"Camie, is that right?"
Camie nodded. She had no idea how to talk with Firo and that made her uncomfortable. Should she pretend that she had class somewhere further?
"What are you doing here? Are you waiting for Amaltheia?
-Yes.
-Knowing the professor, she won't be out any time soon. I think you will have to wait at least twenty more minutes."
Camie looked down at her phone.
"But her class should end in 5 minutes."
Firo smiled:
"Yeah... Unfortunately teachers don't understand the concept of time the same way we do. They let us go five minutes late if we are lucky but most of the time it's twenty minutes. And that's without counting on all the nights we spend here."
Camie remembered how hard Théa worked in the visions. All the more reasons not to let her give up on her dreams. Seeing Camie's reaction, Firo tilted his head:
"You don't seem surprised. Do you spend sleepless nights here too?"
Camie shook her head quickly:
"No."
Firo opened his mouth but a third person suddenly appeared between them.
"I'm so sorry, I'm late. Did you have to wait long?"
Camie shook her head:
"I just arrived."
That made Théa smile:
"That's great.
-I was just telling her about how much over time we do."
Théa suddenly realized that Firo was there and she turned to him with a smile:
"Thank you for keeping Camie company while she was waiting for me.
-No problem. I had a great time talking to her, actually."
Firo smiled at Camie:
"Next time you pass through here, I would love for you to come and greet me."
Camie tilted her head with a frown:
"Why?"
That made Firo laugh:
"Because I liked talking to you."
Théa frowned:
"Are you already done with your project?"
Firo shrugged:
"I needed to clear my head a bit. I can't focus with all that stress around me.
-Understandable. They really didn't give us enough time."
Théa turned to Camie to explain to her what project they were talking about. Camie slowly nodded, having no idea what to say:
"That's... Interesting."
Both Firo and Théa laughed. Seeing them together made Camie somewhat happy. Théa looked way different in front of Firo than she did a few weeks before. When Camie first saw the visions, Théa was still blushing shyly in front of him. It seemed Théa really managed to gain self confidence and she didn't have any problem talking to him anymore. Camie couldn't help feeling proud. Was this thanks to her? Did she help Théa?
"Anyway, we should get going now. Camie's cheeks are rather red. I don't want her to catch a cold.
-Where are you two headed?
-To a coffee shop further down.
-Which one? I could kill for a coffee."
Théa pinched her lips:
"We really have to go. I have something important to tell Camie."
Firo raised his hands in the air:
"Oh, no problem. Have a nice day!
-Thanks, you too."
Camie and Théa said bye to Firo before slowly walking towards the coffee shop. Curious, Camie didn't wait long before asking:
"What did you want to tell me?
-I lied. I just wanted to be alone with you."
Camie couldn't help looking away:
"Oh... I see."
There was nothing weird about that. Camie would lie all the time to get out of awkward situations.
"Are you perhaps disappointed? If this makes you uncomfortable, we could ask Firo to join us.
-No. I like this better."
Théa smiled.
"Me too."
Camie would feel very uncomfortable if Firo joined them. She finally felt perfectly at ease around Théa so she still needed some time before opening up to someone new again. Moreover, if Théa really wasn't perfectly comfortable around Firo yet, Camie didn't want to force her into such a situation.
Therefore Camie and Théa just stayed together. Camie followed Théa to her favorite coffee shop in a good mood. This second coffee shop was bigger than the one they went to before and it was way more sober than the other as well. Despite that it still felt warm and Camie didn't mind the white walls at all. It felt like somewhere important people went but in a good way.
"You can sit down, I'll get you anything you want."
Camie shook her head:
"It's my turn to pay.
-Oh, sorry. I completely forgot that it was your turn to pay.
-You can sit down. What do you want to drink?
-I will help you get the drinks.
-I can do it."
Théa smiled before sitting down.
"Then thank you."
Camie stood in the queue and just as she was repeating in her head Théa's order in repeat, she suddenly noticed the screen on top of the counter lit up. Everyone started looking at the news flash and one of the customers asked for the sound to be turned up.
"Breaking News Update: Just moments ago, an unidentified assailant has seized control of a local convenience shop, holding five workers hostage. Authorities are currently in the dark about the perpetrator's identity and motives however they have disregarded the possibility of an attack conducted by Omen. Police are actively engaging in communication with the assailant as we report this ongoing situation. Stay tuned for further updates on this developing story."
Camie turned back to look at Théa. Having their eyes meet made Camie freeze. She thought that this would mark the end of their time together and she wondered if she should try holding Théa back like last time. Maybe once was enough for now. She didn't want to go too hard and have Théa hating her. She could let her go for now and try holding her back during the next attack. However, against her expectations, Théa didn't seem like she was going to leave any time soon. Camie frowned. Did she maybe not hear the news flash?
Seeing Camie stare at her made Théa frown and she mouthed at Camie:
"Are you okay?"
Camie turned back and looked at the screen. There was no way Théa didn't hear the news flash. Everyone was looking at it and the sound had been turned on. While Camie was spacing out, the cashier bent closer to Camie:
"Madame?"
Camie jumped:
"Yes?
-Do you need more time to make up your mind?"
Camie quickly shook her head:
"No, I... I would like a hot chocolate and an americano please."
Camie waited for their drinks while still staring at the screen. Once her order was ready, she walked back to Théa and handed her her drink.
"Thank you so much."
As soon as she sat down, Camie immediately turned back towards the screen. She just couldn't take her eyes off it and Théa noticed. She looked up and pinched her lips:
"Omen isn't the only villain out there."
Camie turned back towards Théa, having almost forgotten about her presence. For Camie's defense, Théa shouldn't have been there by then. Camie opened her mouth but closed it back immediately after. She tried once again but pinched her lips. She had no idea what to say. She wanted to ask Théa why she wasn't going there but she didn't want to sound judgmental or make Théa feel bad in any way.
"Yes... Humans are monsters."
Théa bent closer towards Camie's face:
"You don't have to worry. They are used to these situations. They will take care of it. Everyone will be fine."
Camie nodded. She knew that Théa always helped even when she wasn't needed at all. If even Théa felt like she wasn't needed, then it must really have been nothing important.
"You are so cute when you are worried."
Camie almost spit her hot chocolate out.
"C-c-c-cute?"
Seeing Camie all red made Théa smile:
"Did you finish the book you were reading?"
Hearing Théa suddenly talk about random things made Camie frown. She had no idea how she could transition from what had been said to reading but she was grateful to Théa for giving her an escape route.