Meredith had always known about magic. Her family was magic, one of the most powerful mage lines out there. Having lost her parents to all the fighting though, she stayed far away from it, focusing on school and lading a primarily normal life.
Unti...
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A tap on her shoulder drew her eyes to the left, and Rush was standing there with her wallet in his hand. Seeing his flat emerald eyes shouldn't have made her smile, but it did, and she accepted the pink and brown rectangle. It was heavier than she was used to, and when she opened it, there was a lot more money than she remembered ever having.
"Rush..."
"I found it like that." He lied easily with a straight face. "I also found it with a credit card in the rightmost pocket if you ever need for anything else."
"That's a convenient way to find a wallet," Mer said with a sigh, but she was smiling.
"Mer," Paul said, sliding her drink across the counter. "That guy is pretty cute. You keeping him?" Paul leaned on his hand with a smirk, and the black tips of his ponytail tickled the counter. The rest of it was dyed forest green and paired well with the black ink climbing either arm. Paul was half-hipster half-gangster, and way off base on the situation here.
"Mer thinks my chest is unattractive, I'm afraid," Rush said with obviously faked sadness.
He did not just say that.
"Don't say weird things, Rush!" Mer shoved him lightly, forgetting he was a vampire, but instead of remaining a brick wall, he gave under her hands and stumbled back like a normal person would have.
Paul laughed at them, and she turned beet red.
"Don't get too disheartened, Rush, is it? Mer is like that with all men. I was pretty sure she was going to join a nunnery before I saw you with her. Good luck, man. Mer's tough."
Rush smiled. God Rush smiled.
"I hate you, Paul," Mer growled, and he just laughed. "Come on, Rush." She led him to a booth in the corner that was not yet assaulted by sun and sat down. There, she sat and she stared at a cinnamon roll she didn't recall ordering. This coffee shop didn't even sell cinnamon rolls.
"I picked it up from the bakery while you were running," Rush said as he took the seat across from her. "When you smelled it, you seemed hungry. I know it is not the healthiest of sustenance, but I will have a real meal made for you when we return home."
Home. Was that what the castle was now?
"Rush..." It was hard to speak to him, but at least they were out in public. Around a corner wall, Paul couldn't hear them unless she yelled. Rush certainly wasn't going to raise his voice. Anything but his cool, calm timbre might actually tire him.
"Yes, Meredith?" Rush replied patiently but he still used her full name.
"Mer." When she insisted, a small smile crept up his face, and she was struck by it.
Why did this vampire seem to enjoy her presence when she was just waiting for it to jump her and slide its fangs into her? Was she somehow amusing to him, like a rat wandering a maze, or was there something else he enjoyed about her?
