Just An Ordinary Girl ~A Johnny Depp Story~

It All Began Fairly Quickly

I sighed, examining my nails as Lucy clattered the washing up into the bowl behind me. I'd been at work for a couple of hours now in the little cafe, and it had been uneventful and dull, as usual.

"This is so boring!" I moaned. "How much longer is my shift? I want to go home and lounge on my sofa, in front of my T.V. and watch Will and Grace!" I sighed.

"You're lucky," came Lucy's muffled reply as she called to me from the kitchen. "I still have three hours! You only have half an hour!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't mean it's not going to be dull! I don't even remember our last customer today," I said grumpily, running my fingertip around the rim of a mug absentmindedly.

"Well like I said, you're in luck," she smiled, poking her head around the door, a couple of soap suds in her fair curtain of hair. She nodded behind me, "Here comes someone now."

I looked up, intrigued as she returned to the washing up, and straightened down my hair and clothes quickly, pushed the mug to the side and tried to look composed as a tallish man entered, letting the door swing shut quietly behind him. He was wearing a black beanie hat, and there were strands of brown hair poking out from underneath, falling down in front of his dark sunglasses, that he hadn't bothered to sweep back. Something in his mannerisms, and indeed just the way he moved was somewhat familiar, though I couldn't see his face properly; he was keeping his head firmly lowered, eyes focused on the blue-gray tiles of the cafe floor behind their flashy-looking glasses.

"Hey," I smiled slightly curiously, waiting for him to raise his face to mine in response. To my disappointment, he did not oblige me.

"Hi," he replied distractedly, glancing around and sitting down on a stool at the counter in front of me. "Busy day, huh?" he joked and I saw a glint of a gold tooth between the pearly white ones in his mouth as he grinned.

"Ha ha, a comedian," I said sarcastically, smiling in spite of myself. "So...what can I get you today?" I asked, deciding that I should at least try and act a little professional with one of our only customers of the day.

"Um...I'll just have a black coffee," the guy mumbled, in the same soft, oddly lowered tones. He paused.

"Uh...can I ask; do many people come here on weekdays?" He asked, and I frowned. What kind of question was that?

"Uh...not...really," I replied hesitantly, a frown still etched on my face as I realized the customer still had not raised his head. Yet I again felt an odd stab of recognition.

"Great," he mumbled almost gratefully, before raising several ringed fingers to his forehead and pulling off his hat to reveal a brown tousled mop of hair. I gave a sharp intake of breath as he pulled off his sunglasses and finally turned his face upwards to mine. He had dark brown eyes with long, thick lashes, almost femininely high cheekbones, bronzed skin, and an even spread of stubble across his defined jawline. And now I knew immediately why I had recognized him; too many times in the past had I been forced to listen to Lucy sighing deeply whilst watching him onscreen. If I wasn't very much mistaken, I was face to face with Johnny Depp.

He stared coolly back at me, his eyes flickering over my features as though he found me just as surprising and intriguing as I did him, and then finally locked onto my gray eyes.

"I'll just...get your coffee," I muttered incoherently, and slipped into the kitchen, shaking my head disbelievingly. Lucy looked up at me, registering the frown on my face.

"What's up, honey?" She asked, scrubbing at a cup. It had been a long time since the dishwasher had last worked without smashing all of the cups into dust with a strange, deafening whirring sound, so, despite our irritated protests, we'd had to do everything by hand for the last couple of months.

I paused and then grinned, choosing my words with difficulty. "That...that guy you like, Johnny Depp...he's...well, he's sort of sitting in our cafe," I mumbled. She rolled her eyes at me, laughing, looking half despairing, half concerned for my sanity.

"Sure. Oh, and by the way, I'm actually Britney Spears. Hey," She replied sarcastically.

"Well then," I said, snatching the cloth from her hand and seizing her by the shoulders. "Why don't you take a look, Brit?" I asked, pushing her over to the doorway. She shot me one last reproachful glare before peeking out skeptically, and a second later I had to slap a hand over her mouth to smother her high-pitched squeal. After a couple of moments she calmed down and then, shaking her head, dazed, asked, "What the heck is he doing here of all places?"

I thought for a moment and then snapped my fingers. "That 'Pirates of the Caribbean' premiere! It was last weekend, right here in London! That's why he's here!"

Lucy sighed. "No, you ditz! I mean what's he doing here in our tiny little cafe when he could be somewhere...I dunno, glamorous? This is hardly 'The Ritz'!" She mumbled, frowning slightly.

"Uh...maybe he just wants a drink and doesn't want to be surrounded by fangirls like you?" I shrugged, and she stuck her tongue out at me, wounded. "Speaking of which, I'm meant to be getting his drink right now," I gasped and grabbed a cup, filling it with coffee from a machine. I was about to go when Lucy grabbed my arm.

"You've got to get his autograph for me!" She said excitedly, blushing slightly. I rolled my eyes.

"Mmm, Lu, you really are the epitome of cool, aren't you?" I mumbled and pushed open the door. The cafe was still utterly empty, apart from Johnny. His eyes flitted up from the newspaper he was gazing at as I approached. I glanced at it, and my eyes lingered on the page. There, on a two-page spread were pictures of himself and a woman, together on some tropical beach...Vanessa Paradis, if I wasn't much mistaken, the woman Lucy had mournfully informed me he was dating, walking along the beach smiling and holding hands splashed all over it.

"You look really happy," I said slowly, stating the obvious. Johnny looked up at me with interest, and then turned his dark gaze back on the page spread out in front of him.

"Yeah...yeah, we do," he mumbled vaguely as I placed his coffee down in front of him, smiling shyly. He smiled back at me, the corners of his lips curving very slowly upwards.

"Thanks," he said softly.

"Um...that's okay," I replied awkwardly, before clenching my hand into a fist in humiliation.

"Uh...do...do you think you could do an autograph for my friend?" I asked, feeling like a complete idiot. He merely laughed.

"Sorry," I blushed. "She's too shy to come out here and ask, so she sent me instead." I explained, my cheeks still fiery red.

"That's alright," Johnny nodded in understanding, still smiling slightly. "Do you have anything to write on?" He asked, glancing around.

"Just napkins," I grinned, passing him one of the peach-colored serviettes. He examined it with a smile of amusement.

"Attractive color," He grinned, causing me to laugh in shame. "And what's your friend's name?" He asked, now lowering his head and writing a message onto it.

"Lucy," I replied, watching him as he scribbled. Well, Lucy was her name. I'm going to kill her after this for putting me through this shameful display...

I noticed him pause suddenly, the scratching of his pen ceasing temporarily, yet didn't look up.

"And...what's your name?" He asked, eyes fixed on the napkin.

"Alice Cross," I told him hesitantly. There was silence until he had finished what he was writing, and he pushed it across the counter towards me and took a last sip of coffee before getting up. He smiled again, his brown eyes meeting mine.

"I'll remember it...Alice," he said, and, turning on his heel, left the cafe without a backwards glance, slipping out of the door and leaving me frowning after him, the napkin clutched carefully in my hand.