This Chapter is dedicated to xSnowKiss because she was the author of one of the first fanfictions I've ever read and she is so insanely talented! Be sure to check her out.
The sun was just beginning to rise, still very low on the horizon. My watch told me the time was only 7:15, but I knew the sun would make itself present soon enough. The slight breeze felt good against my bare legs and I couldn't help but smile at the cotton candy colored sky; if I wasn't so eager to explore I would have gone to get my art materials and painted right then and there. I took a few more seconds to indulge in the beauty of it all before walking the short distance to the bus stop. I always been very fascinated with public transportation. You were surrounded by people who all had stories and experiences and fears; it's amazing to think about how all our lives are intertwined even for just minutes at a time. Or maybe I loved buses and things like them because my mother and father had met on one, fell instantly in love, and married three months later. Their love story was a unique one, one I had admired since I first heard it.
The bus pulled up and came to a halt in front of the stop. The doors opened with a creak and a large woman with a bright smile and big brown hair sat behind the wheel. "Goooood mornin' darlin', hop right on. I gotta tight schedule today." Her accent was American, no doubt about it.
I reciprocated her warm smile and handed her the money. "Where ya headed?" she questioned as she shut the doors and put the bus into gear.
"Just into the city." I replied.
"I can getcha there. Go ahead and take a seat, not too far back though, bathroom hasn't been doin' so hot lately." I scrunched my nose at the thought and took her advice, choosing a seat beside the window three rows back. There were maybe 15 others on the bus, all of whom seemed to be wearing work clothing, reminding me of how desperately I was going to need a job once the money my parents gave me for month one of university ran out.
I enjoyed watching the scenery change as we drove. Roads became smoother, trees were replaced with buildings, houses with offices, grass with concrete. Although I love nature, the city is something I was also interested in. There's more life in one block here than my whole hometown it seems like.
After about twenty minutes including all stops, we reached the downtown area so I threw my bag over my shoulder, thanked the nice driver, and stepped out onto the cobblestone sidewalk. To be honest I had no idea where to start. There were shops and stores and little cafes of every kind lining the streets. I supposed I should start somewhere to look for a new purse.
I began walking slowly, carefully memorizing every part of the street so I could recreate it on canvas later. I peered into the windows of every store I passed until I found the most perfect vintage resale shop on the whole earth. The store was called Nebula, and had gorgeous vintage pieces on display in the window. When I stepped inside the smell of old leather and vanilla surrounded me while the Arctic Monkeys played softly over the speakers. The place looked messy but I could tell it was just organized chaos. Anything you could imagine sat on the shelves or hung on the walls, from guitars to humongous hats to a huge jukebox in the corner. I was in love with it all.
A middle aged woman with short blonde hair approached me, carrying a whole armful of clothing that looked like it would fall out of her hands at any second. "Can I help you with anything?" She chirped.
"Oh, I'm just looking. But you wouldn't happen to have any purses or bags somewhere in here would you?" I said.
"Actually we do, I'll show you right when I can set these clothes down. Give me just a second," She answered, inching slowly towards the racks of hangers in the front corner. She threw the clothes right on the floor and sighed exasperatedly, then turned with her hands on her hips and a smile on her face. "Follow me,"
I walked behind the short woman who turned around and told me that she was called Colette. She showed me to the section of the store where tons of bags hung on hooks and sat on shelves. I thanked her and she told me to call for her if I needed anything, to which I replied a very grateful "Thank you."
I picked up a couple of over-the-shoulder bags until I found a faded blue one that bore a pocket with a colorful flower on the front. I found it quite fitting. After I'd found the bag, I decided to kill some time and look around the old second-hand shop. I migrated towards the jewelry section where a middle-aged man sat behind the counter reading a book. I peered into the glass that was lit up to make the cheap bracelets, necklaces, and earrings look like treasure. My eyes stopped on a ring with a dark red stone in the middle with a silver band.
"S'cuse me, sir?" I said, and the man looked up at me for the first time. "How much for the red one right there?"
He sat his book down, folding the page he was on. My eyes scanned over the title which read The Trial. The man peered down through his glasses and through the glass at the ring I was pointing to. "Ah, that one's a beaut." the man said in a deep, American accent. "Well, normally I'd price it around 20 quid, but for a pretty lady like you, I'd knock it down to about 15."
Before I could respond, Colette walked up to him and smacked him in the back of the head. "Don't embarrass the poor girl, Ray! Look, you've got her all red."
"Well, she wouldn't be turning even more red if you didn't point it out!" he nearly shrieked.
"Well, if I don't call you out on being a weirdo, no one will!" she argued.
"No, that's okay. Uh, Thank you, and I'll take it." I grinned at them, despite the fact that I could feel my skin burning.
"All right, is that all? You can go look around some more if you'd like. I'll hold this up here for you." Ray told me, giving Colette a 'See, I told you.' look. I shook my head.
"Okay, I'll ring you up at the register." Colette said, and I gave Ray a smile before following her in the direction to check out. "You a new Hallow's student?" Colette asked over her shoulder.
"Uh, yes." I answered.
"You're up early for a University student."
"Early riser." I replied, "Plus, I wanted to get a good look at the city alone."
"What'cha majoring in?" she asked.
"I'm studying to be an artist."
"Very cool. I used to do pottery a lot when I was younger. Then I married that geezer in the back and it became one of those things I did whenever I was really stressed to calm myself down." Colette talked as she rounded the counter and then made her way in front of me.
"I quite like pottery. You're right, very calming." I nodded as she scanned my things. Then an idea popped into my head and I blurted it out before I even thought about it. "Are you hiring, by chance?" Colette looked up and peered at me through surprised eyes. "You want to work here?"
"Well, I find it really nice here and it's really the first place I've felt comfortable and at ease since I left home and I would like to work her very much."
"What's your name, doll?" Colette asked me with a raise of her eyebrow.
"Jenson Arlington." I answered confidently.
"Hm. How old are you?"
"I turned eighteen in May."
"Pardon my french, but why the hell do you want to work in an old second-hand store?"
"Well this place has character. It's comfortable. You and Ray seem nice. I need a job to put on applications and because my parents are only giving me enough money to get by. I'd like to make some of my own. Plus I have too much free time. And I'm not exactly a very normal eighteen year old girl." I gulped under Colette's intimidating stare after I explained myself. Her eyes scanned my face for a moment and then they cut to behind me.
"Ray, get up here!" she shouted towards the back of the store.
"I'm comin'!" Ray shouted back, and we stood in silence until he came to stand next to me. "What is it?"
"This is Jenson. She works here now." Colette said, and a smile lit up my face as I turned to Ray. He simply shrugged. "Jenson, this is Ray, my husband of twenty-two glorious years. We have a daughter who works here after school two days a week, as well. If you email me your class schedule, I can come up with some times for you to work, okay?"
"You're not going to interview me?" I asked.
"You seem moderately sane, and if you need the money I can always use another person." Colette shrugged. "Now, would you like me to finish checking you out?"
I nodded, a happy grin plastered on my face.
Within the next hour and a half, I learned a lot about Nebula and its colorful owners. Colette, Ray and their now fourteen year-old daughter, Macy, were all from Boston, Massachusetts. They moved to London when Macy was born because Colette and Ray had visited when they were dating and they decided that if they ever had a child, they would raise him or her in London, just because.
I observed Ray and Colette's banter, which consisted of them arguing with one another over stupid things. They told me I'd get used to it, to which I nodded and laughed. The store was complicated, yet not complicated at the same time. My job was to do whatever needed to be done at the time and to help someone if they needed it. Colette told me that I would get to work up at the register after she got to know me a little better, which I completely understood.
I picked the bag that held my purse and ring up off the front counter where I'd sat it so Colette could show me the ropes.
"Thank you so much, for everything." I grinned at Colette as I turned to tell her goodbye. She smiled and pulled me into a very motherly hug, telling me I was very welcome. I checked my watch that read 11 a.m. "You wouldn't happen to know where a good place to get a cuppa, would you?"
"Actually, there's a cool little book store and coffee shop up on the hill. They make the best tea." Ray said, coming out from his office behind the front counter.
"Thank you guys, I'll see you Tuesday!" I smiled at them before stepping back outside. I walked down the direction that Ray had flicked his head towards when telling me about the place, and I found it in mere minutes. I walked in, a bell ringing as I opened the door. The smell of coffee and books flooded my nose and I sighed in content.
"Welcome to Romeo's!" a voice called from the back, past a few tables and shelves of books. I walked down the main aisle and reached the back, where there was a counter and a menu. A guy stood behind the counter, facing the other way as he changed a coffee filter. He wore a gray, long sleeved shirt, and black skinny jeans and a black beanie on his head, a green apron tied around his waist and behind his neck.
"What can I get you?" he asked, not turning around.
I examined the menu above our heads for a moment before replying, "Just some green tea, please. A medium."
He nodded, then popped the top back on the coffee maker before turning around. We both gasped.
"Are you following me?" Harry asked in all seriousness, no trace of attitude in him.
"No!" I barked out in a laugh.
"Oh. Well how did you find me then? No one from Uni has ever been here, and then someone I've known for what, a couple of days, just so happens to come into my work?"
"I just got a job down the block at Nebula and the owner told me that this place had the best tea around." I shrugged.
"Nebula? That old thrift store?" Harry asked with furrowed brows.
"Yep." I nodded.
Harry stared at me with that same look like he was confused and trying to figure something out until I felt really awkward and small under his gaze. I clicked my tongue and he seemed to come back to earth. "So, um, a green tea?"
"Right." he gave me a nod.
Harry turned on his heel and started making the tea, and I decided this would be a good time to take in my surroundings. I looked around, noticing how cool the place looked. Much like Nebula it had that vintage feel to it, and I was positive the building was really old. There some wooden stairs that were painted different colors all the way up to the left, which made me curious.
"Is the store two levels?"
"Yes, it is. The uh... sitting room is upstairs. There's mainly like poetry and plays and stuff up there. Nice view." Harry's deep accent replied slowly. He seemed to concentrate and mull over every word before he spoke it. I looked over to his backwards facing figure as he made my tea. The Harry I'd met twice didn't seem like the type to work in a coffee shop. Although, he hadn't been rude or arrogant once to me yet, which was nice.
A beep went off, and Harry turned with a paper coffee cup with a lid sealed on top. He picked up the little piece of cardboard that kept you from burning your hand, and stuck a sticker on it that read 'Romeo's' in big letters, and in smaller letters underneath 'Books and Coffee since 1935'. I smiled and Harry turned to the old fashioned register that sat atop the granite counter.
"Two pounds." Harry said, and I placed the money in his hand. He handed me a receipt and I smiled gratefully at him. All traces of the nightmare were gone.
"Thanks. I think I'm gonna go take a look upstairs, if that's alright." I said motioning to the stairs.
"Oh, um, okay. Just let me go unlock the door, haven't had many people in today." Harry opened the mini door on the side of the counter, his incredibly long legs leading him to the stairs which he took two at a time. I followed him carefully and studied the stairs as I went. I heard him drop the keys and curse quietly.
"I guess beer isn't the only thing you drop," I said with a smirk.
"I guess you're very good at holding grudges then, huh?" he replied, looking at me over his shoulder.
"Not usually. Maybe you just really pissed me off,"
He finally got the door unlocked, which creaked loudly as it swayed open. "Here ya go," He said with a sweep of his hand.
I moved past him on the narrow stair case and stepped into the room. I unconsciously muttered, "Wow, this is amazing," One of the four walls contained ceiling to floor window panes, welcoming the light and allowing you to see the amazing view of the city. Since the shop sat on the top of the hill, it was higher up than even some of the taller buildings, I could even see some green in the distance. I spun around the look at the rest of the room. The next wall contained a book shelf that reached to the top of the room; colorful books filled every shelf, some so stuffed they sagged in the middle. Wooden paneling covered the other two walls and various posters of bands or popular books and pieces of scrawled on notebook paper hung from tacks. Small tables and mismatched chairs were scattered around the room, even bean bags and one faded brown recliner sat in the corner. I was immediately in love. I could see myself coming here to paint or maybe even write. It was perfect.
"This is incredible," I said turning to face Harry. He smiled lightly and pushed the hair back from his forehead.
"Yeah it's cool, huh?"
"Cool is an understatement," I laughed.
"I reall--" Harry began but was interrupted by a voice from downstairs.
"HARRY! You aren't supposed to leave the register, boy!" A woman shouted.
"Damn, gotta go, enjoy," He said hurriedly before turning to the stairs.
I stayed in the beautiful room admiring it all for about thirty minutes before hearing stomach growl, scolding me for only having this tea all day. I decided I should return to the dorms and eat my meal there. I picked up my new bag and slowly made my way back down the stairs.
"Bye, thanks again. I'll see you." I said to Harry, turning to venture out of the store. He replied with a simple head nod and continued stirring the coffee in front of him.
"Hey, Jenson!" Harry called through the store when I was almost to the door. I turned back to face him, my eyebrows scrunched in confusion. I saw Harry's smug smirk for the first time that day as my eyes connected with his.
"Yes?"
"I like your new bag."
///
author's note: this is my favorite chapter so far I hope you all like it ;) Annabel and I are very excited to be writing this story, please feel free to comment and vote! also, make sure you're checking out the side panel every chapter, we try to put a gif or picture with each one! Also check out the cast list! -Skylar