A Hero's Secret

five

..

The sun reflected off of the bowl right into Dray's eyes, so she grabbed it, along with the box of cereal, and pushed it to the end of the counter.

Every little morning detail led to more frustration. She spilled her morning water, burned her finger on her curling iron and ran into every corner in the house.

And now with a knock of the door, her cereal bounced all over the counter. She whined at the new mess and dropped her head onto her forearms. Her breakfast stuck to her skin. She watched Wells saunter inside. It had been a few days since they had last seen each other.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I don't recall inviting you in." Dray pushed off the counter and stretched across the surface to brush the cereal into her hand.

Wells hummed, sitting on the opposite side of the breakfast bar with a sideways smirk on his face. "A bit feisty in the morning. I'll admit, I wasn't expecting that."

Dray threw the handful of cereal back into her bowl and poured in some milk. "I'm sure you know what today is." She looked pointedly at him. "I'm a bit anxious about it."

"Do you want me to walk you over? It's not far from here."

Her eyes snapped to his while she munched on her breakfast. Dray couldn't hold down the tiny bouts of suspicion leaking from the nice offer. The link between Wells and the first place they met had yet to disappear.

Even so, she smiled. "That would be great, actually. Thanks, Wells."

Silence fell over the two friendly strangers. Dray peeked at him from the corner of her eye from time to time and eventually found Wells' stoic expression staring straight at her. She narrowed her gaze, wrinkling her nose. He winked.

Despite the foundation of their first meeting, the allusion of a new and normal relationship warmed her heart.

Dray bit her lip to keep in the words, but failed. "So, are we going to investigate today?" I'm open after the photoshoot, you know." She turned to the sink. The dishes clanked against the metal and she ran water over them before turning back around and leaning against the counter.

"You don't seem to have much patience." His smile angled up on one side. He stood up and shook out his hair. "Are you ready to go?"

Dray jumped in her spot, a smile erupting on her face. "Yeah! About time!" She threw her camera around her neck and quickly gathered her things into her small bag.

Wells gripped the front door. "I do mean for your photoshoot, Dray."

"No," she whined, slowing down and rounding the breakfast bar. "Why do you have to be like that, Wells?" She pulled her hair out from under her camera strap.

He opened the front door and let her walk out first, patting her back. "You're kind of easy to tease."

A grin lit up her face. The sarcastic banter that came along with it held the real joy.