Morning Birds

02 ☼

Saturday
4:42 A.M.

Lark had her phone on her lap, Bug propped around her shoulders, and a cup of coffee in her hand. She was ready for the male intruder to stalk around her home. Lark put 911 on speed dial and made sure Bug was in a position that would easily irritate him when she moved.

Last morning wasn't really a good start to her day. At work, Lark ended up being a Debbie Downer and considering her workplace, that was a con. She apologized greatly to her boss and with this new burden on her shoulders, Lark was sure she wouldn't let this boy ruin her morning again.

This boy, however, also brought a lot of nasty thoughts to Lark's head. He could be some pedophile wanting to rape her, or a stalker that had a shrine dedicated to her. Lark knew her only defense was her scalding coffee and Bug's morning issues. Considering that he had the strength to hop her balcony, that defense wouldn't really work unless Lark bolted right out of there. Lark had her fair share of horror movies, but not enough exercising.

She sat still in the darkness, which was part of her plan to catch the boy. Lark would be able to face him toughly without the setback of seeing a cute boy, or at least that was what she thought.

But the real thing that picked her mind was that who would wake up at this time, too?

So Lark sat there with a serious face, waiting for the boy to creep into her flat. It wasn't too long until the noise startled her.

It was a blur of movement. Lark stood up and Bug flew off her shoulders, onto the invader, and following that was a splash of coffee thrown right at his chest. Her phone was caught up in the jumble of events and Lark couldn't find it in time until the boy shouted in pain.

"What the fudge!" He roared, and stumbled to the light switch behind him. The lights flicked on and Lark gawked at the boy.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," Lark pried Bug off of him. It wasn't very pretty prying off the cat.

"What was that for?" The boy asked, taking off his coffee stained shirt. Lark had to cover her eyes. She's never seen a boy take his shirt off in front of just her. It felt too private.

"Why were you coming into my house?" She snapped back, her eyes still covered.

She could tell the boy rolled his eyes at her, "That's not important."

"If you wanted some coffee you could have just asked."

"That's not why I'm here," He paused. "Why don't you open your eyes?"

"You're half naked," Lark replied.

"So? There's really nothing to look at."

Lark sighed and slowly removed her hands from her eyes. He wasn't kidding when he said there really wasn't anything to look at. Her imagination of a boy with abs and chiseled features instantly diminished when she saw the boy. There was no abs and especially no chiseled features. The boy just looked like a sad excuse for a boy.

"See? Nothing your eyes would be scarred about," The boy smiled. "I'm Finch."

"I can't trust an invader, but if you tell me why you're here, I'll oblige," Lark said. She knew he was probably in pain from the coffee and cat attack. If she kept him like this long enough, she could call the police...

"I was just trying to get to my home," Finch pointed across the balcony where he previously climbed up from.

"You're my neighbor? I thought you were some old person!"

"I'm pretty sure I'm still twenty two," Finch chuckled. "Now can you, um, help me?"

"Oh right," Lark bit her lip. There was cat scratches on his face and a big red spot on his light skin where the coffee hit him. "Let me help you with that."