CHAPTER TWO – A WARM WELCOME

Aisha felt the sun sting her eyes the moment she woke up. The smell of old books greeted her next. She turned and lifted her pillow so that it covered her face. She was definitely not in the mood for getting up and facing the day. The coolness and softness of the pillow was more than enough to discourage her. She had to arrange her belongings, head to the mall to buy necessary supplies and, of course, find the perfect job. Aisha wasn't pining for anything special – she could be a cashier at a café for all she cared. What she needed was something that could help her cover her electricity bill and other school needs. But right now, she didn't want to worry about anything. She just wanted to sleep some more.

That is, until her cellphone's alarm started blaring. And here she was, thinking she could propose to her bed and marry it.

She groggily hefted herself up and looked at the time before dismissing the repetitive rings with a single swipe. Seven freaking am – an ungodly hour for any student who's enjoying what's left of the summer. Aisha wiped the sand out of her eyes and stretched. Glancing at the window, she realized that the front yard still needed a makeover. She groaned at the thought. Rena had offered to help her, but that was kind of embarrassing right now. The girl was still a total stranger to her. They didn't even ask more personal questions the night before because of the dramatic tension caused by a certain tomato head. What if she sees him again today? What are the odds? He and Rena were friends after all. The thought lingered in Aisha's head even as she got off the bed and took a bath.

Her skin smelled like strawberries the moment she got out. She was more excited about dressing up and looking presentable now. The contents of her duffel bag had been stuffed inside an old cabinet that reeked of rat poison. After mastering the art of digging, she managed to grab a skirt, a white blouse and a dress-jacket with bunny ears attached to the hood. She smiled at the ensemble and wore them. Her sneakers weren't soggy anymore, but they felt cold when she slipped them on. She sprayed cotton candy perfume before heading outside.

The tree was shedding again and leaves poured down like a waterfall above her. She started a leisurely stroll on the pavement towards the bus stop. Much to her surprise, Raven and Elsword were talking on the doorstep of Rena's house. Why were they up this early? But even more importantly, what's the redhead doing here? She quickly averted her gaze and chose not to meddle in the conversation. That was the most appropriate thing to do.

"Aisha!"

Goddammit Rena.

"Would you like to join us for breakfast?! Elsword's sister isn't around so he'll be joining us too!"

Why sure, Rena! I'd love to! You'd have to kick out the meathead first though. Animals like him don't sit at the table.

"I'll just eat breakfast at Grail's… I used to go there with—" Aisha's face paled. She used to go there with Elsword and the other friends she once had. Even back then, they would throw insults at each other.

At this, Elsword smirked. "Why don't we all go there right now?"

"B-But Rena might be preparing something already!" Aisha argued. "Right Rena?"

Rena shook her head. "Actually I was just preparing the steamer. I haven't cooked anything yet!"

Raven thought for a moment. "Yeah. Rena could just have one of their signature vegan dishes so eating there won't be a problem."

Aisha threw a glare at Elsword. He returned it with another one of his little smug smiles. He had certainly grown out of his overly obnoxious grin and all. Maybe he was turning into a gentleman. If that's the case, his transition was slow as heck.

Rena jumped up. "I'll get dressed right now!"

Aisha folded her hands again. She sighed before a pair of fingers latched themselves on her cheeks again, pinching them slightly. "You should really start getting along with your neighbors, Ai."

Aisha glared at him. "You're not making it easy."

"Nothing in life is ever easy," Elsword stated. "You know that better than I do."

Aisha looked up at him, rather surprised at his statement. Instead of saying anything, she just folded her hands across her chest. "Hmph."

"Thanks to me, you wouldn't have to eat breakfast alone. Also, Rena and Raven like you," Elsword stated. "I don't think it's a good idea to just bail out on them like you used to with the rest of us before."

Aisha frowned. "You don't know me, Elsword. And for the record – I still hate you."

Elsword laughed. "Okay, grapehead."

Aisha suddenly felt her cheeks flame when she heard his laugh. Man did it bring back a lot of good and bad memories. Most of all, it made her feel awkward. Like her insides were disintegrating rapidly and there was nothing she could do about it. Elsword has had that effect on her. It made her hate him even more. "Stupid, ugly El-dork."

She could practically feel another smirk casted towards her. "What did you say, Ai? I couldn't hear you over how tall I am."

Aisha tried to come up with a smart remark but failed, partly because Raven had started the car and partly because Elsword was actually already a head taller than her. Why do kids like him grow up so quickly anyway? How unfair could the world be? If only the gods above blessed her with at least three more inches, she'd actually have more bragging rights but no – at 5 foot 1, she fell a few centimeters down into the "short girl" category.

"Come on Els! Ai! Stop flirting with each other and get in the car!" Rena chirped behind them.

"We're not flirting!" Aisha barked back.

"Whatever you say, Grapehead. You were clearly trying to make a move on me."

"SHUT UP!"

Aisha walked towards the car but somewhere midway, she turned around and stuck a tongue out at Elsword who was trailing behind her without expecting to see the sudden childish mockery. In reaction to this, he merely sighed and uttered a few words – "You've never changed, Ai. By the way, you should wear your perfume more often. I like the scent."

She was rather surprised at his upfront remark. Even as she entered the back seat with him by her side, she couldn't deny the sudden rush of blood to her cheeks.

That was really flattering.

….

The smell of coffee was intoxicating. Aisha closed her eyes and basked in the scent. Boy did she miss this place. The countable number of people, the jazz music that played on a low volume in the background, the theme of the café that reminded her of a certain boy wizard and so on… There were a lot of qualities that made Grail's the number 1 place to visit in Velder, aside from the mall of course.

Aisha's hands clasped as if romantically swooning over the aroma of caffeine. "This place still smells the same."

"We'll go ahead and look for seats," Rena suggested. She, Raven and Elsword ventured into the dining area.

When Aisha's eyes explored the café, she remembered things that made this her palace of comfort – nobody she completely disliked ever bothered her here. She just enjoyed the coffee, mingled with "friends" and of course, exchanged remarks with Elsword. Being here made her more comfortable with the fact that she was in Velder.

Everyone, aside from that dumb brat, had probably forgotten about her anyway.

"Ayyyyeeeeeeeeeee!" Someone screeched. "This girl! You're actually back here!"

A short guy named Grail stood at the counter. He spoke with a peculiar accent – almost Swedish. His hair was so white, one could mistake it for dog hair. His blue eyes would attentively drift across the café but right now, they were fixed at her. He was holding his old pipe again. He usually held it away from his mouth whenever he spoke and he popped it back in whenever he got the chance. He loved to smoke. Sometimes, in the wee hours of the afternoon, the café would smell like pipe tobacco because of his addiction. Not that Aisha minded.

"Hi Grail!" Aisha waved.

Grail smiled. "I was always waiting for you to arrive. Every day, I waited… Like a loyal dog. I watched the door every hour to make sure I didn't miss a single person. Then this woman came in and said that you and your family left Velder."

"We did…" Aisha said. "It's kind of a long story, actually."

"Tis a bad place, this town," Grail stated. "Full of inner demons. Everyone has one. You're lucky to have left it for a short while. I did miss you though. One less intelligent human being in Velder is one too many."

Aisha glanced and threw an evil smirk at Elsword who, in return, stuck a tongue out against her.

"Thanks for the compliment Grail. I'll tell you everything when the time comes. I'll have to join my friends now… I'll come back and tell you our orders later," Aisha said.

"Alright, young one. I'll look forward to our chat."

Aisha nodded and skipped to the nearby table for four where Rena and the others were seated. By then she already knew what to order – waffles and a hot cup of Cappuccino. She just didn't want to act like a total jerk by blurting it out at the counter without waiting for them.

"So… what would you guys like?" Aisha said, standing.

"Are you a waiter all of a sudden?" Elsword let out a strained laugh.

"I'm just asking, El-dork."

"Fine, fine," Elsword stated. "You should sit. I'll be the one telling Grail about our orders."

"For the record, I love their menu!" Rena stated as her eyes pored over a laminated vellum board consisting of all the wonderful stuff they could eat. "I'll have a tofu omelet please!"

"Their classic breakfast burrito for me." Raven said. "And coffee. Espresso will do."

"I'll have waffles and a cappuccino," Aisha told Elsword. "Don't order the same food for both of us." He used to do that a lot. His only excuse was that he liked the same thing.

"Will do, captain," He winked.

Aisha could swear her heart skipped a beat when he did that. A wink was a bad sign, right? Elsword never winked! He had all these pubescent behaviors that prevented him from doing "flirty" acts like – need she say it again – winking!

Aisha took the seat next to the empty chair that belonged to Elsword.

"Aisha your face is all red," Rena commented.

"Are you lovesick?" Raven said.

The girl's eyes widened in shock, but she could feel her face get even redder. She waved her hands in front of her. "Oh no, no, no. It's nothing. I just feel a bit… hot. They need to fix the air conditioners here."

"But they're working fine," Rena stated, looking around.

"You have a crush on Elsword, don't you Aisha?" Raven stated, with a half-smile adorning his features.

"Who has a crush on what?" Aisha tried to question him as calmly as she could. In her head, she was already screaming the words: WHO HAS A CRUSH ON WHAT?!

Rena brought a hand to the side of her face. "Oh it's okay for you to admit it Aisha. It's actually kind of obvious."

OBVIOUS?!

"You've got it all wrong," Aisha argued.

"You're in denial." Rena chuckled. "But we won't push you…"

Aisha shook her head. "I don't have a crush on anybody. I haven't even spent 24 hours in the neighborhood and you're already accusing me of such things. "

Elsword suddenly occupied the seat next to Aisha. "Orders won't arrive until fifteen minutes. What are you guys talking about?"

Rena chuckled. "It's nothing, Elsword…"

"Okay…" Elsword glanced at Aisha. "I ordered waffles. Same as yours. I was kind of in the mood."

Aisha rolled her eyes and lowered her head. "Fine. Order whatever you want." She lifted her head a little bit and watched Raven and Rena nod at each other. Those two were clearly thinking of something. Whatever it was, it evidently involved her alleged crush on Elsword – which was, without a doubt, the most absurd thing they could ever come up with.

"You guys are weird," Elsword said as he folded his arms. "Are you sure I didn't miss anything?"

"Just a bunch of stuff you don't have to know about," Rena chuckled again.

"Uh-huh," Elsword stated slowly and dismissively.

Aisha's lavender eyes wandered towards him. Could it be possible that she actually had the slightest bit of a crush on this guy? Sure, he was really good-looking. Girls might swoon whenever they see him. But his attitude was hate-worthy. He pissed her off, he acted like a nuisance and most of all he was the dumb prick that made her convince her parents to leave Velder.

"So… Aisha," Elsword suddenly said. "Why are you staring at me?"

Rena chuckled again.

"There's something on your face," Aisha said, defensively.

Elsword leaned back and began rubbing an invisible smudge off his face.

"It's gone now." Aisha averted her gaze this time in an attempt to conceal the lie she just told. Rena laughed some more.

Elsword seemed to get the message after that. "You little liar."

"Couldn't say it better myself," Aisha said, turning back to throw Elsword one of her triumphant smirks.

It wasn't long before Grail walked towards them with a tray of coffee and their food in tow. The smell was absolutely satisfying – it woke their senses in a jiffy. What a great way to jumpstart the day. "My assistant came in early so we managed to prepare these faster."

"You really need a waiter around here," Raven commented. He was eying the line of people that was slowly building up at the counter.

"I know but – this is Velder. Everyone else would rather work at the mall," Grail let out a frustrated huff.

Aisha's eyes widened. "I could work here!"

"No can do, girl. You're too smart for this establishment." Grail laid down the last of the coffee mugs and prepared to leave.

"But Grail! I really need a job!" Aisha stated. "I'm going to Velder High and—"

Grail spun around. "I don't want to waste your talent, young lady. You're better off someplace else."

"I don't have enough time." Aisha stood up. "Besides, you could use a helping hand."

Elsword chimed in, "Come on Grail, give her the job. She just moved in without her parents."

Grail lowered the tray and pressed it against his chest. "I see… Send me a resume later… I promise I will converse with my partner about it."

Elsword and Aisha looked a bit shocked as he made a run for the counter.

"After all these years, I was convinced that he solely owned the place," Elsword said.

"Me too," Aisha said as she sat back down. "By the way, thanks for the help back there. I appreciate it."

"No problem. You know me… I always want to look out for my friends."

Rena smiled. "How sweet! You two are finally getting along!"

"Yeah, cute." Raven picked up his mug of coffee and took a sip. "You might want to start drinking your cappuccino before it gets cold."

"Yes sir!" Elsword and Aisha said simultaneously. They proceeded to dig in to their breakfast.

Friends, huh? Close, but barely, Aisha thought. As stated previously, Elsword had his good points. She could be great friends with him if they overlooked their differences. They had this habit of bickering over unimportant matters. Sure, she hadn't gotten over his joke from three years ago but this was a good start. Maybe, just maybe, she could have a decent friendship with the guy.

"Elsword, stop feeding your cheeks. You have waffle crumbs all over your face."

"You love looking at me when I'm eating… Am I really that attractive to you?"

"Ugh… Gross. Just wipe your cheeks!"

Screw everything. They still have a long way to go.

….

Hi guys!
Dianthus Nera here! I will be using this section to reply to reviews. I'll try to keep this as short as possible:

Arrow-Chan thanks for being my first reviewer. I'll try to keep this interesting for you and other peeps out there! I love your stories.
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Please look forward to the next chapter!