The only exception

Chapter 1

But darling, You are the only exception. -Paramore

I woke up to the sound of my blaring alarm. 6 am. It's way too early. I quickly shut it off and got out of my warm bed to get ready for work. I tried being as quiet as possible so I wouldn't wake up Bailey, my roommate. She was out all night at a party and she doesn't have to be up for a few more hours. I don't want to deal with her being hungover right now. I'm already rushing to get to work.

I took a shower and  brushed my hair. I put on black jeans and an ugly tan polo shirt which is my work uniform. I hardly ever wear makeup. It takes too much time and I still look bad with it on. I was finally ready by 6:30 and I walked to work. It's just around the block. I work at a cafe called Your Daily Grind.

Damn! This is nothing like California. It is so freaking cold. We open at 7 and I get there a little before to set up the machines and make my coffee so I don't fall asleep. No one really comes in until 8 so I usually open by myself. I don't mind though. I just enjoy a cup of coffee and usually read a book. Ryan is the next one in at 9. He's my only friend besides Bailey.

I'm from Los Angeles but I just moved to London. I'm 21. My mom died in a car crash and my dad blamed me. I was in the car with my mom. She was going 100 miles an hour on an empty road but suddenly there were bright lights and loud honking. We crashed into a car. The driver had a few cuts and bruises like me but my mom died right away from the impact. My dad started beating me. He thinks that just because I was in the car with her that I could've saved her. She was driving too fast. I told her to stop but she insisted that no one uses that back road. I have a nasty scar on my stomach, right below my ribcage on my left side from when my dad stabbed me. I am really self conscious about it. After that, I knew I had to leave. My best friend, Bailey, moved to London when we were 16 years old. When I told her what happened, she wanted me to move in with her. I agreed because I didn't have anywhere else to go and I've always wanted to go to London. Anyway, I really missed Bailey.

I packed up a small suitcase and left that night. That's how I ended up here. Now I'm scared when I get in someone's car. I cannot even drive here. Everyone drives on the wrong side of the road and I just can't get the hang of it. I don't trust most people to get in their car because they could drive too fast. So I like walking.

Like I was saying, I arrived at the cafe at 6:45 and I made myself a cup of coffee as soon as I walked in. A hazelnut laté with almond milk. I am a vegan.

It's 7:10 and the bell dinged as someone opened the door. I looked up from my book, a little startled because no one comes in this early. A guy walks up towards the counter. He looks very intimidating. He's wearing a beanie under a hood. He has on a black sweater and black pants. Guess what colour his beanie is. Black. I could see a few curly locks sticking out of his hood. He has the greenest eyes I have ever seen. He makes me really nervous for some reason and I find myself wishing that Ryan would show up early. I was actually a bit scared. We were all alone and what if he has a gun or something? He looks like he is about to rob a bank. I tried to clear my head and nervously spoke, "Welcome to your daily grind. What would you like?"

"I would like for you to be my daily grind" he said and then winked at me. I stared at him a minute, confusedly. Then I gasped and my eyes went wide. I understood what he was hinting at! This guy is a creep.

"Oh. U-umm do y-y-you want a drink or a pastry?" I nervously stuttered out.

He chuckled. "I'm Harry. I'll have a large black coffee."

"O-ok. It'll be ready in a couple minutes."

"What's your name, doll?"

"Charlotte. Bu-but people call me Charlie." I walked to the side to get the stuff for his drink. I heard him say, "What a lovely name for a lovely lady." I don't think he wanted me to hear but I did. I can feel heat rushing to my cheeks and he's just making me uncomfortable. I'm not used to any kind of attention from guys. I've always been shy and invisible but thats what I like.