Ravens and Crows

Chapter 14 ~Wylan~

I woke up in the morning with my head buried in Jesper's chest. I looked up and watched the light glistening off his face.

A conversation from before we left Ketterdam filled my head.

"Master Van Eck, I do think you should reconsider that gang member of yours." A merchant at the council meeting had pulled me aside.

"I assure you he's plenty capable of helping with the business." I had said.

"Not like that," He said, his voice hard and judgmental.

I couldn't say another word. The merchant walked away sending another cold glance at Jesper.

"Wy?" Jesper said, sleepily looking down at me.

"Mornin'." I smiled.

"What do you say we go out to eat at a restaurant in town?" Jesper suggested as we got dressed. "Adam could drive us somewhere."

I thought about it. Eating out in Ketterdam was like trying to mix new chemicals, sometimes it worked, sometimes it blew up in your face.

"I don't know..." I said. Jesper stuck out his bottom lip and gave me puppy dog eyes. I sighed. "Fine."

He beamed at me and I tried my best to smile back.

~-~

Adam was at school so Ronan drove us to small cafe in town.

"This place is family owned so they might ask some questions. Say you're on vacation, everyone knows everyone in this town so it won't do any good saying something like your a cousin of someone's."

Jesper and I nodded.

"And put your meal on my brother's tab, Declan Lynch."

"Why don't we put it on your tab."  I asked.

Ronan shrugged. "His birthday is around the corner."

I looked at Ronan with my eyebrows raised in bewilderment and then thought about Jesper and Kaz interacting at any given time. "Siblings," I mumbled getting out of the car with Jesper behind me.

We mumbled thank yous and shut the door. When we walked into the cafe a girl in a green apron and blonde hair was there to meet us.

"Good morning!" She smiled at us. "How many?"

"Two," Jesper said.

"Perfect," she grabbed two menus. "Where would you like to sit?"

"At the bar," I said. Everywhere else looked so peppy and flowery, the bar looked more welcoming than the tables.

"You two look  too young to drink." She said.

"What does that mean?" Jesper asked.

"Well you just look younger than twenty-one; especially you." she pointed at me.

"What's so special about twenty-one?" I asked.

"It's the drinking age of course!"

Jesper choked on his own spit. "Drinking age?"

I tried to recover the best I could. "Obviously the drinking age. Yeah, we're under twenty-one."

"So why the bar?"

Jesper shrugged. "Reminds us of home, I guess."

We sat at the bar stools that were in the corner of the cafe. It reminded me of the Barrel, which is where I always felt more comfortable with... well myself.