Althea notices that this café is overly familiar. The interior features a yellow and white scene as well as vintage posters from the 1980s. She assumed it was because the booths were black and white and well-kept.
"Excuse me, may I sit here?" asks a man with a deeper voice than the average man. She looks up and notices a man wearing a black hat. He appeared to be very professional.
"Oh- uh, sure," she replies, surprised. There were plenty of other seats available, so she finds it odd that the man chose to sit across from her. The man takes a seat and pulls out his phone, typing something before putting it away.
"Can you tell me your name?" The man inquires, She was sitting up straight and staring at her, but she was uncomfortable, so she looked away, appearing uninterested.
"Althea, yours?" she asks back, curious about what name matched his personality.
Althea notices his eyes widen for a moment before returning to normal, "My name is Oliver, and Althea is such a unique name," he trails off. She raises an eyebrow, expressing her disagreement with that statement. Her name is fine, but there are better ones available. "So, Althea, what are you doing out and about?" he asks, as if they were playing a game of twenty questions.
Before she could respond, the waitress returned with her food and asked Oliver what he would like to eat and drink. Althea eats in silence, only responding to the question later. "My mate is at work, so I'm just wondering," she says.
There wasn't much to hide unless he was Allan's friend, which Althea hoped he wasn't.
"Cool, cool," Oliver nods, taking a bite of his pancake, "who's your mate?" he asks as his gaze returns to her. "His name is Allan, and he's really sweet," Althea says, smiling. He was a bit of a jerk, but they got through it together in the end. "I love him to the end of the world and back," she added, not sure if she got the phrase right, but anyone could see her point.
"Allan, huh? Well, would you like to enjoy a night out at the park with me after that?" Oliver asks as he finishes another bite of food. She thought it was strange that a stranger had asked her to hang out, but that's one way to make friends around here.
"Sure, I'll be right back," she says as she gets up to use the bathroom. She'd been holding it in without even realizing she needed to let it out. She walks out after finishing her duty, and her waitress stops her in her tracks.
She takes a step in front of her, startling her slightly, and says, "Excuse me, miss, but be watchful. That man out there is trouble," as she walks away.
She pauses for a moment to consider what she said before returning to her seat.
"Here, I'll pay," Oliver says as her waitress brings two checks over slowly. She was acting strangely now that Oliver was here, and she wondered what was so bad about him.
~
Althea takes a seat on one of the park benches, and Oliver joins her. They've been awkwardly walking around the plaza for six minutes. She doesn't think he meant to be uncomfortable, but the way he stood frightened her.
"So, do you have any family?" Althea asked, trying to strike up a conversation even though she was terrible at it. He looks over at her and nods, "Of course. A brother, and a dead mother and father," he says nonchalantly.
Despite her curiosity about his parents, she kept her mouth shut.
Curiosity is a natural part of a person's nature, but it can be disruptive. "Oh... tell me about your brother," she clings to her pants. She was at a loss for words.
"He's just a big brother who has suffered a lot and has taken onto the wrong path," he smiles, "I would like to rectify him, and I'd love to be the one to do so," he looks off at the fog, dreaming of what it would be like to rehabilitate his brother.
Goosebumps run down her spine; she doesn't want to talk about it any longer. "Oh okay," she says quickly, "any puppies?" she asks casually. Pets, particularly dogs, are one of her favorite subjects.
"Sadly no, I take a trip far too much for that," Oliver chuckles. "How about you, do you have a dog?" he asks back, smiling at her.
"No, I wish I did," she says honestly, her eyes wandering off into the sky. Pets are like best friends who will never abandon you if they are properly cared for.
Oliver opens her mouth to say something, but a reflection falls over them. A young man with his hands on his hips began barking. Her eyes widen as she begins to panic on the inside.
"What are you doing here? You're not welcome," says the man. He wasn't talking to her, but to Oliver, she noticed. He maintained a blank expression as if what he was saying didn't matter. "Get the f*ck out of here, I don't want to see you again," he yells, clutching a fistful of his black hair.
Oliver frowns and punches. The man rushed back, holding his rib cage, which appeared bent. He's extremely powerful, and her mouth is slightly open in surprise. "I have business here," he says, getting up in front of the guy, "Now, run along."
He mumbles briefly before running away, holding his side. Althea suspects that if he wasn't hurt, sh*t would come flying. "I apologize about that," Oliver says after an awkward silence. "Some people here are just so insane," he says as he punches his nose. Althea raises an eyebrow, not knowing of any other attacks in which people acted 'crazy,' but she has only been in the village a few times, so it is possible.
She raises her hands, "It's okay," she says, forcing a smile on her face. Maybe she should've listened to that waitress; she'd probably be home by now as well.
Oliver fiddles around in his pocket before pulling out a phone. "It's for you," he says, "it's a way to reach me." Her eyes sparkled with delight as she cautiously took the covered phone. "Now that I have to leave, could I give you a trip back home?" he asks.
Althea raises her head from her phone, surprised. "Oh, no, but thank you," she says shyly. She had no faith in him. There's something wrong, and riding in a car with him is the last thing she'd want to do.
She shrugs and extends her hand to shake his. "Nice meeting you, Althea," he says as she shakes his hand.
"You as well," Althea said, trying to pull her hand away from his firm grip. He walks about 30 feet before entering a large-built car capable of running over and killing someone instantly. A road tank a couple of times before driving off to who knows where.
She sighed heavily and sat back down on the bench to catch her breath. She expected to have a relaxing day out in the town, but instead, she met a sketchy man and had people telling and hinting that he was something other than what she saw.
"Althea?" She freezes up, her heart racing as she realizes her mate is talking to her. "What are you doing here?" he enquires, clearly irritated. She looks up to see him with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. This is not a good sign.
"I just wanted to get something," she twiddles her fingers as she speaks, her voice shaky as she looks away.
Allan lets out a frustrated growl, "Then why didn't you wait until I came home?" he asks, and she knows if she answers incorrectly, he'll blow up. He's currently a ticking time bomb.
"I-I don't know! I don't like being caged up," she says warily, her voice becoming quieter with each word she says. Allan's eyes widen slightly as if he has realized something.
"It's not safe here," he says as he sits down next to her, kissing her lip and lingering for a moment. He pulls away and sniffs her, not even trying to conceal his feelings. "Althea, please listen: don't go near that man at all," he said emphatically.
She kept her distance from him "But, why? "She inquires. Nobody said anything about why they didn't welcome him. She requires answers because she is inquisitive.
Allan moves closer to her, unconcerned about the small amount of personal space she tries to maintain. "Because no one welcomes him here."
"Oh, I know, but that's a lame excuse, You're wiser than that," he says as he places his fingertips under her chin, causing her to look up at him. "He's a spy; knowing him, he gave you a phone?" he pulls back and extends his hand. Althea quickly throws it at him, embarrassed. "Now, let's go home, sweetie," he says as he begins to walk away.
"How do you know him?" she asks as she fastly catches up with him. Allan was omitting a crucial point.
Allan frowns and turns to face her, "He's my little brother; he's the one who told me that they're my real family," he says flatly. Her jaw drops open in surprise. She would never suppose that, not like she knew nothing about his family, but she had the impression that she did. Just a tiny bit.