.the contract.

o2: lure

6:00pm rolled around faster than I would have liked. I was rather comfortable on the couch, lazing around and watching TV while trying not to become distracted by the fan that blew cool air at the side of my face. Anthony was laying on the other side of the couch, his hair messed up and tangled. His eyes were half closed; he looked exhausted out of his mind. I couldn't help but smile at his innocent state. Sometimes he could be the most evil little kid, so I basked in the rare times that he was peaceful.

I wasn't exactly looking forward to going to this café. Cafés weren't the most interesting places you could go to—they were too quiet and stuffy. If you coughed, everyone in the building would look at you like you had just announced you were going to blow up the world.

I slipped a stick of gum in my mouth just as I heard a car horn honk from outside, from the driveway. Most likely, it was Amanda.

I got up and glanced at the clock above the TV; 6:05pm. I peeked out the window, through the blinds, and saw Amanda's piece-of-crap jeep in the driveway. I smiled slightly. Her vehicle had to be the ugliest thing on wheels that I had ever seen.

"Is that Amanda?" my mom asked, coming in the room with a disapproving frown on her face. I looked back at her and nodded while Tony tiredly hauled himself into a sitting position. The side of his hair was sticking up, completely in disarray.

"Honestly," my mom shook her head and turned to go back into the kitchen, "teenagers have no respect nowadays."

I rolled my eyes and snatched some money off the coffee table before heading outside, after slipping my shoes on. I really did not want to see humanity at the moment, but being antisocial wasn't going to help me in any way.

I jumped into the passenger's seat of Amanda's car and she motioned for me to slip on my seatbelt. She was an extremely cautious driver. I glanced at her outfit, noting that she had dressed up. Just what was she expecting? A large dance floor with a bunch of shirtless guys drinking themselves to death?

---

We arrived at the café at a quarter after six and headed inside the small building on the corner of the street. It was a fairly stuffy place, dimly lit by a few ceiling lights. Circular tables were scattered here and there, while two particular tables seated by a window viewed the busy street. The carpet was a deep, dark purple while the walls were a cherry maroon. The music was soft and calm, suiting the air of the café perfectly.

It was nice, to put it bluntly. In fact, I found myself liking it.

"Let's sit over there," Amanda suggested, pointing towards one of the window tables. I nodded and followed her as she meandered through the many tables until we reached our destination. We both sat down and Amanda clasped her hands together, letting out a breath. She bounced a little in her seat and grinned at me.

"This is a really nice place," she said, nodding her approval, "except it's really, really dark."

"It's to make you hungry," I explained. "Dim rooms are supposed to do that, or something."

Amanda raised a thin, recently waxed eyebrow. "I never knew that."

I licked my lips, which were becoming exceptionally dry, and glanced around the room at all the others in the café. My gaze lingered on a girl who was laughing at something her boyfriend had said and I found myself silently wishing that I could smile like that; that I could laugh like that.

"I'll be right back," Amanda said, breaking off my thoughts as she stood up. I watched as she walked towards the washrooms, a bit awkwardly on her large pumps. When she closed the door behind her, I found myself admiring the way the word "women" was scratched into the door in neat, flowing handwriting.

I liked this café a lot, actually. It was very cozy; very comfortable.

I ran my hand along the newly polished wood of the table and smiled slightly. It was so smooth. Sighing, I placed my hands on my lap and decided to just stare out the window until Amanda came back. I watched as a few cars swiftly drove by and some pedestrians chatted as they strolled along the sidewalks, engaged in their own conversations.

"You look happy."

Startled, I looked ahead to where the intruding voice had come from. Sitting across from me, on Amanda's stool, was a boy about three years older than me, probably around the age of nineteen. He was undeniably attractive with stormy blue eyes which were almost concealed behind his dark chestnut hair, which fell before them. Even through the wisps of hair, I could tell that those strange eyes of his were fixated directly on me with such intensity that I could practically feel them piercing into me. Through his hair, I also caught a silver gleam on his eyebrow which I assumed was a piercing. His pale lips were pulled into a hint of a smirk and I couldn't help but notice that his lips were. . . very appealing, to put it bluntly.

Even though he was sitting down, I could tell he was much taller than me; but my height wasn't too hard to beat since I was only 5'5", while he must have been over 6 feet.

I also couldn't help but catch the fact that his clothing was most unusual, yet no one threw him a second glance. Dark navy cargo pants clung loosely to his hips while a black trench coat covered most of his frame. A white muscle shirt with a low collar rested under the coat, clinging to his chest and stomach and showing off what his body had to offer.

He was like a walking aphrodisiac—and it would seem that he knew it.

When I heard him chuckle, I jerked my head up so it wouldn't be so obvious that I had been checking him out. However, judging by his amused expression, I had already been caught. I felt my cheeks stain with red while I looked away, back out the window for something to concentrate on while I cooled down.

"Um," I nervously swallowed, surprised at how dry my throat had become. I snuck a quick glimpse at him from out of the corner of my eye as I asked, "What do you want?" I didn't want to be rude, but I was too flustered to really know what I was saying. The boy across from me really seemed to enjoy teasing me with his eyes.

"Katlyn," he said, not answering my question. I looked at him full on, surprised that he knew my name. Our eyes locked and a grin slipped onto his lips.

"Who are you?" I asked him, furrowing my eyebrows slightly when he began fingering the low collar of his shirt. My gaze involuntarily flickered onto his chest, where I could see some of the skin of his chest. He chuckled softly and leaned forwards on the stool, resting his elbows on the table and cocking his head to the side. I watched as the hair that fell over his eyes shifted to the side on a slant as he did this. While he grinned at me, I noticed he looked sort of. . . wolfish.

"You shouldn't speak so loudly," he murmured, then grinned, "you might embarrass yourself." He leaned back and simply stared at me. I found myself, for some reason, liking his dark yet rough voice. It was the kind of voice that girls swooned at on the phone and expected the person they were talking to be completely perfect. He gave me a smile that seemed so sincere, as if he actually cared whether or not I'd embarrass myself. "I know a lot about you, little Kitten."

I blinked and regarded him with a puzzled expression. Had he just called me "little Kitten"? That was a new one. Sure, I was used to being called Kat, but not Kitten.

And how did he know a lot about me? Was he a stalker?

Great. I was going to sleep real well tonight knowing there was a stalker in my room, watching me as I slept. In the morning, he'd probably report to me how many times I rolled over in my sleep.

I shivered to get rid of the thoughts forming in my head and focused my attention back on the strange boy across from me. I watched him with a mixture of curiosity and distrust as I once again asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Lure," he replied in a drawl and brushed some hair out of his eyes. He continued to peer at me with interest, and I noticed that his gaze had never left mine the entire time he had been here. "So, little Kitten," he shifted on the stool as if he was preparing to get comfortable for a long speech, "tell me. . . why aren't you happy? Why are you so lonely and utterly miserable?"

I skeptically stared at him as I defensively stated, "Whoever said I wasn't happy?"

Lure smiled almost sympathetically at me. "It's obvious, little Kitten."

I paused, then shook my head, deciding not to say anything in response. Lure's smile flickered and hardened.

"Just answer the question," he said, sounding impatient. He pulled his stool closer to the table and leaned forwards; much closer to me than I was comfortable with. "Tell me what's wrong, little Kitten," he insisted soothingly, and for a moment, I almost wanted to pour my heart out to this coaxing stranger.

I started when he leaned even closer to me, completely invading my personal space. His lips were just inches from mine; his inclement blue eyes immoderately raiding my own. I felt weak, all of the sudden; weak and tired like I had been lost in the desert for days without rest or water. Nothing mattered except this strange boy before me, who was much closer to me than any boy had ever been.

"Why. . . do you care. . .?" I feebly managed to whisper out. He grinned, showing off a row of perfect teeth, while the hairs on the back of my neck stood up in attention.

"My little Kitten," he whispered, eyes searching mine.

"Katlyn!"

And just like that, at the sound of Amanda's voice, everything shattered like glass dropping on a marble floor. I jerked away from Lure, my heart pounding painfully in my chest, and I looked up at Amanda, feeling breathless and violated. A few people were looking at her oddly because she was clapping excitedly.

"Guess what just happened!" she exclaimed, tapping me on the shoulder. I stared up at her, dazed and wondering why she did not care that a boy was sitting across from me, in her seat. I shot a glimpse at Lure, who was smirking up at Amanda with false interest.

"Are you going to leave soon?" I asked him, trying my best to sound irritated at him. Ever so calmly, he dragged his gaze back to me and our eyes locked. Excruciatingly slowly, his pale lips curled into a strange smile.

"Huh?" Amanda squeaked. "Me?"

I glanced at her disinterestedly, "No, not you. Him." I indicated towards Lure, whose smile slipped into a menacing grin. Amanda looked right at him, yet her eyes seemed to searching for something.

"The. . . stool?" she frowned at me.

"No," I shook my head sheepishly, "the boy on the stool."

Amanda rubbed her arm almost uncomfortably as she said, "There's no one there."

I blinked, then looked back at the stool. Indeed, Lure was gone. He had completely vanished. I hadn't seen him even get up. I hadn't even heard him leave.

"Did you see him leave?" I asked her.

"Uh. . . who?"

"The boy!" I said, exasperated, "He was sitting right there!" I insisted. Amanda blinked, shrugged, then hopped over to the now empty stool and sat down on it. She grinned at me, flipping her wavy hair over her shoulder.

I cleared my throat and forced a smile as I asked, "What were you talking about earlier?"

"Oh!" Amanda clapped her hands together with a large grin. "On my way out of the potty room, I ran into a guy with green hair. I mean, whoa! I haven't seen green hair in, like, years—and he was so hot! But, green hair? Katlyn, green hair!"

I zoned out of the conversation, finding it to be not so interesting. I glanced around the café. Various people were staring at the loud girl across from me who was talking about some boy who had green hair. I felt myself flush, so I decided to look somewhere else. It just so happened, that "somewhere else" was the door. . . and a familiar figure was leaning against the frame, looking directly at me.

Lure.

A girl walked towards the door and opened it, walking right by Lure without so much as a glance. Lure winked at me, then slipped through the door behind the girl before it closed, unseen by the girl. The whole time, we stared straight at each other.

The strangest thing, however, was that as soon as the door had closed, I did not see Lure through the glass. It was like he had disappeared.