not supposed to do that, so... could you not?"

He looked at her and rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Oh I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe you were a little busy and it looked like you had enough to deal with so I just did it myself." He bowed his head a little. "I won't do it again. Promise."

But the look on his face, the adorable innocence that shone in his deep green eyes, wiped away her anger in a second. Her instincts were screaming at her to bring back his smile.

"Nah, it's alright. It was no big deal, I'm just having a bad day." She said in a soft voice. "Life's been a real pain in the ass lately."

"I can understand where you're coming from. Life gets pretty tough, especially when you live with four other people who don't always agree when it matters most." He had a certain shadow to his eyes that suggested that something terrible had happened in one of these times.

"But it's alright, I love them and they are my family. I forgave them many times before and I will forgive them many times in the future, but I will never stop loving them, especially my brothers. And in that regard, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for what you did." He smiled the brightest smile she'd seen in a long time and not waiting for her to process his words, shot out of his chair. As he headed toward the door he called back, "The money's on the table, along with a tip!" Waving all the while, a huge smile plastered on his face as he zoomed out the doors.

Old Mary came hobbling out of the kitchen. She scanned the room and her face dropped a little.

"Is little Theseus gone? I was hoping to give him some food to take to his brother. And he forgot his money from working for me!" She grumbled halfheartedly, "Slippery dog."

Talia snorted. You're telling me...

"Theseus? Medium length blonde hair? Green eyes, about six feet?" She asked the older woman.

"Yep. That's him! Sweet young lad, but forgetful as all else." She laughed at that.

"How do you know him?"

She stopped for a minute, thinking. "He's one of our....... regulars." She finished hesitantly. Talia didn't ask because she knew she would not get an answer. Instead she listened to what the old lady said next.

"You were extremely lucky he was in town visiting when you had your little outburst, or you would be in big trouble, missy. He took over for you while you were gone!"

"I'll keep that in mind next time I feel like sinking my claws into an annoying bitch's skull."

Mary just gave her a look that suggested if Talia did that, the old lady would skin her alive, and walked back to the kitchen. 

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A/N: ok so that was a short, cute little chapter. the rest of what I wrote from here on is the part I really don't like, so I will start from scratch from here on. hope you look forward to another update (^-^)/ ~K