Atreyus was a brilliant girl.
She wasn't the smartest in her class; she wasn't the one student who had a 4.0 all through middle and high school.
She didn't always make the best decisions; she had OD'd on ecstasy at some party she snuck into and she jumped off some unnamed falls in Washington, but Atti was brilliant.
A brilliant smile always adorned her bright little face, a sparkling glow glittered her almond eyes at all times. Atti was brilliant, like the sun.
It was one of those days in Gotham City, drear, overcast, damp and miserable. No one was out just to be out or to have fun, everyone was mimicking the weather.
Atti made her way over to the little café on the corner past the book shop.
Today wasn't her day, and if anything the clouded skies were making it worse.
School had been frustrating, so had work, and now she was having social issues with those so called friends.
It was frustrating to say the least.
As she entered the small warm building, Atti was hit with the smell of coffee and unbelievable sweets.
Perhaps there was a chance her day could get better.
She nabbed a coffee, a cake, and a window seat.
So far, so good.
Not far from where Atti sat, a young man was walking away from the subway he had just gotten off of. With a majority of his personal possessions locked in a little subway locker, he headed out of the underground hell into the torrent of rain above.
Today wasn't his day either.
The blonde boy was Jack; he was a small town punk with illusions of grandeur and the big city, just itching to get out on his own and leave the torment behind.
But illusions they were.
Jack walked down the street.
He was free, but in walking away from one prison he had walked into another.
Gotham was not all that the small town said it was, it was more.
It was dark and damp, rather dreary and wet. The people were a**holes and no one wanted to talk to some one who looked like him.
Long blonde hair, tight curls, jeans and a black sports jacket, maybe he looked like a pickpocket.
Jack didn't know.
All he knew was that he wanted to get out of the rain.
A yellow glow blew through the darkness of one of the back streets.
Jack ducked into the little coffee shop that was emitting warmth; he needed a smile and something warm to drink.
Perhaps he'd settle for the drink.
Atti sat there warm and content. Her psych book was open on the table, but she was only reading the comics and quotes.
A figure outside in the heavy night dodged back and forth between the rain and the cars.
Atti sincerely hoped who ever it was came inside.
It was cold and wet out there, not an ideal environment for a person.
Her wish came true and the person ducked into the alcove of the coffee shop, pausing to shake off the water droplets before entering he sanctuary.
He had curly, dirty blonde hair that reached just above his shoulders. It looked really soft. The boy walked past Atti, eyeing her as he did everyone else. Atti looked out the corner of her eyes pretending to still be studying. When she did turn back to the book in front of her, a cute little comic caught her eye; her smile turned into a giggle.
The consistent smile and now the laugh forced the blonde from the depths of his troubled mind and into the light of this girl's presence.
He didn't notice he was staring.
"Come sit."
Atti patted the spot across the table from her.
He looked at the brightly colored ball of sunshine absolutely dumbfounded.
Slowly he pulled out the seat and sat hesitantly.
"Can I get you a drink?"
Atti wriggled her eyebrows and giggled at how much she sounded like one of those guys you find in a bar.
He said nothing.
"You look like you could use it."
He continued to sit in silence.
Atti simply got up and headed over to the counter of the coffee shop.
She eventually returned with two slices of cheesecake and two drinks.
She placed on set in front of the still stupefied boy and the other where the now folded up textbook had once resided.
"Vanilla latte and raspberry cheesecake! Hope you like!"
Atti dug in.
The boy slowly followed suit.
Halfway through finishing his dessert he mumbled something.
Atti looked up and said something along the lines of "huh?" with cake in her mouth and a confused look on her face.
He looked back up at her and repeated what he said in a clearer voice.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
Atti looked even more confused.
"Why . . . why this?"
Atti looked around at the table as if seeing it for the first time. A look like an epiphany slowly dawned across her face.
"Oh! Oh, oh, oh. This! You looked like you needed it."
Atti curled her hands in her lap, tilted her head and smiled.
She felt like she just gave him the meaning of life.
He looked at her like a parent when they know their child has done something wrong.
The smile waned and her head moved to rest on her hand as her elbow hit the table.
"Want a better answer?" She looked at him skeptically.
He nodded.
"I needed it too. Can't loose my faith in humanity too young, now can I?"
He just continued to give her the look that screamed "I know your lying."
"What, no faith in your fellow man? Woman? No one is compassionate just be so? Okay, my bad."
Atti smiled and winked as another bite of raspberry goodness found her mouth.
He dared to ask again.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
He bit his lip; there were a thousand reasons why not.
"Name's Atreyus. You can call me Atti."
"Jack."
He mumbled a little again, surprised at how open this girl was.
"Nice to meet you Jack."
Atti giggled again forcing a smile out of the sullen "Jack" across the table.
"Soooo, what's new with you?"
Jack had never really been asked that before.
"Not much, you?" "Oh, just chillin' with this super awesome guy."
"What? And who is he?"
Jack acted offended before the two burst into laughter.
They sipped on their drinks in the silence following.
"So where you from?"
Jack was a little unsure whether or not to answer but did anyway.
They bantered quietly, occasionally interrupting their chit chat with fits of laughter and giggles.
As time passed, the conversation failed to die down but turned more towards who was where and why.
Atti was a college student majoring in psychology and minoring in art. Jack just wanted to escape.
"Wanna stay with me?"
Jack stared at Atti not quite believing the sudden request.
She looked over into his deep dark coffee eyes.
"If you don't have a place to stay, then you can stay with me."
In the silence following both young adults looked away and sipped at their drinks awkwardly.
Atti braved a glance in his direction catching Jack's attention once again.
She lifted one of her high eyebrows cockily.
"So . . . "
She let her statement dangle unfinished.
Jack spoke softly and into his cup.
Realizing she couldn't hear, he spoke up.
"You know, you sure do renew my faith in humanity. You most certainly have filled your kindness quota for the week and you're still offering up."
"Sounds like a yes to me."
Atti winked and giggled, it froze Jack's heart.
She stood and gave a heroic pose.
"There is never a limit to humanitarian aid a college student full of hopes, dreams and aspirations can give."
They shared one last laugh and a warm smile as they packed up to head to Atti's place.
Atti burst through the door.
"Hello! I'm home!"
The house was completely dark and empty.
"So my room is upstairs, second door on the left. The two doors before it are a bathroom and a closet. The two doors on the right are another bedroom and my art room. The one at the end of the hall is my study. You can explore downstairs, too lazy to explain."
Atti shouted from another room after unceremoniously dumping her things along the way to the room she currently resided.
Jack wandered from the entryway into the short hall to the sunken living room. He traced along the marble fireplace and Oriental rug until he climbed the two steps into the kitchen. There he found Atti.
"Hungry? I'm making food!"
She sounded so childish and so proud.
"Well, if you're already making-"
"Yay! I'll make food for you too!"
She padded to the fridge to grab more of whatever she already had out.
"I think I want to make pan fried flank steak with teriyaki sauce, rice and some stir fry vegetables. Sound good?"
"Sounds . . . amazing. Can I help?"
Without turning around she responded.
"Yeah, pick a bedroom and get all settled in. Sheets and stuff are in the closet to the left before the bathroom upstairs, you are welcome to take a shower too. Relax and settle in. Oh! Do you have like a suitcase to pick up or anything, or do you need to borrow clothes until whenever or something?"
Atti turned around and pulled out some knives to cut up whatever she was throwing into dinner.
"I got some belongings in a subway locker, I can grab those and head-"
"Okay, I can grab you some clothes to wear tonight. Tomorrow I'll grab your things on my way to school. Head upstairs now, you can use everything in my shower in the bathroom except my razor. There's some under the sink if you want to shave."
He was going to thank her but was cut off and shooed upstairs again.
A smile graced Jack's face, mirroring the one on the girl downstairs.