Chapter One (Based on a fanfiction story)
I was tired. It was raining outside of my apartment in the beautiful city of Landcaster, Washington, a small town just outside of Seattle. I sat by the window in the kitchen and watched the rain drip from the windowsill. The raindrops made me feel calm inside. I've been in Landcaster for almost a week now, and am still getting used to the town. Building wise, it's not a whole lot different than Seattle, where I'm from. I haven't been around long enough to assess the peoples' attitude in Landcaster, but so far this country has been treating me well. I stretched my arms, took my laptop off the counter, and sat on a couch in the living room. My apartment is a small but cozy one, smack in the middle of the small town, which was the deciding reason why I decided to live here. I haven't been sight-seeing yet; I'm more focused on finding a job and a new phone. I left my old phone on the plane, and only realized the moment I stepped out of the taxi. Despite how tired I had convinced myself, I was in the mood to visit the bakery down the street. I couldn't remember the name of it, but the warm and inviting smell of freshly baked scones attracted me to that bakery specifically. I gathered my raincoat, wallet, and backup phone and headed out into the pouring rain. Hmm, maybe they have hot chocolate?
Buns was the name of the bakery, and it smelled better than ever. There wasn't anybody inside, just an old man by the counter. He greeted me with a warm smile.
"Hello there! Welcome to Buns! Are you new here?" he asked me. I walked up to him and shook his hand. "I'm about a week old in this area. It's lovely. I'm Audrey."
"Welcome, Audrey. I'm Bruce." Bruce looked to be at least in his late sixties, with snow white hair, a bit of a beer belly, a thick British accent, and a crooked warm smile. "So, Audrey, what can I get ya?"
Behind the wall behind him, there was a door with a window on it, and behind the door was a little baking section. I saw someone move, but I couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman.
"Do you have hot chocolate?"
"London's finest. It's particularly popular in the winter."
I smiled. "I'll get a cup of hot chocolate, please. Oh, and do you know any places to get a new phone? I lost mine, so I have to use this old one that belonged to my mom a while back." Bruce nodded, while writing down my order.
"Down the street there's an electronic shop. I'm sure they have great phones there." I thanked him, and he went behind the wall to the kitchen. I heard a deep voice speak, but I couldn't make out the words. He sounded at least eighteen. I waited a couple of minutes, until I heard the little bell on the door ring, signaling that someone had entered. It was a girl with beautiful golden locks of hair, which fell perfectly against her flawless skin, bringing out her hazel eyes. She was beautiful, and I felt like a potato even being in the same room as her. She walked over to the register line, and looked at me. "Hey," she said. She smiled. "I don't think I've seen you around before."
"I'm new around here. My name's Audrey."
"I'm Stella." Stella stood on her toes to try and get a peek behind the window. "I love coming here, not only for the food, but for David and Adam."
"Whose David and Adam?" I asked. One of them must have been the person I heard speaking.
"They're Bruce's grandchildren. They work here, and they help with the baking and run the shop." Stella started picking at her finger nails. "I'm dating David. Six months on Monday. I talk to David a lot and he's really nice. Adam is more of the quiet type, and is more interested in baking bread than being social."
I wanted to learn more about them. "How old are they?" I asked.
"David is eighteen and Adam is nineteen. How old are you?" Stella moved from playing with her nails to twirling her hair, probably a habit.
"Eighteen. I'm nineteen soon though," I replied. Stella told me she just turned nineteen, and we talked and talked. What was taking this hot chocolate so long? After what felt like an hour of talking to Stella, when in reality was probably several minutes, Bruce came out with my hot chocolate. When I gave him the money, he waved his hand, signaling he didn't want it.
"On the house. Consider this a welcoming present." I thanked him and picked a nearby table to enjoy my hot chocolate.
"Hey, Bruce!" I heard Stella say. "You look great! How's the leg? Is the herbal tea I recommended working for you?"
Bruce and Stella talked for a bit, then she ordered a cup of tea and a slice of coffee cake. Bruce went to the back to make the tea, while one attractive boy from the back greeted Stella. Considering the way they were flirting, I guessed that the handsome boy was David.
"Wow, you're looking great! Have you been working out?" Stella chirped, twirling a lock of hair. They talked for a bit, then said goodbye. Stella walked over towards my table. "Room for one more?" she asked. I nodded, welcoming her. I cupped my hot chocolate, realizing that I hadn't had a sip yet. What was I waiting for?
"I'm guessing that's David?" I joked, still not bothering to take a sip of my hot drink.
"Yeah! Isn't he great?" Stella beamed. I shrugged.
"I haven't exactly spoken to him yet. He's nice?"
"Only the best! Oh my God, you have to meet him! Both of them, actually!" David came over to our table with Stella's coffee cake.
"Adam's coming with your tea. Whose this?" David flashed me a smile, and I blushed just a bit. I hoped he hadn't noticed.
"That's Aubree," Stella said.
"Audrey," I corrected her. Stella sighed apologetically.
"I'm horrible with names. When I first met David, I couldn't stop calling him Damien. I don't know why."
David chuckled, remembering. "It's pretty close though. I guess it was my fault too for not correcting you." David sat in the chair next to Stella. "So, Audrey, where are you from?"
"Downtown Seattle," I replied. "It's pretty busy there. A whole lot less peaceful than here."
"So you enjoy boring town life?" David joked. Stella slapped his arm playfully.
"David! It's not too boring!" she joked. Then, the door from the bakery kitchen opens, and out comes a tall, brunette, handsome boy with Stella's tea. He looked about six feet. Strong arms, chiseled features, while rocking a polo and jeans. Could this be Adam?
"Hey Adam!" Stella said, greeting the now confirmed Adam. He smiled shyly.
"Stella, hi. Here's your tea. Enjoy." We made eye contact for a second, until I pulled away. I could feel his gaze on me, as if trying to figure out who I was. I decided this was too awkward for me, so I swallowed my pride and introduced myself.
"Hi I'm Audrey," I said to him, smiling. He nodded.
"Adam."
"Cool."
"Yeah."
A couple of awkward seconds trailed by. David broke the ice.
"Er, Adam. Wanna sit with us?" The only other seat available was right next to me. Adam looked at the chair, as if deciding whether or not sitting next to me would determine the fate of the world. He shrugged and sat next to me. His cologne smelled good. I wondered what it was?
Adam looked at my hot chocolate. "Is it not good? Because I can get you something else."
"Oh no, it's great!" I said, quickly taking a sip. "Actually, it's more than great. It's fantastic! What type of cocoa powder did you put?"
"It's homemade. So, I guess to answer your question, a secret family formula and milk." Adam grinned, we all laughed. "So, you're new around here?"
"Yep. Born and raised in downtown Seattle," I replied, taking another sip. Man, this is good. The four of us sort of hit it off, and when Stella and I finished, I exchanged numbers with them and started to head out. Adam got up and walked me out the door. "It was nice meeting you," he said, smiling. Oh God, he's so perfect.
"Nice meeting you too! I didn't know you had a thing for archery," I said, remembering that fact coming up in our conversation.
"Are you an archer? I never asked."
"I don't even know how to hold a bow and arrow," I replied sheepishly.
"Maybe I could teach you?" Okay, he was flirting now. Do I flirt back? My best friend Becky taught me how to flirt back home, when an Italian exchange student expressed interest in me. Turns out he confused me for his actual crush Lucia.
I smiled and played with my hair like Stella did. "I'd love that."
"Great! Call me? Or, I can call you? Either way works with me."
We both agreed on texting and then calling. Could this be any more perfect? I thanked him for the hot chocolate, and told him to also thank Bruce and David. I think I'll be dreaming of that perfect smile for a while now.
"Welcome to TechSmarts, how may I help you?" a tallish boy with red hair greeted me. I needed to pick a new phone, so I decided to go to Bruce's suggested location.
"I'm looking for a new phone. Preferably a touch screen." The boy's name tag read Noah. He lead me to a section filled with phones that had touch screens, and touch screens with key pads. I settled for an iPhone 4s. I remember Lucia, the Italian exchange student's lover, gloating about how much she loved her iPhone 4s. On the way home from the store, I stopped at a beautiful park. I looked at my old phone. Adam still hadn't texted me from yesterday. I quickly exchanged all necessary data from my old phone to my new one. About four seconds after I had finished, I got a text message from an unknown number. Hmm, new phone eh? What was wrong with the other one? It's okay, I like girls with money. Xx ;). My eyes widened from this text. Did Adam send me this? I quickly replied to the texter. Who are you? And how do you know about this purchase? The person immediately replied, Let's just say, I've been watching you for a while. Maybe next time you shouldn't be so obvious? Xo. Who was this person? Adam? Stella? David? Becky? I was debating whether to block their number, or let the person reveal themselves. I decided to wait. Nothing bad could happen with that, right?