The Bond

Miles of Comfort

I stood in front of my school facing the road indecisively.  On the one hand I could go home and risk facing Liam, but after my talk with Dakota I just felt the need to be alone and process my thoughts.  On the other hand I could hang out at Mocha Mama where I could bump into Liam...which put me at the same issue.  Emmie's house was a no go, and Dakota was otherwise occupied.  If I went to a park I would have nowhere to hide if an attack happened and I didn't have a car to drive aimlessly in.  I combed my fingers through my coarse dark hair to smooth it before making my choice.

The walk wasn't as long from my school as it had been from my house, but it was still a bit of a distance by foot.  I took the time to relish the familiar comfort of my feet repetitively hitting the pavement of the sidewalk. They say sound is made from vibrations, so whenever I walked or ran, it was the closest thing I could imagine sound to be like as the impact sang though my body.  On my way I could feel the stretching burn from my exertion yesterday and welcomed the sensation.  It was these little things that I found some relief in.

I was heading to the diner I had found in my turmoil last night even though I figured I'd never go there again.  It just felt right to seek shelter there for whatever reason.  I figured I could order something small to be polite and do my homework at a booth in peace.

In the daytime the diner didn't assert itself so distinctly amongst the other businesses, but as soon as I turned the corner my eyes still found it without fail.  It was funny, because the area being so close to my house was familiar, but I had never noticed the diner tucked in between the other busisness.  I thought seeing it again might bring back that feeling of hopelessness, but instead I felt a sort of calming relief.  It was almost as if this place was my secret, which was ridiculous considering it was very obviously a public diner for anyone to frequent.

I pushed through the entrance as the bell once again flashed my arrival to the employees.  The diner was much more populated in the middle of the day, but the atmosphere was still somehow the same.  There were still plenty of places to sit as I took in my options and with a little jolt of surpise I recognized a familiar shock of blonde hair and long burgundy locks.

The couple from last night was seated at the far end of the bar encompassed in an air of privacy amongst the other patrons.  Momentarily I felt a sense of awkwardness since the guy clearly caught me watching them last time, but I shook it off and squared my shoulders.  It had been a small thing and I doubted they would even register me.  I was being overly sensitive.

Just before I took my first step towards a booth in a back corner, the girl turned in a whirl off the barstool and stalked my way.  I stood frozen for a moment as our eyes met and I saw the high flush of color on her heart-shaped face.  Her expression was screwed up in a fit of pique.  She breezed past me and pushed the door to the outside roughly open before disappearing down the street.

I looked back to the blonde guy.  He was rubbing a large hand down his face with a cast of defeat to his shoulders.  Not really sure of the reason myself, I felt my feet take me to a barstool two down from his.  Without looking at him, I dropped my bag on the floor and picked up the menu pretending to consider it.  What I was really doing was watching him out of the peripheral of my eye without appearing to.

I saw him become aware of me as he looked in my direction and to my surprise he got up and came towards me.  I looked up at him uncertainly when he perched on the stool next to me and smiled brightly.  He was handsome, like super handsome.  His eyes were sky blue fringed in golden lashes set in a lightly tanned, angular face.  His smile was large and impish, softening what could easily be an intimidatingly beautiful face with a soft friendly light.  I stared at him dumbfounded before a blush crept up on my face.  He was expecting a response to something he signed that I was too struck to absorb.