Laughter filled their area as the two boys chatted away. They talked about their hobbies, jobs, experience with friends, and recently entered the conversation of their childhood.

Justin raised an eyebrow, "Really? That's hard to picture."

"Yeah, I was pretty shy as a kid," the other replied with a sheepish smile, "It wasn't that I didn't like socializing, that's always something I've liked, but.. I dunno, part of me always felt a little detached from reality."

The sandy blonde's ears perked up at the sentence, rubbing the back of his neck, "Well, I definitely understand that.."

"Hm?"

"Ah- i-it's nothing.." He looked down at the empty shake glass, "Thanks for the drink, by the way.."

North smiled kindly, "Of course, just let me know if you want anything else."

"I'm okay for now," he replied as the waitress stopped by to pick up the empty glasses, then raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Hey, you never told me about your work stuff, we drifted off in conversation earlier."

"Oh!" he fixed his posture a bit, his cheeks a bit puffed as he remembered the events, "Cutting it short, I had a photo shoot scheduled for noon on the dot. The photographer had a very tight schedule, so I made extra sure to get to the studio on time."

As he went on, Justin couldn't help but notice how fluid his hands moved around in conversations, and how passionate he was about it as well. It was easy to tell that North was a very expressive person, always smiling the right smile when the situation needed. If the mood was happy, his smile was bright and fun, but if the mood was sad, his smile shrunk into one of reassurance.

Just what exactly happened in his head..?

A grumble then emanated from his throat, expression grumpy, "However, this was a partnered up photo shoot, and the one who was supposed to take photos with me didn't arrive until five hours later!"

"Damn, five hours?"

"I know! And when my manager asked why they were so late, he said we weren't important enough to get an answer, which his manager quietly apologizing to all of us after he went to change."

Justin snickered, "Sounds like a piece of work."

"That's not all. When the photo shoot started, this guy started flirting with me left and right. It started it out pretty mild, but it just got more sexual the more time passed, even grabbed my ass at one point."

"Ew.."

"I had to stay to finish though, it wasn't the photographer's fault the guy was late. We ended up staying all night for it, and then had to start the next photo shoot without any breaks." He then leaned back against the seat, letting out a heavy sigh, "So yeah, I'm beat. I needed to recharge my batteries."

Justin's ears drooped back, "You could've gotten home and rested if you needed to.."

"Huh?" That word in particular was voiced out by North, though it was more accidental than anything, less of a word and more of a sound, then raised his hands to speak again, "Oh no, I'm the type of person who gets energy from social interaction! Being with friends makes me feel much more relaxed than being alone."

"Oh..! I've.. never heard about that actually.."

The pale one giggled, "It doesn't take a genius to pinpoint you as an introvert."

"Introvert?"

"Aren't you?"

"Uh.. I don't really know what that is.."

North tilted his head, curious that it was an unfamiliar term for him, "Well, introverts are people that get their energy from being alone, or are more comfortable being alone, or just prefer to spend time alone. There's also extrovert, which are people who prefer to be in company rather than alone. I'm honestly surprised you don't know about it."

The sandy blonde grew pale, "O-oh, I.. had a limited education, heh.." he then smiled sheepishly, "But that introvert one does sound like me.."

The other giggled once more, "I figured."

He was an easy person to talk to, had a warm and kind aura around him, one that relaxed Justin to a certain extent, which barely happened around people.

Then he looked at his phone, noticing the time, which made his eyes grow wide in realization, "Five already..?!"

He noticed North tilt his head in question, so he tilted the phone to his view and gave a sheepish smile, "Sorry, I just realized we've been talking for hours.."

The platinum blonde's shoulders rose at the sight, "Shit! I have to meet with my manager in half an hour!" His expression shifted from confusion to apologetic, "I'm sorry, Justin, but I should be going."

"Oh, no, that's okay, I should be heading home anyway," he replied with a small smile, "And thank you for this, I enjoyed it..!"

North smiled at that, "No problem! I'll go ahead and pay for this, you go ahead and wait outside."

"You're sure you don't need me to pay for anything..?"

"Nah, it's really no trouble," and he walked over to the counter.

Justin's face felt warm, his stomach funny, all in a good way. There was a smile on his face as he stood up and picked his bag, heading over to the cafe's entrance. Today had been nice, really nice; North was kind, and funny, and beautiful, he was a perfect person!

'Almost too perfect', he began to think..

Distracted by that thought, he didn't notice the tall man that was walking to his direction, snapping back to reality only when he crashed into the man's side, stepping back.

The man instantly flinched, dropping the beer he had in his hands, both watching as it exploded against the floor into a million shards over a now wet spot on the sidewalk.

Justin's skin was paper white now, a shower of unnecessary flashbacks zooming through his eyes, "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't-!"

"For fuck's sake!!" the man's deep voice boomed, his glare shifting over to the sandy blonde, "After the day I've had?! You just cost me five bucks!!"

"I'll- I-I can buy you another! I just need to-!"

"Oho, you bet your ass you're buying me another, lady!" He grabbed Justin by his shirt's collar, lifting him off his feet, "Matter of fact, if you don't come back with a full case, I'll-!!"

Silence.

What happened? Why had the yelling stopped?

His feet were still levitation, he could still feel the man's grip, he was still shaking in terror.

And through that terror, Justin peeked with an eye, though his vision was hazy from the tears that were already forming.

He blinked a few times, adjusting to the setting, when a familiar face appeared from right behind the man's shoulder.

"N- North..?" he called out, swallowing back a sob that had formed.

Something was off, seriously off.

North's eyes were different, for starters. Normally they were a pale blue, a very light periwinkle, if you will, a set of welcoming doors.

But now, they were a pink, still light, but far from inviting.

All Justin was getting from the way his wide eyes stared at the man, all that screamed in his head, was danger.

North's usual smile was gone, replaced with not a frown, but something neutral, and he held the man's wrist which had been facing back in a motion of about to punch.

The man glanced back, glaring in anger, "What the-?!" He tried to pry his arm away, getting frustrated as he saw there was no progress being made, "Let go of me, asshole!!"

North's head tilted, his expression not changing. He simply stared, no reactions being seen.

And then, a scream. Loud and agony filled.

North had crushed the man's wrist, forcing the man to drop Justin onto the ground as the platinum blonde did not let go, and instead, lifted a heel.

The rest was a blur.

More screams..

blood..

so much blood...

What was happening..?! What was he doing?!

He didn't dare to look, just flattened his ears against his head, pressing them closer with his hands as it happened, and then..

"No."

No?

"Sorry, I went too far."

Huh??

Justin opened his eyes, a strange wave a nausea rising over as he looked around. He was standing alone in front of the cafe, with the few people remaining at this hour walking at a far enough distance from him.

Only seconds later did he feel a small tap on his shoulder, making him flinch away, only to see North jump a little from the reaction. He then raised his hands to speak, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Are you okay? You look pale."

"I do..?" He reached up, wiping a bit of sweat off his forehead, "I uh.. sorry, I doze off for a moment.."

"Maybe we should get you home.."

"It's okay, I can walk.."

"You sure..?"

"Yeah.." Justin smiled at him, "You have that meeting, I don't wanna keep you here any longer."

North's pout was barely noticeable, "If you say so.. Let's meet up again soon, again?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

And so, with one last smile, North turned on his heels and walked the other way, waving goodbye.

A heavy sigh escaped Justin's lips, why was he suddenly so panicked? Nothing had happened, he just walked out of the cafe and waited by the door. That's all that happened, all he remembered.

Right?

Thanks for reading!!! 'Till next time!!!

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