Shading the light

Chapter 7- A café rendezvous

Adelaide's POV :
Yawning for what seemed like tenth time that morning, Adelaide quickly exited the house, her bag swinging behind her. She closed the door behind her, not wanting to stay around and hear her mother's lecture about arriving home in the middle of the night. Her head was pounding, even though she hadn't consumed any alcohol last night. She needed a hot coffee to clear her mind.

***

She walked into Siren's Bay and seated herself at a table near the window.
"Hi, what would you like?" a deep voice asked.
Not bothering to look up, Adelaide replied, "Just a cappuccino, please."
"Coming right up." The voice sounded amused. Adelaide rolled her eyes.
Moments later, the waitor came back and set her cup of steaming coffee down. "Thanks." She mumbled, looking up to thank him.
The face that greeted her was... Familiar. It was the blonde quiff boy from the club last night. Marcus.
"What are you doing here?" She heard herself say.
"I could ask you the same question," he replied.
"Don't ask me, then." Adelaide said, sipping her drink.
"I work here." Marcus finally said.
"Yeah, no shit,"
"Then why did you ask me that question?"
There was a pause. "I was surprised." muttered Adelaide.
"So what are you doing here?" Marcus questioned.
"Drinking my coffee, what does it look like?" She snapped, her patience growing thin. Why was he talking to her anyway? Didn't he have other customers to serve? She was just about to voice her opinion when a loud voice suddenly spoke up.
"Shady? Is that you?"
Frowning, Adelaide looked around. Her gaze was met by large blue eyes from across the room.
"Oh, no." she whispered, looking down at the floor and wishing she could turn invisible. There was the sound of scraping chairs and a pair of red Nikes came into her sight.
"Shady?"
"My name's Adelaide." She said pointedly.
"And your last name's Nightshade," Joe replied, a smile growing on his face.
Ignoring him, she returned to her coffee.
"So what brings you to the Siren's Bay?"
"Food. Same as everybody else." She replied, still drinking her coffee.
"You're drinking coffee." He pointed out.
"Well maybe you can buy me some food instead of asking me a bunch of useless questions."
He laughed, and Adelaide found herself wanting to hear the sound again.
Stop it. She cursed herself.
"What would you like? Wafers? Some toast?"
"If you insist," she shrugged.
"You're the one who insisted."
Inhaling deeply, she forced herself not to yell at him. This was a bad start to the day.
She stood up abruptly, pushing her chair back. People turned to stare at her, but she kept walking, making her way towards the exit.
"Shady! Where're you going?"
"Somewhere away from you." She said without turning around.
A strong hand grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. A grin was etched across Joe's face, his blue eye alight with amusement.
He suddenly pouted. "Don't you like me?"
"Nobody likes you. You're too annoying." She replied, forcing herself not to smile.
"But I have friends. They like me." Joe said, grinning once more.
"I don't see any." She retorted.
"Well maybe you can be my friend, then."
Adelaide narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Was it supposed to mean anything?" Joe said innocently.
Adelaide gritted her teeth together. God, he was so annoying. "What do you want?" She said.
"I was going to ask you for your number..."
"Why would I give you my number? I barely even know you!"
"Aw, come on, you have to admit, you are coming on to me..."
Once again, Adelaide fought the urge to smile. "Will you stop pestering me if I do?"
"Maybe..." Joe wiggled his eyebrows.
Adelaide sighed, took out a pen, and wrote her phone number on his hand. She tried not to touch his hand, concentrating on writing the numbers.
"There. Done." She huffed.
"I'll call you... Maybe," Joe laughed, walking away.
Adelaide quickly strode out of the cafe, trying to ignore the empty feeling she felt inside.