Perfect Strangers

1| Cafe de L'amour

Chapter 1: Cafe de L'amour (Alex's POV)

I can't believe I do this to myself. Wake up early just so I can come sit here at this cafe. 

"Alex!" I snapped out of my dazed thought and walked over, grabbing my tea. "What's up with you? No sleep again?" Katy asked. 

"Not much anyway," I sighed, taking my tea from her with a small smile before going and sitting at my usual table. I come to Cafe de L'amour every morning, wake up earlier than I should just so I can come here and have a moment to myself. Away from the chaos. Away from all the noise. 

Strange how I live in New York and try running from the chaos that everyone here breeds. I'm not from here. But I've learned to become a New Yorker. To seem like one anyway. I come from Orange County. I moved here about four years ago with my parents because my dad had a great job here. He's a real estate agent. My mom was an artist. 

She organized her exhibitions and created all her work. She's not dead. Just divorced. Divorced but she hasn't left yet. They got divorced over six months ago but she still hasn't gotten herself a place. 

Her life and my dad's is very different. He's put together, organized and logical. She's the complete opposite, which I used to admire in her, but it turned toxic when she stopped caring about everything except for her work. The house became a shack with nothing but junk and trash all over it. 

So we moved out, got a bigger house. My dad worked really hard for it, this was before the divorce happened, and what do you know? The same thing. Again. Now it's all about trying to get her out of there. I love my mother, even though she hasn't been much of one. I just wish she was sometimes. 

The bell to the cafe chimed. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. At this time, every Monday, it's always him. He comes later on Mondays and every other day, he's here before me. 

I mumbled his order as he placed it, knowing it by now. It wasn't a complicated order anyway. 

"A large black coffee with one cube of sugar," I whispered while pulling my laptop out and getting to work. 

I say work as if I earn from it. 

I like to write. Anything from short stories to novels to poetry. That's my thing. Everyone has a thing. A hobby of some sort they are invested in. Writing is mine. 

"Carter!" 

I didn't turn around like I wanted to. I don't know what it is about Carter Reed that's so magnetic. Something just pulls you to him. I guess that explains why he's loved by all, huh? He is though, quite literally, loved by all. The girls at least. The guys are mostly just jealous but put up a front to be in his good books because once Carter Reed has a problem with somebody, high school is over for them. I am not kidding. 

It was of help though. With Hudson. Hudson was my boyfriend. 

Was. 

Things simply fizzled out between us. Because of his god damn lies. Not too long after our break-up, he had a little rough and tough time with Carter about the team. About the lacrosse team. Carter is the captain of the team, Hudson was benched because he fought with the other team in a previous game. 

Our school is all about lacrosse. I don't understand why some people think lacrosse isn't a sport, from what I've seen here and in Teen Wolf, of course, it seems like a sport to me. There was a whole ordeal, Carter kicked him off the team, there was drama, and then Hudson left. 

He left and changed schools because he thought he would have more opportunities elsewhere, which is fair play. He would. 

I cracked my knuckles before beginning to type about the two characters I had been working on while Carter walked past me and sat on the table at the end of my row. I've noticed that he likes to do his homework before school in the mornings and once he's done, he just likes to scribble and doodle on pages.