Fear 0.3

--

It took them some time to get hold of a cab but they did eventually and got out of the place quickly. To Vladius it was a fun time but for Pierce it had been more or less a nightmare, at the end of it at least. Looking out the window she saw a few droplets clinging to the surface as they sped by, although it wasn't exactly 10 yet, she wanted to go back home almost urgently. She tried to explain herself to the guest since this was his day and she had ruined it, still, he was uncharacteristically glum.

Feeling guilty for just taking off like that she tried to think of a way to cheer him up. They still had three hours with them and considering how much they had toured, it was a miracle they still had time. "Want to go out to the nearby stores? It isn't that fun but we can have some dinner there, I will tell dad not to make any servings for us."

The guest instantly cheered up and nodded his head strongly, it made her feel a little better about herself. So she directed the cab to the area she loved, hoping there won't be any of her classmates nearby, it would clearly dampen the mood.

--

'Oh why do I even hope.'

Understandably there were more than a bunch of her friends, it was like the whole school was there, celebrating someone's birthday. "How come I didn't know about this?" she muttered to herself, she was pretty sure her ears took in a lot more information than just a few boring lecture.

The store she loved was standing right next to a huge party ground filled with teenage heads and she was sure she saw a few of her teachers in the midst too. 'They called them too? I thought it was just for students.' But she knew Gracia was not there, or else she would have been invited too.

Ignoring the party halfheartedly, she took hold of Vladius and pulled him forward, he was unusually subdued. They walked across the street and quickly crossed the parking lot.

"Let's stay away from the crowd, it gets too annoying in there. The store I was telling you about is this one. Maty's is quite famous around here, they sell all kinds of products and even have an eatery at the back. The food is tasty though spicy at times."

The door to the one storey white building slid open automatically as they entered, and since it was attached to another store, the counter was merged into one. "You see that blond woman, she is a friend of mine, you can call her Chloe. She talks too much, is way too frank but you will love her character despite her flaws."

Vladius nodded as they headed to the counter for a quick chat with Chloe, who had her eyes on them the whole time like a hawk watching its prey. "Hello dea, I thought you would have forgotten me."

"Just after meeting you a day before... right."

She chuckled and turned her attention towards the new comer almost instantly, "I am Chloe Misgibs, at your service boy." Her hand extended for a quick shake but Vladius had other plans as he just looked around absently almost ignoring the greeting.

Pierce saw the tick of her eyebrow as she snatched her hands back, her lips were set in a firm line not approving of his behavior, so Pierce came to the rescue like always, "He is very touchy about making contact with people and above that he cannot speak, so pardon if he came out as rude." She would have to lecture him about proper manners too when they went home. "Generally he is very kind and attentive but he has been moody since the evening." She couldn't tell her that she was the cause of his moodiness.

Chloe smiled in an affirmative showing she wasn't displeased in anyway although Pierce knew so was not the case. "Have a great day then, avoid going towards the front parking lot, too many of your friends would be hanging around there."

Taking in the warning she left with the now busy guest prowling around the shelves with a mild interest licking his face. Since he was taller than her he easily took hold of some cereal boxes and waffers kept at the top, and all of it was chocolate flavored. Pierce snickered as she handled the product into a basket she had taken hold of and shot towards the chocolate stand with a secretive smile, "Ever had pure chocolate before?"

This piqued his interest as he smirked, he could already list out the things he would be taking back home.

--

After the billing was done with a passing comment from Chloe regarding sugar overdose from chocolates, they headed out towards the eatery around the huge store, since it was facing away from the loud party in the neighborhood, Pierce was feeling grateful towards her luck for the first time. She could already see the lighting around the eatery and families and friends entering through the door, it looked busy.

"This eatery is famous for its burgers, have you ever tried it?"

The negative shake of his head was an answer enough. "Alright, then we are going to have burgers for you today, of course with some other stuffs too since your appetite is..." she paused as she took in the incoming crowd exiting the building. 'No. no. no.'

"Hey look at that, our lady is with her boyfriend, what a coincidence that we meet." It was none other than the infamous group of backbenchers and all of them sadly belonged to her class. Martha Twain was the handler of the group and the most talkative initiator of all the bad gossips about her.

'Yeah what a coincidence, fate must hate me,' Pierce thought sourly.

"He is not my boyfriend Martha, he is my guest for the day." More than anything in the world Pierce hated this group with all her heart and their presence annoyed her very much but also they were the only group she wasn't scared of, that was a surprising fact. It may have to do with her everyday facings.

Martha scowled, as her group of six started to circle around Pierce with a strange glint in their eyes, which she knew was always followed by a string of insults and if she was more than unlucky a few beat ups and hair pulling.

'And here I thought I could skip all this formality and eat in peace, I don't even want to know what Vladius would think.' It saddened her of how fragile she was without Gracia, it was humiliating.

Now what would she do?