Chapter 4:

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Chapter 4:

Seth:

"Hey man," I said, hanging my jacket on the hook.

The Bakery smelled so good, like coffee and chocolate with a spicy edge to it.
That was food to my lungs and I felt glad I worked there.

"Hey Seth!" the guy with the fuzzy hair said from behind the cash register. He had a tiny nose and black eyes. He was like the classical sun good. Tanned skin. Brown hair. Red cheeks. A blinding smile. I walked towards him and ruffled his hair. He caught my wrist and in one swift move, pushed it behind my back. He was also a karate champion.

"I'm fucking seventeen bro," He said, asking me to stop messing his hair around like he was a kid.

"I know but your hair keeps attracting me," I said, not even trying to free my wrist. He was that strong.

His hold tightened and I looked at the cash register.

"Dude who's that?" I asked, pointing to the invisible soul.

Austin turned and I took the opportunity to flee.

"Ha ha," He said, irritated.

I got to work, taking orders, charming the ladies and not giving discounts to anyone.

Three hours later, it was finally time for a break.

"What's wrong?" I asked Austin, taking a sip of water. He looked tired and stressed out which was very rare.

"I won't be working here anymore," He said.

"Hm," I said. That wasn't surprising. Afterall, his dad owned the bakery. He worked there only because he liked it.

"So you're finally giving in to your dad?" I asked.

"Yeah.....I....uh," He ran his hands through his hair and sighed.

"What is it?"

"Dad's forcing me to go on a date with this girl."

That was when I choked (on my saliva).

"What? It's not like my first date," He said.

"Still."

Basically, he hadn't gone on a date in so long. He had kissed different girls at different parties but this looked serious.

"Have fun. Don't ruin your chances," I said, getting up.

Three more customers had entered the bakery.

****

Alyssa:

A girl with haunting red eyes and pale skin stared at me. Is that what zombies look like?

I blinked twice and so did she.

The worst mistake you can ever make is looking into the mirror immediately after waking up.

"Atleast your legs look good," I said but I couldn't fool her. A few minutes of staring later, I stepped into the shower.

I wanted to pause in the moment, I wanted the time to freeze, even if it meant I would be stuck in the shower forever. I always thought I would die drowning anyway.

It was better than whatever the day had in store for me. It was better than being forced to meet Seth and being forced to go on a date with Austin.

I was frustrated. At what, you might ask?

At life.

Being only sixteen, I felt stupid to act like I knew exactly what people meant when they said, "life is hard". This was just the beginning for me. I had a long way to go.

I no longer wanted to freeze in the moment cause I was literally freezing. Where the hell did the warm water disappear?

I stepped out of the shower, dressed up and looked like a half zombie, ready for some breakfast.

I rushed down the stairs and ate slowly, as if that could slow down time for me. As soon as I was done eating, the bell rang.

My adrenaline kicked in and my pulse quickened. I had no idea what to do. My palms felt sweaty and my heart, I'm sure, failed to pump blood into my brain. My brain wasn't functioning.

Relax, I told myself. It's a normal day and a normal bell and now, you should act normal and open the door like a normal person would because there's no one else to do it.

I walked to the door (in snail speed) and searched for Amelia, wishing she would magically appear to do the honors, before accepting defeat and opening the door myself.

Seth stood before me.

Here's what I expected: a skinny boy, obviously shorter than me, having black hair and blue eyes with pale skin and freckles that blushed deep red.

Here's what stood before me: a guy who wasn't skinny, he was a whole head taller than me (just how?!), had black messy hair and the same blue eyes. His freckles were lighter though and his face wasn't red. Maybe he'd grown out of it, I thought stupidly.

He had a kind of intimidating look and I couldn't figure out why. He wasn't bulky or anything, he was tall and lean, with a muscular frame.

The blue in his eyes reminded me of his childhood innocence.

He wasn't a kid now. Shit. He was eighteen years old.

I looked away from him, suddenly self conscious but the self consciousness didn't last long. The last thing I cared about was what he thought of me.

Seth's face broke into a slow grin and he extended his hand. I looked at it for way longer than necessary, which probably convinced him I was either too slow or too weird.

When I didn't take it, he dropped his hand and I stood there as all our memories came flooding back to me.

I turned away from him, drowning in my brain.

It is really him.

And he's just a few feet away. Maybe, I should reach out and make sure he is real. And alive.

"Alyssa," He said, his voice clear with a rough edge to it. He wasn't that kid anymore, with a sweet voice.

"Yea, follow me," I said, not willing to make any kind of small talk with him.

After what he had done, I could never trust him again.

I walked towards the stairs and made sure he followed me. I led him to the guest room three doors from my bedroom and said, "This room will be yours."

He walked past me into the room and smiled, "Thanks," his cheeks turned a faint red.

He still blushed like that.

I nodded and walked away. I walked straight to my room, straight to my bed and straight into my thoughts.

He was different and indifferent at the same time. He had a muscular frame and had grown taller than me. But the blue in his eyes and the freckles hadn't changed.

And about behavior, I couldn't say much since I hadn't had the courage to talk to him.

What the hell was I thinking? It wasn't easy meeting old friends and pretending like everything was okay when it so obviously wasn't.

I wasn't the pretending type. But maybe I could be one.

****

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Qotd: what's your favorite dessert?

Me: I love donuts. Like ALOT.

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