It was a cold, snowy day in New York City. A petite brunette made her way down the windy New York streets from the parking complex. She took a breath in, huddling herself in her warm, red jacket. She watched her heels click down the shiny streets, the coffee shop getting closer and closer with each step.
Damn, I should've worn different shoes, she thought to herself in her mind.
Once she had reached the front of the coffee house, she opened the door and quickly walked inside.
"Ooh, that's better." She mumbled softly, taking her coat off with a slight sigh of relief.
"Abby, get to work." Her boss, Mitch, who was working behind the counter, ordered her, making her quickly head into the back room to get suited up.
Her name, in fact, was Allyson. Not Abby. But this morning routine had gotten way too familiar that she wasn't really able to correct him anymore. But she didn't particularly care anymore, it was better than the names he had called her in the beginning. (Abby, Ashley, Amy, etc.)
The seventeen year old girl slipped an apron on over her knitted sweater and leggings, then made her way back into the main part of the popular, but small, café.
Even though it was well known and popular among the New Yorkers, it had been a slow morning.
Mitch suddenly dashed out of his office. "I need to leave for the day, lock up later." He said, tossing her the keys and quickly leaving the small shop.
The girl sighed, leaning against the back counter and taking a look at the last three customers, who were seated at tables around the shop.
Mitch often did this. He'd leave, with no explanation. Leaving Allyson to work alone. Not that she minded, it was only ever a big deal when there were lots of customers.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket, along with her earbuds. Turning on a Beatles song, she put the earbuds in and began cleaning up the counters.
This job was only part time. She had been attending high school in New York, which has always been her dream.
When she had turned sixteen, her parents gave her the okay to move up to New York with her eighteen year old friend, who was now nineteen. Her friend had gotten an opportunity at a great job for lots of money, helping design clothes alongside an important designer. (Don't ask how she accomplished that.) The girls had excitedly moved there, getting an expensive apartment downtown. Once they had moved there, Allyson had begun attending classes at a high school, and working as a barista. It surely was different from her life in California.
She paced around the coffee shop, wiping down tables, cleaning up, and collecting her tips. While, of course, mouthing along to the lyrics of her favorite song. The last customers soon left, leaving Allyson to herself and her music.
A new song came on, and she hummed the lyrics quietly, not realizing she was actually singing them. And quite loudly as well.
"Casual affair, could go anywhere, but only for tonight." She sang, mopping the floors and dancing at the same time.
This continued for a few more minutes.
The music was all her focus, nothing else. And since she was so focused on her 'song and dance', she didn't notice the tall, blond male who entered the coffee shop.
When it was the transitioning time between one song and the next, Laura heard him behind the counter clear his throat. She turned to look at him and jumped, not expecting anyone to come in.
The man was very tall, probably around 6'2 or 6'3. His hair was a mess atop his head, a part not noticeable from the naked eye. His eyes were a dark hazel, slightly red with bags under them. Light scruff lined his perfectly chiseled cheekbones and chin. His face was absolutely gorgeous in Laura's mind, except for the fact he looked tired. Or high as hell, one or the other.
He was dressed in black, ripped jeans. Along with a light blue and a dark blue striped button up with a light brown jacket on over it. As well as a pair of white converse on his feet.
Laura hadn't noticed she was staring, so when he looked at her like she was a creep, she blushed a ruby red and pulled the earbuds out. She placed her phone, along with the earbuds, on the back counter, then came up to the cash register.
"Um, hi. Sorry, I, uh, wasn't really thinking..." She looked down, not exactly wanted to make eye contact with him at the moment.
"It's fine, whatever. Um, I'll have a cinnamon dulce mocha. Large." He said, leaning onto the counter.
A cigarette pack and a set of keys was clutched in one of his hands.
She nodded lightly and typed it into the cash register, "Hot or cold?"
"Extra hot." He mumbled, his eyes looking right into hers.
For some weird reason, she tingled lightly when she heard him say that. And she was tempted to say, "Like you."
But she didn't have lots of confidence, so it wasn't like she could comfortably say that to him without burning up like a cherry tomato.
So, she settled with a simple, "Alright, that'll be $4.50."
He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Taking out a ten, he handed it to her.
"Keep the change." He said, shoving the wallet back into his pocket.
She nodded, putting the money in and finishing the transaction.
With a small smile, she looked up at him and said, "Thank you."
He nodded, a slight smile curving onto his lips for a few seconds.
She blushed softly, turning around and beginning to make his beverage.
The man seemed older than she was, judging by the cigarettes, scruff, and deeper voice than boys her age. Not that she was complaining, he was, in her own words, "very, extremely hot."
Maybe in his early twenties, but the oldest he could be with his appearance, in Allyson's mind, was probably twenty-three or twenty-four.
She had finished his coffee after a minute or two, then handed it to him. He gave her a head nod, flashed a small smile, then left the café.
She took in a sigh, watching him walk down the street through the windows.
Sigh. This was going to be a long day.
That night, Allyson locked up, as she had been told to. It was snowing more than she had ever expected possible. So much so that the road were closed, which meant no car ride home for Allyson. She would be forced to walk. At night. In New York City. In heels. Oh joy.
She sighed and locked up the shop, buttoned up her red coat, and began walking down the streets.
I really should've worn different shoes... She scolded herself in her head.
She walked farther away from the coffee shop, the tip of her nose turning a pink-red color, from the very cold weather.
Since there really wasn't anyone around, and since there wasn't anything to really do or think about, Allyson began thinking about the peculiar, cute blond she met earlier at the coffee shop.
What could his name be? How old is he? Does he live in New York?
Lots of questions popped into her head. He seemed, er, different. Not in a bad way. (Necessarily.) Just in a way she hadn't ever encountered before. It intrigued her.
She walked down an alley, then made her way to another street. It was growing darker outside.
Would be come back to the coffee shop soon? She sure hoped so. She wanted to learn more about this guy, and maybe become his friend. Who knows. (Or, maybe more than friends.)
Allyson had never had a boyfriend. Well, except one. And even that was way too long of a story to explain now.
She was getting closer to her shared apartment, so she walked a little faster up another road.
She was naive, she didn't quite know much about love. And she wasn't going to let love or a small crush ruin her path to get what she wants. This mystery man wasn't going to take up all her time and thoughts. She was getting ahead of herself, she had only met him today.
Allyson finally made it to the building, and she took in a sigh of relief, happy she had finally made it back home in the cold, cold weather. She went up into the building, heading to her small apartment. She unlocked the door and went inside, shutting it behind her.
Alexa, her best friend/roommate, was lounging on one of the three couches in their living room, eating popcorn and watching a rerun episode of Gossip Girl.
"Hey," she mumbled, shoving two pieces of chocolate into her mouth.
"Hey, oh my gosh, I have soooooooo much to tell you. This guy came in today at work and-" Allyson stopped myself, realizing she wasn't paying attention.
So, she grabbed one of her chocolates and threw it at her. Luckily, it hit her in the eye.
She squealed and held her hand over her eye. Mumbling a profanity, she turned to Allyson, giving a smile of sarcasm.
"Fine, you have my undivided attention. What happened at work today?" She asked, widening her eyes at me and holding them open.
"Don't do that..." Allyson mumbled, going into the kitchen and grabbing a soda, "and this guy came in to work..."
"Damn, Alls. I already told you, you can't go out and date whoever you want. He has to either have a hot best friend or a hot brother for me," Alexa fluttered her eye lashes and let out a giggle.
She rolled her eyes, "Can you listen to me, please, without making jokes?"
"Fine, fine. Get on with your story then." She mumbled, chuckling lightly at the end.
Allyson smiled, "This guy... He was gorgeous... He had light hazel eyes, messy blond hair, and his body structure... Oh his body structure..." She moaned jokingly and held her heart.
She laughed, "You're so boy crazy. It's hilarious."
"Hey, I'm a seventeen year old girl. I have needs." Allyson gestured to herself, making them both break into laughter.
"Do you want to watch something together?" Alexa asked, beginning to flip through some channels after their laughing session.
"Actually, I think I'm gonna head to bed. I'm super tired. Thank you for the offer though." She smiled softly, taking a sip of her water.
Alexa grinned and nodded, "Sleep well, I'll see you in the morning. Make sure to get some rest. Mitch wants you in early tomorrow."
"How do you know that?" Allyson chuckled, starting to walk to her room.
"He called me and told me to remind you." She called after her, then turned her head back to the TV.
"Thanks, Lex. See you in the morning, night." Allyson smiled, then headed into her room. She shut the door.
Allyson heard a muffled response come from outside the room, and smiled to herself.
Alexa really was her best friend. Of course the two had always had their ups and downs, but it was part of being best friends. And they always made up for it. Allyson knew Alexa would be her blond BFF for a long time to come, hopefully forever.
Allyson stripped out of her old clothes, hopping into the shower and turning on the hot water. She washed her hair and body, quickly shaving her legs. (She had always shaved her legs everyday since she was thirteen. It saved the amount of work she'd have to do if it took longer than that.)
She stayed there for awhile, letting the hot water run down her body and burn away the stress of the day.
She didn't exactly love her job, as you could probably guess. But, it brought in the cash. And to keep up the lifestyle Alexa and Allyson had always dreamed of having, they needed the cash rolling in.
Hopefully, after awhile, she could maybe move on to a better job. One she could like more. She had no idea what she wanted to be, or what career she wanted. So, that would definitely be a problem. But she knew she'd get on her feet at some point, and it'd all be okay.
Once she had felt a little less stressed and groggy, she got out of the shower, dried off, and got dressed. Her pajamas were simply a red knitted sweater and underwear, not bothering to put on anything else. Allyson threw her hair into a messy bun, then hopped into bed.
She mainly just laid there for about ten minutes, wondering what to do. She'd tried to fall asleep, but wasn't exactly tired or successful in doing so. Allyson had checked her Instagram, Twitter, and Tumblr multiple times already, so it was kinda boring by now.
So, she made the decision to reach over to her nightstand and grab her guilty pleasure book, a Pretty Little Liars novel, but soon realized the book wasn't there. She furrowed her eyebrows, sitting up to look for it. Allyson took a glance around her room, but wasn't able to find her book. She crawled out of bed and looked deeper, but then remembered she left the book in Alexa's car, from the other day they had gone hiking.
Allyson groaned frustratedly and sighed, running a hand through her hair. She skipped on some sweats, put on some quick shoes, and went back into the main part of their apartment. She grabbed Alexa's keys from the counter, then carefully made her way outside.
It was freezing outside, absolutely freezing. She huddled herself close, cursing herself for not grabbing a sweatshirt.
The whole place was silent, without a sound there. And the parking lot was full with all the tenants cars.
Allyson carefully made her way to Alexa's car, which was located at the edge of the large parking lot, close to the street. She unlocked the car and climbed into it, grabbing her book.
Suddenly, she heard screeching sirens around the corner from her, making her jump in slight fear. She got out of the car, turning towards the sound.
You know those times when you feel so terrified, that you just can't do anything? You can't move, speak, or help yourself.
Well, that's how she felt in this moment.
A black, vintage Cadillac speeded towards her, three cop cars close behind.
And, guess what? The car was coming right at her