A/N: This short story really has no plot. I was trying out my extended vocabulary (Although I think I overdid it but that's what this story was about) and this is what came out of it. Enjoy!
Long, slender and muscular appendages reached for the sky; fingers laced together, palms up. They seemed to shiver, quivering as if they wanted to desperately reach for the ceiling, but couldn't quite make it. Seemingly giving up their desperate mission to reach the top of the building , those hands fell; releasing from each other to fall lackadaisically to the warm lap of their owner, who at the moment was stooping down into his chair and throwing his legs up to rest on the auto-man in front of him. The man let out a long sigh before taking out his phone to check his noted from the previous day.
He flipped through page after page, his eyes scanning the information with practiced ease as he absorbed the information. Parts of the human body filled the screen along with multiple different surgical tools that were pertinent to what he was currently wearing. This was how he spent morning; making sure he could keep up with the days lesson and stay on top of his work. He sat there silently, looking through the files to glean the information inside.
Someone sat across from him, dropping their bag onto the auto-man in front of them and causing him to look up from his studies. His eyes settled on a woman with the same blue scrubs as himself. She took out a laptop and messed with the cords that seemed to be caught in the back pack, the mouse cord soon plugged in and the charger thrown into the bad with abhorrence.
He glanced at her every now and again, mostly paying attention to his own work as he continued to study vacuously. A curse was muttered by the woman across from him after quite some time as she rifled through her wallet. He tried to ignore her as he inspected the diagram of a fibula fracture, but found that his eyes kept wandering to her like the first time he had seen her that morning. She seemed to be pretty distressed.
"Something the matter?" He spoke gregariously with his low, yet rough voice. She looked up at him with an apologetic and sheepish smile.
"I seem to have lost my student I.D." She spoke with a heavy British accent. "I think I may have left it on the bus on my way here." The realization that she had told him this chagrined her deeply. She blushed heavily and looked away. She quickly closed her wallet and shoved it into her backpack that sat on the floor next to her. The man slid his phone into his pocket after locking it before lifting his hips from the chair he was sitting on and taking out his wallet.
"Replacements are fifteen right?" He asked and she nodded albeit sadly in confirmation. He took out a ten and five, put them on the table in front of him and pocketed his wallet. She looked at him for a moment, her brain trying to register what he had done. He gave her a half smile and took out his phone again. "Keep it. You look like you're really stressing over it and I have pretty good judgment. You don't seem like the type of person who would swindle me for money." He said, the hubristic smirk never leaving his face. Slowly, ever so slowly, she smiled and picked up the money from the table. When she stood he looked back down at the phone in his lap.
"Thank you..." She shifted on her feet and looked at him with a smile. "Would you... like to grab coffee?" She asked and he looked up from his phone once again that morning.
"Sure, but not a date." He spoke colloquially. "I've already got a fiancee." This caused her to chuckle.
"Of course not, just coffee." She said and he packed his things before standing. Looking at her expectantly, he watched her turn and begin to lead him from the campus. Today would be a good day. Maybe a little inane, but good all the same.
As they arrived at the coffee shop people filed out of the door, some going to work, others to class. This was the one nearest to the college after all. The smell of coffee pervaded their senses as they sat at the table. They sat down at a table after ordering their drinks and dropped their bags to the floor.
"So I didn't quite get your name. My name is Alena." She said and he gave her an apologetic look.
"Sorry, it's Nero. Nero Angelo." He stated and a myriad of thoughts seemed to hit her all at one time. She froze for a moment before addressing him.
"Nero Angelo? Isn't that the boy who used to live across the street from me?" She asked in shock. Nero gave her a confused look. "Yes, you're the boy who always used to bring home hurt animals and try to patch them up." She said with a grin. "Your way of tending to them was very rudimentary." She spoke uncouthly now that she knew who she was speaking with. Nero couldn't believe his ears.
"I moved across the country so people wouldn't recognize me." Nero spoke in a sad voice. The woman frowned at him and folded her hands on the table.
"I'm sorry for what happened with your parents. I had heard the rumors that the city kicked you all out... but I had no idea it was true." She said slowly. Nero looked her over again, noting the curly red hair and brown eyes filled with pity. She was a very pretty girl, not Nero's type, but pretty none the less.
"How did you know about that? No one but the council of Fortuna had known about that." He spoke icily, the trepidation clear in his voice. Frightened, she threw her hands up by her head in surrender, clearly shocked at his egregious speech.
"Did you forget that my grandparents are part of the council Nero?" Her hands returned to her lap slowly. "I am furious at them you know. They spoke of your parents like they were rogue monsters but ended up praising assassins like they were god themselves. Talk about gratuitous." She spoke bitterly and Nero's face turned sour. He took a sip of the black coffee that had been put in front of him to distract himself. A palatable taste, but not likely something he would have again for a while. He wasn't a fan of coffee. She took note of his look before sipping her own Americano and clearing her throat. "I have a girlfriend now by the way. Her name's Kyrie." She said slowly, wondering how he would take the information. Nero tensed, looked at her and gripped his coffee mug tighter.
"Kyrie?" He asked and she nodded, smiling kindly.
"Yes, I know she has the same name as your fiance." She explained and Nero choked on his own spit. Coughing for a while, he gained his composure and looked at her with wide eyes.
"Fiance? I never said Kyrie was my fiance." He said wiping up some coffee that had fallen out of it's cup. "Kyrie's like a sister to me. Why would I date my sister?" His face looked troubled and she looked at him with a surprised face. This seemed to exacerbate his reaction as he turned his eyes to the table and would not look back up. They were silent for a while before he spoke again. "I guess you would assume so, but Kyrie is still in Fortuna." Nero explained sipping his coffee again. He looked up at her with a neutral look. "Alena, I let her stay there." He explained. "I left Fortuna with my parents so that I could start a new." He said and a fire seemed to rekindle in his eyes that had died down some time ago. Alena nodded before stirring sugar into her coffee, sipping it, and speaking.
"So who are you engaged to?" She asked with a genial smile. "If it's alright to ask." She continued. Nero considered her for a moment before speaking.
"I think you'll like her. She's just like us. She's not too fond of religion, loves to do her own thing, and works her ass off to get where she wants to be." Nero spoke before standing and grabbing his coffee and bag.
Alena stood up with him, wondering why he had stood up suddenly before glancing at the clock and realizing that it was almost time for class to start. She retrieved her coffee, still steaming, before tightening the strap on her back pack and grinning at him.
Yes, things were certainly odd today, but not in a bad way. Nero had met someone he had lost contact with and now he had a lot of catching up to do. Granted he hardly remembered the woman, but that wasn't a problem. She knew of him and if she accepted him, why not get to know each other more?
A/N: So this was a short story that I started the day before my first year of college. I set it aside halfway through the year and picked it back up to finish it today. I hope you all liked it.
