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"I apologize, but it's going to take a while for the machine's to get up and running. The clerk says there's a repairman trying to fix the circuit box and it won't be up and running for another half hour."

I sighed as I put my bag on one of the chairs. "My day couldn't get any worse."

The lights over head suddenly flickered and switched off. The sun shined through the windows giving the very large room some light. The Beautiful Stranger walked up to the electric doors and waited for it to open... Nothing. Not even a twitch.

"I stand corrected," I mumbled.

He chuckled and it was a beautiful sound. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. His teeth were extremely white but it looked natural. Not like that teeth whitened crap I saw all over New York.

"Must have cut off all the power." He said.

I shrugged my jacket off and flopped onto one of the chairs. "Great."
My t-shirt was turning cold and I was starting to get a bit of a chill. I was sticky, in pain and horribly uncomfortable.

I put my face in my hands and took deep breaths. Calm down, Evie. Don't lose it now. Your day could get better, a part of me said.
Like hell it will, my horribly negative side mumbled. You have a wet t-shirt, your skin is numb and your favourite jacket you got for Christmas last year is ruined.

Don't complain. Stay calm...

"Miss?"

I looked up and ran a hand through my hair. The Beautiful Stranger was towered over me with a frown. He looked exactly how he did earlier in the coffee shop. Torn. He glanced at the door again and finally spoke. "I know this might sound a bit odd coming from someone you don't know but I think you should change your shirt."

I tried to stop myself from smiling. "Really?" I said trying to sound appalled.

His green eyes widened. "Yes, but I mean-"

"Its okay, I'm joking." I said with a smile. His eyes flicked to my cheeks and the corner of his lip twitched into a half smile.

I stood up and cleared my throat immediately removing my own smile. "I have nothing to change into."

He went into his own bag and picked up something white. He held it out at arms length and I took it from him. "Your shirt?"

He nodded and pointed to the back. "There's a bathroom back there."

I walked into the dark bathroom and changed blindly. His tee smelt of... I couldn't place the smell... Orchids? It was some sort of flower. But it was manly somehow. And very attractive.

I walked out and saw him gulping down his drink. His throat bobbed up and down quickly as he downed it. Who downs coffee?

He put the cup in one of the trash cans to the side and crossed his arms across his chest as he sat down in one of the chairs. There were seats scattered across the huge room so I sat on the one opposite a table. We were a fair distance away from each other which I suppose was right.

I went into my bag to get out my schedule and a pen. I could work out my times and gaps I had during the days... I had nothing better to do.

I'd gotten halfway through my dates when I looked up from the desk at him. His eyes were closed and he was unmoving. He physically looked like a statue.

Maybe he's sleeping? But in the space of... I looked at the large clock on the wall. Fifteen minutes? Wow, has it been silent for that long?

His eyes slowly opened and he met my gaze. I went back to my paperwork slightly embarrassed that I was caught. I could feel my face heat slightly but I shrugged it off.

"Can I ask you something?"

I glanced up and back down. "I'll answer if I can."

"What were you going to do to that man?"

A smiled formed on my lips as I wrote down the last times on a Friday. "I don't know. Slap him? To be honest I didn't know if I was going to do anything."

"Short temper?" He asked.

"Little bit." I replied.

"When I saw you, I thought you were about to rip his head off." He chuckled.

I put my pen down and put everything back in my bag. "I think I may of."

"What's your background if you don't mind me asking."

"Does my background make a difference to any of my answers?"

His lip quirked up. "Maybe."

"I'm part Irish."

The sun was disappearing quickly behind the trees only shedding a few rays of lights through the window.

"Only from my dad's side," I noted.

"Explains the reddish hair and eyes then." He said. "Except I'm debating whether those dimples are also your fathers?"

I sighed. "No, my mothers. I hate them."

"I don't." He said without a hint of hesitation.

I stared at him for a moment. Why can't I figure him out? I can usually figure someone out in a click of my fingers but this guy...

He must have realized what he said because he turned his head to the side breaking all eye contact and crossing his arms again.

I leaned back in my chair and started chewing on my bottom lip. It was a habit my mother has continuously scolded me for.

I was beginning to get a bit tired... I mean, New York is 3 hours in front. And in Vancouver, it was now... Four o'clock? Damn, I thought it was later. It's been a tiring day. I should have slept when I got in.

I sighed heavily and closed my eyes. But then I remembered where I was and who was here. I blinked and looked at him. He looked completely relaxed in his seat. Like being stuck in here isn't ruining whatever he may have had planned for his evening. I highly doubted he was a loner. He was too nice and good-looking. No, good-looking is an understatement.

Gorgeous. Hot. Beautiful.

He wouldn't do anything. I barely knew anything about him but... A crazy guy wouldn't offer to help me or stop me from hurting someone?

I didn't care. I closed my eyes again. A nap would do.

**

There was this small vigorous tapping noise in my head. When I opened my eyes the room was pitch dark. I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness and found the source of the noise.

The Beautiful Stranger was shaking his legs. He didn't have the same relaxed look like he did earlier, he looked tense. His jaw was clenched and his hands were in fists on his lap; he looked like he hasn't moved at all since I fell asleep.

"Hey," I whispered.

His green eyes flickered to me and a tight smile planted on his lips.

"Are you alright?"

I think I saw him nod but he didn't speak.

"You look a bit... Tense." I stretched out my limbs as I stood up.

"Yes, well, we've been in here for over three hours now. Wouldn't you be tense?" He didn't look me in the eye when he said this... At least I didn't think he did.

"Well, sorry." I mumbled.

He sighed. "I didn't mean to snap-"

"It's okay," I interrupted. "I'm getting a bit wigged out in this place. Its half seven, I'm tired and my ass is killing me from sitting in this hard chair."

He laughed. "These chairs aren't exactly comfortable."

I started walking around the large room carefully to avoid and steps or chairs I couldn't see. "Have you moved since I went to sleep? You didn't really look like it."

"I've looked around," His voice seemed closer somehow. I didn't hear him move or the chair scrape against the floor like mine did. "It's no different in the dark than it is in the light."

I rolled my eyes. "Right."

"So I'm guessing you're a freshman?"

Now his voice was on the other side of the room. It gets dark pretty early here and the room had gone completely black; I could barely make out the shapes of the washing machines. "Yeah; I moved in this morning actually. What a great day I've been having, hmm?"

"Interesting, yes; great? Not so much." His voice was closer.

"What about you?" I asked as I waved my hands out everywhere to make sure I didn't trip and kill myself. "Are you on your second year? Are you a senior?"

The lights suddenly flickered and then turned on completely.

But my line was blocked. The Beautiful Stranger was standing a mere two inches in front of me; how he got there I hadn't a clue. I was scared to look further than his chest. But when he didn't move after a few seconds, I looked up into his face.

I'd felt like my brain had gone blank. His eyes were intensifying; hypnotizing... They were like a large black hole. I was being sucked in and it just wouldn't stop.

I had to pull away. It scared me at how... spellbinding his eyes were. I stepped back.

"Can you show me how to... work the..." I pointed to the machines as I walked backwards to grab my now dry but sticky t-shirt.

There was a look on his face I couldn't put my finger on but it disappeared before I could look into it more. "Sure."

He inserted a coin into the nearest machines and took the shirt out of my hands. I watched him turn a few dials and finally press the start. Thank God it was only one shirt because it would only take about twenty minutes. The dryer would take another twenty-twenty five minutes.

When I sat down and sighed, my stomach rumbled really loud.

"Hungry?"

I glanced at the Beautiful Stranger briefly. "Yes."

I didn't hear his footsteps but I heard the sliding doors. I looked up. The room was empty. Maybe he decided to leave... Maybe that was best. I barely knew who he was, why should we make a big deal out of nothing?

I bit my bottom lip.

Okay, maybe I did want to know more about him. He was a complete mystery. A complete... stranger.

I heard a ding and jumped. Had it been twenty minutes already. I lifted up the top and pulled out the shirt. I just stared at the tumble dryer and sighed.

The sliding doors caught my attention. I turned and my eyes widened at the sight of him. The Beautiful Stranger was back... with a McDonalds bag.

"I didn't know what you liked so I just got you a McChicken sandwich, fries and a coke. Oh, let me change it over."

He put the bag and coke down on the table and went over to the dryer. I laughed slightly before I took the burger out of the bag and took a huge bite. After I chewed and swallowed I said, "I know for a fact there is no McDonalds on campus."

"I have my ways." I could see the secretive smirk on the side of his mouth.

I spent the next ten-fifteen minutes eating my sandwich and watching him. His back was to me as he clicked a few buttons on the tumble dryer and walked to the seat closer to me. Obvious progress.

I gulped down my drink in seconds and heard him chuckle. Silence once again decended upon us as he flicked through his phone. There was an air around him, one I hadn't felt before. He seemed reserved in some aspects and in others not so much. The fact he'd offered to help and stuck around only proved his beautiful nature.

And I commended him for not using this time to try anything other than help me out. You didn't find people like that anymore.

Ding!

"Oh thank god," I sighed out.

"Trying to get rid of me already, eh?"

"Far from it," I mumbled under my breath.

I heard him snort. Did he hear me? It was barely a whisper; I barely even heard what I said.

I took my dry top out of the dryer, grabbed my jacket and bag and glanced at him. He only looked at me and picked up his own bag. We walked out in unison and I was glad to feel and smell the fresh air. It was absolutely freezing which was an inconvenience but it was better than being in that stuffy room.

I shrugged my jacket on and zipped it up as we walked through campus. My house was all the way on the other side, the only way I would get there is by bus. I could see the bus stop in the distance and I remembered reading in one of the pamphlets that buses stopped at half past eight. It was quarter past now so thankfully I had time.

We walked in silence to the bus stop and I stopped walking. He looked back and smiled that gorgeous smile of his. "Is this where we part ways?" He asked.

I nodded and frowned. "Thank you so much. For the food and everything."

He nodded once and his sudden chuckle scared me. "It's funny."

I heard the bus coming from down the end of the road. "What is?"

"I don't even know your name."

It stopped next to me and the doors opened. I really wanted to know his name... I wanted to know so much more about him. But maybe knowing nothing will keep me from wanting to know more?

Or it could backfire.

"We should keep it that way." I finally said. "If I'm meant to see you again then I will."

He smiled. "You believe in that?"

I shrugged as I put one foot on the step of the bus. "Worth a shot. It's a big campus."

I grinned at him before stepping fully on the bus. The doors were closing when I remembered something. "Wait,"

The bus driver grunted and opened the doors again. There was no one else on the bus so he shouldn't be complaining. I stepped back out. "Hey!"

He turned around.

"I've still got you shirt."

"Next time you see me, give it to me." He winked.

My teeth sunk into my bottom lip as I nodded and turned back onto the bus.

"See you soon, stranger." He said before the doors closed.

I watched him stand there as the bus moved off. As I was the only one on the bus, I turned and mention my road to the driver.

And only when I turned back... The streets were empty and he was no where in sight.

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