I rested my head against the back of the uncomfortable movie theater seat. Closing my eyes, I let the loud bass of the music from the movie vibrate my senses and relax my muscles. My chest hurt terribly. It felt like my lungs and organs were going to explode. After a few moments of trying to relax my body, I get a strong whiff of greasy over-buttered popcorn from the couple sitting just in front of my sister and I. My gag reflex is triggered and I almost throw up, which causes me to start coughing. A warm, searing feeling fills my lungs, making me cough a few more times to try and stop the negative sensation. It slowly goes from the dry scratchy feeling to a burning wet cough. By this point, my sister is rubbing my back in gentle circles to try and calm me down. I pull my hand away from my mouth to see dark spots blotting my palm. I could feel my eyes widen and my heart races. I knew I was sick, but I just coughed up blood. This metallic taste on my tongue could be nothing other than that.

"Are you okay? Do we need to go?" Hatsurin asks, still gently rubbing my back, only half paying attention to me while watching the movie.

I quickly hid my bloodied sleeve under my leg and smiled sheepishly at her. I had to clear my throat to be able to talk, my voice still slightly rough, "Yeah. I'll be okay."

"Do we need to leave? This movie has grown rather boring in my opinion." She lied. I could tell in her eyes that she was enjoying this movie, but she'd risk her pleasure for me out of the beginnings of her over-worrying.

"Uh, sure. Why not?" I nod and stand slowly, keeping my stained sleeve out of view. I was bored, and she offered me a ticket out of here, even if it deemed me cold and rude to ignore her happiness.

When we walked out of the theater, I saw a hand sanitizer dispenser on the wall and took a few squirts to try and wash or rub off the blood somehow. It only made it worse, so I shoved my hands in my pockets to seem nonchalant. Then Hatsurin turns to me, "You're looking really pale, little sis. Let's go get you something to drink to help bring the color back to your face."

"That's what I was thinking in the first place, so come on. We've got to get there before Alex closes shop for the evening." My sister grabbed my arm and dragged me behind her.

Cream & Sugar was our close friend's cafe located at the edge of the bad part of town, but that doesn't mean it was a sketchy cafe. Alex's cafe seemed to pave the way to the good side of the city, almost like it set the standards for the other side. He made the best sweets, according to Hatsurin, and was even able to make a coffee that appealed to my sweet yet non-sweet picky taste. I don't like sweets like my sister, and I'm not a heavy coffee drinker. It was always too bitter for my liking, so for Alex to have been able to find my own special blend is the ultimate best.

As we were walking up the street to the cafe, we grew close to passing by one of the more popular bars in town. They were always pulling customers away from the cafe in the evening, according to Dylan, Alex's best friend. My sister swears that they're more than just friends. I ignore her rambling about it on most occasions and even right now, I had more things to worry about than listen to her political and conspiratorial babbling.

I was sick. I needed to go to a doctor, but if I told my hypochondriac of a sister that I just coughed up blood, she would take it and twist it into bugs or aliens trying to take over my body. I couldn't tell her. No, I'll just have to deal with it on my own. Maybe when she's busy one of these coming days, I'll make an excuse to go out and see a doctor.

My attention is quickly pulled to the bar that we approached. There were loud angry sounding shouts from within and I pulled on my sister's hand, "Let's walk faster."

She nodded in agreement and we sped up the pace. I kept an eye on the bar as we briskly walked past. I would've gone even faster if Hatsurin's short heeled shoe hadn't gotten hooked on the sidewalk grate. I sighed and tried to help her get it unstuck. We were directly in front of the bar and I had a very bad feeling in my gut, that wasn't from being sick.

"And stay out you freaks! For the love of God, I don't want to see you in this bar again!" A gruff voice shouted and the door to the bar slammed shut.

My sister and I were thrown to the ground apart from each other when the two males landed on us. I could hear stuttering and mumbling coming from my sister and a deeper husky voice in her direction. I would have looked to see who the unknown voice belonged to, but I was pinned to the concrete by the other male.

He groaned and moved on top of me, pressing my chest to the pavement, and forcing the air out of my lungs. I coughed and wheezed, and eventually the pressure was off of my body. I knelt on my hands and knees, coughing to clear my lungs, but it didn't work. It felt as if my body was trying to hack up bits of my lungs and I ended up spitting up blood on the concrete before the coughing fit was over.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" A thick, low, honeyed voice asked in concern.

I could faintly see the blood on the ground, so I quickly covered it up with some loose dirt and pebbles on the sidewalk, which didn't help much. I stood up, ignoring the offered hand from the stranger who just crushed me, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You smell like blood. You aren't hurt anywhere are you?" He asks.

I look up at him in slight shock. His long black hair played around his face in the faint breeze of the cool night air. His dark ruby eyes seemed laced with concern. With another look, I noticed that his eyes were two different shades of red-ish brown in the dim light. He must have only been 5'8 because he was not much taller than my 5'4 height, and he wasn't as tall as the guy standing right behind him who definitely must have been at least 6 feet tall.

The male in front of me brought my attention back to him when he reached out to touch my arm, apologizing profusely. I instinctively backed away quickly out of his reach, and maybe too quickly. My foot slipped on the still fresh blood and I would've fallen on my back if the dark haired man hadn't grabbed me around the waist to steady me on my feet.

"Be careful," He said, "there must still be wet spots on the pavement from when it rained earlier. I wouldn't want a pretty lady like you to fall and get hurt."

I pushed away from him and looked to the ground, trying to hide my blush. There was something different about him and his friend, who was talking and laughing quietly with my sister.

I walked away from the long dark haired guy watching me and made my way over to her, stumbling a few times. I would have fallen if I hadn't grabbed her hand. A new coughing fit came over me, but I held it in as best as I could. It felt as if my lungs were a blaze and there was nothing I could do about the burn. After a few moments of my sister and the two strangers watching me closely, I squeezed her hand, blinking the tears in my eyes away.

"Come on. We want to make it to Alex's before he closes." I started dragging her along, being careful to not fall myself.

"But! I'm not done talking to him!" She protested.

"I don't care. Ever heard of the saying "stranger danger"? Besides, they nearly squashed us, I don't think they deserve much attention."

"It wasn't their fault. They were thrown out and couldn't control where they landed."

I sighed and shook my head. It was useless arguing with her. I had a habit of giving up before I could win. Arguing isn't my strong suit. I guess all I can do is hope that when we get to Alex's cafe, they can argue for me about the danger of talking to strangers.