Tom had no idea how he ended up spending his next two Thursday afternoons with Angie. He also had no idea what happened to her, but after his jab at her about dating, she'd loosened up considerably. Or at least was trying.

He hadn't expected to like her so much either, but when she wasn't focusing on reading every signal he was giving, she turned out to be pretty fun. And she could actually take his rude humor.

Like when he was incessantly bugging her while she was trying to write.

"Do you need help?" he asked.

"No, thanks," Angie mumbled.

"Do you need help? Need help? Are you sure you don't need help?"

She bit her lip, trying not to laugh. "Piss off already."

"Aw, trying not to swear, little girl?"

"Of course I don't swear." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and lifted her chin. "I'm a fucking lady."

Tom thought he'd run out of breath from laughter. Sure, they were getting less and less efficient with homework, but for once, he didn't care. He'd much rather lose and hour of sleep to catch up than not fool around.

"Hey, fucking lady, want more coffee?"

"I'm still very disappointed that you never come with flowers."

He grinned at her. His date joke had turned into an unspoken rule. As long as he didn't show up with flowers, it wasn't a date. No matter how much coffee he got her. And she was drinking that stuff like it was water. Good thing employees actually got a limited number of free drinks per week or they'd have to take their monkey business out on the sidewalk.

But as he got her another latte, Tom found himself staring at the basket of ornamental flowers on the bar. Sure, they were made of plastic, but what would happen if he showed up with flowers one day? It didn't have to be much. Just a lone rose or carnation or dandelion. Dandelions counted as flowers, right?

He shook his head. Stupid Tom is stupid. He'd promised Jimmy he was done with romance and girlfriends and other nonsense like that. He had to focus on school. But as he looked over his shoulder at Angie who was making faces at him, he couldn't suppress a smile. She was cute and harmless. At least for now. She wouldn't become powerful until he let her in. And he wasn't planning to.

The other way around? Hell yeah! So when he got back to the table and slid the drink across to her, he had a plan.

"Okay, mystery girl, twenty questions time."

Angie's smile disappeared and she frowned slightly. He could practically see her closing up again.

"Why? We were having fun. Let's not get all serious and deep, okay?"

He squinted at her and he was glad she couldn't see it. She was definitely hiding something and it only made him more curious. But he didn't want that suspicious, serious Angie back. So he had to be careful.

"Who says we're getting all serious and deep? There's not a serious and deep bone in my body. I just want to know inconsequential crap about you."

She raised her eyebrows, but her shoulders relaxed. "Like what?"

"What's your favorite color?"

She thought for a moment. "Green."

Okay, he hadn't expected that. It was his, too. And damn, how sad was it that he actually had a favorite color?

"What color are your eyes?"

He hadn't expected that either. It was something people never asked him. They usually stopped at why he wore sunglasses. Then again, they also bought his photosensitive epilepsy bullshit. Even the teachers bought that one.

"Green."

"Show me."

"No. Because that would send us into serious and deep territory."

She smiled, but it was a little forced. "Okay, your turn to ask."

"Can you ride a skateboard?"

"Huh, you really do ask inconsequential crap. No."

Ha, he got her. "Want to learn?"

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Excuse for getting handsy?"

Hell yes! He put his hand over his heart and pulled back in outrage. "Of course not. Just offering up a skill. How dare you suspect me of ulterior motives?"

"Offering up a skill?" She leaned forward, interested.

"Yup. Skills are awesome. The one thing no one can take away from you."

Angie leaned back in her seat, her fingers drumming on her chin. "Interesting. I've never thought of it that way. Yes, I want to learn. Can you teach me parkour, too?"

"I don't know, that's pretty difficult."

"So what?"

"I'd hate it if you broke your pretty little neck."

"My pretty little neck is tougher than it looks."

Oh, that look in her eyes. The daring, the determination. This girl had fire inside her. Fire hidden beneath the suspicious worry wart.

"Okay, fine. But what will you give me in return?"

Angie's eyes widened and he suddenly regretted his choice of words. The suspicious air was back. What was she thinking? What was she silently accusing him of?

Her expression went from guarded to determined. "I thought you'd do it from the kindness of your heart."

"My heart lacks all kindness." He wasn't sure if it was the right answer, but it slipped out of his stupid mouth anyway.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Okay, how about the pleasure of my company?"

Okay, she had him. That confidence and the smirk on her face were enough. He suddenly yearned for a reason to touch her. Parkour would involve a lot of that.

"Okay, then." He leaned back in his seat, trying to appear chill and unaffected. "You tell me when and where to find you and I'll teach you."

A victorious smile stretched across her face, as if she'd finally caught him in a net, and he regretted asking. But her expression quickly changed into one of unease. He felt like screaming. What the hell was going on inside her head?

"Earl's Diner. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, eight o'clock," she finally said, her voice weary.

Tom just stared. Did she actually work there or was it a place she liked to grab dinner? Did she need a job, just like he did? His throat constricted and his fists clenched under the table. He didn't want to ask, didn't want to know, didn't want to go all deep and dark and serious. Not about things like that.

"Okay, then I'll teach you. I'll have to check my very busy schedule and see when I have time, but yeah."

"I don't trust you, so we'll have to shake on it like gentlemen," she said, the playfulness back in her voice.

She reached her hand across the table. Tom leaned over, grabbed it and pulled her towards him. The table stopped her and inch away from him. And he loved to see her this close, this flustered. She smelled really good, all citrusy. Her breathing sped up, and there was slight panic in her eyes, as if she were afraid he would lean over the missing inch and kiss her.

His eyes lingered on her lips. They were full and rosy and looked delicious, but he wasn't going to break his own rules.

He just grinned at her. "If I do this right, I might expect bonuses."

"Not without flowers," she whispered.

"Naughty girl, that's not what I meant. Get your mind out of the gutter."

The surprise in her eyes made him curious all over again. "Then what do you mean?"

"Maybe there's a skill you could teach me. Or maybe I'll want something else. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

Looking a a lot more relieved, she gave him a cheeky smile and pulled away. "Okay then."

And it was a sealed deal.

🏫🕳🚬

"Hey!"

Tom put his foot down to stop his skateboard and waited for Gina to catch up with him. Not that he wanted to talk to her, but avoiding her usually meant she'd start stalking him, and he'd rather get it over with. He glanced at the stairs leading to the school parking lot wistfully. So close to freedom.

"Who's that girl you keep hanging out with?" She stopped next to him and ashed her cigarette forcefully.

He watched the little black specs making their way towards the pavement. "Why do you care?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Gina, we broke up six months ago." Get over it already. "I owe you absolutely no explanation."

Gina glared at him, then the cogs inside her head probably started turning, because she seemed to be concentrating really hard on something. It almost made Tom laugh. That wasn't a face Gina wore too often.

"Hey, I'm just a worried friend," she finally said and took another drag out of her cigarette.

Well played, Gina's brain, well played. "She's a friend. We help each other with homework." Which was actually not a lie. Angie actually helped him with English because she was a lot more poetic than he was. He was blunt and rude.

"Really now?" More ash drifted towards the pavement in a mesmerizing dance. "What's her name?"

"Angie. She goes to school here, too, she's a sophomore and her favorite color is green. And that's pretty much all I know about her. We tend to focus on homework."

Gina seemed to be turning his words around as she continued smoking. "Okay. Why her?"

"Why, Gina, weren't you the one who said I should make other friends than Billy?"

"I mean hang out with me and..." She sighed, probably realizing he knew too well what she'd meant, but didn't give a shit about her opinion. "Yeah, whatever, Tommy, I'll catch you later."

"Tschus," he replied with a wave, and just for the hell of it, jumped all three sets of stairs again.

Since he hadn't gotten the proper momentum, the board landed crooked, but he kicked the edge on his way down and managed to land without breaking anything. Too bad there'd been no crowd, because it had been even more spectacular than last time.

"'Ey, dude."

Tom turned to his left, towards the woman who'd just called out to him with a French accent. She was short and lean, her hair looking like black and crimson feathers, and he wore black leather pants and a corset.

"Zat was a pretty neat trick," she said, nodding towards him.

"Thanks."

"You do zat kind of thing often?"

Tom narrowed his eyes and watched her suspiciously. "Yeah. What's it to you?"

She smiled, revealing a row of straight, white teeth. "If you come with me, I'll tell you all about it."

"Do you also have a van filled with candy? Because I'm not going anywhere without the promise of candy."

She stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "No van." She reached out a hand. "Mizrelle."

Tom took it and shook. "Tom. But seriously, no van, no business."

"Oh, we will do buziness, because you will fit right in."

He tilted his head. "Where?"

"I'll show you." And without trying to further convince him, she trotted on her high heel boots towards the school.

Tom hesitated, but since she was heading inside a school, he doubted it was something creepy or illegal. So he picked up his skateboard and followed the weird French lady inside.

🔱🔱🔱

Yes, I know. Really late. And I can't promise I'm going back to my schedule either. I will try, but it's currently taking up a lot of effort.

So yes, how do you feel about this chapter? Do you like Tom and Angie yet? Sailor hats on? Any questions or suggestions?

Thanks so much for reading and don't forget to vote and comment.