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" Not everything is as it seems. "

Charles Westmoreland

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Faith knew from the gossip that she heard around the circus that Gotham was not the best place to be at night. It was filled with petty crooks and psychotic villains. Although, Faith didn't voice her thoughts. Eric glanced over at the redhead that was walking beside her and immediately knew what she was thinking.

"Don't worry," began Eric as he reached over to grab Faith's hand as a form of comfort. "I won't let anything happen to you."

Faith didn't even bother removing her hand from his. She kept it in his grasp as Eric led them into a small corner cafe. As soon as they walked through the door, the were immediately meet with the smell of coffee. Although it was a Friday night, the cafe was pretty empty. Its patrons were probably all at the circus that was in town.

The cafe was a small cozy place that a fireplace in the middle of it. There were tables scatter around the fireplace and the counter was at the back. The two decided that they weren't really that hungry and had settled on ordering a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Faith took her fork, using the side of it to cut a bite size piece of her red velvet cake.

"This cake is heaven," moaned Faith as she took her first bite of the cake.

Eric laughed at her reaction. "I know. This is my favorite place to come to for cake. Their lemon bars are to die for."

"Then I'll have to get some before I leave!" exclaimed Faith just thinking about how wonderful the lemon bars must taste. If the cake was this good, the lemon bar wouldn't disappoint her either.

"You know, I don't do this a lot. Go on coffee dates with strangers."

"I would hope not," chuckled Eric before reaching over to his mug to take a sip of the hot beverage. "What's being in the circus like?"

"It's . . . a bit crazy," spoke Faith as she pushed her empty plate away from her and moved her cup of coffee to where the plate use to be. "It used to be the best place in the world."

"What happened?" asked Eric genuinely curious.

"My parents, they died in a freak accident. According to the police, the fire that killed them was caused by a faulty electrical outlet. And then, about two years later, my best friend's parents fell to their deaths from the trapeze bar. It was one of their most dangerous shows since we were in the big city that night. So, I lost my best friend since he didn't have any relatives to take him in, he was adopted by someone."

"I am so sorry, Faith."

Faith just waved it off. "It happened years ago. I'm fine now."

Faith pulled out her phone from her purse checking the time. They've been gone for an hour and a half, and the show was over. "It's getting late, Eric. I think we should start heading back soon."

Eric nodded in agreement and picked up their trash, throwing it into the closest trash can. He walked over to the counter and bought two lemon bars to go for Faith. The two began their walk back to the circus grounds.

As they walked through the streets, Eric kept an eye out for anything that could pop out and harmed them. Just like earlier, Faith was holding onto Eric's hand afraid of what could jump out from the dark allies. The two made it back to Faith's trailer without a problem.

"Thanks for the lemon bars."

"Not a problem, Faith. Can I- can I have your number?" asked Eric as his cheeks flushed a light shade of red.

"Yeah. Yeah, sure." Eric pulled out his phone which Faith took out of his hands and typed in her number before handing it back to the boy.

"If you need anything- whether it's to talk or need a lunch date, call me."

Faith gave him a smile, "I will."

The door to the trailer closed, and Eric was left standing outside. He sighed, put his hands in his pocket before making his way towards the entrance of the circus. As he neared the parking lot, he pulled out his phone and called Jacob.

"Can you pick me up? I'm back at the circus."

"I really don't have to pick you up, Eric. You ditched me for a girl."

"Yeah . . . Sorry, about that," apologized Eric as he rubbed the back of his head with the hand that wasn't holding the phone to his ear. "So, can you pick me up?"

Eric heard Jacob sigh from the other side of the phone, "Yeah. Be there in ten."

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word count: 789

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a u t h o r ' s n o t e

I don't often leave a note for y'all, but THANK YOU all so much for reading, voting, and commenting on this story, I really appreciate it. In case you were wondering, I do read every single comment that y'all leave and it always makes my day.

I just wanted to let y'all know that after this update the chapters are going to be updated at a slower rate since I'll be starting school.