NINE

Pov Jane:

With my eyes closed, I felt his breath on my skin, felt him coming closer and closer to me. What was wrong with him? I did not know. I was afraid of him. None of this was normal, he was not normal.

Still frightened, I hardly dared to breathe until, with a slight jerk, I felt no more weight on me. Astonished, I opened my eyes and saw a boy with blond hair pulling him away and talking angrily at him. Unfortunately they were too far away and I could not hear what they were talking about in such an angry way. The boy held Ash back and held him back until Ash calmed down and stared at me in an insecure and guilty way.

Still huddled together, I stood on the wall and watched the whole thing. The boy drove himself nervously and nervously through his hair and kept looking at me with a suspicious look while Ash was still looking at the floor. As it looked, they were talking about me and I was sure it was not a good thing. I did not know what to do. Should I go away and pretend that nothing had happened? Should I call the police? Should I shut up or talk to somebody about it?

While I was thinking about what to do, I didn't notice the boy coming towards me and holding out his hand. It was only when he was only a few feet away from me that I realized he was really here.

"Should I help you up or would you rather stay down here," he asked me amusedly and still offered me his hand, which I then accepted hesitantly and slowly.

When he had helped me up, Ash joined me and I flinched slightly when he started talking.

"Sorry if I scared you, but you should have just stayed out of my way."

"What?", I said perplexed. I wasn't expecting that now.

"It's not my fault if you stand right next to the men's room," he replied calmly as if it was the most natural thing in the world. I turned around in amazement and - in fact - behind me there was "MEN - WC" in capital letters at the top.

"How-", I began to talk, but was interrupted by a laugh.

"This scene is really cinematic", the boy next to Ash murmured and Ash joined in his laughter.

"But... this can't be... how the hell?" Still totally amazed I turned around several times and then back again.

"But his skin-", I started again, but then fell silent. It all sounded so unbelievable, in the end they would both label me as crazy.

"My skin?", Ash asked me. "What about my skin?"

"It was...", I tried to start, but when I saw the distraught faces of the two, I gave up and whispered "Never mind".

"Now that that's all settled, I'd like to offer you a piece of cake and coffee at the café just around the corner as an apology for my strange cousin. You look completely disturbed," the boy replied smiling.

"Go ahead, Kyle. I'll be right behind you. I have something to do first," Ash winked at me and swung the door to the toilet open.

^^^

"Ladies First," Kyle laughed at me before he swung open the door to the café and with a gesture of his hand asked me to enter. Reluctantly, I took a seat on one of the high comfortable chairs and sat there in silence.

"As it seems to me, we have not yet introduced ourselves. I am-"

"Kyle, I know," I finished his sentence and as he looked at me with a raised eyebrow, I added something else. "Ash called you by name before."

"Oh yeah, right. And your name is?"

"Jane," I replied dryly. I didn't feel like making new acquaintances, and I didn't feel comfortable with them either, as I still couldn't believe their story about the toilet. It was just so absurd.

"You seem to be quite talkative, Jane," he replied, piercing me with his green eyes that seemed to shimmer like emeralds. "So, what cake would you like? Strawberry, chocolate or marble?"

"I'm not hungry, thanks anyway." He looked at me briefly, but then shrugged his shoulders and went to the counter where a fat saleswoman stood and looked at him as if he were an angel who had fallen to earth by chance. After five minutes he was back with two pieces of cake and a big coffee.

"I told you I didn't want any cake." He smiled and put the plate down in my seat. "I got this one as a present. I was probably something like the thousandth guest here," he winked at me.

"Exactly," I countered sarcastically. The thousandth customer. Don't make me laugh.

"And because I didn't want to appear rude, I accepted the cake. Do you want it or not?"

I nodded hesitantly and the corners of his mouth curled up into a light smile. "There you go."

Just in that moment I could see the door slamming shut and a good-humored Ash came in.

"Had to wait quite a long time. You used to be faster," Kyle took the floor and Ash laughed.

"Yeah yeah. You were always the better of us blah blah blah. I have the better genes for that."

Both of them started to laugh and I just sat there and didn't know what to do. When they finally calmed down Ash sat down too and drank the coffee Kyle had left him.

"How do you two know each other," Kyle broke the silence and turned to me.

"We don't know each other," Ash joined in and put the coffee back on the table. "We're just working together on a project for the theater."

"Have been working," I improved him. "Right," he agreed with me.

"Interesting," Kyle mustered us before he put the last piece of strawberry cake in his mouth and then went to pay.

Meanwhile, Ash had finished his coffee, too, and there was an embarrassing silence between us, which was only broken when Kyle reappeared and the three of us left the café.

"You look much better now," Kyle said and looked at me friendly.

"D-thank you?," I answered him, although it sounded more like a question.

"You're welcome," laughed Kyle and Ash agreed. "Maybe we'll see each other again, who knows," Kyle winked at me before reaching out his hand,

"Sorry again about earlier. I didn't know that you were so scared", Ash joined in and offered me his hand as well. Reluctantly I accepted both of them before they left and disappeared around the corner.