Rain was beginning to seep down from the sky. It felt that a storm was coming. But for now, there was only a drizzle. It wasn’t like I wasn’t prepared—after the first downpour that the city had, I quickly swooped up an umbrella from the outside of a thrift store. From there, I was protected from any water projectile that came from up above.
Except for snow. That was an entirely different story.
I beamed at the sight of the coffee shop that I was steadily approaching. It was always warm in there, and it made me feel at home. Of course, I couldn’t stay forever, but the employees there started to recognize me even when I passed in front of it.
“Hey there!” Rachel said to me when I had finally entered. She was one of the familiar employees, and almost knew my order by heart. I climbed up to one of the bars’ stools and put my head down, yawning. “Hey there, Rach.”
I drifted back into my thoughts after I said my statement. We and Rachel were comfortable with each other, but I think that neither of us had the courage (or the strength) to actually have a conversation with each other. I mean, it is understandable, since I was hardly even approachable as a person.
Would you go up to a person who always wore a hoodie and baggy pants?
“What will it be today? Orange juice, right?” Yes, even though it was a coffee shop, I always got juice. I felt like it perked me up a bit more.
“Yes, please. Can I get a muffin on the side too? Blueberry, if you don’t mind.” She nodded and poured the juice from one of the pitchers that they had in the refrigerator. She also nabbed a muffin and placed it on a napkin in front of me. “Enjoy.” I gave her a warm smile in return, thanking her for the meal. I took a long sip of my orange juice before placing it back down on the wood surface. The rain continued to tap against the glass of the windows, making the environment more peaceful than before and me to give out another yawn.
“I might as well stay awhile…”
-~-
The two girls crept up to the edge of the roof of the coffee shop, looking down at the city street below them.
“Ugh, this rain is seriously getting on my nerves. Why did we have to try and capture him the rain?” Lily moaned, wiping her wet hand on her shirt.
“Evan said so. But listen, before we just rush in there, we need to have a plan,” Vanessa said calmly, watching people pass back and forth on the street. She was feeling more confident than ever this time around, and she promised not to fail.
Not this time.
“That stupid scientist? What a schmuck. I say we rush in there. No plan. Come on, let’s go!” Lily was quickly about to leap into action if it weren’t for Vanessa’s stern hand placed on her shoulder.
“No. Here’s what we do. I’m going to transform into Beatrice. That was we can look normal. You can be you, of course, but you’ll be in the background, waiting to strike. Got it? Wait for a signal… like when I whistle.” Lily crossed her arms and flicked her hair at Vanessa.
“Fine. But next time—we do it my way.” Vanessa bobbed her head and took a deep breath, feeling her body starting to morph almost instantaneously.
I really don’t want to become you… but I have to, then…
-~-
Whispers slowly erupted from within the shop, but I was quick to ignore it. Someone must have been showing someone else a video on their phone or something. I huffed into my hoodie sleeve, just trying to keep to myself for the time being.
Moments passed before the ringing sound of the bell became imminent for my ears, proceeding them to stand up a tiny bit.
“Why, Beatrice! What a warm welcome! What brings you to our coffee shop?” One of the employees bellowed from across the room. Something in my mind shifted, and then cracked.
Beatrice? Here, now? She usually doesn’t just show up in stores… geez, not here, please…
I sucked up some air and rotated around to her as steadily as I could. I frowned, quickly standing up to scowl at her.
“Yes, Beatrice. Why ARE you here? You don’t seem to be off duty, given your outfit.” I cracked my neck as a threat. She sneered, lowering her eyes.
“You know why I’m here. I’m here for you, you pesky kid. You’ve been getting on my last nerve, and now I’m here to sentence you to a beating.” Her speech seemed more serious than ever.
She meant it this time.
I looked around at my surroundings, starting to see people slowly exiting the building. I nodded at them, watching employees backing out of the way as well.
“Well, if you want me so bad…” I crossed my arms and snapped my head backwards, causing my hoodie to fall off and my ears to stand up tall and proud.
“Then just come and get me,” I vocalized while smirking.
Beatrice furiously picked up and threw glasses that were sitting at the tables. I side-stepped out of the way for most of them, and managed to catch one of them in my hand after she had almost run out of projectiles.
“Y’know, I used to love playing catch… let’s see if the concept still holds up for you!” I flung the cup as hard as I could at her hand, making a glass that she was holding shatter before her eyes. She screamed, as the glass had also gotten into the skin of her fingers as well. I ran up to her and used both of my legs to plant my feet in her gut, sending her soaring across the room and down to the floor. She merely groaned and stood back up, dusting herself off.
“Is that seriously all you—” I didn’t let her get another word out as I sweep kicked her legs, making her fall again.
“Listen, I’m not here to hurt you. How many times do I have to freaking say it?!” I picked Beatrice up by her jacket collar, staring intently at her. She stared back at me with the same way, almost ready to face what she was coming to her. After a second of cautious thinking, I sighed and placed her back on her feet, making myself think about the situation while turning away from her.
“Hey, why did we have to destroy this nice coffee shop? I love this place…” I started pacing around the room, picking up fallen chairs and tables and placing them back where they should be.
“And now it’s ruined. All because of you. We could have done this outside. I’m not paying for those glasses—AGH!” I yelped as wood was smashed against the back of my head. I fell to the ground, but just far enough to push off and kick Beatrice back and away from me. A short whistle emitted from her direction, making my ears quiver in curiosity. I rolled over to see Beatrice slowly getting back up. I rose up and made an attempt to charge full force into her.
However, my actions were halted by something wrapping itself around my neck, making me jolt backwards and slightly fall to the ground. Beatrice strolled up to me and laughed loudly, putting her hands on her waist in pride.
“Looks like we got the jump on you. Make that grip tighter, Lily.” A strain was now placed upon my neck, making me lose a bit of air. I grasped at Beatrice angrily, but she was just out of reach for me to actually do anything.
A swift kick was made towards my chest, forcing me to almost choke. My head hung low after that blow, a groan being the only sound I could produce.
“Alright, Vanessa. I think our fish has had enough gutting. I didn’t know how cute he would be up close. He’s a pretty good fly, if you ask me…” Lily said lowly, lifting me up into the air. I grabbed at what was surrounding my neck—and then suddenly regretted it.
“Is this your freaking tongue or something?!” I yelled, now starting to struggle with my breathing patterns. Lily giggled in response.
“It is, you pet. I hope you’re getting used to it…” Beatrice blinked, wondering what was going through Lily’s mind. She shrugged it off and looked up at me and I was being hanged in the air. My face was starting to get a bit lighter in color as I squirmed.
Wasn’t I just choked out when I was with that other girl?!
I took one deep breath and grabbed the long part of the tongue, putting it in front of me and taking a big chomp into it. Lily screamed, whipping her tongue and me into a wall. She did let go fortunately, finally allowing me to breathe again.
“OUCH! Why’d you have to go and do that?! Flies don’t fight frogs!” Lily cried, holding her mouth in pain. Beatrice furiously yelled and decided to charge at me. I rose fast and pushed off of the wall with one foot, meanwhile kicking her back once more with the other. I grinned and grabbed my backpack, quickly making my escape through the doors.
“Lily, you idiot! Use your tongue and catch him before he gets away!” Beatrice screamed. However, she was two minutes too late. I was gone.
“Idiot? IDIOT?! Who the hell are you calling an idiot, miss ‘got kicked across the room several times’? Huh?” Lily growled back at Beatrice, walking up to her and kicking her again. Vanessa huffed and got up, slapping Lily across the face.
“You know what… you little hooligan! If you weren’t so… AUGH!” Vanessa stormed out of the coffee shop and towards an alleyway. Gravel crumbled under her feet as he turned and looked up at a fire escape. She hoisted herself the black metal platform and onto the roof of the building, with Lily following fastly behind her. She used her tongue to shoot and stick it to the rim of the roof, flinging her up into the air and landing next to Vanessa.
“You’re honestly so caught up in your emotions. We’ll catch him, don’t worry.” Lily turned her head to the side, shoving her hands into her pockets. “Still wish we had rushed him, though…”
Beatrice stopped in her tracks and flipped to face Lily, an annoyed and agitated look displayed on her face.
“Yeah, okay. I’m caught up in MY emotions. Says the frog girl that likes the dog boy.” Lily immediately blushed and slammed Vanessa’s shoulder with her fist.
“Does not! He’s the enemy! And only that!” Her stammering throughout her statement proved otherwise. Vanessa rolled her eyes and continued to walk across rooftops, and eventually came across one that led back through the forest to the car wash.
“The enemy. The enemy and only that…” Vanessa repeated to herself silently.
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