Okay, this part takes place in the past back when the 2 first met. thanks for the reviews!

Casie

Chapter 4- Southern Hospitality

"This damn guidebook doesn't make any sense!" Chase thought to himself. He had his fingers in between pages, holding about

four different spots in the book. He was becoming very frustrated, sitting on a bench in the middle of the city. He thought he looked like a fool, a lone tourist. He used to make fun of tourists in his native Australia, but he couldn't even think of home at a time like this. "I just need to find a hotel..." His voice trailed off, he didn't have much money, and all of the places in his guidebook were either expensive or family-oriented, neither of which he was very interested in.

Meanwhile, a girl had been watching Chase for a few minutes, from a lamp post on the street corner. She thought he was kind of cute, the way he was flipping back and forth in his guidebook. She decided to approach, and walked up right behind him, and started to read over his shoulder.

Chase suddenly smelled the scent of lavender around him, it was slightly comforting, and he wondered where it came from.

"Are you lost?" The girl quipped.

Chase snapped his head around, and found himself face to face with a pretty black haired girl. He was especially attracted to her brown eyes.

"I'm Chloe" The girl smiled very sweetly at her new acquaintance

"Robert. Robert Chase." He finally answered. He was a bit shocked at her presence.

"Well, Robert Chase, would you like to join me for lunch? I know this really great place about a block from here. I could show you around or something if you want, you know, afterwards."

Chase was hesitant, and unable to respond to her.

"Well, what I mean is, you don't really look like you're from here, and you seem to be alone, I just wanted to help you out, you know?" The girl thought she had offended Chase, and tried quickly to redeem herself.

"Sure, that would be great." He finally gave in to his helplessness.

"Awesome! Follow me." Chloe seemed very pleased with herself as she led the way. "The place is called Rachael's Kitchen, it's really great, I've been going for years."

"How old are you?" Chase seemed to be distracted by her appearance.

Chloe stopped in her tracks and turned around to face him. "If I told you 19, would you believe me?"

Chase looked very confused by her response.

Chloe laughed. "I'm kidding! I'm 23, I swear. I even have documentation to prove it." She held up her purse to indicate.

"Oh, sorry" Chase was busy reprimanding himself for asking such a stupid question.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot. I used to get kids meal menus until I was 15. Didn't really bother me, I always got a really cheap meal!" She was very proud of herself. Most likely for conning all the restaurants she'd ever been to.

The two walked in silence for a moment, and unsurprisingly, Chloe broke the silence. "We're here!"

The two were seated at a table by a window. The view was that of a beautiful garden.

"Anna!" Chloe called over her waitress friend.

"Hey sweetheart! Ooh, who's your friend?" She had a strong southern accent, and half-whispered the second part of her greeting.

"Shh! He's not from here, I'm just... helping him get around." Chloe was blushing just the slightest bit. She hoped her guest would think it was the southern heat.

"Mmhmm. Well, what can I get you?" Anna didn't really believe her friend, but she was still on the clock, and was ready to get back to work.

"Um, just some water for now. Oh, well just for me at least. Robert?"

Robert had been watching the two friends with a bit of interest, and of course wasn't surprised when the waitress commented on his looks. However, he was a bit more interested in Chloe, and sort of snapped back to reality when she asked him what he wanted to drink. "Uh, I'll have the same."

"Okay, I'll be back in a little bit to check on you two." Then she looked at Chloe. "Especially you" she said again in her half-whisper, before escaping to another table in need of service.

Chloe was obviously embarrassed by her friend. "Sorry about that. Anna can be very... frank."

"It's okay, really" said Chase, with a bit of a smile. "It's kind of funny."

Chloe smiled too. There was a bit of silence before she spoke again. "So, where are you from? I love your accent!"

"Um, Australia." He was just relieved she didn't ask if he was English. He was also very flattered that she liked it so much.

"So, what brings you to the lovely city of Charlotte? Business or pleasure?" Chloe was trying to make polite conversation.

Chase looked out the window before answering. "Necessity."