But Tomorrow I'll Be Coming Back To You

Ch. 1 - Happenstance

Day four hundred and two. The rain was patting against my window as I stirred awake. My alarm clock stopped going off, while my hair was askew. Stretching, I checked my phone. No new text messages. No phone calls. No social media interactions. Of course.

After moving to London with my parents, four hundred and two days ago, I had yet to make any friends. I had Poppy, who worked at my Mom's cafe with me, but that was it. She and I didn't even hang out outside of the cafe. I was alone, and with each passing day, that was becoming more apparent.

"Maeve! Finally. What took you so long?!" My Mom huffed behind the cafe counter. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. There was traffic at the tube. I tried to text you..." She rolled her ivy green eyes, "Maeve. You know I don't have time to check my phone." She did, she just didn't care to check her phone. "I'm here now. Relax..."

Relax wasn't in my Mom's vocabulary. Since we moved from New Orleans to London for my Dad's job, she was as tense as ever. My Dad, Baker Montgomery, was transferred to London, with only two months notice. My Mom, Lorraine Montgomery, had been preparing to open her own Lorraine's Cafe in New Orleans, but with my Dad's transfer, she had to scrap that dream, and carry it with her. Opening Lorraine's in London seemed impossible, but she did it. She and my Dad both did it, and it was paying off. Lorraine's was a soulful cafe, with Cajun flare and southern hospitality. There was nowhere like it in London, which helped put Lorraine's on the map.

My Mom didn't say another word. Instead, she tossed me my apron, as Poppy emerged from the kitchen, boxes of pastries in her arms. "Hi Poppy..." Her blonde hair bounced as she sat the box of pastries on the counter, ready to put them on display. "Hey, Maeve. Did you give anymore thought to going with me tomorrow night?" Fuck. "To see One Direction?" She nodded, "if you don't go, I won't go. I was only wanting to see Zayn."

I didn't even listen to One Direction anymore. Poppy loved them, though. Most of all, she adored Zayn and every essence of his being. Niall from One Direction walked into the cafe one day, and Poppy died on the spot. She freaked out, and we catered to Niall as best as we could. Since then, he had been one of our loyal customers, loving on our creole chicken. Poppy excuses herself every time he walks in. It's quite hilarious.

"I don't know, Poppy. You'll have to ask Lorraine." I took care of a customer at the counter while Poppy loaded up the display cabinet. The aroma of jambalaya was brewing from the kitchen, and for a moment, I felt at home. But only for a moment, though.

The day kept going by, as slowly as possible. Poppy kept nagging me about One Direction, and I honestly wanted to scream. I knew it was important to her, but I didn't do crowds, or screaming girls. I wouldn't have anything to wear, and more importantly, I didn't have a ticket. Neither did Poppy. But that was beside the point.

It was nearing closing time, and I was cleaning off a couple of tables in one of the back corners when the door opened. My back was turned, so I didn't bother facing them. "We close soon, so if you have any big orders, make it quick." I heard a snicker, and I wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone being rude to me. Not today. Everyone had treated me so kind, and I wasn't going to let this customer spoil that.

When I turned around, I was met by two skyscraper high boys. One had colored hair, the other had darker hair. The one with the colored hair was ghostly pale, but beautiful. Tattoos on his right arm, baseball tee that hugged him perfectly on his hips. While the one with darker hair had tan skin, and a pouty lip. Casper was gorgeous, and I didn't know what to do.

"We were told to come here by a friend. We're not too late, are we?" I looked at the Casper boy who had just spoken in the most beautiful voice. I was about to vomit. "No... No. You're... You're good. I. Whatever you want... I'll have our cook fix it up."