Chapter 1
I made my way across campus as quickly as possible. I was running late again, which wasn’t unusual. At least I managed to get where I was going at the exact time I needed to most days.
I rushed inside and threw on my bright pink apron. I skidded to a halt right behind the counter and glanced at the clock. It hit 3:15 and I smiled to myself. I made it right on time.
“It amazes me that you manage that. Every single time, in fact.” Jacob said with an exaggerated eye roll. I just grinned at him and stepped up to the counter to help the next customer.
I loved my job at Deb’s café. It was a small coffee shop, right on the edge of campus. Deb loved pink and made the entire coffee shop into a pink and black theme. It was a bit overboard, but that was part of it’s charm. Plus we made the best coffee and sweets around.
I was a sophomore at Silver Forest University in Missouri. Silver forest was an odd mixture of college town and tourist city. It even had a small town charm in parts of it, though it was hardly a small town.
I loved it here even though the prejudices here were as strong as any small town. You would think that in 2103 we would be over it, but now that humans had equality, they banded together in their distrust of the Fae. In 2090 we found out we weren’t alone on Earth. It was a shock, but their numbers were small. They were only about 200 strong when they entered our world. They were banned from publicly using magic of any kind, and integrated into our society. They had nowhere to return to, so humans had little choice. Though the acceptance was reluctant at best and hostile at worst in many places.
Apparently a war of their own destroyed what land they had, leaving it uninhabitable. Though they refused to tell humans how to enter their world, they described it as another realm residing through a portal, parallel from ours. Another dimension of sorts.
I hated how people treated them, but thankfully Deb’s was a safe zone for everyone. They were given citizenship to whatever country they chose, but most reside in America. We have about four Fae at our university, and they tend to study here. I found them fascinating. They were elegant and graceful. Two things I am definitely not. They also kept to themselves, which was more of a survival instinct than anything.
“Quit daydreaming, Bella!” Jacob snapped me out of my thoughts and back into reality. I gave him a sheepish smile and went back to stocking the coffee bar.
“Sorry, Jacob.” I muttered. He just gave me a cheeky grin and brought over the extra sugar packets to help me. He never took anything too seriously. He was my best friend, so I knew he wasn’t too upset.
“Daydreaming of anyone good?” He joked and gave an over the top wink. I just rolled my eyes. Jacob had made it his mission to find me a boyfriend. I just never connected to anyone. Growing up in the same town as you went to school left little to choose from in the dating pool. College brought a few more, but I was just too picky for my own good. I think he wanted us to be able to double date. He had moved here last year and managed to snag himself a cute, nerdy guy within the first six months.
“Just because you got lucky and found Sam, doesn’t mean that I will be as lucky.” I shot back and he just grinned and glanced at Sam, who was nestled into the corner table.
He came here every time Jacob worked, so he could walk him home and studied during Jacob’s shifts. He was some sort of tech genius and does IT work from home on certain days. They were like night and day. Sam had amazing, mocha skin, dark eyes and kept his hair short. Jacob was half Asian and had amazing almond shaped eyes and flawless skin. He also had chestnut brown hair, grayish blue eyes, and perfectly styled shaggy hair. It sounds contradictory, but Jacob was handsome.
“Did you get your project finished?” He asked with a stern glance. I was the worst kind of procrastinator and he knew it. He was the opposite and took it upon himself to nag me into working on my projects early. It never really worked, I would get distracted and he would get annoyed.
As an architect major, my major projects consisted of creating blueprints. Jacob was an art major and helped me perfect my blueprints sometimes.
The rest of our shift went by fairly quick. Once I locked the doors at closing time, we made quick work of cleaning and locking up. Deb usually scheduled Jacob and I together now that she realized that we were a good team.
“Want Sam and I to walk you back to your apartment?” It was a sweet offer, but I enjoyed my quiet evening walks.
“I’ve got this, and pepper spray.” I joked as I gathered up my jacket and backpack. We locked up the door and Jacob grabbed Sam’s hand as they went off in the opposite direction. I made my way down the sidewalk just enjoying the spring breeze. It was the only time I got to enjoy the peaceful quiet. Even though I lived alone, the apartment building was made up of college students. That meant there was partying, music, shouting, and a ton of general noise at all hours.
I walked up to the large brick building and used the keypad to unlock the door. I walked up the three flights of stairs to reach my floor. I slipped past the mass of partying students that had spilled into the hallway and unlocked my apartment. I slipped inside then quickly locked out the chaos before someone walked in. It wouldn’t be the first time. If I forgot for even a few minutes someone would always come stumbling in.
I loved my apartment, despite the noise. It was clean and fairly recently built. I haven’t had many maintenance issues either. However, they are small. Which is why I can actually afford it. It has an open floor plan, with a small kitchen area that was separated from the living room by a long counter. I had stools on both sides so it could seat four people. The living room was just big enough for a couch, tv stand and desk. I had a tiny balcony off of the living room. The bedroom barely fit a bed and dresser, but it was cozy. The bathroom was attached to my bedroom and had a stand in shower, instead of a full bath tub. I missed taking baths to relax, but I would survive.
My goal for next year was to secure an apartment in Jacob’s building. It was not all college students and much quieter. The units were bigger and had real bathtubs. I could get behind the quiet life. I got all of my excitement out when Jacob and I went to karaoke at the bar near campus. Diamonds was the only bar that did Karaoke on weekends and we used every excuse we could to go let off some steam.
I took off my jacket and threw my backpack to my art desk. I needed to do some work on my newest building sketches. My current one was my part of rebuilding a city. I was doing a library, which I thought gave me more freedom to do a modern approach or an older style. I liked to be able to dictate how my build would look, not just do what I was told.
I put on a pot of coffee before I got started. I knew I would need it to get any work done. I was already tired and had several hours ahead of me. Thankfully this semester my classes all started at noon or later.
I got to work on my library, adding extra windows for natural lighting and large ceilings. I loved creating new buildings, even if they wouldn’t be put into action. I planned to keep all of my work in my portfolio, I would need it when I applied to jobs after graduation. If I was lucky then my future job would allow my sketches to be used in their planning. Then I could actually see my work come to life.
I was on my third cup of coffee before I decided I was done for tonight. I glanced at the clock and realized it was almost one in the morning. At some point exhaustion always cancels out the caffeine. I rinsed out my cup and prepared my coffee pot for the morning. I changed into a tank top and sleeping shorts before passing out without any issues.