Two Sides of the Same Coin

Chapter 2

 The days go by and you almost seem to forget about your meeting with James. Of course, thinking about it makes you smile like an idiot- you finally seem to have made a friend- but, when thinking about James is not directly relevant, you focus solely on what you're doing. You do, however, find yourself increasingly nervous as Sunday approaches nearer, wondering idly about what to wear, how to style your hair, whether you should wear make-up and just how early you should arrive. In terms of appropriate arrival times, you're not quite sure how punctual James himself is, but you figure 5-10 minutes early would be good enough, this way he isn't waiting for too long or vice versa.

Finally, when Sunday arrives, you're awake around 9am and getting in for a shower. From the bathroom, you hear your phone go off. You quickly shower and apply a bit of lip colour and eye shadow before smiling to yourself in the mirror and nodding approvingly. By 11am, you are working on drying your hair just right, so that it doesn't frizz up or curl ridiculously. You put your hair up in a simple, neat bun and call it a day, and then check your phone for a brief moment- a message from James. You bite your lip softly, then pick out your outfit and get dressed, eyeing yourself up and down in the mirror to make sure everything is perfect. You've never been on a real date, so you question if maybe you're being overly prepared, but, anything could happen.

When you finally get around to checking your phone, quite a bit of time has passed. You pull open the app and tap into your chat with James, reading his message quickly.

J: "Hey, just checking in. You still on for this afternoon?"

Y: "Yep! Just finished getting ready. I'm really excited."

J: "Me too. See you soon!"

You smile to yourself and set your phone down before pausing in your train of thought. You pick your phone up again and text James once more.

Y: "Hey, do you mind if I ask where we're going? I figure I'd be meeting you there, but... I don't exactly know where we're going."

J: "Oh! Silly me, haha. Sorry. Actually, could I just pick you up? It's in a bit of a... tricky part of the city, and I don't want you to get lost :)"

You pause for a moment, hesitating on the idea of getting into James' car. He seems like a nice guy, yeah, but... Is he safe enough to be getting into his car already?

Y: "Oh. Uh, yeah! Sure. Here's my address:"

You type out your address, including the building and room number, and pause for just a moment before hitting send, taking a deep breath and sighing quietly. You wait idly, knowing that there are quite a few hours ahead, but reluctant to do anything in case you mess something up. You walk around your flat, bringing all of your necessities to your bedroom and double checking everything as you set up a bag. "Keys, wallet, money... Phone..." You nod slightly and leave your room again for a brief snack, something to stave off your hunger while waiting for James. You know, technically, you could just eat breakfast or lunch. However, there's a chance that the coffee shop may also have some baked goods, so you want to leave room for whatever pastries might be there.

Before you know it, the few hours have gone by and you're startled by loud, brief knocking at your apartment room's door. You check the time, and smile as you see 1:55pm displayed on your phone screen. You gather up your things and shoulder your bag, checking your reflection one last time before walking to the door and answering it with a shy peek. "James?" you whisper softly, smiling as your gaze is met with a flat, broad chest in a simple flannel. He's wearing deep blue jeans with a black leather belt, and smiles politely when your eyes finally meet his gaze. "Would you happen to be expecting anyone else, my fair lady?" he asks playfully. You laugh lightly and shake your head a little. "No, you're my only visitor, sir Knight." There's a brief, unmistakable flash of something dark in his eyes when you call him a knight, but you shrug it off, wondering if maybe he took it to offense.