A/N: I did it. I'm so fucking tired. But it's done! Hope y'all enjoy! Thanks for sticking around!
Pencil case? Check. Study guide? Check. Textbook? Check. Wallet, keys, phone, notebook . . . I've got all those.
Blaze tucked her hair behind her ears and slipped on her black ballet flats, throwing her backpack onto her shoulders as she did so. Then, glancing at her watch, she stepped outside into the early morning air, which was crisp and cold. Hurrying down her front stoop, she yawned and crossed the street.
I can't believe I'm waking up this early on a Saturday for a guy.
Blaze had just started up Shadow's driveway when she saw his door open. Blaze felt her blood rush . . . everywhere.
Damn, he looks hot . . .
Blaze could tell when someone put effort into their outfit. She had done so today; feeling risky, she wore a casual black skirt with buttons going down the middle and black leggings along with a gray, chunky knit sweater and some shimmery lip gloss. Shadow had done so too. Styling gel was slicked into his quills, giving them a slight shimmer, and he wore a white tee under an unbuttoned black flannel, rolled blue jeans, and brown loafers. A silver pendant hung around his neck, and it sparkled in the morning sunlight, almost as brightly as his smile.
"Morning!" he cheerily greeted, giving Blaze a quick up-and-down glance. The smile on his face changing ever so slightly into a different one.
"Hey," Blaze replied quickly, nervously readjusting her hair again. The scent of cologne reached her nose as the two stopped in front of each other. The blood rushed to ears, warming them in the autumn air.
Oh my god, he wore cologne . . .
"You ready to go?" Shadow asked, getting out his keys. "I brought my laptop so we can look stuff up if we need to," he told her, gesturing to the black laptop bag on his shoulder.
"Oh, good," Blaze replied, snapping back to reality. She hurried around to the other side of Shadow's truck and quickly climbed into the passenger seat.
"I brought the study guide and some notecards," Blaze replied in return. Shadow nodded and started his truck. The two of them remained silent as Shadow pulled out of his driveway and started down their street.
"So, got a study place in mind?" Blaze asked. "I'm not sure if the library is open this early."
Shadow glanced at the dashboard clock. "8:30? It might be. Though, I had a different place in mind," he remarked as he turned out of their neighborhood, shifting gears as he did so.
"Hm?"
"Ever been to Mystical Melodies?"
Blaze looked at Shadow in mild surprise. "Yeah, my friend Silver works there. His mom owns the place, actually," she informed.
"Really?" Shadow replied, eyes on the road. "Is the coffee good?"
Blaze nodded enthusiastically. "Very. So's the food. Is that where you wanted to go?"
Shadow nodded, then grinned. "Well, I didn't get to try anything the last time I was there, on account of my appendix trying to kamikaze itself, so yeah."
Blaze was briefly taken aback by the flippant comment but found herself laughing. "Right," she recalled, glancing at Shadow, who had taken his eyes off the road briefly to look at her as well. "If it's okay with you," he added, turning back to look at the road.
Blaze nodded. "Of course. You've got to try the ham and cheese croissants. They're amazing."
"Noted," Shadow replied.
The two rode in silence for another minute. Blaze picked some dirt out from underneath her fingernails and stared intently out her window.
It was Shadow, again, who broke the silence.
"You feeling okay?" Shadow asked, concern woven into his voice. "You did get hit pretty hard the other day."
"Oh," Blaze said, looking back at Shadow. "I'm fine, really, I am. It hurt at the moment, but I'm over it," she answered. When Shadow gave her a concerned glance in response, Blaze nervously deflected. "What about you? You're the one with an actual injury."
Shadow shrugged. "Guess I can say the same as you. I mean, yeah, I've got stitches and all, but Selene just shoved me." He turned to look at Blaze once again. "She literally kicked you in the stomach," he insisted indignantly.
Blaze felt her shoulders shrug. "Fair enough," nodded Blaze, trying to relax. "But like, it hurt, but it wasn't that bad? It really wasn't that bad!" Blaze protested in response to a cryptic look from Shadow. He sighed as they came to a stop at a red light.
"Don't justify her abuse," he said firmly. Blaze felt herself shrink back a little bit at his tone. Not necessarily because she felt threatened, but because he was right, and she knew it. And yet, she still found herself doing it: justifying Selene's treatment of her, and for no real reason. At least, not one that she could think of. Blaze fell silent again and stared at the black bows on her shoes.
She felt Shadow's hand brush over her shoulder for a moment, sending pesky flutters from her shoulders to her toes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be so harsh. It just . . . makes me upset. The way she hurts you, I mean," he clarified.
Blaze felt her tongue turn into lead and, feeling very awkward, only nodded. Shadow seemed to be feeling a similar way, since he turned his attention strictly to driving and shifting gears.
Luckily for the two of them, they very quickly pulled into the parking lot of Mystical Melodies. Shadow placed the truck into neutral and set the parking brake. He looked expectantly at Blaze, and she nodded in silent agreement. The two gathered their things and exited the truck.
Luckily, when an anxious Blaze crossed over to the front of the truck, Shadow seemed to be back to his usual self: calm, collected, relaxed, and really attractive. The lingering scent of Shadow's cologne stuck to Blaze's clothes, making her feel warm and fuzzy.
Shadow gave her a bright smile. "I'll let you order for us if that's okay with you. You seem to have pretty good knowledge about the place."
Blaze nodded. "I'd like to think so," she replied, giving him a nervous but friendly smile. Shadow gave her his signature slight-but-kind smile, causing a flustered Blaze to nearly trip on the sidewalk just outside the café. Shadow raised his eyebrows in concern, but she nonchalantly brushed invisible dirt off her skirt and gave a nervous laugh as she held the door open for him.
Ohmyfuckinggodialmosttripedinfrontofhimthatwassoembarrassingohmygodohmygod
Shadow raised his eyebrows in a friendly, teasing manner that suggested that he didn't even notice anything wrong had happened.
"Such a gentlewoman," he said, a playful smile on his lips. Blaze bowed dramatically, still holding the door open, and felt her stomach drop from the compliment, as satirical as it might have been.
Blaze followed Shadow into Mystical Melodies and took in the warm atmosphere. It had been a while since she'd last visited, and yet everything still seemed the same. Same comforting, cozy place that gave you the vibe of an eccentric (but friendly) aunt's house. A strong scent of roasted beans and sugary flavorings wafted over to the two of them as they passed the hand-painted music bars and a small line of barely-conscious customers still awaiting the jolt that was being prepared for them.
On their way in, a blackboard easel carefully decorated with colorful liquid chalk happened to catch their attention on their way up to the front counter.
Weekly Drink Special!
London Fog (made with real lavender!)
A comforting & warm tea latte made with premium Earl Grey tea steeped with real French lavender and served with your choice of steamed milk and cinnamon
Medium - $3.99
"Huh. You can eat lavender?" Shadow asked curiously, looking over to Blaze for an answer.
"Yeah, actually, the flowers are completely edible. Most people just . . . don't. I haven't had it. I've heard it's alright, though."
"So . . . you wanna try one then? A London Fog?"
Blaze thought for a moment, taking in the lavender and white chalk paint that Silver's mother or sister most likely drew. "Sure," she agreed, suddenly feeling inspired. "Ooh, but we've gotta also get the ham and cheese croissants, seriously, they're god-tier."
Shadow nodded. "Yeah, that does sound really good," he agreed. "I didn't have the biggest breakfast before we came."
Blaze nodded excitedly, swinging her backpack around so she could access the frontmost pouch. She dug into her bag and retrieved her wallet, a black clutch with white spots. "Here, I'll pay," she offered excitedly. Shadow swiftly dug into his own pockets in response.
"No way, I've got it," he replied, opening his own wallet to pull out bills.
Blaze looked up at Shadow, and he looked back at her. Their eyes locked, silently challenging each other to a duel.
"I insist, you're the one that's gonna be studying the hardest," Blaze said, stepping in front of Shadow to get in line.
"Which is exactly why I should pay. You're tutoring me, remember? So consider it your payment," Shadow countered, stepping ever so slightly ahead of her.
"I'm not tutoring you, really. We're studying together. Besides, you wouldn't need to pay me, even if I was tutoring you." Blaze stepped forward slightly ahead of Shadow.
"C'mon, you shouldn't work for free," Shadow remarked, a smile forming on his lips. Blaze felt her eyes roll.
"It's not working, and I'm not accepting any payment in any form." She felt an irritated smile creep onto her face, and she shook her head at the café's floor in response.
"I insist."
"I refuse."
"Oh, come on, not even a drink?"
"No! It's fine; I've got it."
"I can help whoever's next!" called a woman's voice out into the café, alerting the two of them out of their argument. The voice belonged to a peach echidna dressed in the café's work uniform. Her incredibly thick-looking dreads were tied into a ponytail coming out through the back of the cap. Even at a distance, you could see her nose ring and numerous ear piercings, including a chain threading through two ear lobe piercings on one ear and a bar piercing through her cartilage on the other.
"Oh, that's Silver's sister, c'mon, let's go," Blaze verbally ushered, hurrying up to the counter. As Blaze approached the counter, closely tailed by Shadow, she gave a knowing smile to Blaze. Up close, you could see even more of the young echidna's body mods: An eyebrow piercing, multiple black and brown tattoos crossing up and down her arms, and even a few henna-esque ones on her hands and knuckles. Also on her hands were numerous chunky rings, including multiple that looked worn down and paint-stained. The echidna glanced behind Blaze and then back to her, smiling.
"Hey Blaze, how's it going?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Hey, Tikal," Blaze replied. "I'm here with Shadow to study for a history test," she explained. "Oh yeah, this is Shadow, he's a junior, and we take advanced world history together."
Tikal gave an amused look behind Blaze again, making eye contact with Shadow. "Yeah, I remember you," she told him directly. Shadow awkwardly lifted his hand in greeting, the mortification from the last time he'd been to Mystical Melodies forming a shadow on his face.
Tikal nodded in acknowledgment and then turned back to Blaze again, now grinning. "Well, so long as he doesn't puke all over the floor again, he's welcome," she informed a now wide-eyed Blaze.
Blaze turned her head to look at an abashed Shadow. "You threw up all over the floor!?" Blaze cried in a hushed voice, feeling secondhand embarrassment start to wash over her.
Shadow opened his mouth, surprised by Tikal's quip, then quickly cleared his head by shaking it. "She's exaggerating. It was only into a trash can . . ." he clarified, sounding embarrassed. His gaze shifted around the café, refusing to make eye contact with Blaze or Tikal.
"I kid my guy, you're cool either way. Glad you're feeling better too," Tikal replied, tapping on the iPad used to run the point of sales system. "Do you guys still need time to decide, or . . .?" she asked, completely oblivious to the matted ball of embarrassed tension that had formed between Blaze and Shadow.
"Uh, yeah, give us a couple more minutes," Shadow responded, staring up at the handwritten and decorated chalkboard menus. Blaze followed his gaze.
"So, we can get the London Fogs to start, and we should each get a ham and cheese croissant. I might get two," Blaze said.
"That avocado-hummus toast could be good . . ." Shadow pondered.
"It is. It's got local-grown microgreens on it," Blaze answered. Shadow made a face.
"Oh damn, I don't like microgreens."
"You don't like microgreens?" Blaze asked, stunned. "But, like, why?"
Shadow gave her a funny look and shrugged. "I dunno, it's like eating grass. And they taste weird."
Blaze laughed. "They do not!" she insisted.
"They really, really do," Shadow replied, giving her a mildly amused look.
Blaze ignored his insistence and continued to goad him. "C'mon, you still gotta get it. It's delicious."
Before Shadow could respond, Tikal cut in. "Rich of you to bully him into eating the microgreens when you never eat the tomatoes on the toast."
It was Shadow's turn to be shocked. "Wait, you don't like tomatoes?" he challenged.
Blaze opened her mouth to reply, but Tikal cut in again. "And I know you don't cause whenever you get the toast, you always give Silver your tomatoes. Every. Time."
Blaze closed her mouth and folded her arms. "They're slimy and taste bad," was her only reply.
Shadow looked at her like she had two heads. "What? What kind of tomatoes have you been eating?"
"All of them," Blaze laughed.
"All of them? Thought you weren't eating any 'cause you didn't like them," teased Shadow, smiling at her.
"That's . . . That's obviously not what I meant," Blaze stammered, looking away but still smiling. A warm sunny feeling washed over her body. Here she was, with her crush, teasing each other about their respective disliked foods, not in school, and Selene was nowhere to be seen. How could she not be happy?
"You know, Shadow," Tikal interjected yet again. "I can always make the avocado toast without microgreens if you want," she offered.
"Uh, yeah, that sounds good," agreed Shadow. "I'll take one order of that then, without the microgreens. Oh, and two medium London Fogs."
"What kind of milk do you want? We have whole, 2%, almond, soy, half-and-half . . ."
"Uh, whole is fine," replied Shadow. "Blaze?"
"2%, and I'll get two ham and cheese croissants and a banana nut parfait," Blaze told Tikal, who nodded.
"Already added before you needed to say anything," Tikal replied knowingly, shooting a small smile at Blaze. "Anything else, guys?"
"I'll take one of those ham and cheese croissants as well," Shadow added.
Tikal finished ringing up their orders on the point of sales system. "Okay, whenever you guys are ready, your total is $28.57."
"I got it," Blaze declared, pulling out her debit card and stepping forward, the chip card reader illuminated and ready.
"No, I'm paying," Shadow told her authoritatively, blocking her path and pulling out a twenty and a ten.
Blaze paused and waited, card in her hand, as Shadow reached out his hand, bills in its grasp . . .
Without thinking, Blaze darted under Shadow's outstretched arm and jammed her card into the chip reader.
"Ah-"
Shadow froze, looking down at Blaze, who first glanced at Tikal (who was trying not to laugh), and Shadow, who looked beat and shook his head, smiling.
"Well played, Blaze."
He chuckled and slid his bills back into his wallet. Tikal printed out the merchant copy of the receipt and had Blaze sign it. Shadow pulled a couple of ones out of his wallet and dropped them into the tip jar on the counter.
"It'll be ready in a few minutes, guys," Tikal said, grabbing two warm beverage cups and starting the tea-making process.
"Oh, hey, is Silver working today?" Blaze asked as Shadow moved to sit down at one of the tables.
"Nah, not this morning. He has D&D," Tikal replied, rolling her eyes. "Cause he's a fucking nerd."
Blaze snickered, then turned and headed to the table where Shadow was seated.
Shadow looked up as she approached, his eyebrows raised. "I told you, I was gonna pay," he said, sounding mildly dejected.
Blaze felt herself shrink back a little bit. "Oh, I'm . . . I'm sorry, I didn't realize it meant that much to you.
Shadow shook his head, smiling. "Nah, it's no big deal in the grand scheme of things. However, I'm definitely impressed with how quickly you managed to slip under my arm."
Blaze laughed nervously and sat in the seat across from Shadow. "Well, I couldn't resist. The opportunity was right in front of me."
Shadow looked at her, a teasing look on his face once again. He grinned, shaking his head. "I'll get you back eventually," he commented slyly.
Blaze, who had been taking out her notebook and the history study guide, looked up at Shadow skeptically, trying to be offended but failing miserably. Finally, she broke down into nervous giggles, which made Shadow chuckle.
A few minutes later, and Tikal called out, "Order for Blaze!" Blaze stood up to get the order, but Shadow swiftly getting up and walking over to the pickup counter made her stop and slowly sink back into her seat. He shot her a victorious smirk, and Blaze snickered. It made her feel . . . it was so hard to describe, but it felt so lovely.
Shadow returned with a tray full of food and two custom-painted ceramic mugs bearing steaming tea lattes. The aroma of lavender wafted over the pair, and Blaze eagerly took hers and cradled it in her hands. Shadow eyed her briefly and took his mug by the stem. Both lifted their mugs and drank.
The warm, milky tea was pleasant. "Mm, that's good," Blaze commented, taking another sip.
Shadow nodded in agreement. "Yeah, really good," he added. "Doesn't really taste like lavender, though."
"I think it just tastes how it smells."
"Probably. In any case, it's not bad and kinda relaxing."
After a couple more minutes of cautious sipping (and 30 seconds of Blaze hungrily tearing into a ham and cheese croissant), Shadow cleared his throat and unzipped his laptop bag.
"So, we should probably quit procrastinating and start working on the study guide, huh?"
"Yeah, probably," Blaze agreed, wiping her hands on a napkin, and getting out her notebook and study guide.
"So . . . uh," Shadow started, hesitating. Blaze looked at him curiously, and Shadow didn't meet her gaze. "What's, uh, on the study guide exactly?"
Blaze felt her eyebrows raise. "You don't know?"
Shadow stared at the dark tabletop. "I mean, I sorta know what we're covering . . . The Albion settlements and colonization of Echidnaoplis . . . I remember Canus mentioning that . . ."
Geek mode kicked in for Blaze, despite the circumstances. "Well, yeah, that mainly, but also about the conflicts between Albion and the colonies and with Downunda natives. Plus, he wanted us to do a document-based essay. He said it was gonna be centered around analyzing some of the founding documents of Echidnaoplis AND how the White-Comet Event impacted the founding of it." She nodded. "All interesting stuff, to be honest."
Shadow raised his eyebrows. "All of that?"
Blaze nodded, scanning the study guide. "Yeah, that was much of the last chapter."
Shadow sighed dejectedly. "Dude, the last quiz was just about the White-Comet Event. I thought it was just gonna be about that and Echidnaoplis. Not about Albion's other colonies. Shit, AND the DBE." He hung his head. "There's so much info, and I'm not that into it."
"Really? Dude, this shit fascinates me," Blaze commented, idly flipping through her notes. "And they only teach the tip of the iceberg."
Shadow chuckled out loud. "This is just the tip of the iceberg?" he asked, astonished.
"You have no idea," Blaze started. "They don't really go in-depth into the actual excursions outside of the basics. Plus, there's no talk about the complex political and religious hierarchy other than saying it is complex. The Albions were crazy dude, they were way ahead of their time, and the curriculum doesn't even bother talking about . . ."
Shadow couldn't help but smile as Blaze effectively drove the conversation into a ditch.
She's so cute when she's passionate . . .
". . . Like holy shit dude, and they just left that as a sentence in our textbooks . . ."
It felt like steam had been injected under his skin. He shifted in his seat, feeling very hot. He couldn't keep his eyes off her.
Her hair looks perfect today . . .
And it did. It rested perfectly and neatly around her shoulders. But, of course, it looked good every day. Of course, she looked good every day.
More steam under his skin.
He felt his eyes shift towards her exposed collarbone and tried to pull his eyes upwards. Still, he felt shivers looking at her face, so settled on her hands, which were tapping a felt-tip pen on the side of her mug.
She has nice hands too . . .
He shook his head internally. Damn, what's gotten into me today . . .?
Blaze suddenly stopped talking abruptly. She sat back, looking embarrassed. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, I went way off-topic there . . ." She suddenly looked a lot more nervous and slouched in her seat, taking her mug in her hands and glancing at him.
Oh, come on, don't look like at me that . . .
Shadow gave a sympathetic smile. "You're fine, seriously. It's cool to see passionate people."
Blaze gave a fluttering smile and buried her face in her mug. Shadow did the same.
I liked hearing you talk . . .
"What was the main event that led to the destruction of the Pachacamac tribe?"
"Uh . . . A double-epidemic of two unknown diseases that was called the Great Chaos."
"Yup. Okay, which tribe settled in Soumerica, and why was it significant?"
"The Nocturnus Tribe. They traveled the farthest."
"They were also highly spiritual and technically advanced compared to the other tribes."
"Right, right,"
"What was Albion's role after the initial colonization attempts?"
"Uh . . . Well, I know that they sorta served as an HQ for the other colonies, and they were also responsible for financially supporting them. They also served as a trade hub."
"You should probably word that better, but the essence is correct."
About two and a half hours had passed. Blaze had created a Quizlet flashcard set for Shadow while Shadow reviewed (read: admired) Blaze's meticulous notes. They then spent the rest of the time slowly making their way through their breakfast and studying with the flashcard set. Despite feeling like her stomach was full of Pop-Rocks the entire time, the two managed to be quite productive. Shadow even seemed to be showing substantial improvement in understanding the content.
"Well, that's the end of the set again," Blaze announced, flipping the laptop monitor back around for Shadow to view. "You improved significantly."
Shadow grinned, satisfied. "Nice."
"You're still gonna need to study all weekend, though. And practice the essay question."
"I can pull something out of my ass," he smirked.
Blaze rolled her eyes. "Your funeral," she quipped back, packing up her things.
Shadow laughed cheerfully. "I kid, mostly. I can write an essay just fine if I know what I'm writing about."
"Lucky you, I hate the essay portion," Blaze replied, popping the last bite of a stone-cold (but still delicious) ham and cheese croissant into her mouth. Then, finally, she stood up and tossed the trash out.
"Didn't you mention off-hand you wanted to be a history major? Wouldn't that require a lot of writing for both school and a job?" he probed, a teasing smile forming once again.
Blaze made an exaggerated pout. "I'll cross that bridge when I get to it," she declared/snarked. Shadow laughed.
"Well, there's a big one coming up, and that bridge is the DBE on the exam," he pointed out. Blaze gagged, eliciting a laugh from both.
After exiting the café into the late morning sunlight, Blaze looked over at Shadow as they walked back to his truck. Blaze couldn't figure out who shined brighter: the sun or Shadow. Shadow looked back at her and shot her a big cheery smile. "Thanks for the study session. I feel more well prepared. Sonic was right. You're a great study companion."
Then, Shadow did something surprising. He reached his arm over and placed it on her shoulder. Somehow, this time, his touch didn't startle her. She was excited most certainly, but it was almost expected now. She felt her entire body heat up, and she smiled up at him.
Yup, he's the more dazzling one, Blaze decided. And right now, I couldn't be happier.
⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤ END ⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤