Chapter Twenty Eight

"Hey," She practically shouts in excitement causing Raven to look back to her again, "You actually came by?" She exclaimed almost in a questioning tone while approaching him with a gentle smile like they were already well acquainted friends.

Her friendly behavior really made Raven wonder just how easy going this girl was. He silently despised those kinds of people since they were usually the type that would invade personal space. But mainly because, just like Jewels, they always had ulterior motives to their kindness.

Though he could be skeptical of her kindness he had no reason for now being that this time it was his turn to play friendly since he's the one who was in need of something more than just friendship. It made him a bit uncomfortable at the thought, even if he was using her he still worried about what she were trying to use him for since it was so random that she would invite him to be her friend.

While she was approaching, Raven forced a return smile to her's at least until she paused in the middle of the room then turned walking away from them. Raven looked at her sudden change in behavior confused by what caused it as his eyes followed.

While he was lost in thought she left his line of sight for a moment going into the back room behind the counter. Though he was confused he did not care as this allowed Raven to drop his facade and let out a sigh looking back to Menay.

Menay however didn't seem as relieved while he had his vision narrowed on where she once was for a moment still staring to the door where she had disappeared. His distracted almost aggressive features only worsened Raven's confused thoughts and worried Raven. Wanting to find out what was wrong he waved his hand before Maney's face to catch his attention.

Menay shook his head looking back at Raven shaking the suspicious thoughts he felt off, "It seems you made an impression on her that must have been quite a run in" he finally mocked giving a smile like nothing bothered him though it was clear something seemed wrong with him.

Raven sighed as he shook his head no, "That's just the thing I practically said nothing to her" he admits trailing off in thought about the night. A clatter brings his attention back causing him to jump as the coffee was placed on the counter top down in front of Menay without him knowing she even approached.

"I'm so glad you decided to come," She claimed while placing down the other drink they ordered in front of Raven as if she knew he wouldn't drink the coffee.

Raven peered down at the strawberry milk tea placed in front of him while she was still placing the pretzel bites on the table between the two of them. He wondered if because he were a girl that it was obvious his taste buds would prefer something fruity like what Menay ordered for him. Though he knew this wasn't exactly the cause of it because he had always been assumed to have the sweeter taste buds out of the group even among women when he was out with Carson and them. This thought only made his internal question more insulting acknowledging the fact that he had always been seen as a feminine male to others even before he turned into a girl.

"I'm so socially awkward, I was afraid I scared you, inviting you here without even asking who you were" She chuckled with a smile indirectly asking for Raven's name.

Though he would agree she was weird, Raven doubted she was socially awkward. Looking her over for a moment she still seemed very capable of fitting into society and making friends with ease just by how she held herself.

While she waited for a response that was taking too long she leaned in a bit, "I can go on break in about ten minutes, is it too bold to ask that you wait for me?" She asked as if she was drawing Raven's attention back to her.

He couldn't believe how easy going she was he knew from what Menay said that his pheromones were not giving off any scent but he couldn't help but find her eager willingness to be around him so strange. He was starting to wonder if she too may be a Carson fan assuming by what he was wearing Friday she could get closer to him.

Seeing her waiting for a response he arched his eyebrows shaking his head agreeing quickly since that was what he was sort of waiting for anyways. He needed to ask her about borrowing some clothes but the more he looked at her size he was starting to wonder if that would even be possible but it didn't hurt to ask her, "Ugh yeah sure... Uhm Ra, Robin that's my name" he stutters trying not to slip up and say the wrong thing.

She smiled then her eyes shifted to Menay waiting in a subtle manner to receive who he was as well. Raven pointed to Menay about to introduce him but paused as the name he was given in the room with Carson escaped his mind only wanting to call him Menay.

"Medwin..." He stated saving Raven from taking to long as he stood reaching out his hand to greet her in a casual manner, "Robin's older brother, I just came in to check the place out, cautious older brother and all, little sketchy from the door." he insisted almost as if he were screening her.

She smiled though as she reached out to his hand she grabbed the back of his forearm where his long sleeve shirt laid giving a friendly pat with her other hand politely pushing his arm back down, "Ashley, nice to meet you, Yeah we're like a hidden treasure here..." She jolted in a friendly manner then paused looking down to Menay's arm, "Very strong, I understand my brother would have been the same way." She adds in a gentle tone.

Menay looked down at her grasp on his sleeved arm and how she so easily avoided his skin to touch her making him arch a brow for a moment before he looked back to her comment, "Oh is that why you have a pirate looking greeter at the door?" He joked lightly talking about how creepy the man looked at the top of the steps.

He slowly takes his hand back sitting down in his seat again while he still held a bit of suspicion to her behavior. Taking a sip of the coffee placed in front of him he glanced over to Raven as he heard her speak again, "That's my uncle" she claims grumbling to the statement made about the man at the door.

Menay almost spits the coffee from his mouth as he chokes a little with no response to her not even able to apologize. She holds this face for a bit before she starts to snicker, "Nah, I'm just kidding, he's just another coworker though I am sure he's probably someone's uncle" she explains revealing she were only pulling his leg.

"Noted" Menay muttered in bit of a cough as he wipes the coffee from his face.

This makes Raven crack a smile giving a light chuckle as he tries to hold in the laugh a bit not wanting draw attention to himself. He was happy to know that thanks to not recalling Menay's given name he now knew her name and that she was actually pretty funny.

Even so it was still too odd to have such a social girl making friends with complete strangers that ran into her in the halls. He couldn't help but still be suspicious of her just as much as Menay seemed to be.

"Okay give me a little bit and I will be right back then" Ashley gives a friendly gesture while walking away from the table.

Raven sighs having not been prepared yet to have her so close already he was becoming mentally exhausted. Though this relief didn't last long as Menay spoke up his concerns.

"Something feels off about her" He claimed once she was far enough away from the table while popping a pretzel in his mouth. He shrugged while looking down at his hand he wasn't sure if she had just avoided his touch on purpose or not but it bothered him by the thought that he wasn't able to check if she was human or not.

"What about her?" Raven groaned out not wanting to know anything more than she was just weird. He could hardly care to linger on a feeling Menay had unless it was going to affect him directly he just needed the clothes so he could move on.

After a long pause and a few more pretzel bites popped in his mouth he shrugs his shoulders, "Don't really know" he states passing it off not wanting to worry Raven. Though even he knew there was something off about the girl but he was afraid that if he told Raven of these worries it would change their current plan.

"Well that's not really helpful" Raven snorted sarcastically rubbing his head lightly.

He dug his head into the palm of his hand while he rubbed his forehead feeling like he were actually getting a headache from it all. He wasn't sure if this were do to lack of food/water or being some sort of side effect, he couldn't ever recall actually just having a headache before though which made things stranger.

The clatter of Menay's chair startled him. Looking up to find Menay standing from his seat leaving his cup of coffee on the table that he barely drank any of, "Alright" He clears his throat looking up to see where she was.

"I'll go get the car and bring it around for when you're done..." He informs while placing the money from his wallet on the counter for Raven to pay the bill.

Raven's heart raced as he heard this realizing Menay was about to leave him alone after calling out his worries, "Wait, what, why?" Raven panicked as he looked over up to Menay about to stand.

He smiled looking down at Raven happy that he was being depended on, "It'll be hard for you two to speak with me here and when someone has to lie it's easier to do it alone than in a group don't you agree?"

"But I suck at lying you know this, don't leave me here alone..." He began to plead though it seemed to be falling on deaf ears, "What about your feeling?" he adds as a backup hoping it would persuade Menay to stay.

Raven felt pathetic and he knew it looked it as well but he didn't want to be left alone now not knowing if he would say the wrong thing or get attacked again. He almost needed Menay around though he didn't want to admit it.

He reached over messing with Raven's ponytail once again, "Good luck kiddo"

"Good luck kiddo, really?" Raven exclaimed in disbelief that was all he had to say.

He watched Menay walk away making him upset by the moment. He took an angered sip of his tea watching Menay step out the door truly leaving me there. Giving a sigh, he couldn't believe Menay would leave him there after being so concerned before.

"Where's he going?" Ashley asked lightly while she put her bag down beside the legs of the table looking up at Menay who was walking out through the doors.

Catching Raven's attention he looked over to her and stalled a bit waving his hand in Menay's direction, "He actually had something to do in this part of town" he stated as he began to lie hoping she wouldn't pry any deeper knowing he could only easily surface lie but not anymore than that.

Taking it at that she seemed to easily accept this lie and sat down in the chair where Menay was sitting before. Raven found it awkward to be sitting across from her, though he wouldn't normally call this scenario a date but since he had never gone on one, at least without Carson, it made him feel awkward feeling like this could almost qualify as a date.

"So..." She spoke up looking at Raven in a questioning manner as if waiting to know why he had come so after having the weekend to come.

"Yeah... so" He muttered, lingering on his words not sure where he would be going from there. Lifting his drink he chose not to take another sip feeling like he could explode at any moment. He went to speak when he was cut off by the waiter that approached.

The same young man from before placed his hand gently on Ashley's shoulder and gave Raven a light polite smile as if to apologize for interrupting, "Ash, do you think your brother can cover my shift tomorrow?" he asked in a shushed manner though Raven still heard it.

This was twice now that Raven had heard of the brother, making him curious who this man was. Finding it more interesting that her brother worked there too, making him curious about this place all the more.

"Sorry Kyle, he'll be moving into his school this week..." she informed looking back to Raven for a moment like he would know what she was talking about, "He'll just be too busy getting settled in" Ashley adds looking back to Kyle and this caught Raven's curiosity even more.

He knew she looked like she were college age though she was still young this made him wonder how old her brother was to be working there all while being in school since there was no college with dorms in this area.

"Oh yeah that sausage school around here" he groaned having a distaste for the all boys boarding school in the area. This told Raven though that her brother was definitely going to go to his school.

This made Raven understand more now as to what she was doing in the school Friday though it still didn't explain why she was in this location since usually family members didn't follow to live around the school. The public schools in that area wore in poor quality and even the community college was in a terrible shape.

"Alright, well how about you?" The waiter begged lightly pulling Raven's focus back onto their conversation he was eavesdropping on.

Ashley paused on responding then glanced over at Raven for a moment. While she looked at him, he narrowed his brow a bit confused before she gave a smile, "I actually made plans already with my friend, sorry maybe next time" She bluffed using Raven as her excuse.

Raven scoffed a bit by her avoidance to work, never being one who liked being used as the excuse. Though he wouldn't argue thinking maybe this meant she would be more willing to help him out after all. The Waiter peered down at her then glanced to Raven while he was reluctant to speak or move from where he was. Though unlike before he didn't seem to have a skeptical look in his eyes rather like he was debating on asking to join.

Knowing he didn't actually have plans with her he was not bothered by this potential request knowing she would likely decline. Though the more he lingered the more conscious Raven became of the his pheromones again without Menay around he wasn't sure if the headache was a sign that he was going to start giving them off again and it scared him a little.

"Well I'm sorry for interrupting, it was nice meeting one of Ash's friends" he gave a wave followed by a gently smiling at Raven still making Raven feel uncomfortable by the man's eyes.

"Sorry... he's a little awkward around pretty girls and I don't even think he cared about his shift" She went to explain in an apologetic way for his interruption.

"Stop, it's okay" Raven spoke up cutting her off not wanting to hear how he was considered a pretty girl or anything along those lines. He sighed a bit sliding his drink away from him to resist the temptation, "I hate to admit but I actually came here because I need some help" Raven explains.

"Oh, boy troubles? I knew there was a boyfriend" She teased lightly playing up the question of a boyfriend from Friday when Raven reacted so suspicious to her first assumption.

Making him scuff amused at the way she said it, he couldn't deny that there was boy troubles in a way, "You have no idea..." He smiled rolling his eyes to the own thought.

"No," He paused a moment as he thought of it a little harder on how he was going to explain things to her, "I'm here taking care of a family member who's sick and my suitcase was lost." He begins to explain touching the subject in a general way hoping that it was common enough to be believed, trying not to have to get into details so he wouldn't get caught in his own lie.

"Oh, so... do you need to go shopping, I really am free tomorrow we can make plans." She went to explain offering her time but before she continued Raven had to cut her off.

"No, I'm broke. I was just hoping maybe you had some spare, smaller..." He lingered on his question as he looked her over once again measuring just how much bigger she was than him, "A lot smaller clothes that you could lend me like two outfits maybe?"

"Oh..." She looked him over for a moment then looked like she thought about it, "Only two? that won't work" She claimed implying that he'd need more than just two outfits though he really didn't even want the one.

"Trust me it will, I just need a few till my clothes comes in, so if you" He tried to reassure her that he knew what he needed yet she still persists.

"That won't do, I'll take you shopping my treat it's the least I can do after hearing such a sob story" she confirmed with a smile but Raven really wish she hadn't.

He had no interest in shopping with a girl let alone needing to try on clothes while in a store. "No, really I can't take that much from you" He waved his hands while trying to stay out of debt to her any more than he needed to be.

"Okay fine, I know when to give..." She threw up her hand playfully, "Hey maybe I can swing by your place and help you with your family member for a bit while you try on my old clothes and we'll go from there" she suggests.

"No!" Raven blurts out instantly denying this causing her to look at him in a questioning manner. He almost curses to himself for doing it again knowing he can't burst out like that with no known reason, "Ugh it's dangerous for him to have visitors maybe it'll be best we meet in public again like down town maybe, park?" he asked trying to come up with a reasonable lie while still getting her to help.

She gave a wide grin to this like she had caught him, "Then we'll go shopping, my treat"

"Ugh..." He was withdrawn from a response no longer able to outright reject her fearing she wouldn't give him the clothes otherwise, "Yeah, sure" he gave finding her surprisingly manipulative.

"That's great" she shouts in a hyper tone as she looked down at her watch, "Shoot, do you have a number I can reach you at?" She asked taking out her cell phone so she could likely schedule a meeting time.

He opened his mouth about to give her the number when he remembered his was probably dead still sitting under the bed back at school. He huffed to the circumstance giving a shrug, "No, we'll just meet by that fountain in the park at..." he paused not really knowing what time would be best for him to meet with her. Though he preferred it as soon as possible since he didn't know when his pheromones would start to draw attention to him again.

"How about noon, I'm not much of a morning person" she suggested adding a time for him that was best for her making Raven smile with some relief that she would pick a convenient time. He knew since it was only a Tuesday the chances of running into a fellow student was slim and as long as they rushed there wasn't any worry of running into one of them. Thinking about the day that made him wonder why he only heard about her brother going to school and nothing about her.

"Hey, why won't you be in school tomorrow?" he asked wondering if she chose not to go to college and she looked at him just returning with a smile.

"Probably the same reason you aren't right?" she left it off with a pause making Raven worry that he now had to come up with a reason that he was not in school now either which worried him. He almost cursed himself for letting his curiosity push him in a corner again.

"I'm home schooled just like you" She answered indirectly giving Raven an excuse that he didn't even have to come up with on his own though more than happy to run with.

"Yeah..." He agreed with a smile being content with this excuse knowing since he used to be home schooled he could easily relate to keep this lie. However he was ready to leave now, "Okay I was just making sure, you weren't skipping, you know" he replied with a awkward chuckle knowing this was a weak excuse. She looked at him for a moment before she gave a light grin and stood from her seat.

"I have to got back to work, so tomorrow at noon right?" She confirmed one last time and he gave a nod allowing her to walk away though she stopped picking up the money on the counter, "I'll handle this, see you later Robin" she snickered with a wave allowing Raven to leave.

He let out a heavy sigh of relief to be out of there while he walked up the steps to the main door. As he stepped up to the door area where the older man sat behind a desk he noticed the older man was staring at him for a moment then went back to his paper without a word. This gave Raven a cold chill, though he ignored it as he slowly made his way to the door. He heard the man grumble once he opened the door making him look back but when he did the man was sitting in silence again like he didn't say a word. This made Raven narrow his brow glaring at the creepy old man wondering what was wrong with him.

"It's getting late, a pretty girl like you doesn't need to be spacing while walking the streets" Menay's voice whispered right behind Raven's ear.

The voice startled Raven at first till he realized it was only Menay. He turned around hitting at the cat's stomach for scaring him in a creepy manner. Menay only chuckled as he flinched just taking the punch like it didn't hurt him at all.

Raven huffed arching a brow looking up to him wondering if the adult body even matched his maturity at this point. Though he knew Menay was right, it was already getting dark and yet that coffee shop was still open. Raven still couldn't shake how strange that place really was but he knew there were a lot of strange places like this one for those who stayed up all night in the bigger cities so he ignored it.

"Come on let's go home... Medwin" Raven mocked lightly as his eyes searched around looking towards the car finding it as he started walking to it.

"Don't call me that" Menay hissed not finding the teasing as amusing as Raven did, though he quickly followed without any other word said.

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