Fairy tales are a load of bull. At least, that's what Valerie Lockhart believes.
Not the part about magic or fate or fairy godmothers - though she highly doubts that those exist either - but the part about happy endings. The happy endings in fai...
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Appropriate reactions to being kind of kidnapped, being indirectly told that mythical creatures exist, and having the you're-my-soulmate bomb dropped on you, would be something along the lines of:
A.) Talking to someone you trust about what just happened. (Seeing a therapist isn't recommended because they might refer you to a mental institution.)
B.) Going home and breaking down in the comfort of your own house while drowning all your frustrations and confusions in ice cream. (This technique works best when wrapped up in a comfy blanked while watching Netflix.)
C.) Venting about the occurrence on Twitter or Tumblr like a lot of millennials seem to be doing nowadays. (People will most likely think that you're making it up anyway, so your secret's safe.)
Did Valerie do any of the above? No. Of course not. Because that would mean actually acknowledging what happened, and Valerie sure as heck wasn't about to do that. If she just went about her day like the past 24 hours never happened, then she didn't have to face the truth or deal with the consequences.
After practically running away from the building where nothing had happened, Valerie had soon realised that she had absolutely no idea where she was. And then she also realised that she didn't have her purse with her. That meant no phone, no money and no way of getting home. And just when she thought that it couldn't get any worse, it started raining.
OK, no. It didn't start raining. That would've been horribly cliche. But she did still have a skull-splitting headache, and in Valerie's opinion, that was even worse.
After walking the majority of the day away, she finally managed to reach her apartment relatively unscathed with the help of a grumpy gas station worker who grudgingly gave her directions. Her feet were killing her by the time that she all but crawled up the stairs to her apartment and got the spare key from under the rug. (Killer hiding skills, right?)
She didn't allow herself to think about what happened, so in a zombie-like daze she took a shower to wash all the grime, sweat and bad memories away. The aching girl had been more than ready to call in sick at her job at King's Diner, and give her screaming feet a rest. But a few moments of doing nothing had sent her mind racing, and trying to read proved fruitless with her mind going a mile a minute.
And that, ladies an gentlemen, is why Valerie found herself in the local diner at half past two, sporting an unflattering beige waitress uniform, just like she would on any other Saturday. Because, she kept telling herself, it was just like any other Saturday.
Maybe it was the familiar smell of bacon grease and stale coffee, or maybe it was the way that her uniform kept scratching her in uncomfortable places, but at half past seven when her shift was coming to an end, Valerie felt at ease once more, comforted by the familiar routine. For the first time that day, she felt like she had everything under control.
The feeling lasted for about 5 minutes.
When Hayden pushed the glass door of King's Diner open, a little bell above him announced his entrance. He didn't even need to look for Valerie; his eyes automatically found her among the other people in the room. Already she was familiar to him, her face etched into his very brain. Yet at the same time, she was unrecognisable. She seemed more at ease, more comfortable in her body. She was even smiling, though it didn't reach her eyes. But at least she wasn't wearing her ever present scowl.
At least, she wasn't until her eyes caught Hayden's from across the room. Instantly her smile disappeared, replaced with a look of disdain. At that moment, Hayden wished that he couldn't read auras, because then he wouldn't have to see his mate's mood turn from a happy yellow to an angry red.
Valerie placed a customer's order on their table with a bit too much force and walked to the employee's room like a woman on a mission. A few moments later she appeared again, this time with her black hair hanging freely instead of in a bun, and wearing an oversized cardigan over-top her uniform.
When she reached him where he was still standing at the doorway, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "I talked to Big Tommy-" She threw a look over her shoulder towards the huge bearded man sitting at one of the booths. "-and he's going to make sure that you sit here, have a meal, drink a coffee and leave a big tip for Ruth before you leave. If you even think about following me out of that door, Tom'll call the cops and he and a few of his biker friends will entertain you until the police arrive." She gave him the once over, sizing him up before meeting his eyes in a condescending stare. Maybe Hayden would have been fooled if he hadn't felt the fear radiating from her. "Understood?"
"Look," he started, ignoring her threat, "I never meant to get into the whole 'soulmate' thing so soon. I had full intentions of getting to know you and sweeping you off your feet without the word 'soulmate' hanging over our heads. But everything just kind of... spilled out." He dragged a hand through his hair, slightly pulling on the long locks in frustration. "So please, could you at least just give me a chance? One date - right here, right now - to get to know each other like we should have done the first time around. Please."
Reasons to say no:
• He had weird elf-like ears. • He could potentially be a serial killer. • He was quite possibly completely crazy. • He looked like the lead singer of some sort of overrated boy band.
Reasons to say yes:
• He looked like the lead singer of some sort of overrated boy band. • He was 6'2. • He sounded really desperate and it felt nice to be wanted. • Some part of Valerie knew deep down that he was telling the truth and that they were connected in some sort of unexplainableway.
Valerie sighed. "Half an hour," she said, waving an angry index finger in his face, "that's it. Just to get to know you. And if I'm not interested, then you have to promise to leave me alone. Deal?"
Hayden smiled brightly, flashing his bright white teeth. "Where would you like to sit?"
