Hey! This is the first chapter of a longer series but bear with it, this won't have a second chapter update until Feb 2017. Long time to wait! But I have other fanfictions to write first :) Hope you enjoy and please leave a review!
The kettle rocked on its base as it came to a boil. Arjun rubbed his eyes, he didn't want to be up, but quarterly reports didn't right themselves. He really wished they did though. The kettle clicked and the water hissed as he poured it into his coffee mug. Even once it had been made the drink was still too hot to consume so Arjun walked from his dark kitchen to his dim living room and sat at his coffee table staring blankly at the bright screen as his laptop buzzed at him. He needed a new one, frankly he needed new everything, he'd just never got round to it. He brushed his hands through his hair, tomorrow he'd get round to it, like that wasn't what he said to himself every day. He sipped his scolding coffee, and began to type. The first few sentences came easily as they were the standard introduction he'd written a thousand times, but once he had to start looking through his notes, the statistics and graphs blurring into one boring concoction, the words came to a halt. He rubbed his eyes: he couldn't do this here in his cramped living room where the only lighting was the naked lightbulb that flickered and swung slightly in the middle of the cramped square room. He closed his laptop stuffing it into his closest bag. He was going to head to the nearest coffee shop, wake up a bit more and actually get some work done for once. He stood up, putting on his green winter coat, checking his wallet and keys were in his pockets.
Winter had hit London, something that the icy pavements were quick to remind him. The sun had yet to rise as well, the streetlamps still glowing orange into the morning mist. If it weren't for the work commute that he had joined as he left his apartment he would assume it was still the middle of the night. Also the cold air, though not as bad as it could be, still made him bury his head into his tall collar. He stumbled into the corner café, the warm light and the equally warm gush of air that came to greet him, made him feel at home. All of the sofas had all been taken by people who'd had the same idea as he had but at least he didn't have to be constantly leaning over. He approached the counter where a blonde, tired looking woman was cleaning her nails, but smiled brightly when he approached. He could never tell with baristas if their smiles meant they liked him or were paid to smile. He wasn't exactly bad looking, years of playing tennis had made him lean and muscular and his height didn't hurt. Also his light brown skin made him exotic apparently, according to his past girlfriends, though the idea made him uncomfortable and slightly insulted. Despite this, his black thin hair was never combed given how busy he found himself and his small brown eyes made his long face look empty.
"What can I get you?" she said still beaming, twisting slightly from side to side,
He smiled slightly, "just a coffee please."
"Anything else?"
He shook his head and gave her a crumpled fiver and thrusted his change into his pocket as he moved to the side to wait. He watched the hustle and bustle outside, the people outside practically marching to work as the noise of the other customers lulled him. He shook his head. He couldn't sleep, he had to do this. The people on the street barely noticed the small coffee shop, until a woman came running down the street and practically smashing through the door. The other customers turned round to see what the sound was coming from as she got up from the floor. She was thin and pale with thick black curly hair strewn across her shoulders and face, wearing a long dark blue dress that was definitely not weather appropriate. She backed away from the door, facing it, until her back hit the counter. Arjun looked across at the women behind the counter who seemed determined not to notice the strange woman. Arjun sighed, leaning over to her and politely asked,
"Are you alright?"
The woman's reply was only a look of disgust. He raised his eyebrows at the rudeness but was distracted as the waitress past him his coffee. The bell above the door rang again and the strange woman bumped into him. He was about to turn round to inform the woman of what she was doing when he punched in the chest and was knocked onto the floor. His head slammed into the marble floor, his brain jolting forward, making his eyes water and knocking the wind out of him. He tried to right himself but found the noise the screaming customers and breaking furniture made it hard for him to think straight. He finally got onto his side when blue light blinded him and his shoulder was hit. If he knew what being shot felt like, this was it. He could distantly hear his own flesh tear amongst his own screams at the wrenching pain. He lay back down on the floor panting heavily, eyes wide. He had to stay awake, if he closed his eyes, he'd die. He couldn't die, not like this. He couldn't.