He snorted a little, "Don't worry, I didn't." He shrugged, looking towards the front of the cafe. He knew he should just leave but something about the whole situation felt off. Probably because she was hiding the real reason for why she left.
Red bit the inside of her cheek. Why are you so nervous? It's not like he really meant anything to you. You just met him. "Right so, umm I think I'm not so thirsty anymore. And the line's long. So, I'll just-" She began to walk towards the door even though, somehow, she wanted to stay. And it wasn't just for the drink.
Ash stopped her, grabbing the top of her arm before she got too far, "Aw come on, we need to catch up a little," He knew he was being and asshole, but that was in his nature. Besides, he needed to know why she was lying, why she was so hell bent on being distant, "Let me buy you a drink."
His grabbing her arm surprised her a bit, but she stopped. "Really, no, you don't have to." She searched for a good reason why. "I, you know, don't want to be out while it's dark and all." She was stubborn, and she always had been. She got it from her mom.
Ash snorted, "I's not dark yet so you can stay for a little while," He insisted, flashing her a smile that was obviously forced, "Come on, just for ten minutes."
The smile hit her hard just as all his words did. He's stubborn too. She forced a similar smile. "Fine. Ten minutes shouldn't be too bad."
“Wonderful.” He let go of her arm. By this point the line had gone down and he headed closer to the cashier, “Whatcha want?”
Red shrugged with a sigh. She followed him not too close behind. "Umm, surprise me. I guess. Not really picky."
Ash nodded. He ordered an iced coffee for himself and a caramel hot chocolate for her. He paid quickly, standing to once side while he waited.
Red looked to the menu she had memorized by now to avoid looking at him and letting the guilt flush in. It's not my fault he trusted me. She crossed her arms over her chest and read each little line of writing. See, what felt worse about this is that she had written a few little paragraphs about him. Maybe less about him and more about why it would be so bad to get lose to someone. It felt like the pages needed convincing. Or maybe she did. Either way, she still promised herself she wouldn't.
The drinks were called out and Ash collected them, handing one of them to Red. He walked them over to a small booth, trying to keep his demeanor relaxed even though it was far from it, "So, want to tell me why you lied?"
"No, not really." Red sat down across from him. She took the cup, the drink warm in her hands. "I don't even remember lying."
He snorted, "Yes you do, stop denying it," He narrowed his eyes, "Why are you avoiding me?"
"Me? Avoiding you? What? Nooo…" She looked down to her hands and began to mess with the ring on her left thumb. "Why would I avoid you?"
"That I"m not sure about. But there's clearly something going on with you and avoiding me or maybe you're trying to avoid everyone, who knows. If you don't like me or something just say and I'll piss off, it's not the bloody hard."
She scoffed. "Look, bud: It's not that I don't like you. You seem great. People just aren't great." This wasn't entirely true. The problem that was people were too easy to get attached to. "I'm not looking for any new friends or anything. So, unless you feel like a very temporary, unstable, and one sided connection or whatever, I would indeed 'piss off' for your own good."
He tried not to let that get to him as much as it was, "And you couldn't have just told me that flat out?" He asked, voice maybe slightly softer then it had been.
His change in voice caught her off guard. "I mean, I guess I could have, but I didn't. Instead I just gave you not so subtle hints." She took a sip of her drink slow enough so it wouldn't burn her tongue. The rich taste filled her mouth. "I thought you'd get it," she added after swallowing.
"Clearly, I didn't. You know with the whole getting beat up and nearly killed I'm sorry my mind hasn't been in the right place recently to understand."
Red cleared her throat and looked to the table. "Right. Yeah. Forgot about that…" He really had to pull that card? "Well, you didn't die. So, there's that."
“I guess, that’s a fair point,” He shrugged, “But if I had, would you really have been that upset? Since you’re trying to avoid me and this ‘one sided connection’ that is.”
She scoffed and looked up at him. "I'm not that insensitive. I would have felt bad, sure."
He rolled his eyes, “Sure, whatever you say.”
"Look, sir: I don't know why you are so offended. I saved your life! What, I have to pay you back or something for leaving a stranger to medical professionals?" She leaned back against the seat, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I’m not offended you left, I’m offended as to why you lied about the real reason for leaving. If you’d told me straight up I would have dropped it but you didn’t.”