~A/N~
Soooo here's the first chapter of Hero! I'm actually really nervous about this story, so even if you don't think it's any good be nice! Annndd if you do like it, please vote and comment! :D xx
*******
I sighed as I stood in the middle of a crowded hallway; there was no way in hell I could type in my best friend's number while walking. Whose idea was to give me a goddamn touchscreen phone for Christmas?!
I waited for a minute for Briana to pick up, becoming more impatient as seconds passed. What the hell was she doing, did she put her phone on vibrate? Again?!
Just when I was about to kick an opened door in front of me, the beeping stopped.
"Hello?" Briana said in a rushed tone.
"Briana, where the fuck are you?" I hissed as soon as she picked up.
"Well, good morning to you too," She answered sarcastically, and I rolled my eyes as I started walking down the hall again.
"It's almost two in the afternoon, and please, don't fuck with me, I'm gonna be late for work," I said, a little desperate, and heard Briana sigh.
"I am literally in front of the school. If you hurry up, I won't drive off." I widened my eyes at her last few words.
"You're here by car? Okay, okay, don't move, I'll be right there! I love you!" I exclaimed and hung up before she could say anything, and started running through the building. I was out in about 20 seconds, which was quite outstanding, considering the fact that I was on the second floor during our conversation.
"You're getting better at this. You know, running," Briana said, walking toward me, as I stopped jogging and leaned forward, gripping my thighs so I wouldn't fall. I was standing up straight in a matter of seconds though; I really didn't need to hear another 'You're fired' this month.
"How wouldn't I?" I said through a breath, meeting Briana halfway, and we started walking to her car.
"I work at freaking Holcomb's." Holcomb's is one of the most popular coffee shops in this area of Wolverhampton, and the crowd in that place between 2 and 4 o'clock has always been creepy. You couldn't afford having weak legs and not being able to run from one end of the bar to the other.
"Come on, I need you to drive me there," I said as I approached Briana's car.
"Only if I get hot chocolate on the house." She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I glared at her.
"I'm gonna give you white chocolate, just because you're blackmailing me," I said as I hopped into her small Opel, and she laughed.
"So, how was your day?" Bri asked as she sat next to me in the driver's seat, and started the engine. I sighed as I thought about the answer.
"Good, I guess. Except for the fact that my shift starts... In five freaking minutes," I said the last part a little whiney.
"Calm down, will you? You're always late for work, it shouldn't bother you anymore," Briana said, and if looks could kill, she would have been fried.
"Fuck you," I grumbled and leaned back into my seat.
"Love you too," She said, never taking her eyes off of the road, and I smiled. I loved our friendship, I could tell her literally anything and it wouldn't bother her one bit. Which was quite useful at times like that, when I was late for work. I couldn't handle arguments and she knew it.
"We're here, fireball," Briana said after a couple of minutes, and when I looked to my left, the huge sign saying Holcomb's started poking my eyes. I quickly got out of the blue vehicle, not waiting for Briana, and pretty much ran into the shop.
"I'm here, I'm here!" I threw my arm up in the air so Jesse, the son of the owners slash my co-worker could see me. As I walked closer to the counter, I saw him throw his rag on it and put his hands on his hips, looking at me disapprovingly. Here we go.
"Where the fuck were you?" I ignored him as I went to the stockroom to leave my school bag and coat there, and grab my apron.
"I really don't appreciate you acting like that." Jesse shook his head at me as I walked out, trying to blindly tie my apron from behind, and I rolled my eyes at him.
"Jess, relax, I'm right on time," I said, pointing to the clock behind us, which said it was exactly two o'clock. Ha.
"Whatever. Get to work," He said and continued wiping the counter. I nodded, though he didn't see me, and turned to see that there was already someone at the pay-desk. I rolled my eyes again when I noticed Briana there.
"One hot chocolate, coming right up," I said in the grumpiest voice I could muster, out of fun. I wasn't like that with other customers, I was a sweetheart!
"Yay!" Briana clapped, fake excited, and I breathed out a laugh as I took another couple of orders. Briana sat at the bar, between a girl from my English class and an Asian-looking girl, waiting for her order.
It was amazing how many people liked the place, even though it was owned by one of the most stuck-up families I've ever worked for. Nevertheless, my best friend had to wait a tad bit longer than usual for her hot chocolate, since I had to serve a few dozens of other people. But when I gave it to her, I stayed to observe the look on her face, and sure enough, her smile disappeared as she opened the paper cup.
"You actually gave me white chocolate, you little shit," She said, louder than needed, and the girls next to her gave me weird looks. Especially the girl on her left, as she stood up and walked to another table. Well, I guess she wouldn't be returning here.
I raised my eyebrows at Briana after the girl left, and she was looking at me apologetically slash panicked.
"Sorry! I love you!" She grinned as she hopped off of her stool, and left the shop. I sighed as I looked around, thankful Jesse wasn't there. We had to tolerate each other, but he never really liked me. So if he'd seen what had just happened, I'd be literally kicked out of the place.
An hour and a half later, the place finally wasn't as crowded as before, as less people started coming in, and not all of the tables were occupied. For the first time since I got out of Briana's car, I could sit down for a minute and stretch my legs.
"Oh God," I groaned as I curled my toes and rest my head against the wall behind me. I closed my eyes for a second and pretended I'm home in my warm bed, watching She's The Man or something, and not in the dump where I worked.
"Long day?" I snapped out of my day dream and leapt up as I heard a male voice.
"Yeah, uh, sorry. Did I not take your order?" I asked, a bit clumsily, as I leaned myself on the counter, and took a good look at the guy at the bar. Brown eyes, a buzz cut. He was somewhat familiar.
"Don't worry, I don't mind." He smiled at me and I forced a smile too.
"Whatever," I muttered. "What can I get you?"
"Um," The guy looked around for a second. "I'll have a latte."
I nodded and went to the coffee maker. For some reason, I noticed from the corner of my eye the guy at the bar looking at me. I don't know why, but someone watching me do my job made me feel kind of self conscious.
"Here you go," I smiled politely as I gave the boy his coffee, not really looking at him.
"Thanks. I'm Liam," He said, and for the first time I looked up at him, a little confused. He was a customer, why was he introducing himself to me?
"Okay?" I raised my eyebrows at him, and before he could say anything else, I took a rag and started wiping the counter, pretending I was busy.
"I know your last name is Dustin," Liam said a couple of minutes later, and it made me a little pissed off.
"Alright, who are you?" I asked harshly, leaning on the counter. To my surprise, he laughed.
"Relax, love. I'm in your Music class." Ah, well, that explains why I found him familiar.
I stared at him for another couple of seconds, before returning to work. I was a little embarrassed because of snapping at him like that, though I didn't want to show it.
"What's your name?" Liam asked again after another few minutes of silence, and when I peeked at him from under my eyelashes, I noticed he had barely touched his coffee. It was then that I realized he hadn't come here just so he could have a latte.
"Wouldn't you like to know," I mumbled, loud enough for him to hear, as I moved the bottled drinks around, to make some sort of an order in the fridge.
Liam chuckled. "Come on, it's not like I'm asking you for your credit card number." Okay, now I was feeling a little uncomfortable.
"Excuse me?" I cocked an eyebrow at him, and the smile on his face slowly disappeared.
"Sorry," He retorted, raising his hands up in the air a bit.
I rolled my eyes, making sure he doesn't notice, and continued finding anything to keep me busy while the Liam guy was there. Don't get me wrong, I liked talking to customers, as long as the conversation wouldn't get personal. Something like, "How was your day?" or, "How's your coffee?" was always acceptable, but I never talked about myself, even if it was just telling someone my name.
"You're really good at playing the guitar, you know." I sighed as I heard his blasted voice again after a minute, and was almost tempted to ask him to leave.
"Thanks," I said through another sigh, feeling a little tired after trying to keep myself as occupied as possible. I finally gave up and sat on the stool behind the bar, literally across from Liam.
"Ready to stop avoiding me?" He said, and I felt like I was blushing. He had a good eye for details.
"No, I'm not giving up." I smirked and Liam chuckled.
"And you're not gonna tell me your name either, are you?" I shook my head and cracked my knuckles, and he nodded, an amused smile on his face.
"I don't see how that matters," I muttered and got up as someone came in, cutting Liam off as he was about to say something.
"I'm just interested." He shrugged after the middle aged man went to sit at a table, and I looked at him for a second as I washed some mugs that were in the sink.
"Interested in knowing my name?" I noticed him nod from the corner of my eye, and when I looked at him again, he had a hopeful look in his eyes.
"How do I know you're not a serial killer who will track me down, kill me with a pocket knife and sell my organs over the Internet, if I tell you my name?" I asked in a calm and casual tone, and Liam laughed again. I'd never really talked like that with a customer before, but I couldn't miss out on the opportunity to do it now.
"Dunno, I guess you'll just have to trust me." I looked at Liam, to see him smirking at me.
"I'd rather not take that risk." I smirked back, and he rolled his eyes, genuinely frustrated with my answer a little. It was actually kind of fun.
"Alright, alright. My name is..." I narrowed my eyes at him as I wiped one of the glasses I'd just washed.
"... Nora," I said slowly, extending the o. He nodded with a small smile, and I could tell he knew I was lying.
"Your name is Nora as much as mine is Steak," Liam commented, and I glared at him sarcastically. He really wasn't going to give up.
"Well, nice to meet you... Steak." I smirked to myself and turned around so I could put the clean glasses back in the cupboard.
"I'm guessing that's how you'll be calling me from now on?" I heard Liam sipping his coffee loudly, the sound making me cringe. I think I might be allergic to that.
"Depends." I glanced at Liam as I turned around to pick up more glasses. "If you keep drinking your coffee like that and asking me what's my name, I will."
"Why is it such a big secret, anyway? We go to the same school," He said, making me a little pissed off again. Did he do this in every café he went to?
I looked around as if making sure no one could see or hear me, and slowly walked toward Liam. I leaned over the bar, and he seemed a little stunned by our sudden proximity, but didn't move at all.
"It's a secret because... Well, don't tell anyone, but..." I started, looking him straight in the eyes; the poor boy was holding his breath.
"I'm actually in the mafia, and my real last name is Gambino," I whispered dramatically. Liam blinked at me before realizing what I'd just said, and started laughing loudly.
"Oh my God," I heard him say through a laugh as I continued doing my job.
"Nora Gambino... Nice. You do look Italian," He said, the smile on his face audible as he spoke. I nodded so he could see, without saying anything. Surprisingly, he didn't say anything either during the next 5 minutes that he was there, and I was feeling relieved when he stood up.
"I'll see you tomorrow... Nora," Liam said as he smirked and I gave him another of my forced smiles.
"Sure, Liam," I said, not even looking at him as he paid for his latte, and finally left. Before he walked out, he looked over his shoulder to catch me looking at him, and I cursed myself when I noticed him smiling smugly. Dammit.