The Dark Haired Man

It was a chilly and rainy morning outside. I could tell by the sound of light rain hitting the window and the way I had nestled up under my blanket. The alarm hasn't gone off yet but I had awoken nonetheless. I stared at the clock that read 6:23 and considered laying still in my bed until the alarm went off at 6:30. That would give me a full 7 minutes to lay here and mentally prepare for the day I had been preparing for all week; my first day at work. Except not only work, but rather my dream job. I'd worked so hard to make it to this research facility and yet was terrified of joining such an elite team as the newbie fresh out of college. The thought of making an awkward introduction to the worlds best team in astrophysics managed to get me out of bed immediately. I jumped in the shower and managed to get ready for my day in less time than I expected. I was about half hour ahead of schedule and decided to leave early. The air was cold out so I bundled my scarf up and made my way down the street toward the station. My apartment was only a block away but in the gloomy weather the walk felt longer than normal. I stood by the yellow line on the tracks since the benches looked wet and unwelcoming. There was no one else around which gave the station an eerie feel. The train made its way in and had little to no passengers on board. I stepped on and took a seat near the doors. That's when I saw him for the first time. Hair soaked, bag in hand, sprinting towards the train. A black haired man with sharp features and gray eyes. He wasn't going to make it in time for the doors to close. Out of instinct, I got up and held the doors open as they attempted to close before he could make it in. A second later, he ran passed me and onto the train. The train doors closed as I moved out of the way and turned to face the dark haired man. "Are you alright?", I asked as he appeared out of breath. I don't think I expected any specific answer, but I certainly wasn't expecting what he said next. He stood straight and turned to face me to say, "I didn't ask you to do that." He seemed a bit annoyed which was confusing to say the least. "I'm sorry? I was just trying to help", I said. He gave me a look of annoyance and gave a sharp scoff before turning back around and changing train cars. Suddenly I too grew angry. Who could possibly understand what he was upset about? All I did was help him get on the train and ask if he was alright! I grudgingly sat in the seat I had chosen before and plugged my headphones in to distract myself. The 20 minute ride felt longer today than it should have. I'd only left my apartment less than an hour ago and already felt like I had spent half of the day. I was still roughly 45 minutes early and decided to stop for coffee at a diner next to the station. A waitress welcomed me to sit wherever I'd like as I came in. The place was empty except for two old men sitting in one of the booths. I sat at the counter and ordered only a coffee to go. The waitress mentioned she would make a fresh pot and offered me a free cookie while I waited. She was an older woman; chatty but kind. I accepted her offer and was pleasantly surprised by how delicious the cookie was. "I know right?!", she exclaimed excitedly. "I've spent my life perfecting my cookie recipe and I think I've finally done it!" She went on to explain that her kids loved her cookies and she was motivated to perfect them now that she was a grandmother. Just as she was explaining to me how her granddaughter could finally have her first cookie, the front door swung open loudly. We both jumped and turned to see the dark haired man enter the quiet diner. I could tell he didn't mean to open it so aggressively by the way he shut it behind him quietly. I was in no mood to let him ruin my morning and decided to finish eating my cookie. The waitress greeted him as nicely as she had to me and he also chose to sit on the counter. "I just need a cup of coffee to go. Black.", he said shortly. She looked back at the pot and saw it was only about halfway done. "Sure thing hun. I'm making a fresh pot now but how about a sweet treat while you wait?" She said giving him a cookie with beaming pride all over her smile. He slid the plate back to her and coldly said, "I don't want a treat. I want a black coffee to go." The waitress looked a little hurt but kept a polite smile. "Oh yes I'm sorry. I'll get that for you as soon as it's ready." She took the cookie back with a hurt expression which was enough to boil my blood. "Hey," I called to him. He turned to face me with the same look of annoyance he had given me on the train. "What's your problem? She's just being kind to you by offering you the cookie while you wait. There's no reason for you to be so rude." He looked at the waitress who was now looking shyly at the ground. He then turned to me and began to walk over. I sat firmly on my stool as he stood in front of my with a stern face. His eyes moved quickly around me, like he was analyzing me. As he opened his mouth to speak, the waitress chimed in with "The coffee is done!" He glanced to her as she poured it in a cup and placed a lid on it. She placed it on the counter for him and took a step back. He glanced back at me before leaving cash on the counter and taking the coffee. "Keep the change", he mumbled as he walked out. The moment the door shut, the waitress gave a loud sigh and turned to me to say, "Oh my stars honey I can't believe you did that!" She leaned over the counter and looked at me with wide eyes. "I'm sorry if I overstepped ma'am. He was just so unreasonably rude and I couldn't sit here after tasting such a delicious thing from a kind person and have him speak to you like that." I left out the fact that I already didn't like him from the train incident. She thanked me multiple times as she poured me my own coffee and even threw in a couple cookies for me to take. I promised her I'd be back to buy more in the future and began my walk to work. It was only a few blocks since the town was so small so I stood at the entrance and took one more look at my watch. Somehow I still managed to be 20 minutes early. With one last sip of coffee, I walked in to meet my new team. Right away I was greeted by Dr. Zeigler, the man that recruited me to join this team. "Welcome Marci! Please, come meet the team." He shook my hand and gestured me to follow him into what seemed like a conference room. The team of 9 sat at a long table and sat quietly. Feeling all eyes on me, I stood tall and tried to speak without stuttering from the nerves of meeting some of my heroes. "Hello everyone. My name is Marciela Lopez and I hope to be an asset to this incredible team as of today." As I gave a polite smile, I was welcomed with some clapping from my new team, all except for one. I noticed one person not clapping as I skimmed the room and saw him sitting there in different clothes. He sat at the end of the table looking at me with a discerning expression; the man with the dark hair.