Blue

Chapter 1

Blue

"Shit," Blue muttered, her feet slapping against the bustling downtown sidewalk.

Her headphones blared her favorite song on repeat, drowning out the city noise, but still she could hear the thrumming of her heart.

She was late...again. The fourth time that week to be exact-a record-and she could see the eye roll Timothy had stored up for their morning exchange.

"Fuck," she breathed as her smartwatch buzzed against her wrist. It informed  her she was most definitely late once again. She swiped the little notification away, glancing down at the time for a moment, feeling heat rise in her cheeks.

Only a couple minutes late. That's it, she tried to tell herself, glancing at her watch once more for a short second. A second long enough for her to collide with a firm wall. A firm wall with arms to catch her before she could hit the concrete walk.

The fleshy wall with arms unsurprisingly had a face too, one that had a look of concern or shock covering it's dark features, she wasn't quite sure which. Either way, she didn't have time to tell what the strange man's expression meant.

She had places to be.

"So sorry!" She pulled away from the stranger and continued her jog, fixing her headphones as she went. She could feel his eyes still on her as she continued on to the shop, but she didn't look back and the thought of him melted into her surroundings as if he never existed at all.

A couple minutes of jogging and a stabbing pain in her side brought her to her destination. Comets Comics was in full view. The bright red, yellow, and white sign hung up upon an old red brick building next to a cute pizza joint.

Blue checked the time, being careful of her surroundings that time and sighed. Eleven minutes late.

God, I'm the worst, she thought before pushing through the heavy wooden door.

"Fancy seeing you here," Timothy said the minute her headphones were off of her ears and the chiming of the comic shops door ceased.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. I don't know what's gotten into me." She stuffed her headphones into her checkered backpack and made her way around the stores counter.

"Whatever it is, it needs to get out of you," he said with a playful smirk. "Up late again?"

"Yes," she said with a huff, wiping sweat from her brow. She logged into the register before straightening her name badge and when she looked up from what she was doing she could see a hint of something in Timothy's eyes.

"What?" She asked, nervously touching the blue braid that dangled in front of her face.

"Is it because of..." he said, not finishing his sentence. No one ever could.

"No." She bit her lip and looked away from his questioning blue eyes. "Just can't sleep. Has anyone been in?"

"Yes and I'm sure in about thirty minutes there's going to be a negative two star coffee review." They both let out a small laugh and Timothy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "You know I actually can't run this place without you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said with a wave of a hand.

"It's true. I'll be your personal alarm clock if I have to." He almost touched Blue's shoulder, but pulled his hand away to tap his fingers on the counter instead. "This place needs a blue girl in it and it needs her here on time."

Blue knew Tim's words were his way of expressing his disappointment, though he was never good at being firm, and she knew she needed to do something about her new problem. A problem that was as perplexing to her as it was to those around her.

The remaining portion of the day was rather bland. There was the usual afternoon rush of caffeine addicted business people and the regulars who would stop by to sip a drink and look at a comic they'd never buy. Blue indulged in a coffee or two herself to replace the sleep she'd missed.

As she sipped a latte she walked around the quaint half cafe half comic shop, taking in the whimsical feel of it while she restocked some of the missing comics.

She straightened a popular comic with care and lightly touched a corresponding figurine with a fondness. It was popular for a reason she thought marveling only to be startled by a tap to the shoulder. She knocked her favorite figurine from the shelf with a flail of her arm before turning around to confront who she thought would be Timothy.

Timothy was nowhere to be seen, instead a tall dark curly haired man stood above her, his brown eyes intense and curious. Like a cat that had found it's first live prey.

She stood frozen in place, staring up at him, unsure of what to do. She should grab the figurine she'd dropped. She should look away.

Something.

Anything.

"Could I get a coffee?" he asked, his lip turning up at the corner in a friendly manner, but the intensity in his eyes remained.

" Y-yes. Of course."