Chapter 7: A coffee Shop

An uncomfortable silence arose as I drove Cassie back to the house. My fingers tapped on the steering wheel as I tried to come up with something to say. I glanced over at Cassie. She looked out the window, absentmindedly fidgeting with the necklace. Maybe I should just let her digest everything I told her earlier. It confused me how she had handled everything in a calm manner. Why had she not freaked out? Did she already know about the supernatural world?

Turning into Cassie’s driveway. I turned off the engine and got out of the car. Taking a deep breath, I made my way around the car to open the door for Cassie. She glanced up at me, parting her lips as if to say something. When I met her gaze, she looked away and climbed out. I gave her a smile and closed the door behind her, letting my hand rest on the car as I watched her walk up to the porch.

“Cassie,” I called out to her. There was so much I wanted to tell her.

She paused and turned around but didn't say anything.

My mind went blank. “Happy birthday. Don’t be a stranger.”

She nodded and gave me a small smile before walking inside.

What a stupid thing to say. I dropped my head against the car but quickly straightened my back. Hopefully she didn't see that. Wiping my hands on my trousers, I got into the car and drove away.

A few hours later Cassie sent me a text. I read the text with a big grin on my face. She had taken my advice and asked to meet up. The prospect of seeing Cassie again made me drop my phone. I picked it up and read the message again. Even though she made it clear that she only wanted to talk about earlier, I was already lost in thoughts. What should I wear? Where should we go? In my excitement I almost forgot to text her back.

Unable to sleep, I headed out to flex my wings and burn away some energy. Flying always calmed me down and helped me clear my mind. I soared through the sky with the moonlight at my back, replaying every moment with Cassie. I had never felt anything like this before. More than anything I wanted her to trust me, to know me.

The first rays of the morning sun crested over the trees. Crap! I hadn’t meant to be out for this long. I headed home, hoping to at least have a quick nap before seeing Cassie later.

Getting out of the shower, I strolled over to my wardrobe to find something to wear. I tried several outfits. It was stupid really. I knew it didn’t matter. In the end I settled for a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. I walked back into the bathroom and stared into the mirror. Should I try to tame my messy hair? I gave up fairly quickly, I didn’t want Cassie to realise how much time I spent getting ready. After all, it wasn’t a date.

I arrived at the coffee shop where we had arranged to meet early, so I could check it out and find a good private spot where we could sit and talk without being interrupted. The table in the corner by the window would do. We could watch people go about their day but at the same time no one would need to walk past us.

After ordering a coffee I sat down. While I waited for Cassie to arrive, I placed a sound barrier around the area. That way we could speak freely without worrying what someone would overhear.

My nerves began to get the better of me and I tapped my fingers against the table, pretending to play the piano. Every time the door opened, my heart stopped and I glanced up hoping to see Cassie, only to be disappointed. Why wasn’t she here yet? It felt like I had been here for hours waiting for her. I checked the time. It was only five minutes past the time we had agreed to meet, hopefully nothing had happened to her. The necklace should stop anyone from noticing that she’s anything but human.

When Cassie walked into the coffee shop, I couldn't help but stare. I laughed at myself. We almost had matching outfits. She wore a pair of tight fitted jeans and a white top. She had her hair up in a ponytail and mascara highlighted her blue eyes. I had never seen a more beautiful person in my life.

Cassie gave me a smile and went to order a drink. My body became hot. When she approached the table, I got up from my seat. I moved my arms but put them to the side again. Would it be appropriate to give her a hug?

She put her drink down and embraced me. A shock ran through me as we touched and I got a feeling like I belonged to her. I quickly released her and apologised.

Cassie met my gaze as she took her seat. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. Has that happened to you before?"

It surprised me how much more confident she seemed compared with yesterday.

"No, it never happened to me before, I’m not sure what it’s about. I went to ask an old friend of mine about it when it first happened, but I didn't get any reasonable explanation about it."

She looked around the coffee shop, pressing her lips together before meeting my eyes. "Should we go somewhere else that’s more private to talk?"

I gave her a smile. "It's okay, I put a sound barrier spell up so no one should be able to hear what we’re talking about."

Her jaw slacked and she glanced over at me with narrowed eyes. "How did you create a sound barrier?”

I shrugged. “It’s simple really, I just visualised it in my head and pushed the energy outwards.”

She leaned in towards the table. “So, you’re not human either. What are you?”

I had no idea how to answer that, I didn’t want to say the D word. It carried too much evil predigest.  Clearing my throat, I looked around the shop. "I'm sort of like you, but slightly different." I hoped she wouldn’t pick up on the fact that I avoided the question.

She gazed into my eyes, a smile playing on her lips. "And what am I exactly?"

I should have seen that coming. I ran my hand through my hair. "It's a bit complicated, I'll explain it to you later at some point, for now let's just say that you are a being that has certain abilities."

Cassie nodded. A spark appeared in her eyes. "What abilities do I have?"

"We’re not sure. Some of your abilities will come from your father, whereas others will come from your mother. I have a pretty good grasp of what abilities your dad has, but I have no idea what abilities your mother had. And it’s still not clear what abilities you’ve inherited."

Cassie stirred her drink. "With we, you mean you and my dad? Have you known him long because you don't look that old?"

"Well, I’m a bit older than I look," I said as I stared into her eyes, my lips turning into a smile, silently challenging her to continue.

She cocked her head. "Exactly how old?"

I gave her a wink. "Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway.”

Cassie huffed. “I’m being serious.”

I let out a breath. “It’s hard to explain. We age differently from humans. Our body usually portrays our mental age.”

“So you’re a teenager?”

I nodded. “I guess you can say that.”

She looked back at me, and I got lost in her blue eyes. It felt like a long time had passed before she pulled me out of my trance by asking if I could help her control her abilities.

I blinked a few times and shook my head internally and came back down to earth. “Well, I can try, some of your abilities will be similar to mine, but others will be completely different and so far, we only know about the mind reading."

She looked up at me with sparkly eyes and a playful smile. "Well, can you help me with that?"

I didn’t have the ability to read minds but knowing that it would mean that I got to spend more time with Cassie, I happily agreed. "I can try."

We changed the subject after that and moved on to a more normal everyday conversation. I asked her about how the rest of her birthday went and what she was getting up to this weekend.

The time got away from us and soon Cassie had to go, as her adoptive sister Leah arrived to pick her up.

We started walking towards the car park. “I really enjoyed seeing you today. It was nice to get to know you better.” I said with a smile.

“I agree, at least now I know you’re not some psycho trying to kill me,” Cassie said, trying to hold back a laugh.

I raised my eyebrow and gave her a questionable stare. “Well, I can’t help being a bit socially awkward. I don’t spend enough time around humans to know my way around things.”

She gave me a big smile, “Maybe I can change that. You’ll help me with my abilities, and I’ll help you fit in better.”

“Deal. Just let me know next time you’re free and we’ll start practicing. It’s probably safest to practice in my house, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure.”

She stopped next to a black Mini. “This is my stop.” She nodded towards the car, before she walked closer to me and gave me a hug. The shock went through me and filled me with happiness.

Cassie shook her head. “I’ll see you later.”

She got into the car and Leah drove away. Frozen in place, I stood there looking after them with wide eyes. When they disappeared from my view, I wrapped my arms around myself as warmth infused my body before spinning around with a wide grin on my face.