The ambiance of 'Maria's Café' exuded a lively, summery spirit. In fact so dedicated to the theme it was that despite the café's breezy design and architecture proving less accommodating to the colder weather during winter or autumn, the owner, determined to maintain the aesthetic, always resisted installing additional heating equipment.
That did not bother Maria, the owner of the cafe, an ice queen as most her customers liked to refer to her as. She had a wardrobe rebellion! Despite the winter chill she would boldly flaunt her summer dress, a sassy ensemble in frosty blues and snowy whites. Maria insisted on defying the cold, strutting around like a snowflake in heatwave. Fasion may freeze, but Maria remained unthawed.
Her regular customers were also not bothered by it, who, enamored by the café's charm, had collectively contributed blankets and cozy items stored in a cupboard. When patrons visited during the colder months, they would happily pick out these blankets to keep warm as they enjoyed Maria's delicious treats.
These customers, charmed by this cute communal effort developed a sense of appreciation for the unconventional warmth provided by shared blankets rather than conventional heating solutions.
Ezra was an avid customer of Maria's Café, while Damien, his friend from high school, wasn't as enthusiastic. Despite Damien's reluctance, whenever the choice of location fell on Ezra, they inevitably ended up at the café. The summer visits were tolerable for Damien, but on cold days, his sensitivity to low temperatures made him less than pleased.
Ezra paid little attention to Damien's complaints. The two friends found themselves in their usual seats at Maria's Café. Ezra, wrapped in a cartoon-patterned blanket like a cocoon, had only his face and hands visible as he comfortably typed away on his laptop. Observing Ezra's contentment, Damien decided to resign from any future resistances. Clearly, Ezra found joy in this place.
Moreover, the café offered a serene atmosphere and a delectable menu that both friends appreciated. Despite Damien's initial reservations, he had grown accustomed to the café since high school, and now, having reached his second year of university, he finally resigned himself to layering up more thoroughly before each visit.
Damien stood up from his seat, deciding to join Ezra in the cocoon of warmth. With a mischievous grin, he asked, "Yo Ez, can I warm my hands in your armpits?"
Ezra, engrossed in his laptop, responded with a nonchalant "Hmm."
"I'm gonna share your blanket with you, okay~?" Damien continued, undeterred.
"Hmm."
"You aren't listening to anything I'm saying, are you?" Damien teased.
"Hmm."
Unfazed, Damien swiftly pulled a corner of Ezra's blanket and playfully nudged his hands into Ezra's armpits. Ezra retaliated by hitting Damien on the thigh, "Leave me be, Damien. Go pick out a blanket for yourself, and..."
Forcefully pulling down Damien's misbehaving hands and giving them a light tap, Ezra reprimanded, "Don't bother me. You were the one who insisted on following me here. I told you I was too busy to entertain you."
Damien complained as he rubbed his hands, "But you had only been looking up girls in the uni, even now you are doing the same. Because of that, I thought we would probably enter some love talk or something. You are boring me. What are you even searching for?"
Ezra glanced at Damien, unfazed by the complaint. "You won't understand even if I explain. If you are so free, help me search for someone online."
Damien gazed at Ezra's laptop screen, spotting the profile of a pretty little girl with curly hair and a rather sharp face. She was undeniably cute, but the problem was that the girl looked no older than twelve.
"Ezra... As your friend... It is my responsibility to stop you from pursuing someone underaged—"
"I'm doing no such thing. She just looked a lot like someone I am searching for."
"Who are you looking for?"
"Someone you don't know, and you don't need to know."
"..."
Ezra removed the account to continue searching for someone under the name of 'Micaela Wintour'. Pouting, Damien pulled out his phone and asked Ezra,
"So? Who do you want me to search for?"
"A girl named Alicia Heathers. Wavy chocolate brown hair cascading down to her hips, and eyes as green as a parrot's coat. Unrealistically green, almost A.I. generated, you know? Her features have this mystical quality."
Ezra paused, closing his eyes in contemplation, then shrugged his shoulders with a confused expression.
"It doesn't look natural. And, well, I think she resembles someone... a lot. I mean, A LOT. That guy's sister."
Damien raised an eyebrow. "You have quite a few of these 'that guy' instances. Which one are you talking about?"
"Ugh... Louis's sister. But Alicia is way prettier. No pettiness, I'm being serious."
"For real. Seriously. A hundred percent?"
"Yes, indeed."
Damien laughed at Ezra's deep frown that was so horribly contorted that it threatened to rewrite his facial features.
Damien let out a snort at Ezra's comment, smirking as he said, "You know, considering how open you are with your words, I'm rather surprised you haven't faced any instances of being cornered and beaten up by people here and there."
Ezra chuckled, "Well, lucky for me, most people can't resist my charm."
Damien raised an eyebrow, "Charm? More like your knack for stirring up trouble."
Ezra smirked, "Same difference."
The conversation made a sudden thought pop into Damien's mind, resulting in a snort escaping his mouth as he smirked at Ezra,
"Y'know, when you think about it, you sure do visit this café often despite how stubbornly you tend to hold on to grudges."
Ezra leaned in, playfully poking Damien in the chest with his finger as he responded calmly, "I was the one that found this place first, and then I introduced it to him. I certainly will not be dropping my favorite place because of a shitty blue-eyed hunk."
Leaning back, Ezra returned to his laptop, his tone softening as he continued, "Anyways, I haven't once run into him here since our break-up. Surprisingly, he must have had enough sense not to make me uncomfortable at my favorite place. Or maybe he just did not want to make himself uncomfortable."
Damien chuckled, "I like how bluntly honest you always are, Ez. You still find him a hunk?"
"Me denying it won't change facts. His face, built, and money are the only things making up for his poor personality."
"To most people, those are the only things that matter, though."
"Yeah, I must have been among 'most people' back then."
Damien turned to his phone and inquired, "So, where have you seen this extraordinary girl? Why are you so hung up on her anyway?"
"Well, technically... I have never seen her around here... Or.... anywhere in particular?"
"Imaginary girlfriend? Are you feeling lonely, Ez? But I thought you especially liked blue-eyed guys and girls?"
Ezra dramatically covered his face with the blanket upon hearing that, prompting Damien to raise an eyebrow. Before he could ask anything, Ezra grumbled, "I had told you that back then because I liked that guy's eyes... It's not like I prefer blue eyes that much. This is so embarrassing... But I was really down bad back then, y'know... His eyes were a really pretty cornflower blue. Turns out I was just drowning in a sea of bad choices."
Taking his head out of the blanket with a long sigh, he stared at his laptop with a complicated gaze before closing it as he ran his hand through his hair in irritation.
"Y'know, just... leave it be, Damy. No need to search. I don't think we'll find anything. I've been scouring online for a few days now and couldn't come across anything useful."
"If it's that important, Ez, why not hire a personal detective?"
Ezra pouted at those words. He felt that even if he did so, they wouldn't be able to find either Alicia or Penelope. He couldn't explain it, but those girls gave off a very odd and sort of mystical vibe. They really did not seem like people from his own planet Earth. One of them even had completely natural pink hair.
Ezra had wanted to meet and talk with these girls as fellow victims of the recent supernatural phenomena and maybe share some pointers or tips or just think over the situation together at least.
Moreover, he had noticed that when these abnormal events first started to occur, he had found himself in that other dimension during chapter four. The next time he appeared was during chapter seven after a few days.
Acknowledging that he wasn't the main character in this 'world' and possibly not an antagonist, Ezra's perspective shifted. The words he spoke to Penelope, expressing his desire not to make things difficult for Alicia, hinted at a different role for him.
Alicia appeared to be a crucial character, perhaps even the protagonist, initiating this 'act' from chapter one. Ezra wasn't aware if any other characters had appeared before him, but the details were inconsequential at the moment.
If his theory held true, Alicia possessed more knowledge about the story than he did. Ezra hoped she had greater insight into the situation. He desired a conversation with her to share their observations and make sense of the unfolding events.
As for Micaela, she bore no resemblance to them. In fact, she looked like any other pretty local girl around town. However, Ezra wasn't desperate to meet her, even if she did exist somewhere on Earth.
Firstly, he had only seen a picture of her and hadn't met her directly. Secondly, as she was often mentioned as dead, she might not have a physical presence in the story. Just her photo had.
So, there seemed to be no evident benefit in meeting her. He was simply searching for her alongside the rest. If he met her, that was well and good; who knew, maybe something useful could be revealed. However, if he couldn't, it didn't matter much.
"Nah... That's fine. Let's just go home for today. Quickly finish your pasta already."
As Damien gobbled his leftover pasta that had already turned somewhat cold, Ezra packed their stuff and stood up. However, as soon as he did, his eyes met the greenish-gray ones of the person who had just entered the cafe. They were familiar to Ezra, and he didn't really appreciate them.
Louis, on the other hand, appeared somewhat happy and relieved upon spotting Ezra. However, just when he was about to walk up to Ezra, he disappeared into thin air, leaving Ezra stunned and confused for a few minutes at the unbelievable scene he had just witnessed.
When he regained his senses, Ezra too found himself no longer in the cafe but in a room with many tables arranged in the center, surrounded by a few chairs. The room resembled a classroom turned meeting space, typical for club and society gatherings at universities and high schools.
Laptops, scattered sheets, and a few bags and phones were haphazardly pushed to one side, creating an impression of a tantrum having been thrown before his arrival. On the opposite end, a fallen thermos had spilled black coffee.
Four individuals surrounded this scene. Two of them were familiar. Alicia stood in front of the fallen thermos in a daze, her hands and jeans stained by the coffee. Penelope, standing beside her, was cleaning Alicia's hands with a wet handkerchief. The two new faces, a boy and a girl, were attending to Alicia. The former looked at Ezra in shock, and the latter was inquiring about Alicia's well-being.
In addition to these individuals, there were two other new faces in the room. One of them was Louis, standing not far from the door, looking at himself with a complex gaze.
He was abruptly shoved to the side by someone who, with a loathsome expression, made his way to Ezra. As soon as he came within arm's reach of Ezra, he delivered a powerful punch to Ezra's face, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. A thin line of blood trickled down Ezra's nose from the impact of the heavy blow.
Ezra's eyes slowly lifted to meet the complicated emotions in his assaulter's blue eyes. The color was undeniably pretty, and for a moment, despite the sharp stinging pain in Ezra's cheek, he found himself losing in those beautiful eyes. However, a sudden reminder brought him back to reality – this guy was not someone who deserved Ezra's appreciation. After all, this was his hateful ex-boyfriend, Maximillian Carlisle, or as he once used to refer to him,
'Max'.