The Girl with The Demon

The Girl

The coffee shop on main street was as usual busting at the seams with customers. So when Zoey reached the door and a tall, rather attractive looking man came bounding out of it with a cup of steaming hot coffee in one hand a brief case in the other it was no surprise to her that she just narrowly missed being smacked into and wearing that coffee the man seemingly intended to be drinking instead.  

"Watch where you're going." The man grumbled in her general direction, not pausing to see if he'd ran her over with those purposeful strides of his or not. Probably wouldn't have even cared had he have. "Kids these days." He continued in a irritatingly belittling tone, his quick steps leading him away from the door and from Zoey who was standing awkwardly holding it open. With a slight shake of her head she passed through the door letting it fall closed behind her. When she glanced up to see if anyone had noticed her little altercation, that was when she saw him. He was all hard lines and sculpted features, there wasn't a single thing soft about him. He was a slim and taller,  well taller then her at least. With well toned arms and legs. Least they looked so from what she could see through his black jeans, the jeans were the type where they had tearing and distress near the knees and over the thighs seemingly random, but obviously purposefully placed. There was a silver chain attached to the belt of those jeans, just under the hem of his cool grey sweat shirt.The grey colouring of the shirt making his tanned skin piratically glow, like he were made of  a sunbeams among the clouds. His slightly upturned eyes the colour of which were like melted chocolate met hers and the entire room seemed to stop moving around them, but that's crazy right? 

"You should have said something to that guy." The man suddenly was talking to her and his voice had a slightly foreign sound to it. Not quite British but not quite anything else either that she could place, it seemed to her that it was just him and that it was a way of tongue that maybe only he had. It was pleasant though she had to admit it reminded her of a piano, how it seemed to roll through her leaving her wanting to hear more. She'd always been a lover of classical music herself.

"It wouldn't have helped, if that's what you're getting at." She answered after realizing that it was probably what the man had been waiting for. "So you know." She shifted nervously her bag from one shoulder to the next, not wanting to continue staring so openly at this complete stranger. The man's chocolate coloured eyes never left her face though, clearly he was way more confident in these types of things then she'd ever be.

"You don't know that though. Maybe he is that way because nobodies ever told him to act any other way before." The man shrugged his slim shoulders, and pushed past the table he'd been standing behind as to better get next to her. Zoey blinked back her surprise, not just at the apparent fact this man wanted to talk to her but that his words were kind of true.

"Well that may be so but I sincerely doubt he'd have listened to me." She swallowed back only to find that her mouth was incredibly dry. a soft coughing took over her that she tried subtly to disguise as not being dried mouthed in front of this incredibly attractive stranger. A stranger who up close was even more intriguing.There was a slight shadow across his jaw and a gentle healing bruise on one cheek, the wound looked like it couldn't have been more then a week or so healed. She suddenly wondered how anyone could want to hurt him. 

"That's just an excuse you want to be respected you have to assert your dominance." He smugly shot back with one darkly coloured eyebrow slightly raised. "You either stand up for yourself when needed or you let every single thing think its okay to walk over you." He added more sharply with a hand to his hip. 

"I don't think this really is any of your business, but thanks? I guess." She scowled back at him, moving slightly further away form him then she had drifted towards.

"Look don't take this the wrong way but you aren't that intimidating sweetheart and I was only trying to help." He put his hands up in front of him as if he were showing her he came in peace and though he seemed to generally not care there was a fire. A look of amusement dancing through his eyes , leaving the chocolate depths with flecks of golden light. It was obvious he was using her for some kind of fun.

"Well I didn't ask for that so" She gestured behind him, where the line for the till was forming again. Without looking back he stepped out of her path, but didn't entirely leave her field of view. He ran a hand, almost bashfully through his soft looking dark curls and watched her silently as she ordered her coffee. 

"So what I've gained a shadow?' She sighed turning away from the barista who had just handed her the americano she'd paid for. "Or did you want something?" She pushed past him and towards a clear table at the far end of the coffee shop. It was her usual table, far enough away from the rest of the customers that she usually wasn't bothered. Yet it was still close enough that she could people watch all she wanted too. Usually she was alone and it was nice to enjoy her coffee and think. Now though..

"Well it wasn't like we were done talking. A conversation doesn't end just because you walk away." He smirked taking the seat across form her before she could tell him not too. She had to admit though she  liked the attention, well at least when he wasn't being arrogant. Which she was still trying to decipher if it was all a show or not.

"What else did you have to say?" She asked before taking a drink from her cup. He watched her movements closely and it left her feeling clumsy and awkward. She placed her cup down before she ended up wearing it's contents.

"Just that I apologize if I came across as boorish or something." He chuckled softly under his breath. "I'm well aware I can tend to be quite intense." He looked back up at her and she blinked while her mind scrambled for something to say, nothing was quite right.

"It's okay." She rolled her eyes internally at her great communication skills. Ten out of Ten she thought really making him want to keep hanging out with you. She actually was surprised that besides making her a little more self conscious she was actually enjoying his company. "You had a point, it's just hard sometimes for me anyways to say what I'm really thinking. I just think it's easier to fit in when you aren't causing ripples."

"Belonging isn't what it's cracked up to be." His face seemed to shadow and the playfulness dimmed a little to. "If belonging or fitting in as you call it, is that much work is it even worth it?" Zoey reached forward, her hand gently touching his without thinking. He just seemed so beside himself she couldn't control it. He didn't pull back as she almost thought he might. He just let her small hand hold onto his much larger one. 

"I guess you've had experience there?" She urged him to continue, but it was as if a wall had went up between them and it made sense they didn't even know each others first names. He pulled his hand back, not roughly. Just enough to make it clear that he just clued in. "Sorry, I" She began but he shook his head slightly. 

"Don't be, I should go though." He stood up like he wasn't really wanting to go but was going to anyways. "It was nice meeting you" He paused, looking at her expectantly.

"Zoey." She supplied, rising from her seat as well, reaching out a hand awkwardly as if they would shake on it. 

"Zoey, that is a lovely name." He smiled pleasantly enough. To her surprise he did take her hand and shook it once. So lightly it felt like nothing had happened at all. The tingle that seemed to spread through her body from the contact point was the only indicator that something real had passed between them.

"Wait, what is your name?" She quickly asked as he pulled his hand back from hers the connection loss making her mind work again.

"Kane, my name is Kane." 

He left shortly after that and Zoey resumed her seat, finding that her coffee was now cold and that she didn't want to just think and waste a day anymore. She got up and ran out of the coffee shop, out onto the busy sidewalk. Thinking he couldn't have gotten through all the foot traffic that easily. But of course he had, Kane was gone as if he had never been there at all.