Chapter 10- The More You Know:

Third Person:

Erin plopped down on the couch of the café. Like every day at the end of a shift, she looked like a mess. Her hair was messy, her eyeliner was smudged under her eyes, and her clothes had gained a few new stains. Lysander wasn't in much of a better state as he joined her on the couch. They both shared a look of exhaustion as they relaxed on the couch. The clock on the wall told them that it was well past eleven at night. Castiel was long gone, having left hours ago, leaving them to do the café work themselves (aside from the few cooks in the back) as Ryan and Luke both took the day off.

"Thanks," Erin finally said, a bit out of breath, "I'm sorry you had to work so late…"

"My pleasure," Lysander said politely, "I fail to see how you were able to do this much work before…"

He really didn't. With the two of them, they were constantly on their feet, taking orders and getting coffee ready. They alternated between taking orders, cleaning tables and the floor, and other chores. The work left them tired, stressed, and tense. He couldn't imagine what it was like for Erin when Ryan and Luke took days off and left her to do it all alone.

"It wasn't that bad," Erin said humbly, "I managed."

"For what price," Lysander questioned softly, but she didn't answer.

She got up and double checked the closed sign to make sure there would be no more customers. They already finished cleaning the café so it would be ready for tomorrow- they didn't want to have to clean again should just one or two more customers wander in.

"I really appreciate it," Erin said softly, "Honestly…"

Louder, she continued,

"So, if you're just as tired as I am, I doubt you want to drive anywhere. So, do you want to walk down to my house? It's close by so we won't have to walk for long and the you can just stay the night."

She was smiling, but as soon as her request registered in her mind, she faltered with a blush. Lysander looked at her amused, with small traces of his own blush, as he went over her proposal. On one hand, spending the night at a girl's house wasn't very honorable. On the other hand, she was very right about him being too tired to drive. If he tried to drive, he would likely fall asleep at the wheel which would be a hazard to him and Erin (as he was planning on driving her home so she wouldn't have to walk this late at night).

"You can sleep on the couch," Erin hastily added, "I know it's not much, but my couch is really soft and comfortable so…"

She trailed off, blushing bright red. Lysander could see how flustered she was at making such a request, and he desperately wished it was because she was asking him because she liked him. However, he figured it was likely she was so flustered because of the boldness of such a proposal, but was asking because she was concerned for him as a friend.

Erin tried hiding her blush with her hand, oh my goodness what am I doing? Asking him to spend the night- he's my crush. What type of girl asks her crush to spend the night? What if something happens? No, nothing will happen. He's Lysander. He doesn't do anything like that… Unless he has a secret side to him…. Oh no. Oh no. Oh no… As Erin silently panicked- panic that was half-way induced because of lack of sleep, Lysander finally spoke up.

"I would be honored," Lysander said formally with a bow, taking her hand away from her face so he could kiss her knuckles.

"Thank you, kind sir," Erin said teasingly, despite the blush on her face.


The walk to her house was silent- deafeningly so. There was no one on the streets aside from them and the crickets that occasionally chirped. Neither of them spoke a word, partly because of they were so tired and partly because they didn't know what to say. Erin, with her mild fear of the dark, stuck close to Lysander's side and close to the dim street lights. She eyed the darkness around her cautiously. Lysander glanced at her briefly,

"I was unaware that you feared the dark," he said casually as he brought her a bit closer to him in a protective manner.

Erin didn't notice his hand around her waist as she continued to stare off to the side at the dark.

"I don't fear it," she denied, "I just don't like it… And who knows what's lurking in the darkness?"

She giggled to herself a bit,

"But when I was a kid, I was terrified of monsters under the bed more than I was scared of the darkness."

"If it's any consolation," Lysander said softly, "If there's a monster under your bed, then it must be very small to fit there."

She ignored the small pang in her heart- Lysander's words were what were her dad told her when she was little to try to feel better. Instead, Erin laughed,

"When I was little, I thought about that, but it only made it worse because I imagined a shape shifting monster."


When they finally got inside of Erin's house, Lysander was pleased with how homey it looked and felt. It wasn't some fancy house or anything, it was just cozy and home-felt. He smiled to himself a bit as Erin closed and locked the front door. He wandered around the living room and looked at the pictures on the wall. Most he could tell were of Erin- there was one showing a younger Erin in the café uniform that was much too big for her (she looked only nine years old) as an older man lovingly patted her head with a smile. The man appeared in most of the other photos as well. Must be her father, Lysander thought. He noticed that there was no mother in the pictures except for one old vintage photo that was torn around the edges. It was a wedding photo of a woman that had a resemblance to Erin with the man that was in the other photos.

"She died when I was born," Erin said as she came up beside Lysander.

He looked at her a bit surprised, but her eyes were focused on the wedding photo. He could see the small tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Dad used to say that I looked just her… He died in a car accident not that long ago. He left me the café… Maybe that's why I try so hard to get so much done… I want to make him proud and take care of the café that he and I loved so much… He almost named it Kate's Kitchen after my mother. She dreamed of having her own café one day. Their wedding photo is the only picture I have of them together- Dad said all the other ones got lost when we moved here…"

Erin sniffled and rubbed at the tears at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. Lysander took a hesitant step forward, resisting the urge to just hug her and never let her go until she felt better. He didn't mean to make her upset by looking at the photos. She turned to Lysander with a small smile.

"That's the most I've said about my parents in a long time," she gave a small laugh, "Let's go get the couch ready for you. The blankets are in the closet and there's an extra pillow in there too…"

She moved towards the closet by the front door, but he stopped her by grabbing onto her arm gently,

"You go rest. I can get settled in myself."

"You're my guest," she protested as she escaped his grasp, "I insist."

He was about to protest again, but she had already reached the closet and was grabbing a few blankets and pillows. He sat on the couch with a small shake of his head. So stubborn, he thought with a small smile. He was a bit happy that Erin trusted him so much to tell him about her family… She trusts me.

"Meow."

Lysander looked startled before spotted the small cat at his feet. She was looking at him lovingly as she rubbed her face against his leg. Smiling slightly, Lysander gently picked up the kitten and started to love on her. Erin returned from the closet to see the adorable sight and held back an awe as she put the blankets and pillows on the couch.

"That's Paprika," Erin explained, "She's about ten months old now. She's still so tiny… She usually doesn't like other people, but she apparently adores you."

She laughed slightly and Lysander smiled as he pet the cat. Maybe it's a sign, he thought wistfully.


Despite his protests, Lysander found himself sitting on the couch in Erin's father's old clothing as night clothes with a showered, pajama-clad Erin sitting beside him. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy having her beside him, it was that he knew she needed her rest and instead she was watching Pitch Perfect with him. Her pajamas were very simple- black and blue checker print pants and a black t-shirt. As plain as it may have seemed, Lysander thought she looked beautiful- natural. Even though her eyes were half-way closed and it was clear she was on the verge of falling asleep (reasonable as it was well past midnight and a school night), she was humming and softly singing along to the music from the movie.

"You really like this movie, don't you," Lysander asked amused.

When he received no reply and only felt a small weight on his shoulder, he glanced down at her. Her head was resting on his shoulder and she was fast asleep, snoring softly. Her hands were draped lazily across his chest and she looked adorable. He smiled softly and got up gently as to not wake her up. He slowly put her head under one of the pillow and put a blanket over her. He kissed her forehead, causing her to smile in her sleep. Smiling to himself, he grabbed a pillow and blanket for himself to sleep on the floor.

She may not realize my feelings yet and she may not ever know about this event… She may never even feel the same way, but something tells me that my feelings may never go away and only grow stronger.