FrAcTuReD (Part One) (Completed continued in Part Two)

Chapter. 05 (Slight Edit)

"Alex? Why are you here?"

After she caught her breath Alex responded. "I figured it would have been stupid to let you walk home all by yourself. I know you said you'd be fine but I also figured you didn't know your way around and thought that maybe I could show you some of the town."

"Sure," she said but looked back down the road and wondered why someone stopped like that, normally back in the city when something like that happened it would be that a person was cursing at another person for trying to cross when they were trying to get somewhere but this...

This just felt creepy.

"Charla?"

She was then drawn back to reality and looked to Alex. "Well? What do you say? Want to look around town a bit before heading to your house?"

"I thought I already said I was fine with it?"

"You did but you seemed kind of out of it," she placed her hands on her hips. "Maybe it's not a good idea after all?"

"No!" Charla said quickly. "It's okay; I'd like to look around with you. My mind was just on other things. That's all."

"Alright cool, well I guess to start off; I should show you a bit of the shopping district. Oh, and there's the local mall, but that's pretty new, only been there for at least two, three years or so? I don't remember, and that burger place that came in year later. If you want we can head there instead." Alex grinned. "I bet you'd feel right at home there huh?"

"Actually if it's all the same with you, I'd rather check out the shopping district instead." Charla told her.

Alex looked slightly surprised. "Really? Are you sure?"

Charla nodded. "I am. I'm not one for big crowds or really popular places. Although I might go to that mall if they have a book store."

Alex folded her arms across her chest. "Well the mall doesn't have a bookstore but there's a local bookstore in the shopping district, they carry a verity of books, some even in different languages." Alex then noticed Charla's expression; she looked like a cat that spotted a bird. "You wanna go there?"

"Yes," was all she said in response and Alex laughed.

"Alright then, looks like we have a plan, and maybe along the way we'll stop off at my place if you're interested."

"Only if you want too," Charla said as the two then began to walk down the street.

As they walked Alex pointed out a number of shops and stores and a number of the owners all seemed to know Alex by name, calling out and saying hello, making slight small talk or joking that she shouldn't be skipping. Charla found it interesting how it seemed to be such a close-knit community where everyone knew practically anyone in this place, it almost felt jarring to see when comparing it to the city where barely anyone seemed to care about another person.

"...And here's the bookstore, the building's a little old but the place is still in good condition." Alex said as she opened the door to the store's interior as Charla followed. The smell of books then came to Charla's nose, as she looked to see wall to wall covered with shelves and books of a vast variety. Some she recognized others she didn't, but there was a type of charm with this type of place that she liked a lot. "Hey is anyone here?" Alex called out through the store and waited for a response, which was soon followed by some books falling.

"Yes," A woman called out from the back of the story. "Just a moment please." a moment or two passed and a woman that looked to be in her mid-thirties came out from the back, dressed in jeans and a plain white T-shirt. She had white smooth skin and dark brown eyes, long straight black hair that she held back in a ponytail with a clip. Even still some strands managed to fall out and rest along her cheek.