Chapter Twenty Eight

Isabell selected a peach dress. The light rays from the sun made the soft color look brighter. She parked the car in front of a building with a sign The Chill Brew Cafe at the top of the entrance.

Isabell took the stairs up, and she jumped. She was happy and nervous, she skipped every other stair on her way. All the time she saved from skipping stairs, she wasted it on the last one.

Isabell breathed one time and then one more time and then for an entire minute but the oxygen seemed to vanish in the vacuum when she saw a man who was not wearing black and that was never supposed to be Sebastian but he had had the same serious expression, wavy brown hair, and sharp eyes who makes him look like Sebastian.

Why is he wearing this? Why is the Sebastian Lightwood not wearing black? Why is he wearing a NAVY BLUE sweatshirt? I was already losing my mind all the way here; from his messages and now I can't explain to myself how a man can look this good; to a level of perfection, in a casual shirt. MY HEART IS GOING CRAZY ALREADY. How the hell am I supposed to sit in front of him for the entire evening-

"Hey, Isabell. I'm here" She was staring at him but because she appeared confused; amazed, Sebastian could have assumed she hadn't seen him "Hey," she said in a low voice and her voice didn't reach him. Isabell walked with tiny steps and her legs took her to him

The last rays of the setting sun shaped a glow across the entire outdoor floor, cushioned lounge chairs were divine in the cafe. The aroma of freshly brewed coffee danced in the air at the gentle nods of slow music. Fairy lights hanging above the tables, their twinkling spread a magical hint

"Good Evening" Isabell greeted

"Good Evening," he said, his eyes looking at her and a soft smile touched a corner of his lips "You look calm" Sebastian slid a glass of juice toward her

"Is it supposed to be a compliment or should I be offended?" Isabel enfolded the glass in between both of her hands

"You look good" he answered, glancing at the other side and Isabell glimpsed at him

"Thank you I guess" she grinned,

You know what? I don't have the guts to say that but you look calm too, I mean good and handsome and beautiful and perfect and–

"Oh My God! What are my eyes seeing?" Wilson stopped her thoughts to provoke the roaming of insects in her stomach

"Hey, Wilson. How are you doing?" The apron on him told that he ran out of the kitchen just to say a hello to Isabell

"Since you are here, I'm feeling pretty nice" he was looking at Isabell but speaking to Sebastian only and he received a smirk in response

"What can I say?" She laughed nervously "Say that I look good or something, Sweetheart"

"You look good in this," Isabell replied and she could feel Sebastian staring at her.

"Of course, Pretty girl. I do know that" he laughed and so did Isabell

"So" Wilson clasped his hands together "What do you want me to create for you today, Sweetie?" Wilson passed the menu and held it in both of his hands and Isabell looked terrified by just the sight of it

Don't do this to me

she never said it out loud. Isabell took the menu, she read it for one time and nothing was making sense to her so she took another visit across the page but it was the same as last time, never changing and never helping her to pick something. So many things she wanted to try but she didn't know what she wanted to try at the same time

"Can you recommend anything?" It was the universal sign of I don't know how to order

Sebastian silently laughed at her but was never in the mood to help Isabell with it

"Of course, Dearest" Wilson took the menu out of her hands

"Brewed coffee and lemon cake are the best in here," he said straightening his unpresent collar

"Don't get deceived by his words" The voice came from Sebastian "He over-roast the beans and they are usually low-grade quality. His lemon cake tasted like tart burning your mouth" he finished and Wilson's mouth fell open at his words

"Did you realize you have insulted my entire career in two sentences, Seb?" Wilson stumbled backward by a step "Yeah, the entire career of eight failed cafes, Will" Sebastian leaned his head back on the chair, satisfied while Wilson got immobile staring at his face in absolute shock

"I'll order the both of them, Wilson" Isabell tried to relax his horrified face, he nodded at Isabell with the same surprised expression

"Can't wait to try them" she added with excitement

"Coming right away, Dear Isabell" A grin flashed upon his face, and he grim at Sebastian's

"I hope you spill burning coffee all over your hand, Dear Will" Sebastian almost smiled but he fixed it into a smirk

"I hope you enjoy your date too, Dear Seb," he said and headed towards the kitchen. Something like redness appeared on Sebastian's cheeks, he squeezed his eyes and bit his lips hard, and then his expressions were back to their usual

"How are the things with your case studies going?" Sebastian made it feel like Wilson was never there and he never said a word while leaving

"Well," and she played along. Her face moved down, and her lips slipped to the straw to take a sip before speaking "I have completed a lot of it- almost all of it but I'm stuck at some point in Dissenting Opinion," Sebastian nodded

"When you get home send it to me and I will help you with it" She nodded in reply still holding the straw in her mouth, her cheeks were swollen

"Isabell" he called,

"Yes" Her eyes lifted and her head moved up

"Are you okay?" Sebastian sat up, folding his arms over the table "Yes, of course I am" Like of course I am okay, Am I? At least I guess I am

"You don't look okay" Her lips abandoned the straw. Even though Isabell was looking interested only in her drink, Sebastian never stopped staring at her

"How do you look okay?" She tried to shrug his question with a light laughter

"You look okay when your hands aren't covered with scratches," he said, she abruptly shifted her hands under the table "You look okay when you don't need concealer to cover the dark circles" She covered her eyes with her hands but the hands were also supposed to be hidden, Isabell slide them under the table and since nothing was left to cover her eyes she moved it to a different direction

"I am okay, Sebastian" Her face stayed still

"Okay let's okay you are okay. Tell me how long did you sleep last night?" This question made Isabell turn her face to him, unwantedly, and then down towards the table in a blink. She said nothing

"How many hours?" he repeated his question

"Two," she said in an inaudible voice

"Yeah and you said you are okay" His voice went dry, "No it's not like that" she raised her face "I had to write twenty pages of research and I had two assignments to work on as well so-" he continued "So I didn't care if the deadline is of two months later and I had to torment myself" he finished with stiffness

"You can't understand, you are not a student, Sebastian"

"I do understand. And I do because I'm exactly a student and there is no okay student who finishes assignments one month before the deadlines" Her words never came out and thoughts were frozen in her mind, she stayed quiet

"Is it about him?" he asked, Isabell's eyes stared at him in fright as she heard Sebastian mentioning Ethan "Is he still troubling you, Isabell?" She closed her eyes and breathed "No" she lied

"You know it, I can tell by your face that you are lying" She never denied the accusation

"Isabell, Let me take care of it" Her eyes met him in an instant

"Please, Can we not talk about it" She requested, her hidden hands rubbing the scars on them, vigorously

"But—"

"Please, Sebastian"

Sebastian closed his eyes, trying to send his anger back and after some moments he nodded lightly

Tears would have appeared in her eyes if she hadn't seen Wilson coming towards them with the order

"Here is" thank you "your coffee and your lemon cake, Dear Isabell" The last words were again intended for Sebastian

"Oh your hand looks okay, Dear Will," he said trying to lighten the mood with a laugh "Oh your date looks fine, Dear Seb" he backfired. It wasn't redness anymore but some type of irritation

"Can you please leave us alone?" Upon hearing him finish his words, Wilson dragged a chair from the neighboring table "I don't have that type of plan" he said settling down "Get out of here, Will" his voice intensified

"Excuse me, Sir. This is my cafe"

"And I'm the customer here"

"Whatever, Mr. Customer. I won't leave" he bent forward on the table "I've so much to tell Isabell from our college days," he said moving his neck towards her

"I would love to hear it" Isabell nodded fast, her face was excited now

"And I would love to tell you about this clumsy and adorable Sebastian." The excitement disappeared. "Why are you swearing?" she asked and mocked a smile to him

"Ah! Isabell you know nothing" he moved his head to the sides "Seb was the leader of a music band called—" A hefty boat from a side chair just landed on Wilson's feet cutting in his words

"Music band," She wanted him to continue with his words. Wilson squeezed his eyes trying to keep going along with the pain

"A music band called' The Pressure Boosted, Sebastian cleared his throat out loud but neither of them heard him "called Marshmallow" Her jaws dropped "Like he picked us- me, Eliot, and a couple of other friends all and then at night he used to make our ears bleed with his voice till the dawn" Isabell's eyes looked at Sebastian, then at Wilson, then at Sebastian again and one more round

"No way!" Her voice yelled in distrust

"Exactly!" He yelled in reply. Her eyes opened wide and kept on darting at the two of them "He was a SINGER?" Her screams remained in disbelief

"I know it's unbelievable–"

"Unbelievable-to-ever-be-believable" Wilson laughed, she didn't. Her eyes stayed stretched and shocked

"I know, I know it is and I mean just look at him now he scares people just by standing in front of them" Isabell bounced her head up and down, agreeing with him violently

"Exactly! Exactly! Scarier than a three-headed bear" she said

"Exactly! Scarier than a possessed doll with a fear of children" Her eyes fixed on Wilson's

"Yes! Scarier than the Vampire scared of the sun"

"Scarier than a ghost haunting its own shadow" They don't remember to look at burning Sebastian

"And scarier than Skeleton afraid of his bond," his fallen face saying he was offended by this the most

"And mommy wrapped in toilet paper" Maybe from this one

"Scarier than a zombie with a fear of decay—"

"So you guys are having fun" he asked casually, and they just realized that Sebastian Lightwood was sitting with them and they were exactly talking about him. The both of them exchanged an anxious gaze

"Chill, man. We were just joking" he said, not looking chilled. Isabell's mind told her that saying no word would make her look invisible so she stayed muted

"Wilson Franklin" he threatened "If you won't leave right now, I'm going to file a Misconduct report" Wilson's chair automatically slipped an inch back "Haha" He looked at Isabell, begging her to join him laughing but she dogged "I am kidding, Seb, haha" his laugh sounded anxious just like his face

"But I am not" his jaws clenched and Wilson's chair moved back and further back until he was up from it "I'll leave you two alone" he laughed and he never turned his face back to look at Sebastien till he was in his kitchen

"So where were we?" Sebastian turned his face to Isabell "Bear. Vampire? Skeleton? Zombie" Isabell was just looking for a place to look and she was unable to find it with stumbling gazes "Haha" there wasn't anyone joining her laughter this time "It was just a joke you know" she giggled again, nervously gasping for air

"Oh," he said

"Are you close with Wilson?" Her mind just threw a question at him to avoid conversation. Sebastian stared at her for seconds already realizing her trick

"I guess you can say that" he let her trick play and Isabell relaxed "Since when do you know him" She scoped a piece of cake with the spoon "Since I was in the first year of college"

"Were the two of you classmates?" she asked

"No, he was my senior"

"So how did you get close to each other?"

"We became friends because Will and I were in the same band-" Isabell rested her spoon on the plate "Marshmallow!" she almost yelled "Fluffy and delicate and cute" Her eyes blinked at him, he coughed lightly

"You don't have to exaggerate," he stretched an annoyed corner of his lips "Well, it needs some exaggeration coz it is entirely and extremely opposite to you, Mr. Marshmallow," She said beaming at him "Don't" his voice sharpened but Isabell never cared about it "No! It's cute" Her hands floated upwards, fingers circling the air making a ball, her thumbs gently tapping the fingers mimicking the softness of a cotton ball "Mr. Marshmallow" She blinked her eyes. Sebastian widened his eyes, brows lifted "Don't" but Sebastian never sounded annoyed as he was laughing at her cuteness

"Okay okay" her hands opened to pat the air "I'm going to stop now," she said and both of them agreed but he never stopped smiling strangely at her

They ate in silence. One after the other every person from the surrounding tables left and then they were left alone. It was strange to Isabell that why Wilson hadn't interrupted them

The music continued to play in the background, the sun was gone and lights covering the entire area turned on.

"Hey, Isabell" Sebastian called

She looked up at him

Sebastian moved his hand, palm facing up

"Can I?" he asked sliding his hand over the table. Isabell gazed at him nervously

"I want to show you something" Isabell nodded up and down

She gave her hand to him

"What?" she asked in a gentle tone "Come with me," he stood up from his chair.

Sebastian softly traced Isabell behind him. He stopped at a corner of the cafe.

The building of the cafe was high, offering a stunning sight of the city lights, sparkling like stars under the shimmering stars in the sky "This is beautiful," she said, closing her eyes. The air moved through her hair making a wave of hazel, tiny earrings peeked behind them

"Yes it is" Sebastian was only looking at Isabell

"Isabell" he called and she answered with a slight nod "I have something for you" She opened her eyes, turned her face toward Sebastian

"For me?" He slipped his hand in his pocket and took a tiny pink box out.

Her eyes opened wide, she looked confused. Isabell recognized this pink box, it stayed in her drawer for so long. Isabell had taken care of it for an entireyear. As Sebastian opened the box he said some familiar words

"I got you one with a star and a moon for myself" Sebastian lifted his hand, gilded it around his neck, and showed her a chain he was wearing "Because just like the moon and stars" Isabell knew these lines she had heard them over and over again "No matter how many times they fade away from the night sky, they find their way back to each other. So no matter how far I go from you, I need you to know that I'll always come to you when youneed me, Isabell" He looked at her, and she looked at him and her eyes suddenly went moist.

Sebastian closed the distance between them with one step. Isabell had never in her entire life known how small she was until she had to tilt her head back just to look up at him. Sebastian held the pendant in his hands, gently, she looked at him with a soft stare and her lips parted

"You are supposed to say these things to your girlfriend, Dummy," she said, looking up with a slight laugh. Sebastian moved his hand slowly against her neck

He put the pendant on her, carefully fastening the clasp, his fingertips brushed against her skin and the world around them appeared to fade away from the magic at the moment.

"Will you be?" Sebastian asked

Her heart suddenly started to beat at a wild speed, she felt like having an attack of butterflies

"What?" Her breaths managed to get four letters out

"I- I know Isabell, I know that I'm not good at doing okay things. I suck in social interactions and don't get along with people well. I'm cold and some sort of Bastarian too. I am aware of all the okay things I need to be good at and for you, I am willing to change myself. I don't know how to confess feelings or arrange a date, I'm entirely ignorant about these things but I promise you to make myself better for you. I need to tell you this, It's heavy on my heart and I want to tell you that I love you"

She stayed silent, her soft eyes shined

Isabell's lips squeezed and they caught a smile, her heart beating in her ears and she couldn't stop smiling.

Sebastian's eyes weren't looking for an answer anymore, they were staring at the smile on her face and at the mole on her chin

It felt like a magnet attracting him towards it. Sebastian couldn't help herself but drive with the attracting force.

"I love you, Isabell" She stopped smiling and tears were twinkling from her eyes. Sebastian drove closer to the force, his lips closed to her chin

And

Suddenly

A sharp echo pierces the air—an ominous gunshot. The smiles, the happiness, the moment everything was gone in a blink. Both of them were left startled

Sebastian couldn't seem to be hearing anything, his ear unable to proceed, feet unknowingly moving back

He bent down, confusion in his eyes, he looked at Isabell, she was screaming.

He pressed his ear hard, blood appeared on his palm when he removed it

"Sebastian!" Isabell screamed he heard her voice, her eyes widened, her throat yelling, her entire body shaking,

"Sebastian!" She shouted again

"Seb!" Wilson ran from the kitchen upon hearing the shot

Sebastian was stunned, he was dazed by the shot, and his eyes mirrored fright and confusion. He has lost the ability to hear in the moment "Sebastian" Isabell wrapped her hand over his clenched fingers on his ear. Breaths broke up, adrenaline rushing down her body, her face filled with anxiety "We- we need to call an ambulance, we need to do, to do something, we need to get help!" Isabell screamed looking around, she ran toward the table

Sebastian hadn't recovered yet, he looked at Isabell the other hand moving in the air towards her, trying to stop her but she never turned around

She picked her phone up from the table but as soon as she held it, anonymous messages appeared on her lock screen, Isabell froze.

Isabell was frozen in terror and Sebastian moved towards her . Pressing his palm over the ear he slowly moved towards her. "Is- Isabell" he called, not making the immovable Isabell move. "Hey," he said His feet stopped at her, eyes widened when he gazed at her phone

Unknown: You need to stop Isabell or next time it will be his head