"Willow, Willow, Willow, Willow!" and with that someone pounced on me in bed, the duvet making a "poof" sound as they flattened the air out of it.
"What the fugging hell!" I shrieked, sitting up suddenly and whacking whoever it was with a stiff childhood teddy bear I had been cradling.
"It's just me." Tulip wailed. She rubbed her stomach. "I'm getting Crystal to go to breakfast with me now, not a demented flower killer!" I tried to apologise, shoving away the mounds of duvet to get to her but she had already gotten up and was walking out the door, the morning sunlight shining across her shoulders. I groaned, stretched over to grab my phone from the nightstand and lay back into my pillows. A missed call ten minutes ago from my brother Rydian. Geese, what time was it? Half ten. Since when did Tulip get up before eleven? I ignored this oddity and called him back.
"S'up Wills."
"You know I hate it when you call me that." I replied, not bothering to say hi. While we were not related by blood, we might as well have been with our relationship.
"Yeah, yeah." Rydian replied. I could practically hear him roll his eyes. "Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were alive. Oh and I also googled your new college and you need to know a few things. And I say this as the oh so responsible older brother."
"Since when are you even near responsible?"
"Willow, seriously." I could hear a rare frown in his voice so I decided to play nice and keep quiet. "I actually got a few news articles on one or two colleges near to yours. "Drug rings" so to speak are popping up in 'em and they are saying they are hitting your college next. No one can figure out how to tear them down so please be careful."
I was quiet. Rydian was rarely ever serious with me. When Tulip and I were still too young to buy drink, he would buy it for us. And he broke a dozen roof slates on one of the sheds only a month ago by trying to fix one that had been hanging loose. When mom was yelling at him he simply said "I thought there were a few too many roof slates on that shed anyway". He must have really been concerned about me. I wondered what he had read exactly to make him feel the need to tell me.
"I will." I said sincerely. Someone knocked on my bedroom door. Rydian heard it.
"Looks like my sister is in demand today." He laughed, the seriousness gone like that. "Ask who it is."
I complied and a lovely voice called out "Will".
"Who the hell is-" Rydian began to say. I hung up, smirked to myself and opened my door to Will. He was showered and dressed, a drip or two of water on the shoulders of his t-shirt. I sent a silent thank you I had showered last night and was wearing clean pj's. I was still in the pj's and my hair was probably a curly mess but I had to cut my losses here.
Will smiled at my pj's. "I just ran into Tulip upstairs in my place. Apparently you're banned from breakfast with her and I remembered you wished to talk about ways to make her hoarse for tonight. Shall we discuss it over breakfast?"
"Sure." I said simply and started walking out to grab my purse in the kitchen to go. "Ready?"
"I am but I'm not too sure about you." Will said. I frowned.
"What, do I have toothpaste on my face? Or are my clothes too casual-" I abruptly stopped. Will was doing his best not to laugh, pressing his lips tightly together. While he seemed the kindest of the Benedict boys I had met, I would not hold it against him if he laughed. "Give me two seconds to change." I sighed and turned back to my room.
Will and I found a corner café, with only two or three other people sitting at some of the eight or so tables. Three baristas/ waitresses worked there, two behind the counter and another checking around the seating area which consisted of light brown wood tables and comfortable looking chairs. It had a mad array of random paintings that oddly worked together as a whole on the soft orange walls that oozed warmth. It was spacious enough and while not many were sitting, there was a near constant stream of people coming in for coffee, pastries or baguettes. "I have to say I'm pretty happy we found a good spot on our first go." Will said, having a look around as we walked in.
"Third go." I corrected. "You thought the first place we saw looked dirty and I hated how cramped the second place was.
"Ah, but we never entered those!" Will said grinning. "So this can be our first!"
"Ok, ok." I said eyeing the crisp baguettes beside the deli type counter. There were meats, lettuce, corn, onions, tomatoes, rocket leaves and so much more calling out for me to eat them. The counter shone and was sparkling clean. with everything looking beautifully fresh. "Well, I see my breakfast or brunch." And I walked over, relieved the four tired looking people in front of me seemed fixated on the coffee machine the other girl was operating.
After we both ordered and sat down to wait I decided to learn more about the Benedict's in general. "So…" I said twirling my knife on the table. "There are seven of you guys in total, right?"
"Correct." Will said. "Trace, Uriel, Victor, myself, Xavier, Yves and Zed."
"Middle child then. Middle child syndrome?"
"Ah, no. But is easy to get lost in all my brothers and their soulfinders."
"They all found their soulfinders?" I said incredulously. He nodded. "Ah, Crystal is a soulseeker, right? I think she mentioned it around Christmas last year to me."
Will nodded. "Yeah. She found Uriel and Victor their soulfinders."
"And yours?" I said skeptically. I shifted in my seat, worried he would say she was dead or had rejected him.
Our food arrived then, giving Will a moment to think. I had a crispy demi-baguette with chicken, iceberg lettuce, chopped tomato and coleslaw while Will had a simple cheese and ham Panini. He looked at his food for a few moments. I could see he was debating whether to tell me or not and I itched to reach across the table and comfort him but I had to remind myself I had only met him yesterday. I was surprised when I thought this. It felt like I had known him years.
"I never let Crystal tell me much." He admitted, picking at the edge of his panini.
"Why? Every Savant I have ever met has been dying for the day they meet theirs! Why did you not let her tell you more?"
He stopped picking at his panini and pulled off a bit to eat. Remembering my own food, I took a bite as he gathered his thoughts. I could barely concentrate on the food, delicious as it was.
"When Crystal began to start properly looking for her, I felt a deep uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. And… I could sense danger. Strongly. If we ever met, I would put her in danger. How could I let myself meet her then? Would you?" he asked me. While I had no desire to meet mine, I could see his point.
"No, I would try to keep them safe."
"Exactly. I had Crystal check just last month again whether it was safe but... No. I still knew meeting her would create danger. I hope someday we can be together." He sighed. "Uriel and Victor should be so grateful for their soulfinders."
"Your gift must be pretty good then." I said swallowing a bite.
"Seems to be getting stronger anyway," he replied. He glanced out the café window smiling a little. "At least there is a good bit to keep busy. Getting to know someone with a remarkably similar name to mine for one."
"Will and Willow." I mused. "We could be a crime fighting duo like Batman and Robin. But better because we can actually do stuff."
"We just lack the bat mobile and cave." Will said with mock misery. "Maybe they still beat us with those."
"Nah and they look like idiots in those spandex get-ups." I glanced down at my loose check shirt and denim cut-offs and his plain t-shirt and jeans. "We might need something fancier though."
"Halloween is in two or so months. We can get our official get-up ready for then."
"I will hold you to that." I warned and waved over the waitress politely. "Can I get a lemon iced tea? Will?"
"Black coffee." He said. The waitress nodded and scribbled it down. She was back within a minute. Will held his white porcelain cup in his hands as he looked distrustfully at my glass, condensation beading on the glass already. "Plain tea no good?"
"At least it is not an iced, decaf, sugar free soy something with sprinkles." I shuddered. "Why would anyone drink it without the caffeine, pretty much its only redeeming feature, is beyond me. Coffee is piss. I have no idea how you even drink that." I said, eyeing his drink distrustfully.
"I will get you to drink a cup someday I swear." He said saluting me with his cup and talking a long pull of the "piss". While I knew my mom would tsk at me using "unladylike language" it was piss. End of.
"Might need a cup to stay up all of tonight." I said with a roll of my eyes. "When are we heading to this club anyway?"
"Probably around eleven, maybe earlier. We have to make sure to book Tulip and you in for Karaoke."
I choked and started coughing on my tea. "What makes you think I will sing?"
"The newbies to the country have to sing tonight. We might let you choose what you sing though."
"You might." I muttered. "And I might cut off your hair tomorrow night in your sleep. I can pick a lock you know."
"If I know you, I would say my hair is perfectly safe."
"I might blow the light bulbs in your apartment." He knew that was something I would actually do. His smile faltered but he then quickly reached across the table to try and steal my drink and I had a feeling he was not going to give it back until I swore not to blow the bulbs. I could see that in the sweetly mischievous glint in his eyes. Only when our hands touched, I felt something like static and quickly pulled mine away with my drink. And while it was brief, my hand felt alive in a new and indescribable way.
Adult Author person here!
Yep, I turned 18! (on the 7th of January if anyone is curious.)
Ok... I have a nice list of reasons why I did not update in a while... Sorry, sorry, sorry!
1. I had lots of assignments due. At one stage I had 13 hours of sleep for 3 days. I resembled a zombie. Very attractive as you can imagine.
2. My wheezing, overheating, lovable laptop died :(. I had to act as a fan to it to save my files, including this story! (Yes, I should have had it backed up. My boyfriend told me that already :/) I was literally blowing into the fans of my laptop to keep it alive long enough (wheezing and roasting but alive!). Once I got everything, I stopped blowing and it overheated in ten minutes. No joke. So typing this from a new laptop!
3. For my Christmas holidays, I had some virus for the first week and just as I was shaking that I got frigging Strep throat/ Tonsillitis for the next two weeks! (I had two doctors check me out as the antibiotics were not working. One said strep, second said tonsillitis. Same difference. It was shit either way.)So head of lead, nausea, fever, dizziness, tiredness and my swallow got so bad and painful all I could eat was ice one day. Writing/ editing was postponed to say the least (partially due to Reason 2. Windows frigging 8...)
4. Went on holidays to my "homeland" 3 and a half hours away. (You can pretty much be anywhere in Ireland in 3 or 4 hours.)
5. I had tests just as I was shaking the tonsillitis that accompanied me in Reason 4 too. Fun.
So I hope you liked this chapter anyway. Please review (critique or compliment, I take both :D), favourite (If it is worthy of such an honour!) and follow. Sorry for all the writing-that-is-not-story also! Ooo I heard something break downstairs. Dog or human, that is the question...
Hint... Lets just say it will be an eventful night.