Warnings: Short Chapter (they get longer!)
Edited as of 04/25/2024
Time skip 2 weeks
Time in my new home seemed to pass me by in a horrendously boring blur of eat, work, sleep, repeat. It wasn't anything like what I had been hoping for when I had moved to the big city. Yes the change of scenery was wonderful, and the people were very eclectic and fun to watch, but I hadn't had a chance to go exploring yet. The feeling of being stuck in a rut, was causing me lots of frustration. Especially when every once in a while, I could feel one of my soulmarks tingle, heat up, or do both sensations at once. When that would happen, I would always make sure to drop whatever it was I had been doing and look around quickly. In the end, it didn't matter how quickly I surveyed my surroundings, I never saw anyone reacting to their own soulmark.
My day began simply. Every morning at exactly 4:30am on the dot, the alarm I had set on my phone would wake me up and tell me to get my ass out of bed by blaring Eye of the Tiger. It was important that I get up with my first alarm, or I wouldn't get up at all. One of the perks of waking up to this song is that it pumps you up for the day ahead. It was either this song or Asia's Heat of the Moment, but I only used that song on Tuesdays.
Is 4:30 too early to be up? Yes it is, but this way I would still have time to do my morning routine, before heading downstairs to do my daily manual labor, AKA work as a barista. As always, I would take a steaming hot shower and use my usual Aussie Volume shampoo and conditioner. It wasn't like my hair wasn't thick enough already I thought, but I loved how it gave my hair an extra bounce as I walked. And let's be honest, I really liked it for its name, and those cute commercials they used to do for it too.
Have you ever intentionally frozen yourself? I do. Every morning just to wake up. I enjoy the steaminess of the shower for as long as I can timewise, before turning the water all the way to the right so that the freezing cold water can shock me awake. After that unpleasant but necessary 30 seconds of Hell, I'd dry off with my mint green towel, not white, but mint green. My mom always had everything white around the house, and I hated it. She said it made everything match and go together, while I would much rather have a rainbow of colors surrounding me. Color makes life beautiful and worth living, without color we would be living in a sad gray world. I know some people are color blind and that's how they see the world, but color is everything to me. It's a mood. Food. How you coordinate things. Color is life balled up into one word.
Next on my agenda, was the beast that I call my hair. Don't get me wrong I love my dark blonde hair, but when it's wet? That's when it fights me back, and I don't even have curls, just slight waves! Anyone with long hair knows, that if you don't get all the conditioner out of your hair, or rub it into your hair just right, you'll regret it. Well this morning, it turns out, I regretted it. Quickly, I forced a brush through my hair, and pulled it up into a ponytail to air dry so I didn't have to use a hair dryer. Any time I did, I ended up looking like a poodle with mad cow disease. Never had I met anyone else who couldn't use a hair dryer on their hair, but alas I could not. Whenever I even tried my hair started to poof out and get staticky, while at the same time staying flat in some places. It wasn't a pretty sight, and so came the end of my relationship with hair dryers.
With my all black ensemble of black jeans, a black T-shirt, and black non-slip shoes with black socks, I was ready to head downstairs and start my day, all of this by 5:30.
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When I eventually made it downstairs there was already a whole laundry list of things that needed to be done. There was a long line forming at the till, fresh baked goods that need to go into the display case up front, a ton of tables that needed to be wiped down, and my manager/landlord Leon already looked like he was about to have a coronary. Leon was a nice man in his mid 40's who owned a few cafes around Midtown with his wife and Soulmate Julia. The day I moved in, they made me dinner, and promised to help me with anything I needed even though Julia was 4 months pregnant. She had a heart of gold, and when she found out that I was alone in the city, she made sure I had all of her contact information in case I ever needed anything. They were good people, and so I promised myself that I would help them in any way that I could.
Even though my shift wasn't supposed to start until 6:30 and I had planned on grabbing some tea and a muffin for breakfast, it looked like they really needed my help. Without wasting any time, I grabbed my apron and walked up to my boss man, before I firmly but gently took the tray of burnt baked goods out of his hands. They weren't salvageable by any means, and they needed to go in the trash ASAP before I fed them to the feral raccoon that lived behind the building. His name is Rocky, and he's my buddy.
"I'll remake these, why don't you grab a quick cup of coffee and sit down?" I made sure to say this in a no nonsense tone so he wouldn't question me. I may not have worked here long, but I worked long and hard, even on my days off. The end result of that, was that I had learned everything I possibly could about his business, and could run the shop with my eyes closed if need be.
"Do you even know what those are?" He asked me skeptically as he followed me into the kitchen. I watched him as he raked a hand through his black hair in frustration. It wasn't directed at me by any means, but by how badly his morning had been going so far.
"Of course I do! Who do you think you're talking to? These are obviously our triple chocolate muffins. I get one, or five, everyday!" I laughed as I threw the burnt food into the trash. "Now go and sit for a minute., you look like you need the rest. I'll remake these and whatever else we are out of, and when I'm done I'll work the counter with whoever comes in."
With a resigned nod and a relieved smile on his face, he did as I said and went to have some coffee. That man needed a break every now and again, especially since he was overworked, under-staffed, and dealing with a very hormonal pregnant wife whenever he wasn't at the cafe. With a sigh, I got to work redoing what had been messed up earlier. I thanked every deity I knew of, and some that I didn't, that I loved both cooking and baking, and was good at it. With practiced hands, I mixed and measured all of the different ingredients until I had not only finished the Triple Chocolate muffins, but also our Multigrain Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, and Razzleberry Muffins. Once those were in the oven and the timer had been set, I decided that I had done enough for now. We had enough to get through our morning rush, the rest could wait until later. Leon did have a Baker on his payroll after all, and it was still his job to do the baking. I was just helping him get caught up.
As soon as the last timer went off, I took the different trays up front, one by one so as not to drop anything, before I began loading up our display case with all of the delicious smelling goodies I had just made. By now my stomach was rumbling in discontent, and my mouth was watering from the look and smell of these delicious looking treats. All I wanted to do was snatch up a muffin or pastry, and run to a corner to devour my treasure. I had a Triple Chocolate Muffin in my hand and I was ready to make a break for it figuratively speaking, when I heard the bell above the door ring.
I'd lost track of time as I was baking, but the line was down to nonexistent at the moment, and whoever my coworker was, wasn't anywhere in sight. With a sigh, I sadly put back the delicious piece of heavenly chocolate goodness, and walked up to the register to meet the tall gorgeous red head who had just walked in. That beautiful muffin would be mine later, right now I had a job to do.
"Good morning, how can I help you today?" I asked the woman with a smile on my face. I waited for her to place an order with me so that I could get her rung up in the computer, but there was no response. Only silence. Worried that she might be having a medical emergency or something similar, I leaned a little closer to her over the counter and repeated my question.
"Good morning ma'am, how can I help you today?" This was said louder than the first time, but no less polite. She hadn't done anything rude to me to warrant me being firm with her. The sound of my voice must have snapped her back to reality, because she let out a quiet startled sounding laugh and looked me in the eyes as she told me her order. Though it didn't escape my notice how her wide eyes kept glancing down to stare at the marks on my arm. Hopefully she would stay polite, and not become rude now that she knew how different from your everyday person I was.
"Yes. Can I have a large coffee with two creams and two sugars please, and what would you recommend as something to eat?" She asked me as she watched me move around behind the counter as I fixed her coffee to her liking.
"Well the Razzleberry muffins are delicious if you want something fruity, but if you were going for something decadent, then the Triple Chocolate Muffin is definitely for you. Though I've found they also taste surprisingly good together. The berry's and the chocolate compliment each other wonderfully." I said with a large smile as I set the coffee down. "And as a bonus, they all just came out of the oven so they are fresh baked." I gestured to the case with my hands making her smile get bigger.
"I was hoping you'd sell me one treat, not two!" She laughed, "but I'll take one of each of the muffins you told me about. I can't decide, and they both sound delicious."
"You won't regret it! Just give me a moment, and I'll get you all ready to go." I told her as I punched her total into the cash register. Our prices were extremely reasonable in my opinion, and not over priced because you were in the city. Plus, under $10 for 2 fresh baked muffins and a coffee? You'd be an Idiot to pass that offer up. With a smile sent her way, I took the 20 dollar bill she handed me and gave her back her change. Smoothly I walked over to our display case to get her muffins, When I noticed that the business lady had grabbed her coffee, and was now standing in front of the case watching my every move. This wasn't altogether uncommon, so I paid her no mind until she began to speak.
"I don't mean to pry, but I noticed that you have three soulmarks on your arm." I didn't respond to her statement, because that's what it was. A statement, not a question. Now I was just waiting for the usual teasing, taunting, and name calling to begin. "It's just that I know three people who share the same soulmark, and I believe that I know the man that that red rose belongs to quite well."
"Wait what?!?" I said in complete shock, as I stood and looked at her in disbelief. If I hadn't given myself a quick reality check because of where we were, her muffins would have met an untimely demise. Now was not the time to let my emotions get the better of me, especially since we were in public. With a deep breath, I quickly set her baked goods down, and went around the counter so that I could be standing closer to her.
She was looking at me with a huge grin, and happiness rated out of her at the bomb she had just dropped on me. Her simple words of " they're been looking for you," was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard.
"I've been looking for them." A simple statement, but true. It was one that revealed my emotions down to my very core, as my hands began to shake lightly.
"My name is Virginia Potts, but my friends call me Pepper." She smiled warmly at me as we shook the others hand.
"My name is Stella Monroe. You can call me Stella, because I don't have any friends, or a cool nickname like you," I said as I tried to calm my racing heart down. Good Lord, I really need to learn how to filter my thoughts.
"Well Stella, how about I meet you here after your shift tonight, and I can introduce you to your Soulmates? If that's acceptable to you, and you don't have any prior engagements of course?" She asked me as we both stepped to the side, so that my lazy ass coworker who'd just arrived three hours late could take over helping the other customers. This way my conversation with Pepper could continue, and we'd be out of the line of fire of angry caffeine addicts who were waiting for their fix.
"Nope! No plans and nothing going on, so that works for me. But how can I know you're telling the truth? Or trust you? You could be a Serial Killer who prays on innocent barista's for all I know. No offense of course! I hope you understand, but we did just meet." I spoke skeptically. If she was telling the truth, I'd bake her muffins whenever she wanted, but If it was a lie? Well I don't want to end up dead in a ditch, so safety first and all that.
"It's no problem. I'd be skeptical as well if I was in your shoes. I promise I'm not a Serial Killer if that helps you come to a decision, however you'll just have to take a leap of faith on this one. I promise you, that you won't regret it. Even if it turns out I'm wrong and the man I'm thinking of isn't your soulmate, you'll still get to tour an amazing building. What do you say?" She waited patiently for my reply, but I only had one thought on my mind. What did I have to lose?
"Which building?" I asked her curiously. I would be sure to let Leon and Julia know where I was going tonight, just to be on the safe side.
With a sly grin she looked at me and said, "Avengers tower of course. How else are you going to meet the owner of the red rose? Tony has been going crazy trying to find the Gold to his Red for ages."
"I'm sorry Tony?" I was officially confused. Who was Tony supposed to be?
"I apologize, to me he has always been Tony, but others recognise him by his full name. Tony Stark."
A/N: YOU are the MUSES that INSPIRE ME
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