Tearless [01]

After sitting through even more silence in car, the purring of the engine stopped and I noted we were at what looked like a little cafe`. It was weged in between other small shop businesses, but you could smell the thick aroma of coffee and what I could peg as cinnamon rolls. Blinking through the tinted window of the Mustang, I was taken by surprise when he opened my door from outside. I hadn't even heard him exited his own side of the car, but when I managed to untangle myself from the seatbelt he grasped on of my hands and shut the car door before tugging me into the little cafe`.

When the door to the place opened, that aroma from earlier was almost tripled and caused me to wrinkle my nose from how overwhelming all the different smells mingled together were. I was pretty much carted off to a booth nearest the back end wall of the place and seated on one side while he took a seat across from me.

"Now, what would you like?" he inquired, having moved to rest his arms across the table, folded rather neatly against one another.

Shrugging the question off a bit, I spoke up now, "Who exactly are you to be dragging me around like this?" I questioned him in turn.

"Me? My name is Abel, now. Do you prefer chocolate or vanilla milkshakes, or I can see if they have something else if you'd like anything different." he redirected, causing me to twitch just a bit.

"I can't have anything chocolate, it makes me sick, and I really don't like vanilla. So can we stop with the milkshake business?" I stated.

He nodded a bit before grinning, "Tea then?" he questioned now.

I thought my head might hit the table from the sudden exasperation that hit me. Was he serious? He was more concerned over getting drinks than answering any questions, but it didn't look like I would win in the situation so I agreed to an iced tea. He decided for the same himself and when the little flouncy waitress came over, he gave the order with nothing further. The waitress was obviously a little disappointed by that. It was easy to see she was a well figured and enthusiastic brunette that was far from just well-endowed. It made me wonder why someone who didn't even fit in at school alone was getting any attention from someone who was catching the eyes of most girls in the cafe`. Abel was..well, cute. Even I had to admit that. He was just one of those types that had the natural good looks and that eye-catching appeal.

I shifted uncomfortably with his staring in silence until my tea was placed in front of me. Then I had something to focus on, even though I could feel his eyes still watching me. It was so weird, and I felt like I was shrinking into my seat from it at this point.

"So, Mariette, have you inspected your body lately?" Abel questioned, and it was too casual to the point that I was sure he was toying with me now.

My face was a bit red as I shot a dark glance towards him, and he chuckled a bit before re-itterating. "I meant, have you done anything normal like changed clothes or taken a shower and noticed an odd indention in your skin anywhere?" he questioned now.

That didn't make me feel any better of course, but I shook my head a bit and turned my eyes back to the tea. It didn't make sense to the point that my mind was racing with questions now. I should have felt extremely concerned for my own well being in this situation, but I felt very calm in the back of my thoughts with Abel. That's what struck me as odd, seeing as how I shouldn't already have a struck cord of affection for him. I didn't believe in things like 'love at first site', it was just ridiculous, so what was going on with my head now?

Abel cocked his head at me a bit, having gained a bit of a smile, and when he noticed how red that alone made my face he chuckled again. My hands were gripping the tea glass so tightly I was a little scared it might break on me, and my heart was thudding rapidly in my chest. His hand slid his glass of tea to the far side of where he was leaning before he leaned even further against the table. His hand carefully reached out and I felt it sweep across my bangs and reset them a bit. My head tilted upward on reaction towards this and then my heart practically stopped. His face was so dangerously close to mine again, no more than a few inches away and I could feel his warm breath against my face. My head began to swim as I felt my body shake a bit from the alien feeling coming over me before hearing a clang of glass and jumping up. Wrong thing to do of course. My forehead collide with his and he was sent reeling back into his seat with a hand pressed to his face. My hands were too confused to decide if they should be gripping my own forehead or dealing with my now tea covered uniform.

The waitress from before had rushed over with a damp cloth to clean the tea up while asking Abel if he was alright before his hand waved her aside so that he couid get out of the booth. Faint red marks were more than likely on both our foreheads from the bumping as he moved and grasped my arm lightly enough to tug me on out of the booth with tea dripping from my skirt as it rolled off. He fished into his pocket shortly before retrieving a five dollar bill and setting it on the table. More than two glasses of tea would be, but he was more concerned in my tarnished uniform apparently, because he wheeled me out of the cafe` and to his car once again. I was feeling sticky now, and it was very uncomfortable as I tried to keep my legs pressed tightly together and avoid getting any tea anywhere on his car.

It wasn't until he was in the car and had it started again that he broke out into a laugh. I felt my face heat up again before looking down, feeling the car lurch just a bit as he pulled away from the cafe` and headed into a new direction.

"Wait..." I began now in my confusion, "where are we going now?"

"Hm? My house." Abel replied calmly, not catching the whitening my face had taken to it as I slumped into the seat.