Beta: HeronFrayWood.
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all connected to the Twilight Saga. I don't own anything related to her series.
Complete Corruption I
Coffee
I decided to take a break from the horrifyingly bad coffee available at the University's cafeteria. I packed my laptop and books that I'd been working from up, and made my way out into the cool mid-October Chicago air, in search of a different vibe to study from and descent brown beans that make my favourite drink. My mind had started to slowly losing focus in my dorm room, and at this lunch hour, the canteen would be impossible to concentrate in.
Instead of pressing the little red traffic light button on the buzzer to cross over the zebra stripes as I like to call them, into the city centre, I decided to turn right for a change as I knew my favourite restaurants would be packed at this time of day. A quiet, calm restaurant versus a loud and crowded restaurant filled with screaming kids, my choice was obvious.
I would so not get any work done in that kind of setting for sure. So I carried on walking down on the right, noticing the trees ahead. I had never been down this way before, I always went through the city centre. I decided to have a mini adventure and looked for a quiet location that wasn't ridiculously packed.
I made a choice to follow down to the tree line and see where that would take me. I've been here in the university since the last week of August. I settled in before everyone else arrived as I wanted to acquaint myself to my new school before the halls became filled with other newbies and current students, including the city centre. I knew it fairly well; though if you asked me the street names, I wouldn't have a freakin clue.
After about half an hour of walking down the tree line, I noticed that it was actually a large park and when I got to the corner of the street I'd just walked down, I spotted a cute little café on the other end of the green in the right hand corner. I also noticed it had a cemented path going around it, and in fact the park wasn't all grass that seemed to go on for ages. I think I'd just found my new favourite place and could see myself here a lot.
I made my way around the path on the right hand side and walked up to the café. It was a robin egg blue and had white shutters. So cute, I thought. As I neared it, it had a purplish-grey decking with fancy looking white table and chairs around it. Wicker style, with cushioned seats, a mix of grey and white, fitting in with the colour scheme I could see from the beginning.
I cursed myself out for not feeling brave enough to venturing out and discovering this gorgeous spot before today. Part of me didn't even care if the coffee was rubbish. I just loved this tranquil setting and surprised to find green in a big city like Chicago.
Call me un-geographical, but sue me. I haven't travelled except to move between Phoenix and Forks, those two places are the complete opposite end of the scales to each other regarding scenery. Phoenix is more desert, with hardly any greenery in the city itself, whereas Forks is basically green, grey and brown.
So, to find this little gem on my first diversion from my comfort zone well... I felt kind of smug, excited and pleased with myself all at once. I loved the area already and hadn't even stepped inside the little corner café. Best of all, it looked quiet. Like I said before, tranquil.
I picked up my pace and found myself standing on the wooden decking and peering in through the doors of the café that looked just as cute on the inside as it did on the out. Kinda shabby chic style, with a bit of English Victorian vintage. I stepped inside, and go to the counter, where they have a selection of cakes and pastries, as well as a big board above the sink, resting just below the slanted ceiling.
The inside is the same colour as the decking, but more mix match in furniture and toasty warm inside. At first, I had thought that it may be cold due to its wooden structure, but how wrong was I. I am eyeing the menu above, the coffee section that had so much more to chose from, than your average branded coffee house.
I had a good feeling about this place when I had first seen it, now it has just become my idea of heaven, with all the different coffee's. I just hope it tasted as good as it smelled. Lost in my own muse and coffee land, that I didn't even see a girl arrive in front of me until she spoke.
"Hi, welcome to Angie's. I'm Angie. What can I get ya'll?" She asked me, making me jump.
"Oh, um, what do you recommend? There's so many to choose from." I said. "Also, If you don't mind me asking, is it always this quiet?" I asked her.
"It varies on different days of the week. I see you're a student?" Angie nodded to my book/laptop bag.
"Yes, up at the University. I decided to take a break from my dorm and the horrifyingly bad coffee the university had to offer. I didn't fancy the hustle and bustle the usual coffee places would be at this time of day, and wanted some place quieter. So glad I found this place." I said to her with a smile.
"Well, you are lucky you picked one of our quiet days. Monday's are generally quiet due to it being most of our customers first day back at work from the weekend, so they are locked away in their offices or wherever work may be. Oh, and I recommend the Raspberry Cream Coffee; it's a new creation of mine that hasn't been tried yet, so you could be my guinea pig if you like?" Angie, which I guess is short for Angela looked so hopeful, I just nodded.
"Sure." I said to her, then looked at the sandwich menu and just decided to treat myself and have a slice of the yummy-looking Eaton mess-cake with strawberry marble looking icing on top.
I paid and couldn't believe the price, five dollars for a big slab of homemade cake and a large coffee! Starbucks and costa would have been a little bit more. This is definitely becoming a favourite hang out.
Angie said she'd bring it over, and I chose a seat in a quiet looking, shadowy corner where you had a good view of the park, and entry of the café. I sat on a comfortable cushioned seating. I had just got my laptop set up and my books spread out as Angie came over with my coffee and cake.
"Thank you." I replied gratefully.
"You're welcome. What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?" She asked me.
"Bella." I said. Maybe, just maybe, I've made my first friend in Chicago.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Bella, and thank you for choosing my place to have your coffee." She said with a smile as she went back behind the counter and disappeared from view. There is only a few other customers in Angie's, including myself, so I was able to get a lot done, and the Raspberry coffee had just become my favourite new drink, and knew I'd be spending a lot of time down here, away from the hustle and bustle of city and uni life.
I hadn't realised how much time I spent working, until Angie came past and lit the candles on the window sills that I hadn't even noticed where there.
"How's the work going?" She asked me when I looked up and watched the flame's flicker.
"Good, I'm sorry I didn't even realise how long I'd been here for. I'll pack up now, I promise." I said, getting ready to rise.
She put her hand on my shoulder.
"Bella, honestly it's okay. We don't shut until midnight, that's when my boyfriend gets off work and he and sometimes his friends help me close up, then Ben and I go home. You've got another five hours, so relax and don't stress."
"Thank you, and the Raspberry Coffee has just become a new favourite of mine. Please may I order another, and I'll come over to look at the food menu in a minute." I told her.
"I could bring you over a menu if you'd like to. Though, I should warn you that you may want to move to another end of the café soon, as a guy who's come in since we've opened has sat in this exact spot, all the time without fail, each day, whilst he has his coffee and food before leaving for the night."
"Well, I'm not moving, sorry to disappoint him, but it's a free country and I was here first, so he's gonna have to get over himself, and sit somewhere else until I leave, if that's okay as I'm almost finished with part of my Heritage work."
"Sounds interesting. I studied Archaeology and Forensic Science but ended up building, designing and running this place instead." She chuckled as she walked away to light more candles. There was also dim lighting, I noticed, almost giving it a romantic feel. But I could just imagine how this place looked with the candles glowing in the windows, with the gloom of night falling and surrounding us, with little light in the park itself.
Angie walked back over once she had finished her jobs with my coffee and I ordered a bacon sandwiches and another slice of the same cake. I continued working as I ate my food. I finished eating my last bit of cake and had just placed my coffee mug down, after finishing it, when I decided it's time to leave. I packed my books up and closed my computer down, carefully placed my cup onto my plate and grabbed hold of my laptop case handles and walked over to the counter, not noticing a cue of people.
"Thank you, Bella." Angie took my plate and cup as I handed it over the counter top to her.
"Thank you for the lovely coffee. You should really advertise it more." I told her, then added.
"I will definitely be back." She smiled brightly, as she handed some dude his change back.
"Thank you for the vote of confidence Bella, and I'm glad you'll be hopefully a regular."
"I definitely will."
I waved as I walked out the door, and turned around to leave and walked through the doors into the cold October night air. The park definitely didn't look very appealing at night, and the lights of the café only spread so far across the grass.
Deciding to hug my laptop bag instead, so if someone lurking in the shadows did try to jump me, they couldn't take my laptop bag easily. I kept my head down, as I walked the way I came, until I found myself walking head first into a hard object.
"Watch it." A dark voice snarled.
I looked up and squinted in the dark, all I could make out was white hair in the dark gloom, and shaded trees.
"Sorry, I-"
"Never mind, watch it next time." He snapped, and strolled off towards the café with ease. I picked up my pace feeling funny and luckily made it out onto the street in one piece.
Why do I have freaking tingles? Perhaps I should invest in a torch if I'm going to be frequenting this place and staying longer than I intended too? It's eight o'clock at night now or was that time when I left. I walked quicker than I ever had in my entire life.
Something about that encounter with that man had me on edge and I don't know what it meant. But I didn't like to hang around on dark corners or in gloomy parks.
Carlisle Point of View.
What a miserable fucking day and to make matters worse, some little bitch had to walk head first into me, invading my personal space. I hate it when strangers touch, or anyone touches me that's not involving sex but why do I now have fucking tingles? Something told me deep down to go after her, but I fought it and continued on. That's certainly never happened before.
If I wasn't such a dark asshole, I would have run after her, asked her if she was okay and needed any help getting back to the main streets. But no, not me, I snarl at her instead. Typical Carlisle Cullen.
No one DARES walks into me, she's fucking lucky I didn't whip my gun out and pull the trigger on her. Spooking me like that. Another thing that bugged me...
Why the hell did I not?