I Know You

Ch.8 - Flint

I took my drink from him, smiling at the heat coming from the cup. "Thanks. What do I owe you?"

"My treat. If you like it, try something else next time you're around."

I nodded. Is this Lance barista someone that you've had a relationship with in the past? He seemed awfully interested in your love life. I laughed to myself, blowing on my drink before taking a sip. "It's good. Not too hot, but not frozen by the time you get it. They do good work here."

"Lance is awesome. I've known him for a long time. Went to school with him. Come on, there's a table at the back."

I nodded and followed him, coming up with a few questions for Hadley. Like how open he was about being gay. He sat down and leaned back.

"So, where do we start?"

"How about getting to know each other better? So far I only know you shift, your name is Hadley, and you're gay."

"Which is about the same amount of information I know about you, though I can't help but notice you omit the fighting information."

"Doesn't count. That's not something we are, it's something we do."

"Fair enough. You first or me?"

"Share what you want and I'll share the same information."

He nodded, taking a sip of his drink. "Alright." He paused thinking as he tapped on his cup. "I'm 26 years old, live on my own, have a close relationship with my sister but not creepy over protective sibling close, single for longer than I care to admit. As far as profession I'm a personal trainer so that's part of why I keep up to date the way I do at the gym. You can't train someone else if you don't understand the equipment or use it yourself. That's my theory and policy. Parents talk to me basically only on holidays so my sister updates me on them and updates them on me if there's something they want to ask. In the beginning they would ask about once a month if I was over 'that whole being gay thing' so I try to keep conversations with them short. Decent family relationships otherwise." He paused, taking a drink. "Your turn."

I took a deep breath, staring at my hot chocolate. "I'm 23, live with a group of people like us who don't know my orientation but probably suspect it. No family to speak of. Suffice to say I grew up on my own in streets doing what I could, but managed to stay away from drugs and all that until the group leader found me and I kind of regret that more than anything else in the world. Single and while I don't like it I also don't hate it so you could say I tolerate it. Pretty much all there is to know about me. The fighting I do and the jobs I had in my past are what I've made to live off of. Not bad for where I came from."

We sat there and talked, sharing little details about our own fights at the gym and we talked about training. Until my phone rang. I pulled it out, but didn't need to because I knew who was calling. "It's Demeter. He's the one who leads the group."

Hadley looked worried. "Is everything alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, everything's fine. He just calls me if I'm gone 'too long' or he feels like I should be at the home. Just stupid little stuff like that, y'know?"

Hadley finished off his drink and stared at it for a minute while I silenced my phone. "Sounds like someone who wants you around."

"I'm the last person he wants around. Believe me. I'm one of the only people who can stand up to him and not be afraid of what will happen. The others... I'm not so sure."

"So I guess this is it."

"What do you mean?" Are you telling me to leave? That you don't want me here anymore? You never want to see me again?