Akhita woke up early on a snowy Tuesday morning in December. She got up and got dressed, barely managing to pull herself out of the warm shower. As she walked through the fresh morning snow, she pulled her scarf over her mouth and nose, hoping to prevent her delicate and pale skin from freezing. After turning many corners and almost falling on the hidden ice a few times, she had reached her set destination. Her frosty eyelashes fluttered as she peered through the window of her favourite corner coffee shop. She stepped inside and brushed the snow off her boots and her coat and then took her scarf and hung it on the back of the door. The shop was small with only five tables for four and one for two in the right hand corner. Akhita liked to sit there. She liked being alone.

She sat down and sighed, taking down her hood. Her brown curls flowed over her shoulders like waves and her blue eyes made her skin look even paler. She took out her book and turned it to where she had last left her bookmark. A smile slowly crept onto her face as she read more.

Just as her mind began to wander further and further into the fantasy world that the characters from her book belonged to, someone caught her eye. She glanced over the top of her page, only to see a young man sit at the table in the other corner of the shop. He was also reading. It looked like a comic. A few snowflakes dived off of his ginger hair and melted into small specs of water on the table. She hadn't yet looked at his face; she was too busy admiring the way his hair fell perfectly across his forehead. And then without any warning, the stranger looked up, noticing her staring. Her freckled cheeks turned a placid pink and her eyes diverted back to her current page. She had just managed to catch his eye colour before looking away. They were a greeny blue shade, sort of like jungle water.

To her surprise, the young man stood up and walked over to where she was sat.

"Hey..." he said. Akhita's heart stopped.

"Hello..." she said without looking up at him. He sat down in the chair opposite her and continued reading.

This awkward silent reading went on for around an hour and neither of the two uttered a single word. They simply sat, reading, and exchanging the odd glance every few minutes. Akhita was no longer concentrating on her book. Instead, her first sights of him played in her head...on repeat. It almost made her smile. The pink colour in her cheeks still hadn't faded. She liked it anyway. It made her feel warm.

"I'm James..." the silence was finally broken by the boy.

"Akhita..."

"Unusual name..."

"Um...yea..."

"It's pretty...I like it"

The pink intensified and she couldn't hold back the smile any longer. The boy also smiled. James. What a sophisticated name. But did it suit his nature? Akhita wanted to find out.

Idk got bored. And good news! I'm gonna write some more of New Blood, New Life on Friday! That's a promise :p. anyway until then, enjoy!