We get closer to the café and Andrew starts to go back to his normal self, shrugging my arm off and trying not to get embarrassed by his big sister. Honestly, I'm just happy he allowed it as long as he did, but I think that has something to do with Ruby. As we get close, I see Mia outside, looking around anxiously. When she sees us, confusion appears on her face, then understanding as well.
"Hey guys, glad you're finally here; I've been out here for, like, 10 minutes," she says gratefully.
"Why did you do that? Even if we were closer because of Ruby, it's still a long walk from our house," I ask.
Looping her arm in mine, we follow Andrew into the café, "Why do you think? I mean, I love him and all but by the 7th question yesterday, I wanted to punch him," she sighs.
"I know how you feel," I give her a pointed look and smile.
"Oh, shut up-anyway, Ruby, huh?" She looks toward where Skylar is seated as Andrew walks over, introduces himself, and sits down.
"Yeah, nice girl. Probably terrified of Mom and Dad now."
"What did they do this time?" she asks.
"They asked when the wedding was," I look at Andrew as we approach, he turns his face to look out the window, embarrassment swarming not only his eyes but his entire face.
"Sounds about
right," she laughs as she slides into the booth next to Sky and I sit next
to Andrew.
Skylar is literally bouncing in his seat, looking between Mia and I as we continue to talk. I don't acknowledge him until after the waiter comes over and gets our order.
"Ok, go ahead," I say, mentally preparing myself.
"First and most importantly, how many people know about...this...?" he asks hesitantly, looking at Andrew.
"The four of us as well as my parents and grandparents. Probably Ruby in the future," I say, smiling and looking at Andrew.
"You would really tell her?" he whips his head to me, hope shining in his eyes, peeking through the embarrassment.
"Yeah, it's not really something I can hide for long but I don't want you to end up with a conversation like these two had," nodding at Mia and Skylar, "Plus, she picked up on it pretty quickly, and she would find out anyway if she joins the family."
"Well, how long have you had this ability?" Sky asks, ignoring everything else.
"Technically, since I was 5, but I didn't know what it was or why I had the effects I did until Grandmother helped explain it when I was 8," I say, thanking the waiter who delivered our food.
"Your grandma knew what it was before you did?" he asks, ignoring Mia stealing his fries.
"Yeah, she had the same gift when she was young, but once she met our grandfather, it disappeared with the Counters. She helped explain--"
Stopping mid-sentence, my back straightens, and my fry drops from my hand as my eyes dart around, focusing on a waitress in her mid-twenties that had just come from the kitchen.
'Outside, passing by now,' the voice whispers.
Jumping from my seat, I go over to her quickly. I hear Skylar and Andrew talking and though they are right behind me, they sound like they are miles away.
"Wait, what's going on? Lily?" Skylar asks
"Calm down, just watch," Andrew says.
"Excuse me, Miss, come with me," I say hurriedly, grabbing her hand and dragging her after me.
"Wait... Ma'am... please slow down and tell me what's...wrong," she says as we walk outside, the last word falling away as she sees him.
In his late twenties, a man is rolling down the street, trying to avoid hitting people and chairs with his wheelchair. Finally breaking through the crowd, he looks up and sees us, and the rest of the world falls away. The two are lost in each other's eyes in a matter of seconds, then the waitress walks over, takes his left hand in hers, and turns it, so both of their wrists are facing toward the sky. The Counters hit; the Spark comes, as does the chime.
Once it's over, the waitress bends down and kisses him, putting their foreheads together for a couple of seconds, and whispers something to him. He nods and lets go of her hand, watching as she walks back toward the cafe. She stops as she gets back to me, puts a hand on my shoulder, looks back at the guy, then looks at me and whispers a thank you before heading back inside. I head in after her, walking back to our table and sitting down, I watch as the waitress talks to who I assume is her boss, grabs her stuff, and leaves, winking in my direction and going out to meet with the guy again. Smiling as she leaves, I look back toward the group. While Andrew keeps eating, Mia smiles at me with pride and excitement in her eyes, and Skylar is frozen like yesterday, with bewilderment overtaking his.
"I will never get used to those meetings," Mia sighs, smiling.
"That was... awesome. Lily, you are so cool," Sky says, still in amazement.
"Thanks, I guess. Just be glad the past few have been positive," My hand goes to my cheek instinctively.
"They can get that bad?" he asks.
"Yeah, mainly slaps or foot stomps if there is a misunderstanding, but there has been a black eye and bloody nose or two," I shrug.
"One girl in middle school almost gave her all four when she thought Lily was trying to steal her boyfriend. Mia and I almost didn't get there in time," Andrew laughs.
"Like I said the other night, there have been more good endings than bad. Despite how long I have been doing this, I can never seem to do it right. I just kind of go without realizing, just trying to ease the anxiousness it brings."
"How many was that this weekend alone?" Mia asks.
"Well, you guys, Andrew and Ruby, and just now, so, 3. 4 if you count the guys at the park, but I didn't help them. They had that covered, but the voice did tell me about them," I tell her, finishing my sandwich.
"How many meetings are normal?" Skylar asks.
"Depends, sometimes I won't have anything for weeks, or a few months, sometimes it's like 2 to 3 a day, every day for a week or longer. It differs depending on the time of year and the locations."
"Ok, I think I'm caught up for now," he says.
Going to eat his fries, he stops short when he sees Mia ate them all. Looking at her, she shrugs with a smug smile on her face. Chuckling softly at the exchange, a waiter walks over and places the bill on the table. Picking it up to see how much I owed Mia for Andrew's food, I smile at the message from the waitress, Sarah, saying thank you, and our bill was covered. Leaving a tip on the table, we walk out, say goodbye and go our separate ways.
The walk home and the rest of the night were quiet. I worked on my physics homework and tried to study for finals with no success. Mom and Dad went on a date around 5, and Ruby called about 15 minutes later and told Andrew that her parents wanted to meet him, to which he panicked for about 10 minutes before finally breathing and getting ready. He came back about an hour before Mom and Dad at 7, looking tired but happy, saying that her parents were really sweet and were happy the two had met. When our parents returned, they listened to Andrew's news and the story from the café before all three called it a night. I stayed up studying, finally getting to bed around midnight. Though I wasn't that tired, as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.
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