The café was nearly empty when I arrived; not many people were willing to get up early on the first day of their weekend.

I found a table for two beside a window and sat looking out of it.

I was a little early but not as early as I'd hoped to be. I had slept in but Anne woke me retching loudly. She was still sick even though everyone else had long since recovered. She had eaten more than the rest of us, that was her problem.

"Can I get you anything?" A young waiter stood beside me, his pen poised. His hair was slicked back and his uniform impeccable. He looked nervous, his hands trembled slightly and he didn't look up from his notepad.

"Not yet," I replied. "I'm waiting for someone."

He began to walk away but I spotted Miss Hart just outside the cafe and called him back.

She pushed open the door, breezed over and sat in the chair opposite me.

"Hey," she said, a little breathlessly. Her hair was messy from the wind and it made her look adorable.

"What do you want to drink?" I asked.

"A cappuccino please." She looked up at the waiter. He scribbled that down before turning to me.

"A moccachino."

"Anything else, ladies?"

"No. That's it thanks." I said.

Miss Hart took off her thin jacket revealing a skin tight black top that made me gulp.

"How are you?" She asked and I somehow managed to drag my eyes up from her stunning body to look her in the eyes.

"I'm great. I was going slightly crazy being inside all day, to be honest your texts are probably the only thing that kept me sane."

"I get that," she said, "it's amazing to go out into the fresh air after a long time inside."

"Yeah." I said, "I wanted to kiss the grass but there were people there and... it would've looked strange."

As she laughed her face lit up and I couldn't keep my eyes off her. She placed her hand on top of mine, and even though it probably meant nothing to her, my heart sped up and my breathing came quicker. Was it normal for someone to affect me so much? Did it happen to everyone when a beautiful woman smiled at them?

She had stopped laughing but her hand still rested on mine as she stared into my eyes as though searching for something there.

Her eyes were a mix between green and hazel. In some lights they looked almost brown and in others as green as an emerald. Today they looked like autumn leaves in the sun; dappled green with a hint of brown. She seemed unable to look away, I knew for me it was impossible. Her expression was unreadable but her eyes were warm. All I wanted to do was kiss her until they closed. For a second I thought I saw the same want reflected in her expression as she bit her lip.

The waiter arrived with our coffee, startling both of us. We had moved closer without realising and jumped apart, her releasing my hand.

I stared down at my coffee, swirling some sugar through it, not able to meet her gaze again.

When I did pluck up the courage to finally meet her eyes she was staring at me as though memorising my face. She looked away instantly, her cheeks turning pink. I smiled to myself and she glanced back before I could hide it. Her cheeks turned as red as a tomato.

She coughed and said, "uh, what have you been up to?"

"I've been seeing friends, not much else." I watched her neck as she swallowed, "you?"

"I've been out a lot with my... friend." her blush returned. Jealousy flashed through me and I took a huge gulp of coffee to hide it. Should I tell her now? "How did it go with that girl? The one you wanted to ask out."

"I asked her." I paused, waiting to see how she would react.

"And?" She looking emotionless, I wasn't sure what to make of that.

"She agreed to meet up with me." Miss Hart smiled, "I'm not sure if she knows it's a date though." I added boldly, "she might think we're just friends."

She looked strange for a moment and I wondered if she'd caught on. Then her face cleared and she winked at me.

"Better make sure to tell her then."

I blinked. Was she flirting with me?

I couldn't be sure, I had never been able to tell when people were hitting on me - usually Tanya would nudge me and wink, letting me know, but she wasn't here now. Miss Hart was probably straight anyway (although the questions a week or so ago had made me wonder but there had been nothing since then so I'd returned to my old way of thinking) and wouldn't appreciate what I was about to say. Despite this, it was time she knew.

"There's something I need to tell you..."

Ihadbeen sure she was talking aboutme. I had dared a comment which appeared innocent enough but could potentially be taken another way. I thought I scared the poor girl and was on the verge of apologising.

Then her eyes dropped to my chest, wearing this top had definitely been a good idea, and she said, "there's something I need to tell you. I'm not normal; not the same as other people." This was not what I'd been expecting, "My family is... different. We each have a crystal which has special powers." She winced, apparently not liking the way that sentence had come out. "These crystals don't do much for the first eighteen years of our lives but once we hit adulthood," she mimed an explosion with both her hands, "boom!"

"They turn yellow on our eighteenth birthday, which is the day from which our search starts. We have until our twentieth birthday to find our 'soul mate'. We use telepathy which activates with our crystals and once we enter the mind of who we need to find our crystals turn green. You turned my crystal green."

I sat perfectly still, shocked, staring but not quite seeing her.

"That's not possible." I pulled on my jacket. I had to get out of here before I started believing this crazy talk. "I'll see you some other time."

I stood up but Lilly was already there, gripping my arm.

"Please!" She begged but I pulled myself from her grip. I couldn't look at her or I knew I would stop and listen to this madness. "If you don't we'll both -" She screamed but the door slammed behind me and I couldn't hear any more.

I hurried down the street, weaving in and out of the people crowding the pavement.

I reached my car and slammed the door angrily as I got in. Several people jumped and turned to glare at me but I glared back with such ferocity that they quickly decided they didn't mind the violent action after all.

The drive home was short, probably because I was travelling far above the speed limit, and I stormed through my front door to find Courtney sprawled on my couch.

"Hey," she waved at me, her eyes barely leaving the television to look at me.

I grunted and passed through the room to get to my bedroom. I sat in there until I had calmed down.

Then I joined Courtney on the sofa, neither of us saying a word.

"I don't think they're going to give up," Courtney stated after a long pause, referring to my phone; which had been ringing non-stop since I came home. I didn't reply. "Are you going to answer it!?"

I shook my head and stared determinedly at the television.

Courtney got up but I refused to look at her, ignoring my curiosity. What was she even doing here in the first place?

The phone stopped ringing.

"Hey, sweetie, it's okay. Shh, don't cry." Courtney was talking to someone. It took a few seconds before my brain connected the two and I jumped up and snatched the phone out of her grip.

"What the hell are you doing!?" I demanded. What was it with everyone and stealing my phone?

"You should talk to her, she sounds really upset."

"I don't want to," I crossed my arms stubbornly.

"Talk to her or I'll tell your sister that it wasn't me that drank all her Vodka while she was at her boyfriends that time."

I sighed and held the phone up to my ear. Courtney's threat didn't actually concern me but I wasn't in the mood to fight with her.

"Hello." There was no reply, simply muffled sobbing. "Don't cry," I said.

"B-but you wont listen," she sniffed.

"Just... don't cry."

There was a long silence.

"You don't care about me?" She asked, in control now.

"I do," I contradicted, "but I can't believe the things you told me."

"I can prove it," she sounded determined. "Come to my house and I'll show you."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I'm in a relationship."

"I knew you'd have a boyfriend!"

"Girlfriend." I corrected softly, but the line went dead and I wasn't sure if she had heard.

"Have you two sorted it out?" Courtney asked, having watched the whole conversation carefully.

"I don't think so," I sighed and pushed the tips of my fingers into my palm, my hand clenched in a fist.

"What's wrong?" I couldn't hide anything from my best friend. She could tell something was wrong from a mile away.

"I... I don't know. It's like nothing I've experienced before." Courtney frowned, tilting her head quizzically. "It's nothing," I sighed. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see if you'd like to go somewhere but you weren't here."

"So you waited for me to get back?"

She shrugged, "can't pass up free food." I rolled my eyes and pushed her towards the door.

"I'll call you later, I have things to do."

"Don't be stuck in there moping all night!" She yelled as I closed the door.

I waited a couple of minutes, to ensure she wouldn't be back, then called Caitlin.

"Hey." She sounded out of breath.

"Why are you panting?" I asked.

"I just ran to get the phone, what is it, babe?"

"I was wondering if you would like to come over."

She hummed and there was a lot of movement from her end of the phone until she eventually said, "I can be there in half an hour, I have to finish some stuff first."

I agreed instantly and she ended the call, without saying goodbye.

***

I had her pressed to the bed, her hands in my hair as our tongues dueled.

My hands roamed down her body to between her thighs and I felt the wetness there. She groaned as my fingers brushed against her and I slid down her body and spread her legs.

I slowly ran a finger down from her stomach and she shivered with need.

"Please, babe," she groaned staring down at me, her eyes half closed.

I dipped two fingers inside her and she arched her back, her breasts pushing up into the air. I pulled out again as slowly as I could, then pushed back in with furious speed adding another finger. She moaned and rocked her hips in time with my thrusts, her hands gripping the bed sheets as her whole body moved with me.

The phone rang loudly and I stilled my hand, wondering if I should get it.

"Don't stop," Caitlin said, her voice hoarse and thick with arousal, "please don't."

She pushed her hips against me but I pulled my fingers out. It was probably Lilly. What if she was upset again?

I looked from Caitlin, who lay naked on the bed, to the phone abandoned on the table and made my decision.

"Hello."

"Hey Mi-Laura... uh, why are you panting?"

"I ran to get the phone." I hastily made up an excuse.

"I'm calling to say I'm sorry. I shouldn't have dumped all that on you today."

"Are you seriously leaving me for a phone conversation?" Caitlin sounded angry.

"It's okay." I said, completely ignoring her.

"I hope we can still be friends."

"Fuck you, Laura!" Caitlin snapped, then corrected, "actually, no! I would not fuck you!" She was dressing quickly, her face set with anger.

"Is there someone there?" Lilly asked.

"No," I lied, "it's just the television."

"So, do you think we can still be friends?"

"I'm sure we can," I glanced at Caitlin, who was almost fully dressed. "We can be great friends."

"Okay, good." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"I need to go. Sorry, bye."

"See yo-" She said but I cut her off. I flung myself in front of the door blocking Caitlin.

"Move!"

"No, baby, I'm sorry I took the call. It was one of my students and I couldn't ignore her."

"I don't give shit!" She screamed, "move before I fuckin' make you."

I didn't shift, and when she pushed to get past me, I grabbed her and pressed my lips to hers.

When I finally pulled away she held my head in her hands and said, "fuck you. You're too sexy for your own good." Then she pushed me onto the bed and I pulled off her shirt.