The Angel's Song #Wattys2015

Asher: Mr. Panda Mitten Kidnapper

It was small and took the shape of a panda's face, white with round little, black ears and beady eyes over where her knuckles would be situated. Definitely handmade. I felt almost too bad taking it from her while she had distractedly stared at the numbers I had written on her arm.

A classic move. If Jer or Matt found out what I had done in order to make sure that I would get a response back from a girl, I wouldn't hear the end of it. I was just hoping it would work.

I slid four fingers inside the panda mitten and stared at its button eyes.

"She'll call, you'll see," I told the panda which stared at me, mocking me. "Or she'll text. Either way, she'll want you back." I hoped.

What had happened to me? I was talking to a mitten. An inanimate object. I stuffed it back in my back pocket, and pulled out my phone instead.

Ring, damnit, ring.

I willed the phone to do something, anything. Beep, buzz, vibrate. I'd never experienced this before. The panic. The "what if she doesn't call back?" feeling. And I didn't like it one bit.

Since having this infamous persona, it hadn't been difficult getting the female counterparts' attentions. But after Brianne, I hadn't necessarily felt a connection with people, most especially girls. Despite the lack of interest on my part, women still fought for some time with me. None had interested me.

That's why it had boggled my mind upon hearing her voice and feeling what I had felt. The uncanny pull that had overcome me when she was around. Angel.

Even saying her name made my heart stutter. I shuddered to think what else could happen if I were to come close to her again. The last two times I'd been been near her were... electric. What if I'd kissed her? My heartbeat sped up at that thought.

When I took her hand in mine, I had felt a sizzle on my skin, a delightful fire on my nerves. It had been entirely new, scary and intriguing and fun. Addictive. I must see her again.

I almost dropped the phone when it finally vibrated. Showing off a text message from an unknown number.

You kidnapped my panda! Give it back!

I smiled at her message. The bait had worked. I was about to type up a reply when it buzzed again.

Please.

How polite. A good girl. A pretty, good girl who could sing and play the guitar.

"What the heck is wrong with you?"

I didn't notice Matt had sat outside with me On the curb. We had chosen to wait for Big Bertha to get fixed before heading to our gig. Jer, Matt and I shared a small room in the only motel in town, while Nina got her own room. We knew enough not to be caught within her grabbing distance, especially whenever she felt frisky. She had had the attention of a few unlucky guys in this small town. Better for us. Too bad for them. She had a tendency to suck the life out of anyone.

We had tried kicking her out of our band but for some reason, she had such a hold on Jer and Matt that they had always flipped their decisions. I didn't trust her, no matter how much she resembled Brianne. Nina was nothing like Brianne.

"Are you okay, Ash?" Matt waved his hand in front of my face.

"Uh, yeah. Just deep in thought." I stared at my phone before replying to my new text messages.

I'm holding him for ransom.

"What's so funny? Who are you texting?" Matt had the unfailing ability to butt into other people's business. He tried to lean over and read my texts. I pulled it away from him.

"None of your business, Matt. Did Jer check on Big Bertha? If we're going to make it to that gig, we have to leave tomorrow." We would be playing at a four-day music festival. We had hoped to spend all four days hanging with like-minded individuals, but Big Bertha had other plans.

And pray tell what this ransom is, Mr Panda Mitten Kidnapper.

Matt replied to my question just as I had received the text, "Yeah, he's there now. Guy said it should be done by this afternoon. Should we check out of this dump?"

I typed out:

Only a simple dinner, maybe a movie. Then you may have him back.

"Not yet," I told Matt even without knowing what Angelique's response would be. Although, I could only assume, wish, she would say yes. She had to. I was sure I wasn't the only one who felt that electricity between us. There was something there. Something beyond physical attraction. Something... out of this world.

"Is it the girl from the coffeehouse last night?" Matt just couldn't keep his nose out of it.

I huffed out a reply, "Yes."

His laughter echoed across the narrow street. "I never thought I'd see the day." He clapped a hand on my shoulder, as I leered at him. "Finally, the man shows he has a heart!"

"What does that mean?" I spat.

Matt lifted both his hands up as a surrender. I hadn't mean to sound so angry. "Whoa. calm down, man. Just saying you've never taken interest in these girls before. Not that you had to try, but someone actually got your attention and it's good. It's great, in fact. Maybe you'll start writing happier love songs."

I shook my head. He had a point, just what I had been thinking of too.

"None of them was interesting enough, I guess."

"Yeah. And she had talent too. Maybe she'll join us. Balance things out a bit with she-bitch." I laughed at Matt's secret nickname for Nina.

"Let me see if I can get her to go out with me first." And as I said that, I finally received a reply.

I don't date. But I do like coffee and I love my mitten. Half an hour at the coffee shop?

I could do coffee, for now. All I had to do was make sure that I could get her to stay longer with me, enough for me to find out what it was about her that had me up in a twist.

I tapped out:

See you soon

A second later, I received back:

Bring my mitten

You forgot to say please

I had to tease her, and couldn't help the smile that widened on my face.

Please

I stood and stretched. Matt followed me into the motel room.

"That's a yes then?"

"Of course it's a yes. Do they ever say no?" I said, garnering a chuckle from Matt as he sat on the bed and flicked on the TV. But deep inside, I had worried that Angelique could have said no, and I wasn't quite sure how I'd taken that.

I walked into the shower for a quick freshening up, grabbing clean clothes from my bag. Before I could close the door, I heard the frantic reports coming from the TV. According to the news reporter Armageddon had arrived. Earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and typhoons had come down upon us in one swoop. I felt lucky enough to think that we had escaped unscathed during that little earthquake yesterday. But I couldn't help but shudder at the thought, what if it hadn't been just a simple quake? What if the reporter was right?

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A/N: Happy New Year to all! Thank you for patiently waiting for the update. We hope you enjoyed this new chapter.

How do you think their coffee date will go?