I stepped inside, the bell above the door chiming softly. Triss glanced up, her gaze barely lingering on me before she turned back to the espresso machine. I walked to the counter, leaning slightly against it. "Black coffee. No sugar."
She nodded, not looking up. "Coming right up."
She had no idea who I was. No idea of the world she was about to be pulled into.
But she would soon.
Triss placed the coffee in front of me without much thought, her mind clearly elsewhere as she called out the next order.
"Thank you," I muttered with a smile and she reciprocated the same
I wrapped my fingers around the warm cup, bringing it close but not drinking just yet. I studied her discreetly.. her movements, her energy. She was completely unaware of what lurked in the shadows of her life.
She turned back to the counter, focused on the morning rush, taking orders and making small talk with customers. A normal life. A quiet existence.
I stirred my coffee absentmindedly and then decided to push things forward.
"Busy morning," I commented, keeping my tone casual.
She glanced at me briefly, offering a polite but distracted smile. "Yeah. Mornings are always like this. People need their caffeine, I guess."
I chuckled lightly. "And what about you? Do you need caffeine to survive the chaos?"
Triss smirked, wiping her hands on a nearby cloth. "Not as much as some of these people. But a cup of tea now and then doesn't hurt."
"Tea, huh?" I took a sip of my coffee, my eyes still watching her reactions. "A traditionalist. I can respect that."
She gave a small laugh but didn't pay me much mind. To her, I was just another customer making idle conversation.
"You come here often?" she asked, clearly out of politeness.
"First time, actually," I admitted. "But I might be back."
She nodded, moving to take another order, dismissing me from her attention. That was fine. For now.
I walked to a table in the distance and sat down, leaned back in my seat, watching, waiting. The moment would come when things shifted, when she would begin to notice the unnatural forces aligning around her.
She just didn't know it yet, and apparently, so did I.
*******
Triss's pov:
The blaring sound of my alarm jolted me awake.
I groaned, rolling over in bed, slamming the snooze button harder than necessary. Another morning. Another day stuck in the cycle of routine, in a bloody world that still seems foreign to me.
I have no idea who I was before the age of twelve. No memories. No records. Just a blank slate and a world that had already moved on without me. The orphanage had been my only home, a place that had shaped me into the person I am today. I worked tirelessly, saving up every penny I could to put myself through college, studying anthropology in hopes of becoming an archaeologist.
But dreams don't always go as planned.
The field was competitive, and without funding or connections, I found myself stuck. No further education, no promising future. And so, I was forced to put aside my aspirations and take up a job as a waitress at 'Grounded', the small café that had become both a refuge and a prison.
I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before dragging myself out of bed. My apartment was small, barely enough space for the essentials, but it was mine. It was something I had earned.
By the time I showered, dressed, and made my way to the café, the streets of London were already waking up. The cool morning air kissed my skin as I walked, lost in my thoughts. There was an odd sense of loneliness that followed me wherever I went, an emptiness I had never been able to fill.
Stepping into the cafe, I forced a smile as I greeted my coworkers. Another day, another shift.
I had no idea that my world was about to change forever.
The morning rush at Grounded had finally started to settle, leaving me with a moment to breathe. I wiped my hands on my apron and glanced around the café. The usual faces. The regulars. The tired businessmen gulping down caffeine before diving into their daily grind.
There was basically nothing out of the ordinary... until my eyes landed on him. Red hair, crimson eyes, charming smile and a slightly pale skin. He looked like those characters that could only be described in a fantasy novel. He looked so unreal, handsomely unreal.
I couldn't lie about the fact that he was an irresistible piece of work. But with years of discipline and officiality, I kept a straight face and tried not to sound nervous.
He walked up to the counter and placed an order immediately, but his voice was so smooth and gentle. I smiled and replied before proceeding to make his coffee, making sure to think of other things aside from his charming looks. But, believe me, it wasn't an easy task. But I prevailed and succeeded in getting my mind off him.
I gave him his coffee and he thanked me with a polite smile, and I swear that I almost blushed. Almost.
He then tried to start a conversation with me and I thought. "No way. I won't be falling for a hot guy on a Monday morning. Nope. Never,"
So I replied casually to his every comment, and acted like I was busy and distracted so he'd leave me alone. But he seemed resilient, and it lowkey melted my heart to know that a hot guy was interested in me. But not TODAY.
I took a deep breath and smiled, before asking him a question of my own so the conversation wouldn't seem one sided... Or so he won't smell what I'm cooking.
And just after he replied me, I nodded and turned my attention solely to another customer, dismissing him completely.
It pained me to throw away an opportunity like that, it truly did. But my stupid friend, Carol, who thinks of herself as some kind of witch, jinxed me yesterday when she came over. She did some dumb tarot reading and said I mustn't fall for any guy the next morning, which is today.
She said if I did, terrible things might begin to occur. Though it amused me because my life was already terrible as there can be, what more could possibly happen?
And I didn't want to believe her, I really didn't. But it all seemed like a perfect coincidence; Crazy friend predicts. Monday morning arrives. Hot guy shows up.
I couldn't take any chances.
I steal a glance at him, waiting to see if he'd leave. And he did, but not like I expected. He walked towards one of the seats and made himself comfortable. This made me uneasy and a bit suspicious of him. And yes, I'm the type who gets paranoid, who overthinks, and who thinks everyone is out to get her. So don't judge.
He sat in the corner with an air of quiet confidence. His sharp, crimson gaze locked onto me for just a moment before he looked away, lifting his coffee to his lips. Something about him unsettled me.
I shook the feeling off, grabbing a rag and moving to clean one of the empty tables near him. As I wiped the surface, I couldn't help but sneak another glance in his direction.
Our gaze met and I almost had an heart attack, I didn't expect to sudden lock eyes with him. But he, on the other hand smiled. He raised his cup to me as if giving a toast, and I immediately felt at ease.
"Can I get you anything else?" I voiced out, forcing my voice to remain even.
He smirked slightly, tilting his head. "No, I'm good. Thank you,"
His voice was deep, accented and calm, but with something else underlying it. A smoothness that felt... unnatural.
I nodded, continuing my work, but the unease lingered. Something told me this man wasn't just a random customer who was interested in me. I had no idea how right I was.
As I moved behind the counter to prepare another round of orders, the café door chimed, and a chill ran down my spine. This wasn't the usual breeze from outside. It was something... else.
The moment I turned, my breath caught in my throat.
A man in a gray coat, with a hood covering his head and parts of his face, stood tall and gaunt at the entrance, his presence sending a ripple of discomfort through the room. He didn't belong here. His cold, dead stare swept the café before landing on me. His lips curled into something resembling a smile, but there was no warmth to it.
I had seen plenty of strangers in my life, but this was different. This felt like something out of a nightmare.
The man's gaze flickered briefly toward the customer in black, my red-haired admirer. A strange, silent exchange passed between them, and suddenly, I knew.
This wasn't coincidence. Something was happening. And I was caught in the middle of it. Or it's just me being paranoid as usual.
The man casually walked towards the counter and placed an order, a look of delinquency in his eyes. He collected his coffee, nodded politely and left. Leaving me to curse and slap my face inwardly, I was wrong. He was just there for coffee.
"Damn it, Triss. Pull yourself together, I can't let what happened three days ago repeat itself. Never again." I whispered to myself, trying to calm myself. But that was hard to achieve given the fact that a certain charming redhead was still present in the cafe.
"What's he still doing here?" I thought, staring at him with curiosity. He seemed to be fully immersed in the book he was reading. And it made me wonder if I could still have a chance with him, but I'd rather drink poison than walk up to him. Not after I chased him off earlier.
So I just remained by the counter, taking more orders and minding my business for the rest of the day. Though our gaze would occasionally meet, and I would smile. How foolish, right? But he never made a move to speak with me at all, not since the first time.
He would even request for a refill of coffee every hour or so, without attempting to restart a conversation. And I would be left wondering maybe I was only being delusional.
But yet again, he would smile at me with his beautiful eyes. And as much as it warmed my heart, it pissed me off. Because I was conflicted, what exactly did he want from me?
So there you have it, folks. A cute guy had managed to disorientate my entire mental being with just a few words, occasional smiles and utter silence. I was going insane.
The afternoon went by just as quickly as the morning, and soon it was dusk. The sun was already setting and the cafe was now scanty with only a few customers left.
I had been thinking about earlier in the morning and how foolish I was to have believed my idiot friend. So I made my resolve, to summon all the courage in my belly and go talk to the hot guy who was still reading at the table, a half eaten piece of cake sitting in front of him.
Since it was almost closing time, I took off my apron, took a deep breath and left the counter. I stared into the ground to compose myself before approaching him.
But as soon as I raised my head up, he was gone. Just gone.
I was too late.