Hidden Realities

Ivan blinked as he turned around to see who bumped into him to see that it was Maria. He noticed she was cold so he unzipped his jacket and put it on her without asking. He stood there, now with a visible black tanktop. Maria blinked at this act and looked up at the blonde male even more. She gave him a smile before finally speaking. "Thank you… Ivan…"

He nodded and gave her a caring smile before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Let's get you someplace warm. How about the café we all go to?"

Aqua eyes sparkled slightly. "I would really love that."

The two walked side by side, some passerby's glancing at them. Maria didn't like the looks they were given, but Ivan ignored them as he kept walking with her to the small café. Well, it wasn't that small anymore since people heard of the great singer Maria being there as a customer. They entered the building and she turned to Ivan, holding his jacket to him. He took it back and put it on. "Order what you want."

Maria looked at the blonde and nodded. "Uh… Ivan… I kind of need to talk to you about something, okay? So when we get our drinks let's go to the far corner… if that's alright with you."

Ivan nodded and walked up to the cashier as he ordered himself hot coffee. Maria ordered a mocha chai latte. Once the two got their drinks they walked over to the back corner of the café and sat down. It was warm for them, but they didn't seem to mind. "What is it that you want to talk to me about?"

Maria looked off slightly before giving Ivan a look. "Please don't tell anyone about this… Only Nathan knows outside of us… okay?"

Ivan raised an eyebrow at her and nodded. "I won't tell anyone outside of here. Promise."

Maria smiled gently and moved her arm out to him. "Look under my bracelets."

Ivan raised an eyebrow and grabbed her hand gently before moving the bracelets out of the way to reveal an aqueous call watch. He blinked and looked at her face, almost studying it carefully. "Wait… you're… Fate?"

Maria nodded, smiling gently and taking her hand back to hide the watch under her bracelets. "I am. And before you ask… I hide it because I don't like others knowing everything about me… I have many 'realities' I guess you could say. The others know of a bubbly teenager named Fate, but not who she really is. They also know Maria, but not who she really is. I wanted to be a singer and a hero, but it was hard to do when everyone knew exactly who I was. I guess it became more stressful on me over time since I've had to practice for the concert coming up."

Ivan looked at her and nodded his head, understanding what she said. "I see. Though I am curious as to why you decided to tell me about this…"

Maria looked at him and smiled. "Because I know you can keep a secret and I knew you wouldn't react in an annoying way."

Ivan blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Annoying way?"

Maria nodded. "Like going 'how could you lie to us' and all of that fun stuff," she trailed off as her phone started to ring. "I have to take this… sorry"

Ivan nodded and stayed sitting there, sipping his hot beverage. Maria got up and stepped outside into the cold weather and answered the phone. "What do you want?"

"We need to talk. Meet me in my office at HeroTV"

"I can't go there unless in uniform"

There was an audible sigh from the other side of the phone. "Do what it takes to see me. Just as long as it doesn't raise suspicions."

Maria frowned and looked into the café window at Ivan. "I'm in the middle of a chat…"

"Just come here as soon as you can. It's urgent we talk."

"I understand… I'll meet you there in an hour tops…"

"Okay. Bye."

"…Bye…" The raven hung her phone up and stepped inside.

Sipping at her tea she looked at Ivan and answered an unspoken question "it was one of the guys of the complex. He needs to talk to me so I need to go soon."

The blonde gave a slightly suspicious look but shrugged. "I'll talk to you later then?"

Maria nodded at him and smiled, grabbing her drink and leaving the café. She immediately walked towards the Hero tower. This was going to be a long day.