"When were you planning on telling me that you and Jackson were an item?" Daphne demands, cornering me as I turn the corner outside of the school. I had managed to avoid her, and Jackson, for the rest of the day and was almost certain I could make it home without running into her. I should have figured she hang out in the parking lot waiting for me. Daphne Matthews was not one to be ignored.

"We aren't an item," I argue. Daphne links her arm with mine, pulling me towards her car. I had been planning on walking to the cafe from school but now it appears my plans were going to change. I open the passenger door, slinking into the seat. I brace myself for the millions of questions I am sure she has planned for me.

"Didn't look that way to me," she says, throwing the car into drive and speeding out of the parking lot. Daphne drives like someone is chasing her and I am surprised we ever make it to our destinations in one piece. "You guys were looking pretty friendly in the hall earlier. Did you see Rebecca's face? I should have snapped a pic of that. I thought her head might actually pop off. Chelsey told me that Gwen told her that Rebecca told her that now Rebecca has some sort of vendetta against you. Not that it matters. If that skank lays one finger on you I will seriously end her. She seems to forget I still have those pics of her from last summers bonfire. You know, the one where she hooked up with that skeezy guy who works at the laundry mat? I swear Omera, tell me if she tries anything with you. Where was I? Oh yea, that kiss. Wooooow, that was insane. It was like a scene from a movie or something. One minute you were yelling at him and the next he just grabs you and kisses you. Right in front of everyone!!"

"Daphne!" I shout, cutting her off, "Calm down. One, Rebecca isn't going to do anything. She just likes to pretend like she has more power than she really does. But I appreciate the fact that you are willing to ruin her life for me. Two, Jackson and I aren't together. It was just a kiss. One kiss does not make someone a couple. He was just trying to shut me up. Or maybe he had a momentary lapse in judgement. Either way, we are not together and I don't think we are going to be. So can you please just let it go?"

"Fine," she huffs, pulling into the parking lot behind the cafe, "I will drop it, for now. And only because I don't want you doing what you always do and pushing away any guy that might actually be interested in you. No more keeping secrets though. Argue all you want but no guy goes from having a quick dinner with someone to macking down on them in the hallway. There's more to the story than you are telling me and I expect you to fill me in sooner rather than later. What time do you get off?"

"Seven," I answer, "I'll text you when I get home." I close the door, watching her speed off before entering the back door of the cafe.

Thursday nights are usually slow but today we are packed. Cameron throws my apron at me, ordering me to head out into the seating area and wipe down some tables. Apparently Juan, our usual busboy, has decided to quit for the fifth time this year, leaving us short staffed on an unusually busy night.

I weave my way in and out of the crowded area, stacking cups and empty bowls into the grey waste basket I carry with me. I am so focused on not spilling its contents that I almost run right smack into someone. The guy fumbles his hands around the basket, grabbing the tower of cups that is about to topple over onto the clean floor.

"Thanks," I say, looking up at my momentary hero. His eyes latch to mine and I feel my skin begin to tingle. There's something off about him. Something feels off and I try to move around him but he side steps, blocking my path. The tingling continues and I know if I don't get to the back of the store to calm myself down, things are going to get real bad real fast.

"No problem," he says. His voice is gritty, like nails on a chalkboard, causing my hairs to stand on edge. Yea, something was weird about this guy. "So, I haven't seen you around here before. Are you new?"

"Not really. I've been working here since I was fifteen, so you must not come in here as often as you pretend to." The guy laughs and I slowly begin to count backwards from ten in my head. I must be overreacting. He's just some creepy guy hitting on me. Nothing out of the ordinary. I have too much going on right now and stress is what is causing the unease I am feeling in the pit of my stomach.

He steps aside, letting me pass and I make a mad dash for the store room. Now safely inside its coffee scented spaces I sip slowly at my cup of water. The tingling begins to fade and I prepare myself for the rest of what is looking to be a unpleasant shift.

My phone vibrates in my pocket and I pull it out. Jackson has texted me. I debate on whether or not I am going to read it. There are only two things the message could contain and I'm not sure I am ready to deal with either of them. The first, a long drawn out apology for kissing me at school and the promise of not doing it again because apparently Gabriel thinks its a bad idea. Or two, a long drawn out speech containing information about how he feels for me. Neither of these seem like something I am prepared to handle. I disregard the text, shoving the phone back in my pocket. I will read it later, alone, where there is little risk of me going all electric in front of a large group of people.

I return to the floor, thankful that the weird guy from earlier has left but now faced with the fact that Rebecca and her two groupies, Liza and Gwen, are now occupying his spot. Cameron takes the waste basket from me and shoves a note pad in my hand, ordering me to see to our new guests. With the way today is going, I really should of see that coming. Life has never been kind to me and there is little to no reason for it to start now.

"Welcome to Cameron's Cafe, my name is Omera, what would you ladies like to drink today?" My words lack emotion as I impatiently wait for the girls to order. They eye the menu dramatically, as if they have zero idea what to drink. I know they are messing with me, wasting my time until the feel like revealing why exactly it is that they are here. Up until today Rebecca has made it quite clear that she finds downtown Portland to be 'dirty and full of low income scum', so her being here can only mean one thing...revenge.

You can bargain with most people. Sit them down, have a civil conversation and then carry along with your life fear free. This was not case with Rebecca O'Day. She had been one of the first people Ian's friend had shown the pictures of me to and more than likely the one who got them circulating around the school. The girl lived to torture me.

"You know it's only a matter of time before he realizes what a freak you are, right?" Rebecca snarks, handing me her menu, "I mean, its obvious he is only looking for an easy lay. He'll take one look at that mess you have hiding under your shirt and come begging for me to forgive him. Hell, with the way he looks, I might actually forgive him."

"Look," I lower my voice so the other waitresses can't hear me," Either order something or get the hell out."

Rebecca and her friends laugh. I resist the urge to dive across the table and rip those expensive highlights right out of her head. Were it not for the fact that I might burst into bolts and kill her, I might have done it. I settle for walking away from the table, asking Casey to take their orders. I am three hours into my shift and already on the verge of hurting someone. Only two hours left until I can leave and that's if Cameron doesn't try and keep me late.

My phone buzzes in my pocket again and I pull it out with the intention of turning the damn thing off. In the last few minutes I have gone from a single text to four missed calls and three unread texts from Jackson. The phone begins to ring as I reach for the power button.

"Jackson, I can't talk right now," I say, looking around to make sure Cameron isn't watching. I don't need another lecture about cellphones not belonging in the workplace.

"Where are you?" he demands, sounding overly anxious.

"I'm at work and I really have to go. We're super busy right now and I-"

"Shit," he curses and I being to notice how out of breath he sounds. Like he's been running or something. "You need to get out of there now."

"I can't just leave. This place is slammed right now and Cameron will kill me if I try and leave."

"Omera shut up!" Jackson yells into the phone, "Listen to me. Liam and I were patrolling and we ran across a Deralyt demon. A nasty little thing with one hell of a bite. We cornered him a but he managed to get away, taking a bite out of Liam in the process. He's fine, Max came and got him but his bite is poisonous. He's headed right towards the diner. You need to get out of there. I don't know if these things can sense you or not but he's gonna take one whiff of you and go crazy. Get out of there now. I'm on my way but it's gonna take me a few minutes to get there. Omera? Omera are you there?"

"Yea," I respond, pushing past Cameron and heading towards the back door. I yell something at him about not feeling well and calling him later.

I open the back door, stepping quietly into the dim lit parking lot. I shiver as the cold air whips around me and I am tempted to go back in and grab my hoodie.

"Hello girl," a gritty voice calls to me. The weird guy from the cafe steps out from behind a van, his eyes glowing red. "I don't know what you are and frankly I don't care. You smell amazing...like fresh baked bread."

"Jackson," I whimper into the phone, "I think you need to hurry." I drop my phone...running for the street.