((uhm...Aerinn...you kinda just god-modded there. I know with me off it's a little hard to work around my character but...you really can't move him around for me cause that just throws me off >.>))

Finally done with the cake, Zephyr clapped his hands together, taking only a second to admire his work before moving over to the racks of, now cooled, lemon meringue cupcakes. He took a few minutes to contemplate the cupcakes before gathering the supplies to whip up a quick meringue.

He scooped the sweet mixture into two piping bags before starting off on putting a perfect spiral on top of each cupcake. When Aerinn entered the kitchen again he looked up and noted that she could probably finish the rest of the cupcakes and so Zephyr went to retrieve a mini-kitchen torch to toast the meringue.

"Demetri and Delilah here now?" he asked absently, watching the meringue brown under the flame.

((I completely skewed the time it takes to make meringue in this post. There's no way Zephyr could have made meringue in this short amount of time with all the cooling time and everything, but I guess, for the sake of the roleplay, we can ignore that :sweat:))

Delilah grumbled under her breath, mumbling death threats at her brother. He could be so childish sometimes, but sometimes it was really amusing. Just not now. "Alright, you know I will! I just don't know about my idiot brother," she called back to Faye, knowing Demetri heard her.

"Nice to meet you too, and no problem," she replied and smiled again, her eyes sparkling. Tilting her head at the girl, her redhead hair falling over her bare shoulder, Delilah listened to what she said. She wasn't quite sure if she believed, actually, she was pretty sure she didn't, but she decided to let it go.

Chuckling at his sister's comment to Faye, Demetri shook his head. "I'm as professional as it gets," he said, and popped his collar, even though he really didn't have one. Smiling, he looked back at Emma. "Pretty name," he replied to her and grinned charmingly, his voice as smooth as dark chocolate.

"I'm guessing you two are siblings? Twins?" He asked and nodded in Emma's brother's direction. Again he thought he heard foot steps from a distance, and this time he made a mental note to check the noise out later.

Looking at his sister, Demetri put on his best puppy dog look and sweet voice. "Delilah, can you make me a coffee? Yours are so much better than mine," he asked and smiled sweetly. In truth, hers were better. Plus, he always had a habit of breaking the coffee machine.

Delilah raised an eyebrow in her brother's direction. "Only if you want it poured on your head," she said, mock sweetly back at him. Laughing, she stuck her tongue out at him. "Are you from here?" She asked Kyle, curiosity blanketing her features.

they appropriated everything we ever loved,

████ dressed it up in quotations and fluff.

ⓐⓛⓔⓧ slowly walked into his favourite cafe, still groggy. His head pounded as he leaned against the counter. He couldn't really remember exactly what had happened last night, but he'd started the morning covered in mud, in a backyard that definitely wasn't his. Something had led him back to this place. Something always did, these days. It was the only relic of what the town used to be.

"The usual," he muttered to Faye, absentmindedly focusing on her bright hair. He squeezed his eyes shut and kneaded his forehead between his thumbs, sighing as he vainly attempted to wake up.

---------

ⓣⓗⓘⓝⓛⓨ ⓐⓦⓐⓡⓔ that the others weren't following her, Charlotte softly walked up the stairs until she found a dusty old storage room. She looked around for a few minutes before noticing an ancient wardrobe. "Cool," she breathed. She opened it slowly, peeking in as her heart pounded with anticipation.

As soon as the door was completely open, something reach out and hit her face. Forgetting that she was supposed to be completely silent, Charlotte screamed as the harmless fruit bat she'd disturbed flew up into the rafters. She gulped. Again, she thought. I never think, do I?

<<Sorry, kinda a newb at roleplaying, remember? I don't know these things. The time felt like it was getting skewed when Charlotte said to explore, I'm lost at that part... Sorry sorry sorry... I don't know where my character is anymore. Am I taking an order now or was I in the kitchen? Where is everyone? TnT>>

Faye nodded at Alex's order and went to get the customers coffee. Even if they didn't want anything, she gave everyone coffee. It was a unspoken norm she adopted whenever she was on waitress duty. However, as she was leaving she heard a distant scream. "Did you hear that?"

Emma smiled at his comment about her name being pretty, "Thanks, your name is nice as well." She said, before nodding at his next question. "Yeah, twins." She simply said, before jumping as she heard a scream. Oh no, I hope Charlotte is okay... SHe thought worridly, thinking up excuses to say if anyone else had heard it. She didn't want the girl to get in trouble.

Kyle shook his head at Delilah's question, "No. We are just living here for the summer." He explained to her, not getting into any detail on why.

Zephyr's hand slipped when he heard the scream and he swore quietly as he screwed up. He dropped the piping bag and exited the kitchen. He nodded quickly to the other occupants of the main body of the cafe before heading straight for the back staircase.

The scream had been too far away to have come from anywhere but upstairs. He supposed it was a bit rude not to introduce himself to any of the new customers but he guessed that a scream was more important.

After he cleared the staircase he looked around the cluttered storage room.

"Hey...anybody up here?"

((ahh...you were actually in the kitchen that's why i mentioned you moving Zephyr, but it's fine, since you are new and all :) anyway, I'm off for the night, my mom's nagging. off to stare at the ceiling! nightnight~))

[[Aerinn: Time getting skewed happens a lot in roleplays! Next time it happens, the easiest thing to do if your character was involved in that scene is to occupy your character with a list of tasks until you think enough time has passed in your post to jump into the moment, sort of like you weren't really there. (Example: "Time flew by as she ran around the kitchen to sweep up the floors, prepare the cupcakes, preheat the oven, and get the shop ready for customers. She looked up to see... {current scene}") If you're not involved in a scene, don't worry about it - Just jump in whenever! You can also use the same techniques if you were in a scene and two people abandoned you (happens a lot in romance-based rps) and you want to jump into a new one. As long as Aoi forgives you, I'm fine with it - You didn't understand the rules so it's okay, no harm done!]]

ⓒⓗⓐⓡⓛⓞⓣⓣⓔ froze as she heard footsteps on the stairs. Her heart pounding, she desperately looked around for a place to hide. Seeing nothing big enough to obscure even her tiny frame, she clambered into the wardrobe at the last minute. As she quickly closed the doors shut, however, it fell backward, and she let out a yell as it fell.

Half-choked from all the dust, Charlotte climbed her way out of the wardrobe, which had miraculously managed to stay intact throughout the incident. When her eyes fell on a guy looking around the room, her heart stopped for a minute.

"Sorry," she said, collecting her thoughts after what seemed like an eternity of gawking at him. "I was trying to find Narnia."

----------

◗◗ⓨⓔⓐⓗ◗ ⓦⓗⓐⓣ was that?" asked Alex, startled out of his mental fog by the noise and Faye's accompanying reaction. Hearing the loud thump afterwords, his green-flecked eyes widened. "Should we go see if he's okay?" he asked Faye.

For some reason, he always felt like he had to appear brave, kind, happy, and... perfect... in front of this girl; the girl who gave him coffee every morning. He shrugged off the thought. He had probably just grown attached to her because she took care of him, in a way. Alex liked to think that he had no real emotions. It was easier that way.

<<Ok I see, thank you. I really just don't know how to handle the time thing that well, and it sorta fills with other characters doing something in my mind. I'll refrain from it from now on... Should I edit my previous post to avoid the kitchen/counter displacement problem?>>

Faye looked at Alex. From the times she had catered him, he usually didn't pay much mind to anything that was going on in the cafe. To be honest she was mildly surprised to see him react. She mustered, "I think I heard Zephyr go up to check, I'm sure it isn't something to get too worked up about." She smiled at him, but looked at the ceiling, slightly worried.

[[No, don't worry about it; it's fine the way it is. :D]]

ⓓⓘⓢⓐⓟⓟⓞⓘⓝⓣⓔⓓ that Faye didn't seem even vaguely interested, Alex downed his coffee and went to sit down behind the bookcases without a word. That's what happens, he thought angrily. That's what happens when you let yourself care too much.

Faye saw Alex slump, and quickly worried. Was it something I said?She felt that it was her duty as a staff member to ensure that every customer has a pleasant experience, leaving in higher spirits. She leaned down to level her face with his seat. "Is everything okay?" she asked. Her voice became soothing and sincere. "You seem a bit down. Do you want to talk about it?" Faye realized she never struck up a conversation with him, despite seeing him very often. Better late than never,she told herself, and besides, he seems like a nice person.

<<Eep! Sailor Moon! That's so cool!>>

Delilah was about to ask more, but stopped herself before she did. It didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it, so she wouldn't press on. "Ah, that's cool," she replied and nodded.

Glancing over, she saw another regular, Alex, wonder in. Giving him a small smile, she watched him immediately go to Faye. Not surprised by it, she turned her head back to Kyle and his twin, Emma. She always had a feeling that Alex had a thing for Faye, and she found it kind of cute.

Jumping when she heard a scream, Delilah looked up towards the stair case. Her brow furrowed in a cute sort of way and she bit her lip, watching Zephyr go up the stairs. It was the first time she had seen him all morning, knowing he usually spent the beginnings of the days in the kitchen. The kitchen was probably the nicest area of the cafe, with stainless steel equipment and a professional setup. It was kind of ironic when the front of it wasn't very modern.

"No problem, and thank you," Demetri said in reply, giving Emma a wink. Smiling, he glanced at her brother. "Yeah, I can see that," he simply said, realizing the similarities even more between the two when he knew they were twins. The main give away between himself and Delilah were the eyes, large, vivid, and dark green. They also had a similar build, Demetri being more muscular and Delilah more toned from years of dancing, and the same skin tone.

At a sudden scream, making most of the females jump, Demetri hopped over the counter and jogged to the stair case after Zephyr. He gently brushed Emma as he sprinted, her skin warm against his. Leaning on the stair case, holding the banister, Demetri peered up.

"What is it?" He called to Zephyr, not able to hear anything. His w's were pronounced more like v's, a dead give away that he wasn't from America. It was the same for his sister, and even though they had been in America for a little while, they had never lost their accents.

Zephyr jumped slightly when the wardrobe door fell and he chuckled at the girl that climbed out. She looked up at him and then seemed to freeze. He smiled at her and raised a hand to scratch at the back of his head, waiting for her to say something. It took a couple more seconds of him shifting his weight around before she opened her mouth again.

The words that came out of her mouth had him grinning again as he raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't think you'll find it in that old thing." He added.

"Just a cute new customer that decided to go on a tour without a guide." Zephyr called back when he heard Demetri's question, the unforgettable accent quite clear even this far from the guy. Zephyr held out a hand to the girl and smiled kindly. "What do you say to going back downstairs for a cup of Faye's coffee and one of the lemon meringue cupcakes I just finished up...or maybe a slice of cake?"

"Ah, so that's what happened." Faye sighed after hearing Zephyr's response from upstairs. She knew the stairs looked interesting from a customer's perspective, but if she had been more attentive of the cafe front, this little mishap wouldn't have happened. She turned to Alex and perked up. "See? Nothing to worry about."

[sorry, playing catch-up; working on the posts right now!]

Emma couldn't help but to blush slightly as Demetri winked at her. She shook her head embarassed, hoping that he didn't notice. She nodded when he said that he could seee how the two were twins. Emma never really paid attention on how similiar the two actually were.

Emma watched as Demetri ran past her, and she couldn't help but to follow after him. She sighed of relief once she found out that Charlotte wasn't in any sort of trouble.

[[Thanks Aerinn! Lovin' on your avi btw.]]

ⓐⓛⓔⓧ ⓢⓗⓞⓞⓚ his head. "No, it's fine - it's nothing - it's just - Sometimes I let myself get carried away in other peoples' lives, you know? Even if I barely know them. It's like, I have this picture in my head that I know exactly who someone is, and in there they seem so similar and familiar to me. But reality is different, right?" He looked down and let out a bitter snort of a laugh. "I mean, I think everyone is always the same around here, and then I meet someone who completely changes that expectation." He looked at Faye for the first time since she'd joined him. It's strange, he thought, to be comforted by the one who's the cause of the pain.

((early-chan, don't forget that charlotte has to respond to zephyr~))

[[No worries! lol I have much more thinking to do for that one, I'm loving the "Let me give you food for causing trouble" thing. He's adorable.]]

Shaking his head at Zephyr's comment, a smirk playing over his face, he headed back to the counter. Demetri saw Emma had followed him and smiled to himself. Wiping the satisfied grin off of his face, he replaced it with his usually charming one and headed back to the counter. Delilah elbowed him not too gently, raising an eyebrow.

"Sie ist sehr schön," Delilah Rose commented to her older brother in their native language. Referring to Emma, she had said she was very pretty, noticing how her brother had stared at her. "Hi Alex," she said to the customer briefly, having learned his name early on.

Delilah glanced down at her watch, checking the time. It was still early, and she was already anticipating rehearsals. Trying to make it on Broadway, she took part in many community plays, hoping to be discovered by scouts who randomly showed up at the theater on show nights. At the current time, she was playing the chaperone in The Drowsy Chaperone, a comedy play based in the 1920s.

Chuckling to herself at Zephyr's comment, which she had heard from his close spot by the stairs, the feisty redhead returned her attention to the main area of the cafe. Running her long fingers through her crimson tendrils, Delilah glanced back at Kyle, briefly wondering about him. She wondered why he hadn't really said much about being her, but again she figured it wasn't something she should press on.

Rolling his eyes at his sister, he pinched her arm to get her to be quiet. She was always making comments about girls he flirted with, teasing him for it. He didn't do it much, but he figured the accent worked like a charm. Cracking his knuckles, a habit he had developed as a young teen, the brunette stared back at Emma. "Would you like something," he asked, nodding to the coffee machines.

ⓐ ⓕⓐⓘⓝⓣ ⓑⓛⓤⓢⓗ crept across Charlotte's face as she heard the guy call her cute; then she lost all hope of keeping her cool as he took her hand, her face exploding in red. Accepting his help, she stumbled out of the fallen wardrobe. As she climbed out in her mildly-flustered state, her shoe caught on the side of the box and she tripped, falling face-forward into her "rescuer."

"S-sorry," she stammered. She usually wasn't like this with guys. She usually didn't care this much. She usually didn't care at all. There was something different about this one, she decided. He was mysterious, for one thing. And although she usually didn't go out of her way to judge guys based on how cute they were, she had to admit that this one was pretty gorgeous.

Faye gasped. "Ah! I think I know what you mean!" She tilted her head to one side and looked up to think, her bangs bouncing slightly at the change of gravity. "Kind of like... when you see someone and you kind of fill in blanks about that person? Job, age, personality..." She raised her hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I think everyone does that at some point." She returned her head to its regular position, resting her cheek on her hand and looking directly at Alex. "Sometimes reality can be a pain like that, but isn't it also a good experience to find someone in a new light? Like, a change of perspective, right? You never know..."

At that moment, she remembered her croissants in the oven. She stood up abruptly. "Sorry, Alex! I totally forgot something I left baking! We can continue this conversation later, okay?" With that, she rushed through the doorway behind the counter.

"Whoops." Zephyr chuckled as the girl fell into him, he rested his hands on her hips to steady her before carefully moving back, just to make sure she didn't fall again. "Don't worry about it. At least i know it was an accident." He said, "I mean, if I didn't know better I'd say you did that on purpose." he joked, though his mind flashed back to a few memories back in his home city. Shaking his head slightly, he tightened his hold on the girl's hand and led her back to the staircase.

"Oh yea, my name's Zephyr. What's yours?" he asked casually over his shoulder as he descended the stairs with the girl in tow.

ⓐⓛⓔⓧ ⓢⓜⓘⓛⓔⓓ, glad that she'd finally seemed to notice him, even though it seemed more like she was charitably comforting him, rather than flirting. Ah, well. He heaved a sigh, then heard a female voice calling his name.

"Hm?" He looked up to see a girl with auburn hair and forest green eyes looking at him. Why hadn't he ever noticed her before? It seemed like she worked here. Maybe it was just because of the constant state of fog that had inhabited his brain for the past two months. He had never been much of one for partying until he had come back from school in early May. With little to do but slowly lose hope of ever regaining the town of his childhood, Alex began a nightly ritual of going out and finding a new way to forget the truth.

He looked at the girl again as he headed to the counter. "Hey," he said, holding out a hand to her. "I don't know if we've formally met yet." He winked at her, trying his best to be charming.

Maybe I was right, he thought, returning to his usual egotistical self again. I'll get over Faye.

----------

ⓒⓗⓐⓡⓛⓞⓣⓣⓔ felt her skin burn as his hands grazed her hips for a moment. She looked down to try and collect her thoughts. He must think I'm an idiot, she thought. She tried to make a mental list of things she'd already done wrong today, but quickly lost count. Though her heart was still pounding furiously, she wasn't blushing quite as much at this point, and her thoughts at least seemed to be more in her control. As she felt his grip tighten on her hand, she squeezed back and allowed him to lead her down the stairs.

"Zephyr... That's a nice name," she said, smiling. "I'm Charlotte."

Zephyr grinned as he finally stepped off the staircase and turned to face Charlotte. "Thanks, a lot of people think my name is weird for some reason. Your name is nice too." He motioned for her to take a seat somewhere and then jogged over to the counter and lent over it to retrieve a notepad and pencil from below the counter. Humming to himself again, he looked up and tilted his head at all the people in the room.

"Hey there Alex, didn't notice you, sorry 'bout that." he said quickly before returning to Charlotte's side. "So...do you want anything to drink? Or maybe something to eat? I can guarantee that all our baked goods are fresh, considering I baked most of them either this morning or last night." He asked. He was almost like a little kid with the gleam of happiness in his eyes and the easy grin that seemed to appear on his face ever so frequently.

In the kitchen, Faye frantically, almost recklessly, threw the croissant tray out of the oven. Luckily, they had just turned a bit darker than she would have liked, and not burnt. She tried to pick one up, but quickly withdrew her hand. "Ouch, hot!"

A bit more level-headed knowing her hard work had not gone to waste, Faye looked for and found a pair of tongs. She then looked for small plates the cafe used for pastries, and began mounting both cupcakes and croissants onto them, choosing four of each to add to her waitress tray to serve. She then took a little ornate coffee cup and added that to her load. One for the new customer,, Faye nodded to herself. She didn't dare to cut Zephyr's cake, though; that was territory she was not allowed to cross under any circumstance.