Chapter One: Stranger
The warm scent of the local coffee shop was basically welcoming her from two blocks away. Her feet, although slightly cold and numb, carried through the heavy clumps of snow that were scurried through the street. Cherry Valley was a decent city, and although locals from New York City would call it a deserted burial ground, Ally couldn't find any flaws in her town. She liked how it was small and fairly secure; almost everyone knew each other, and rarely did anything big happen. She enjoyed her privacy, and to her, it felt like this city was one of the very few that could meet her standards, especially since the giant, famous New York City was in a miles radius from her.
Shaking slightly through the frosty air, she tightened her grip on herself as another harsh breeze collided with her face; flushing her cheeks even pinker and fading her breath to pale white. The one thing she could do without in this city was the undeniable snow infestation that was occurring in early December. She was a short, and timid girl; one with barely any meat on her bones to protect her from the freezing atmosphere. Her lightly mocha hair was peeking through slightly from her red beanie that was planted firmly on her head and over her ears to avoid frost bite. She was drenched in a form fitting, white winter coat while her skinny jeans hugged her legs in an uncomfortable fashion. Coldness was still seeking through the fabric around her legs, and frankly, she wasn't so fond of the feeling.
As her numbed feet continued to chop through the hills of snow, a sudden voice began to echo behind her. She didn't pay much attention to it at first, simply because it didn't include her, but as the sound came louder and louder she couldn't resist; she turned around.
"Oh my god, can we get your autograph?" She heard a girl squeal. As Ally turned around, she noticed how a herd of teenage girls started to bombard on an innocent bystander. The female groupies were basically circling—what Ally automatically guessed—was a guy with probably a huge fan base. She only stopped her tracks and stared for what seemed like a minute or so before the harsh winds of the winter season reminded her she had a job to do, and that she better leave the outside darkness before she becomes a Popsicle.
She forced herself to trudge through the heavy snow until the well-known local coffee shop was right in front of her. She sighed in relief, took a couple steps forward, and swung the door open until the delicious smell of hot chocolate tickled her taste buds. The classic bell hanging over her head rung as she entered the area and greeted her like it did every afternoon. Her lips, although slightly blue from the cold, curled into a genuine smile as she saw her dad cleaning the counter and basically welcoming her to come closer. Closing the door, she made her way innocently over to the back of the counter and grabbed her signature apron that was hanging on a rack. She took off her coat and beanie, finally letting the warmth of the coffee subside in her skin, as she wrapped the string from her black apron around her waist.
Her dad, still proud and joyful as ever, put on the finishing touch of Ally's uniform; the green and white cap that had the Coffee Shop's name printed on the front. She gave her dad a weak, but yet acceptable smile and watched as he walked away to go attend another customer. She sighed, sat on her regular stool, took out her song/diary book and began to scribble things down to pass the time. Her head, bent over and oblivious to her surroundings, was completely focused on the rushed writing placed on her notebook. Her handwriting was pretty good when she wasn't rushing, but with so many overbearing ideas in her mind, she can't help but dot them all down before she forgets; making the book a sloppy mess. Thinking of a chorus for her latest song, she suddenly heard the bell that was hovering over the door frame ring in interruption. She sighed, put her book on the shelf behind the counter and replaced it with the regular order sheets all employees had.
She looked up to see the customer and smiled when the guy made his way to the front counter. Sitting on the stool, the guy continued to have his head down and his hoodie over his hair; making it impossible for Ally to even catch a glimpse at the guy's features.
"One hot chocolate please," He order lowly, barely making his voice higher than a whisper. Ally narrowed her eyes, dotted down his order, and tried to catch a peek at the mysterious stranger who was so determined to hide his identity.
She sighed once she couldn't snag the chance, and gave up after she finished writing down his order. "Right away," She smiled. Putting the little piece of paper on the rack of orders, she spun the 'carousel' clockwise and thumb-upped the cook—also known as Bert—to signal him she got an order. He nodded back at her, picked up the order, and got to work before anything else could have been said. Ally went back into her regular placement and waited patiently for Bert to finish the mug. While she was waiting, her best friend, Trish, came up behind her and tapped her shoulder lightly, causing Ally to jump slightly and curse under her breath.
"Trish," She breathed, "I told you to stop sneaking up on me!"
"Oh relax, it's not like you were holding anything breakable," Trish tried to reason.
Ally gave her a death glare, "Like last time?"
"Let it go, I said I was sorry!"
Sighing in exasperation, Ally went back to counting the profit in the cash register. Her fingers counted the money absentmindedly and tried to ignore her friend's stare.
"Who's the guy in the hoodie?" Trish suddenly asked. Ally glanced briefly over her shoulder and eyed the guy up and down while he waited in silence on his stool. There was no sign of hope to see his face, and for some reason, Ally couldn't stand it. She frowned, "Dunno."
"Ally," She groaned, "Shop's policy, remember?"
Ally groaned miserably at the memory of the newest addition to the already never ending rule's list. Her dad, the shop's owner, decided it was time the Coffee Shop became more social and welcoming to customers. His idea made all his employee's groan in exhaustion, but nevertheless, it had to be done, and it was. Now, every regular customer is well-known around here; keeping everyone in first name bases. So, despite Ally's rejection, she had to find the guy's name before he left.
"Well, he doesn't seem like he'll come back again, so what's the use?" She tried to reason. Trish exchanged glances between the mysterious stranger and Ally, until finally, her mind was made up.
"I guess you're right," She sighed.
Ally smiled, "Cool, score one for Ally D!"
"Order up!" Burt said melodramatically. Ally quickly walked over to the hot chocolate mug and wrapped her slightly frozen finger's around its rim. It felt good against her cold skin, and right when she caught a whiff of the mouthwatering ingredients, she felt like she could use one too. But, nevertheless, it was for a customer and it needed to be served. Her feet brought her back over to the mystery guy and she placed the hot beverage on the round coaster that was placed in front of him. She tried to take a peek at his face, but had failed miserably when he lowered his hoodie. She sighed quietly and smiled, even though he wasn't looking.
"Enjoy," She said politely.
The boy nodded, "Thanks."
Walking back to the register, something inside her blue jeans started to vibrate. She slipped her hand easily into her pants pocket and wrapped her hands around her purple phone. She glanced down at the bright screen and frowned when she saw the text's owner; her official ex-boyfriend.
Ally, I'm sorry, please answer me, I need to talk to you! – Dallas
Pressing the 'off' button on the top of her cell-phone, she slipped the uncharted phone back into her pocket. She began to count the money where she left off and paid no attention to the area surrounding her; all she wanted to focus on was the profit, nothing else that would complicate her even more. Right now, she felt like her life was caving in on her and making her feel smaller than usual. The college she so desperately wanted to be accepted to, rejected her this morning, making everything she had planned in the future vanish before her eyes. She felt so useless and neglected, like she had nothing to do anymore except take orders from strangers. Then she caught her boyfriend cheating on her with her cousin, just when she thought things couldn't get worse.
She hated her life. More than anything.
"Excuse me," A sudden voice said, "Can I get some marshmallows?"
Ally, still focused on her nickels, only glanced briefly up at the mystery guy and for the first time, she actually saw a couple clumps of his golden hair seeping through his hoodie. She nodded at the blonde and jolted her chin in the direction of the counter.
"It's behind the counter, on the first shelf, help yourself."
The boy nodded at her and dug his arm over the counter he was sitting in. His hands fished for the bag of marshmallows, but hit something hard and rectangular instead. Ally had already reeled her attention back onto the money, and well, the boy couldn't resist. He brought his arm back over to his side and placed—what looked like a journal—on top of the counter. On the journal was a big drawn on "A" and a silver star sticker placed on the corner. The book's cover was crowded with loads of random drawings and sayings, but somehow, it made it look nice. He smiled down at the book and couldn't contain his curiosity any longer, he began to open the first page when someone suddenly snatched it out of his hands.
"Don't touch my book," He heard a familiar voice say. Carefully, he peeked through his hoodie and saw the waitress from before with the journal in her hands, she didn't look mad just a little stressed.
"What is it?" He wanted to know. Ally gently shoved the book back onto the last shelf—away from the boy's reach—and looked up, narrowing her eyes.
"Who wants to know?" She asked, a little taste of bitter in her tone. The guy self-consciously put his hands up in surrender and carefully leaned a little back; hoping the girl would cool off a little.
"My curiosity just got the best of me, I didn't mean for any trouble."
Ally softened up a bit at his mellow tone, and sighed, shaking her head and making her way back towards the register. The guy smirked slightly to himself at the girl's annoyance and drank the rest of his toasty hot chocolate down, devouring it's melting taste. When he was done, he laid the money straight on the counter top and fled the scene without another word.
Ally sighed in exhaustion and walked calmly over to the area he left his payment. She took the money into her hands, counted it, and nodded when the money met the shop's standards. She was about to go stick it in the register when something caught her eye, she looked back down on the wooden counter and adjusted her eyes so she could see better. It was a napkin with some pen-stained words scribbled over.
Sorry about the book, A.
Ally furrowed her eyebrows at the penmanship and tried to trace back to when she told him her name. Surprisingly, the employees of the shop don't carry around nametags anymore, simply because they kept losing them. Ally looked down and found her song book peeking through the counter's shelf. She snatched it into her hands and looked over it, smiling in acknowledgement as she saw her front cover had a giant, pink "A" drawn on it. Shrugging in dismissal, she put her book back where it belonged, snuck the napkin in her hand, and went back over to the register; finally counting the day's end profit.
A/N: Alright, first chapter! So, not much to say but I hoped you enjoyed. It isn't great, but it'll do. Review if ya want, it would help. Any who, hope you enjoyed :)