Date: 27th May, 2017.

TNWM is on #219 in Short Story, and it hasn't even been 24 hours since I've published this story. Also, thank you for 43 reads!

Caiden walked to his Chevrolet and tossed the bag of cash in the car, buckling up. He drove to the most famous cafe in the area and hid the bag of money underneath his seat just before he got off. As he walked into Bits & Bites, he had a bounce in his step because he was just so happy. He walked, whistling a tune under his breath, just soft enough that nobody could hear. He made his way over to the counter and ordered a half a dozen chocolate chip muffins.

"Having here or take away?" The cashier inquired.

"Take away, please," Caiden smiled, answering politely.

"That'll be $24.50."

"Here you go," Caiden handed the cashier the money, which he had taken out from his wallet before making his way over to the waiting area.

Looking around, he saw a girl around his age sitting in one of the booths, looking distressed. Not thinking much about what he was going to do, he picked up the box of muffins and made his way to her booth. With no difficulty, he slid into the seat opposite Fayth and grinned at her, trying to ease the tension.

"What's got you in a mood?" Caiden asked Fayth, curiosity laced in his tone.

"Nothing," Fayth's half-heartedly answered.

"Oh, c'mon. You can tell me," he pushed.

"I don't even know you."

"I'm Esteban Julio Ricardo Montoya de la Rosa Ramírez," Caiden joked, grinning wolfishly.

Upon seeing Fayth's unimpressed glance, Caiden sighed.

"Caiden. It's Caiden Alex Pierce."

"Fayth Rena Sinclaire," she introduced herself, feeling the need to say her full name as well.

"Pleasure to meet you!"

"Yeah, you too," Fayth gave the smallest of her smiles, warming up to the attractive stranger.

"So, now that you know my name, what's got you so down?"

"I have a 30-page assignment due tomorrow, and I haven't started yet."

"Awh, man. That sucks. What subject?"

"English Lit," Fayth's eyes reflected excitement as she was talking about her passion.

"Sounds interesting. What is the assignment about?"

"It's about how our brains shape the way we perceive the world, and how we interact with others, and whether any other factors come into play."

"Damn, that does sound a little difficult."

"No, it's not, but I have no time to do it, and I'm just stressing out."

"Then, why are you here instead of doing your assignment?" Caiden asked, genuinely interested.

"I need coffee to function," she shrugged.

"Fair enough."

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"What's your major?"

"Oh, I'm doing MD in Psychology," Caiden replied as if it was no big deal.

"Holy shit, that's so impressive!"

"It is, isn't it?" Caiden smirked.

"What got you into psychology?" Fayth asked, wanting to know everything.

"When I was sixteen, I was depressed. I used to go to psychiatrists, but nothing worked. When I was eighteen, I finally found the one who could help me. I was finally okay. I am finally happy. I feel like I deserve whatever I have and so much more. It was then I decided that I wanted to help people like me. I wanted to give back to the world. I wanted to grow, and I wanted others to grow. It's, like, my dream job."

"Woah, that was deep. Pretty incredible."

"Impressed?" Caiden smirked the cocky expression back on his face.

"Definitely," Fayth laughed, agreeing for the sake of it.

"Where are you doing the course from?" Fayth enquired.

"Adler University."

"No way," Fayth said, disbelievingly.

"What?" Caiden chuckled uneasily.

"I'm studying English from there too!"

Caiden's eyes widened in realisation.

"That's why you look familiar!" He exclaimed.

"I've seen you around campus a couple of times," Caiden further explained.

"Oh," Fayth didn't know what to say.

Does 'cool' sound too awkward? Or maybe just a simple 'haha' would suffice?

They sat in silence for a few minutes, but it wasn't an awkward silence. It was comfortable. It was as if they'd known each other for years. They just sat there, staring at each other, observing each other until Fayth broke the silence.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"Oh, this?" He gestured to himself.

He chuckled slightly in discomfort and leaned towards Fayth.

"I'll tell you only if you don't tell anyone," Caiden reasoned.

"No promises," she winked.

"Street racing," Caiden explained, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

"What?" Fayth asked, bewildered. "Isn't it, like, illegal? Dangerous?" She asked, her tone wavering.

"Yeah, of course, it is, but I love it. I love the thrill it gives me. I love the people there. I love the crowd. They make me feel as if I can conquer anything in the world. It's dangerous, but it's home."

Fayth sat there, soaking in all the information. It sure does sound like fun, but there's no way in hell she would ever do that. She was always a bit of a coward. They sat there for the next half an hour talking about Caiden's last race and how did the street racing work. Fayth hung on every word that Caiden said.

"So what are your favourite bands?" Caiden asked randomly, uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting from Fayth.

As cocky, easy-going and confident he may seem, he was really shy deep down.

"Oh, I love too many to name," Fayth replied, playing with her fingers.

"Go ahead," Caiden smiled comfortingly.

"There's Five Seconds of Summer, Mayday Parade, All Time Low, blink-182, and more. You might not have heard of them."

"You have a rad music taste," Caiden complimented, and Fayth blushed under his gaze.

"What about you?" She asked.

"Oh, there's Greenday, All American Rejects, Panic! At the Disco, Arctic Monkeys and Fall Out Boy but blink-182 all the way!" 

"Ah, I see. What's your favourite song?"

"There are way too many to name, but I think I'm gonna with Bored to Death by blink-182."

"I love that song, but it's not in my favourites, though," Fayth butted in.

"What about you? What's your favourite?"

"They keep on changing, but it's Outer Space by 5SOS at the moment," Fayth replied, with a second's hesitation.

"Cool. Cool."

They sat together, both of them talking about everything, from bands to songs, to movies, to serials.

"So are you single?" Caiden asked, grinning.

Fayth was beautiful, no questions asked. She had a fantastic taste in music too. She was friendly and funny and sarcastic, and everything Caiden wanted in a girl. She respected others, but she was no angel. She was not afraid to stand up for herself and curse out a person who deserved it.

"Yeah, I am," Fayth replied, feeling embarrassed.

She was twenty and single, which was not a good combination in many people's eyes. It was frowned upon by society.

Caiden was tongue-tied. He hadn't expected that. He was sure that she'd have a boyfriend but looks like the luck was in his favour.

Then and there, he decided that he would make Fayth his.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

VOTE

COMMENT

FOLLOW