The Reaper Trials

Chapter 4: Dates suck ass.

 I pull the hem of my skirt down and re-adjust my leather jacket.

Mari quickly combs through my hair and starts pulling it into a ponytail. "His name is Tyler, he's going for an Engineering major. He's a Virgo."

Mabel pops her head out of her closet and asks, "What does that have to do with this date?"

"It's very important to some people. Maybe not to you two, but to some, it means everything."

"I was born during the Sagittarius and Scorpio cusp, does that mean anything?"

Mari sighs and admits, "Well, I didn't really research much about astrology, so I really don't know."

I roll my eyes and mumble, "Nice, Mari."

"You ready?" Mabel asks stepping out of the closet.

Mari stops messing with my hair and says, "Yup!"

The two pull me out of their house and down the street. The Olive Garden wasn't too far from their house, so it didn't take us long.

"Tyler is waiting outside for you, so we'll drop you off with him-" Mari gestures from the restaurant to the nearby mall, "And me and Mabel will be shopping."

"Kay."

We stop in front of the restaurant and Mabel points to a man standing off to the side.

"That's him! That's Tyler!" Mari whispers into my ear.

"I totally don't see him," I reply sarcastically.

Mabel pushes me forward and orders, "Go say hi."

"Fine, fine. You two have fun. Be safe."

I walk towards Tyler and behind me, I hear Mari and Mabel call out, "Be safe."

Tyler was tan, probably around 5ft 8 or 9, with dark hair that's slicked back. Wearing jeans, a plain shirt with a dark jacket on top. Cute.... I guess? I'm too gay for this. But not gay enough? Whatever. As I approach Tyler looks up from his phone.

I stand beside him and ask quietly, "Tyler?"

"Maddison?" He asks, holding his hand out.

I shake his hand and correct, "Well, Madd, but yeah. It's nice to meet you."

He chuckles and let's go, saying, "It's nice to finally meet you too. Marilyn has told me a lot about you. Are you ready to go in?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's go," He gestures to the front doors. "And may I say that I really like your outfit."

"Oh, thank you. Mari chose it." He gives me an eerie knowing smile and continues to the doors.

We enter in and are seated surprisingly quickly. We give the waiter our drink orders and start to talk. He gives me a strange and off vibe. It reminds me of Grimm, but really really off.

He sets down his menu, and asks, "So, you're working on Computer Science major? Why'd you choose that?"

Popped out of my thoughts, I fold down my menu and answer, "Uh, yeah. Well, I really like working with computers and programs, so I thought that I'd do well in the profession. I'm near the top of my class too, so I guess I didn't choose wrong."

He smirks and nods, saying, "That's pretty brave of you. I don't think most women would choose that major." I pull my menu over my face to cover my confused expression. "That's more of a man's profession, but anyways. What do you do in your free time?"

"I like to paint and write. I work on fixing motorcycles and dirt bikes in my free time at a friends auto place. Umm... Yeah..." I set the menu on the table and glance around the restaurant. The building is fairly empty of customers, most are just small groups and a few couples on the opposite side of the building. Olive Gardens are really going out of style nowadays. When I was younger they would always be packed.

He smirks once more and insinuates, "Now that's not something I'd normally think a woman such as yourself would enjoy-" The waitress walks up to the table and cuts him off by clearing her throat.

She puts on a small smile and asks, "Are you two ready to order?"

He quickly states, "Yes, we are." We give her our orders and she heads back to the kitchen. He folds his hands on top of the table and smiles once more. The smile looks forced and I can see the anger in his eyes. "You have a roommate, correct?"

"Uh... Y-yeah. He's... He's pretty strange, but he's a really cool dude," I hesitantly answer. I quickly change the subject, "I never got to ask you about what you liked to do in your free time."

The conversation quickly changes to a more calm tone and our food is brought out. We continue to chat as we eat, but the strange aura around him never fades. It doesn't sit well with me. During a lull in the conversation, I excuse myself to the restroom. I check and make sure the bathroom is empty before entering a bathroom stall and pulling out my phone.