When Alastor had first arrived into the cafe, he was preoccupied with a book that he had been reading. When he placed his order for a coffee and received it, he turned around and felt himself get a little annoyed. He had been planning to stay a little while at the cafe for some alone time, but it appeared that all of the tables had been occupied with various college students, people who wanted to get away from the snow outside, etc. An uncharacteristic frown pulled down the sides of his lips as he continued to survey the scene.
Perhaps if he waited a few more minutes? No, the more Alastor looked, the more he realized that the college students were going to be at this place for more than a couple more hours, the people who wanted to get away from the snow were probably going to stay there until the weather let up outside, and well…. Well, it looked like Alastor was going to take the dangerous trek outside into the dank, depressing cold.
What a waste.
As Alastor took a sip out of his cup, he noticed that at one corner of the shop, there was a table facing the window. The table itself was meant to cater to four people, but only one person was present. She was blonde, had her hair up in a messy bun, and she sat closest to the window, which she used as a rest for her body as she lazily flipped through pages of a large textbook. Ah, Alastor thought to himself. Must be a college student.
Which meant…
Well, Alastor wasn't one to judge people, but he was quite certain that she would be too busy to say no to him…
Hmm…
Without a care in the world, Alastor strode over to the table near the window and stopped directly in front of the young woman. Up close, he could see that her cheeks were flushed a deep red, her lips were painted a lovely shade of black. At first, she seemed to be engrossed in her reading, but that all changed when he politely coughed out a small "Ahem".
Startled, the young woman dropped the book she was holding onto the table, the resulting thud causing some of her pens and highlighters to clatter onto the floor. It was an amusing sight if it were not for the way her lips pursed and her eyes seemed to flash with irritation. Now, that just wouldn't do for his plan!
Quickly, he got down on one knee and swept all of the fallen instruments into his hand before placing them back on the table. This time, as he looked down at the woman, she seemed in awe at him. Her mouth was open in a small 'o' and the redness in her cheeks had darkened just a tad. Alastor bit back a smug smirk—at this rate, he would surely get a seat, and near a window, no less!
"Sorry about that, darling! I didn't mean to interrupt."
The woman, still stunned from his sudden aid, swallowed and replied with a hasty, "Not at all! Just startled, is all." She looked up at him through her dark lashes and canted her head to the side. "Did… did you need anything… sir?"
"How rude of me! Alastor, at your service!" He placed a hand over his heart and bowed slightly. "However, at the moment, I'm in need of your help!" He raised a brow as he straightened from his position. "If you're up to helping me, that is."
For a moment, the woman looked unsure of herself. Alastor's grip over his coffee cup tightened. Did his course of action not play out like he had planned? Did he really have to brave the ungodly low temperatures outside? He braced himself, ready for rejection when—
The young woman began clearing three fourths of the table—goodness! she took up a lot of workspace!—so that only her corner was inhabited by her multitude of papers, highlighters, and books. Once again, she situated herself nearest the window and sat back down, a pleasant smile on her face as she gestured for him to sit down.
Now, there was another dilemma that Alastor had to attend to.
Should he sit directly in front of the young woman? Right next to the window?
Or should he sit diagonally across from her?
As Alastor contemplated, the young woman looked up at him, smiled, and pointed at the chair in front of her. "You can sit there, I don't mind."
Alastor blinked. That was unexpected. "Thank you, my dear! Looks like I've chosen the best spot in the house!"
"Oh? Why?"
Alastor smiled over the rim of his coffee. "Because I get two wonderful views to choose from."
If the young woman had been sipping her own beverage, she would have had a spit take. As it were, she merely choked a little on her words. "Anyway, I just realized, I haven't introduced myself." She proffered a hand, a hand that Alastor took into his own. "I'm Charlie!"
Charlie. Huh. Short and snappy, just like Alastor liked it.
"Well," Alastor withdrew and began to fiddle with his own novel that he brought with him. "I won't keep you." He nodded to the stack of textbooks that sat at her side. "You should probably get back to studying."
"Right!"
Standard silence amid the soft music and the chatter of the patrons around them filled in for the lack of conversation. It took only a moment, but Alastor began to be heavily invested in his novel. It was a story about a young man who had decided to kill some pawnbroker for money and was now dealing with the moral and real life consequences that follow after. It was an interesting read, if a little dry at some parts. As he turned the pages, his sensitive hearing began to pick up the sound of hushed mumbles.
He looked over the spine of his book and found that the lazy smile that he usually had on his face had softened into something that resembled fond awe. There was a highlighter sticking out of her mouth, a pen stuck behind her ear and into the already unruly bun, and she was desperately scribbling something into a notebook. During the entire time, she was mumbling snippets of what she was skimming through.
Frankly, it was far more entertaining than the book that he was reading.
He placed his book on the table and leaned a hand against the heel of his palm. He watched her as he hummed a small ditty under his breath.
As he did so, he took notice of the textbooks that lay on her side. From his point of view, they were upside down, but if he concentrated hard enough, oh my.
Theories of Personality?
Lifespan Development?
"I'm majoring in psychology."
Alastor's eyes flitted back up to hers, mischief rather than shame lighting up his features.
"That was my initial impression, yes. Am I bothering you?"
Charlie checked the time on her phone before turning back to Alastor.
"Actually, no. I think it's about time I reward myself with a fifteen minute break." She closed one of her textbooks and tossed it onto her growing pile of psychology books. "You're not from around here, are you?"
His eyes narrowed. Was he being obvious? Or was she being intuitive?
Charlie giggled at his expression. "You're wearing a knitted cap, a scarf, gloves, and a very heavy coat. It's only twenty degrees out there! It's not that bad if you're used to the cold."
"How do you know that I'm not just protecting myself?"
Charlie gestured towards the rest of the populace within the coffee shop.
Alastor sighed. "Point taken."
"You can take the hat off."
Well, Alastor didn't want to make it obvious that he was heeding her opinion, but it was awfully warm and well.
Oh well.
He sighed and took off his hat, careful to not ruffle his hair too much in the process.
"And you? Are you from here?"
The young woman shook her head, some of her golden locks falling loose from her bun. She covered her mouth with one of her hands and said, "I'm actually from Canada! Let me guess, one of the southern states?"
"Care to guess which one?"
"I haven't the slightest what states make up the south, so you'll have to enlighten me."
"Louisiana. New Orleans, to be exact."
Her eyes, pretty, dark, and brown, nearly popped out of her skull as she bounced forward in her seat. Excitement and wonder sparkled manically in her eyes as she propped her chin against the ball of her fist. He held her attention, fully and without much coaxing.
How wonderful!
"No way! Where's the accent?"
Alastor chuckled. "Ya mean like dis?"
Charlie's head fell onto the table with such unprecedented force, Alastor was half attempted to start yelling for an ambulance. Much to his vague amusement, Charlie started laughing a little uncontrollably, which only garnered the attention of the rest of the patrons there. Alastor didn't mind the unwanted attention, he basked in it, but he did send a warning smile towards the rest of the patrons there to knock it off. It wouldn't do for dear Charlie to get embarrassed.
"Your-your—!" Charlie could barely talk breathe through her bout of laughter, much less talk. She peeked up at him before another set of giggles overtook her. "Do you honestly… do you honestly sound like that?"
"Why, are you mocking the way I speak?"
Charlie's eyes widened in alarm. That wasn't what she meant at all!
"I'm joking, dear." Alastor replied smoothly. "Although, perhaps if you want to get to know me more," he lowered his voice just so and looked at her in that certain way and, "we could leave this cafe and—"
He stopped immediately when he saw that Charlie's face was turning a very becoming shade of red.
"Ah...I actually have an exam tomorrow and, er—" She scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it to him with the aplomb of someone who had caught on fire.
Miraculously, Alastor didn't comment on it; instead, he took it and and found that his already present smile had turned into a smirk.
He didn't even have to try to get her number! She just gave it to him!
That was…new. And unexpected.
But definitely not unwelcome.
He took a sip from his coffee and smiled gently at Charlie.
The best seat in the coffee shop not only had a beautiful view, but had perfect willingness to engage with him. How wonderful!
He saluted her with a jaunty wave and she giggled before returning to her studies.
Yes, he quite liked her indeed.