CHAPTER 20

Pip was in a dream. Well, his reality felt like something that would happen in a dream. He walked hand in hand with Krey, a very handsome guy, tall, muscular, and very mysterious.

People were staring, mostly at Krey. Pip was used to being invisible. He didn't know why Krey had seen him when the ones who were supposed to love him turned a blind eye to his existence.

Pip watched their hands as they walked. Their intertwined fingers were cute. Pip's hand was tiny compared to Krey's, and Krey's palm felt hot.

They walked to the café where Pip worked because the booths were always empty, and only older people bothered to go for lunch. Everyone in Crescent Town knew Pip and where he worked, so him being in the café wasn't unusual, though he was usually alone.

For some reason, those who stared at Krey were uncomfortable and couldn't look for long. Pip assumed Krey's scowl was too intense, though there was something about him, something different from those around them.

Pip slotted himself into the booth, watching as Krey slowly sat too, scoping out the faces in the café. Krey radiated something intense. Pip felt like he was always trying to catch his breath whenever Krey looked at him.

Krey scanned the menu, interested by the page dedicated entirely to tea.

Pip subconsciously rubbed a hand on his chest, clearing his throat. His lungs were a little wheezy. Pip had woken up ill and running through the woods didn't help his tight chest.

Krey watched him with narrowing eyes.

"Um," Pip whispered, shifting under his deep brown gaze. "I-If you buy tea, I'll buy you coffee."

Krey stopped narrowing his eyes, frowning instead. "No." He climbed from the booth and stormed through tables towards the counter. Debra was crouched under the desk, stacking glasses. "You," Krey said, glaring.

Debra turned, shocked to see a tall and grumpy man staring back. "Excuse me. My name is Debra. It would be polite of you to use it."

Krey's hard face didn't change. "Debra, why do you have so many flavors of tea?"

Debra looked behind him and to her co-worker sitting at the booth, twiddling his thumbs. "Are you with Pip?"

"Yes."

"Are you buying him tea?"

"Yes."

"Are you on a date?"

Krey almost answered but caught himself last minute. He stood up straighter. "What tea does Pip like?"

"Why don't you ask him?"

"I'm here now." Krey's face was as blank as the marble counter. Talking to humans, and not trying to dominate them was a challenge. Krey was used to having authority. Omegas might be the bottom of the pack, but humans were so beneath him, Krey constantly reminded himself to act like equals when face-to-face with them.

He couldn't help but think that way. He wasn't just a werewolf, but an Alpha at that.

"He likes anything, so just close your eyes and point."

Krey sighed and stabbed the menu with the end of his finger. Debra didn't like him, but most humans didn't.

"One chamomile tea. Anything else?"

"Black coffee, no sugar." Krey put the change on the counter hard enough for the people sitting at the bar to glance over.

Debra looked from Krey to Pip, then back to Krey's stone-like face. She leaned over the counter and said in a hushed tone, "Pippor is the sweetest kid I've ever known. If you hurt him, just know that you won't get away with it."

Krey found her sudden judgement of him rather insulting. "Why the fuck would I hurt him?"

"Because everyone always does." Debra sighed, glaring. "Pip is my friend. I want the best for him. He can be too trusting and-"

"I'm not trustworthy?"

"I didn't say that-"

"Or good enough for him?"

Debra exhaled. "You're a tough one." She scooped his change into her hand. "All I'm saying is that people like you are not interested in Pip without an ulterior motive."

"What a shitty thing to say." Krey turned and stormed back to the booth. He must have spoken louder than intended because Pip watched him with anxious eyes and fidgeting fingers.

"Is um, is everything okay?" Pip asked.

Krey stared out the window with a fierce expression. "Yes." Debra had said that Krey wasn't good enough for Pip, but that Pip wasn't good enough for someone like Krey in the same conversation. She didn't know Krey and already labelled him as a troubled sort of guy. Granted, Krey didn't give off the kindest of auras, but for her to assume he'd ever hurt Pip was a punch in the heart.

They sat in silence for a while. Pip had heard some of what they said, before Krey stomped back, looking more agitated than usual. Pip guessed that Debra had proven how protective she was over him.

Debra had done the same thing to one of their coworkers who was using Pip for his homework. Debra had been right to step in that time, but now she always drove people away.

Pip loved Debra, but she was too quick to judge, just like Pip was too quick to trust, and how Krey was too quick to lose his temper.

"D-Debra once said that my parents were rude. She couldn't have been more wrong. M-My parents must have been having a bad day, and Debra judged them before she knew them," Pip said quietly, remembering the look on Debra's face when Pip said the Monty couple who tragically died were his parents. When Krey paid him attention, Pip continued, "W-what I'm getting at is- um, first encounters are not everything. Y-you're quite scary." Pip nervously chuckled. "But that doesn't make you mean."

Krey's brown eyes of fury melted as they looked around Pip's face, like chocolate in the sun. "Very observant," Krey mumbled.

Pip nodded. "Everyone deserves a chance." He smiled and pursed his lips when Krey stared at his mouth.

"What about second chances?"

"Those too."

"Why?" Krey liked the sound of his mate's voice. Pip was slowly edging from his shell.

"We all make mistakes." Pip's voice was quiet. He looked down to the table, feeling like he had spoken too much.

Their drinks came, and Krey glared at Debra. She glared back.

Krey was a hard person to like; he knew that. He also knew that he was easily offended and hated being judged when he didn't exactly give people a reason to like him. So why did Pippor see straight through him?

Was Pippor's lack of judgement because of them being mates? Or did Pippor have the ability to see the beauty in everything, and was that because he trusted too much?

Being too trusting can get you hurt, but being too hostile like me can make you sour. Why is nothing ever fair? Krey would rather have high walls around himself, shielding his view from the world, than to see everything and risk being exposed to toxic minds.

Am I one of those poisonous people? Krey thought as Pip sipped his tea, seeming more content. "What about third chances?" Krey asked. He would need a lot of chances to be the person Pip deserved.

Pip's blue eyes looked up, twinkling. "I-I guess it depends on um, whether the mistake was as bad as the first or second time."

The sun shone through the window, landing directly on Pip. His eyes, like enchanting pools of the purest water, captured Krey's heart, and he almost dropped his coffee.

Pip looked away when Krey pulled his phone from his pocket, and the sun hurt his eyes. He thought back to when they were holding hands. Pip didn't just hold hands with anyone, and Krey kept popping up in his life to hang out.

Pip still felt like he was dreaming, but now with a little more tension in the air. He was annoyed at Debra for saying something to Krey.

"Shit," Krey mumbled, shoving his phone back into his jeans pocket. "I have to go."

"Oh." Pip tried not to look disappointed. "Okay." He tapped his mug awkwardly. "Thanks for the tea."

Krey got out of the booth and slowly rubbed his hands together, stalling like he wanted to say something. "Sorry," he said and dug hands into his jacket. Krey glanced towards Debra. He wanted to say more, but what could he say that didn't make him sound desperate. But you are desperate, Krey

"I'll see you around, I guess."

Pip watched Krey walk away. He glanced at Debra too. Had she pushed another potential friend away? Pip wasn't happy, and he wasn't pleased about letting Krey leave without knowing when he'd next see him.

Pip shouted at himself as he watched Krey through the window. An opportunity was walking away. Pip didn't want to regret not running after Krey, yet he sat, glued to the seat, too much of a coward to follow him.

Pip's heart sunk until Krey suddenly stopped walking. He turned and stared at Pip through the window. Pip thought he would wave goodbye, but Krey hurried to the window and pressed his phone against the glass.

A number was on the screen.

"My number," Krey yelled.

Pip quickly fumbled around in his pockets for his phone, trying not to smile too wide. He typed in the numbers and promptly sent Krey a message saying:

'this is Pippor'.

Krey's lips twitched when he received Pip's message. He waved goodbye, and the tension left with him.

Pip watched until he couldn't see Krey any longer.

Debra sheepishly approached the booth. Pip glanced to her with an unamused expression. "It appears I angered your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend," Pip squeaked, blushing.

"Yet," Debra said, making sure nobody wanted her attention before sitting down. "Can I be honest with you?"

Pip nodded.

"I don't like him."

"Why?"

"There's just something about him. I can't quite put my finger on it, but he makes me uncomfortable."

"I think he's nice."

"That guy? Nice?"

Debra didn't know the version of Krey that Pip saw. She only knew the angry Krey who punched Mark, and the grumpy Krey with a short fuse.

Pip knew the awkward Krey, and the quiet Krey, and the Krey who walked him home and bothered to find time for him, and the Krey who listened to what Pip had to say without seeming bored.

"I get why you're not fond of him, b-but I think you should give him a chance."

Debra arched a brow. "And I think you're too kind." She stood and smoothed down her t-shirt. "Well, if Pippor Monty likes him, then I suppose I must try to see why." She ruffled his hair and went back to work.

Pip rested his head on his arms, so he could smile freely without anyone seeing him. His nose touched the table - the wood smelled of cleaning products.

Pip hoped the awkwardness between himself and Krey would settle. The more they got to know each other, the more topics they would have to spark a conversation.

He looked at his phone to check for messages. Pip scolded himself. Krey had only just left, but Pip was eager to talk again.