Paired (A HatFilms fanfiction)

Prologue

I shook the water off of myself and flipped back the hood of my jacket as I stepped into the warm atmosphere of the coffee shop. It was down pouring outside, but it wasn’t anything I wasn’t used to, having lived in England all my life. I looked around the dim shop, noticing a few people I knew from my audio and visuals class and giving them a wave.

“Chris, mate,” I heard someone call from a seat by the window, “over here!” I turned to see my roommate, Ross, waving me over.

I quickly walked over to them, taking a seat next to Ben Adams, who was primarily our cameraman, but often helped write the scripts. “Hey guys,” I greeted, “how goes it?”

“Great,” Ross chirped, “our newest video has over 700 views at the moment,” he grinned, proud with himself.

“That’s amazing,” I told him, surprised that we got any views at all. Our shorts, though funny and entertaining, were a bit insipid and I didn’t think they would gain any popularity. What was even more surprising was when our classmates would compliment our work; it was strange to think people I knew were watching the videos we posted on YouTube.

“So I had a new idea for the next short,” Ben chipped in. He paused to make sure he had our full attention. He leaned in, as if he were about to delve into the secrets of the universe. “What if Jesus had a vengeance?” he said mysteriously.

Ross and I both looked at him as if he had just grown a second head. I laughed to break the awkward silence. “What?” I asked through my chuckles.

He started going into how to video would be shot, including a green screen and the new blood splash effects we had just learned in 4D design. I had a hard time following his insane ideas as he jumped from one topic to a completely different one, explaining vaguely how they connected. I tuned out somewhat and looked past Ross to see that the line for the drinks had died down. “Hold that thought,” I interrupted him, jumping up and hurriedly pulled out my wallet as I looked at the message board.

“One black coffee please,” I told the girl at the register. I thanked her has she gave me back my change and went to the kettle to make my order. I absently took it from her hands, thinking about a short of my own that I wanted to propose to my friends. It was about a machine that stopped your Facebook from being hacked, but was basically a dressed up fire extinguisher. I continued to work out what I was going to say as I shoved my money into my pocket and turned.

Suddenly I was drenched with ice cold liquid as it ran down the front of my shirt. A Styrofoam cup crushed between me and something else, and it was all I could do not to spill my own drink. I heard a high pitched “Oh!” before the voice started apologizing profusely.

I looked up from my ice coffee stained shirt to see a mousey girl, also quite drenched. She held what remained of her coffee cup, and she wouldn’t stop apologizing about my shirt. “Uh,” I stuttered, “no, no it was my fault.”

“I’m really sorry,” she said, looking as if she were about to cry. She had curly brown hair and hazel eyes, which were full of concern. Her face was round with a pointed chin, giving her a soft, sophisticated look. Her bright lips turned down in a frown as she looked at me, eyebrows furrowed. I couldn’t help feeling a bit attracted to her, even if her white sweater now had a brown stain across the front and she looked a bit miserable. “I’ll pay for dry cleaning or whatever,” she continued.

“Honestly,” I laughed once I got over her looks, “I’ll be fine.” I paused, feeling bad for spilling her drink. “I’m more worried about you. Do you want me to buy you another iced coffee?” I asked. The coffee began to seep through to my skin, and shivered, having already been cold by the rain.

She looked down her front and also seemed uncomfortably cold and wet. “I think I’m just going to go clean up…” she said listlessly. I hadn’t thought of the fact that she might want to get out of her ruined, yet now heavenly smelling, shirt.

Ross and Ben had seen what happened and ran over to us. “Aw, mate,” Ross moaned, “look what you did!” His comment didn’t make me feel any better.

“I know…” I said, biting back a bitter comment towards him. I wasn’t about to swear at him in front of a girl. “Do you want any help with anything?” I asked, returning my attention to the pretty girl in front of me.

“I’m okay,” she said, and then shrugged on the jacket that hung over her arm, concealing the stain. She looked as if she was going to walk away or say something, but then recognition flashed across her face. “You’re…” she snapped her fingers, thinking, “Trott right? Chris Trott?” she asked.

“Uh…yeah…” I trailed. “Sorry do I know you?” I asked, afraid that I might offend her by not recognizing her.

“I don’t think so,” she giggled. “Me and my roommate love you guys’ videos,” she smiled, looking towards Ben and Ross as well.

“We’re glad you like them,” Ben winked, giving her his signature flirtatious smile.

I quickly saw where this was going, and I jumped in before she could react. “Can I at least walk you to your dorm?” I asked, pulling her away from the others.

She looked confused, gazing back at the other two, who also looked at me expectantly. I saw it in her face that she was about to refuse the offer, but then she blushed. “Sure,” she replied, smiling shyly.

“Wait here,” I told her as I ran back to where Ross and Ben had returned to their seats.

“What was all that about?” Ross asked, seeing me approaching. “I wanted to talk to her more,” he whined.

“Fuck off,” I joked, grabbing my coat and zipping it up to my neck. “Just go ahead back to the dorm, I might be a while,” I told them, thinking that the nearest dorm was at least a 10 minute walk from here.

They both looked at each other and wiggled their eyebrows, breaking into laughter and whistles. I sighed, “That’s not what I meant,” I told them.

“Have fun,” Ben said, and then winked over his coffee as he took a sip.

I ignored their japes and walked back over to the girl. “I didn’t happen to catch your name…” I said, realizing that she never said it.

She smiled as we walked into the chilly November air. “Katherine with a K,” she told me, “but you can call me Kit.”

Kit was a cute name, and suited her well. “Kit’s a nice name,” I smiled, already feeling something growing between us.

A/N Hello! I know you were expecting the illustrious Pawandhand, but it’s actually ecstasy_of_silver here! Welcome to our new collaboration, Paired (A Hat Films Fanficion) . We hope you enjoy the story, and my cowriter will be back with the next chapter soon. Be sure to check out our other works if you enjoy this one, and a vote or comment is always welcomed. Thank you, happy reading.