03 | Companionship and Coffee

"THIS IS SO NOT GOING TO WORK," I muttered to myself, striding towards the cafeteria where I knew I would find Lena. She always got hungry at dawn.

Sure enough, I found her picking apart a cream cheese bagel and a bag of crisps at a table on her own. She'd thrown on an oversized grey hoodie and she leaned her head on one hand whilst using the other to put food in her mouth. Every few seconds she'd fall asleep and then wake back up with a sharp jolt.

"Hey." I slid into the booth opposite her. "Mind if I steal a crisp?"

She shrugged, offering a weak smile. The hospital's cafeteria was known for making food that shouldn't be fit for human consumption, so most of the time we stuck to pre-packaged junk food. I popped one of the crisps into my mouth and crunched on it loudly. Lena still looked like she was about to fall asleep. I pushed my steaming black coffee towards her. "Here," I offered, "drink."

In less than a minute all of my coffee was gone. "Don't save me any," I joked.

Finally a little more alert, Lena looked up and her dark blue eyes narrowed. "You want something."

"Me?"

"What is it?"

"Maybe I just came over to offer companionship and coffee." I picked up the empty styrofoam cup and shook it. "Which you accepted."

"I accepted it knowing there was a price," she smirked, "so tell me what it is."

I sighed. "Okay. I'm about to ask you to do something crazy, and I need you to not question it. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Really?"

"I figure I owe you after that time with that guy in that club..." she trailed off, reminiscing.

"...right. Anyway." I paused, thinking how best to phrase my request without sounding utterly insane. "So you know how you should have been an actress?" It was a story Lena told during any social function she attended—how she'd almost been cast for a role in Eastenders. Lena nodded enthusiastically. "Well, I need to borrow your skills."

"What for?"

I spent a good ten minutes trying to convey to my best friend that I wasn't, in fact, crazy, but that I'd just somehow wound up agreeing to help a man who quite possibly could have been a criminal. I stressed the fact that I was pretty sure he wasn't, but most of the time Lena ignored me.

"This is insane," she commented. "You're insane."

"Tell me about it," I said flatly.

"I never thought I'd see the day, you know? The day Grace Perne turned rebellious...I'm actually a little proud." She wiped a fake tear from the corner of her eye. "I feel like a parent."

"Right." I dismissed her histrionics. "So you'll do it?"

Lena smiled her uniquely devilish smile. "For you, my dear? Anything."

**

"Are we really doing this?" I requested as we strode in the direction of wing G. Lena had acquired a bounce in her step beside me; she'd always been energised by the prospect of trouble.

"I'm really doing this," she corrected. "You are watching artwork as it takes place."

I felt a little bad that we were essentially pissing around on the job when so many patients were waiting for assistance, but I'd already promised one of them my help, and I might have been a lot of things, but I wasn't a flake.

I hated letting people down.

"Okay," Lena pulled me from my thoughts by grabbing onto my wrist. We halted as one corridor merged on to the other—just a few meters away, I knew that two police officers would still be guarding Alex. "Are you ready for the best performance you've ever seen?"

"Absolutely not," I smiled through clenched teeth. I was pretty much a nervous wreck at the thought of such massive deception, but I was managing to hold it together...just.

"Good luck," Lena whispered, suddenly pulling me into a tight hug.

I squeezed her tightly back. "Good luck," I echoed.

She turned away from me silently and hunched over as though dropping into stealth mode. She stayed very still, pinching the bridge of her nose and squeezing her eyes closed. I knew better than to interrupt, so instead I held my breath and counted the nervous seconds.

When I hit five, she ran. I could hear her voice echoing up the corridor, panicked and breathy and terror-stricken.

"Help!" she called desperately. "Please! There's a man with a gun, he's threatening to shoot, I didn't see where he went but he was down in reception—"

I could picture the officer's sceptical faces as they bore witness to Lena's charade, and I prayed that they would fall for it. I'd never wished for anything more in my life.

When I heard three heavy pairs of footsteps pounding down the corridor towards me a momentary spark of glee ignited in my chest - they believed it! One of them called something down the radio, and I could hear the rippling panic of other officers.

Then I realised that I too had a job to do. I scrunched up my face and rubbed my eyes until they were red, then pretended to sprint around the corner in hysterics.

"There a- a man with a gun!" I cried, stumbling over my own two feet accidentally. It added to my act, though, so I went with it. "Help—"

The officers ran straight past me, along with Lena. Once she got far enough away, she winked over her shoulder and then led the police in the direction of our imaginary shooter.

As soon as it was clear I knew I had to move. I bolted down the corridor and threw open the door into Alex's room. He looked up when I stepped in, a smirk already plastered on his handsome face. I'd never admit it, but half of me had expected him to run the second he heard the police exiting—I hadn't really thought he'd wait for me, so a small buzz of satisfaction glimmered in my chest.

"Your friend is—" he sought the right word, "—dramatic."

"Yes," I agreed. "Very."

Alex suddenly grabbed my wrist and gently turned me to face him. His dark eyes bore into mine as I struggled to remember how to breathe. "Are you ready to run?" he whispered.

I couldn't help but smile. "Always."

We took off down the hospital corridors, Alex slightly in front but still grasping my hand in his own. I could tell he was holding back his pace for me, but I didn't feel too guilty because I didn't want him to strain his injuries. Besides, I was far too busy concentrating of the thrill of his touch and the electricity that seemed to have shot right through my fingers.

"Wait!" I whisper-shouted breathlessly, tugging him back just before the turn off onto another corridor. "There's a better way."

He glanced over his shoulder and shot me a crooked smirk. "Lead the way, Grace."

I pulled him towards a small door that seemed like it should have opened out into nothing but air; the windows beside it revealed that we were several stories up, and there was nothing but concrete below. Luckily, I knew that a set of ladders had been built in to the design for emergency escapes. Really, it was a health and safety nightmare—ironically situated inside a healthcare institution, but today I was glad of it.

I tried the handle of the door but it didn't budge. I knew it wasn't locked; it couldn't be. I tried again, but still nothing.

"Move," Alex said firmly, placing a hand on my shoulder to manoeuvre me out of the way. I obediently followed, stunned by that simple touch.

Stop it, I cursed myself. You're just sexually deprived and lonely! You don't really feel attracted to him!

I shook the thoughts away and watched with horror as Alex turned the good side of his body towards the door and leaned back, preparing to slam his shoulder into it. I could only imagine the blinding pain that would resonate through his whole body, yet he didn't hesitate to slam into the little door. It flew open almost immediately.

"I'll go first," I ventured, trying to step past him.

"No." Once again he caught my wrist and held me back. He stepped over the ledge first and lowered himself onto the ladder, then gesturing for me to follow.

"This is stupid," I complained. The metal rungs were slick with frost and, though I'd kept it quiet, I was actually a little terrified of heights. "You couldn't even catch me if I fell." I took a step down slowly. "Only one of your arms is working!" The icy cold bit into my fingers turning them stiff and numb.

"Grace," Alex said firmly, "you're safe."

How was he nearly at the bottom already?! He was only half functioning, for God's sake! I hurried my movements to catch up, but as I did so my bottom left foot slipped and I fell down several rungs, only just managing to cling on. "Did I mention this is my worst nightmare?" I squeaked.

Alex glanced up at me from his position on solid ground, shielding his eyes from the low sun. "Be careful," he instructed, as though I'd been intentionally uncareful before.

I got the impression that my slowness agitated him, but he said nothing when I finally reached the ground. His palm pressed to the small of my back while dismounting the ladder then all touch between us vanished.

"We need to move."

"I've got a car," I suggested, holding up the keys.

I saw him eyeing the Toyota logo with distaste for a very long time before he finally nodded, looking less than pleased.

I led him to the car park and my car, which I had thankfully parked a decent distance from reception. Police officers were still swarming the hospital, and the closer you got the more there were. I'd almost forgotten that this was completely illegal and immoral, until Alex crouched down beside a car abruptly as a cop passed by.

When we finally reached the Corolla, he snatched the keys straight out of my hand and unlocked it, sliding into the driver's side without so much as asking.

"Do you really think you should be driving?" I asked sulkily, arms crossed as I slid into the passenger's seat. "You're injured." I pouted. "And probably still high on pain meds!"

Alex simply glared at me with a look that could have caused death. Without looking away, he tugged the sling off his arm and stretched it out. I winced, knowing his stitches probably wouldn't hold out against the strain.

"This is so dangerous..." I fussed.

Alex gunned the engine and without a single hesitation or fleeting look of pain, he threw her into reverse and backed out of the parking space.

"Your car is a piece of shit," he commented, revving the engine so hard it practically screamed.

"Don't hurt her!" I shot him a glare. "She's old," I defended grumpily.

We pulled out on to the road way too fast and I was pretty sure Alex didn't even look before he turned - instead he just broke about six laws including the speed limit!

"She can't go above forty," I warned him, watching the speed dial edging closer and closer to a dangerous zone.

Alex smirked silently as the needle pushed past forty, then fifty, the engine making noises suggesting it would cut out at any moment.

"Has she even seen fifth gear in the last sixty years?" He tutted disapprovingly. "Just because she looks and sounds like a piece of junk doesn't mean you can torture her, Grace."

"Me torture her?!" I slapped my hand down on the dash. "Listen to what you're doing to her!"

"Don't hit her." He glared at my hand until I removed it.

"I thought you hated my car."

"I do." We pulled into a space on a street I didn't recognise and sat in silence for a few seconds, listening to the pop and groan of the engine as it settled. "You should really just put her out of her misery," Alex suggested, climbing out of the car.

I followed a moment later, utterly dazed. We'd planned all aspects of our intricate escape except from this - and the question remained, what now? I stood awkwardly on the pavement in this unknown part of London, and shivered as the freezing morning air drew closer around me. Poor Alex was only wearing a tshirt, yet he didn't look as though the temperature had any effect on him at all.

Finally, I could bare it no longer. "What now?" I asked.

"Now I'm going to buy you breakfast, Grace." He gestured to a quaint little cafe I hadn't noticed before, set back into the street.

I glanced down at my less than attractive—or acceptable—attire. "I can't, I'm still in my nurse's scrubs."

Alex rolled his eyes. "I'm buying you breakfast. You look terrible."

"Thanks," I muttered bitterly, preparing for a further argument. Just then, though, my traitorous stomach growled like a lion, and Alex smirked.

"Come on."

I had to admit, the cafe was nice. The scent of freshly ground coffee hit me the moment I walked in and from then on I was in love—and it got even better when a freshly baked cake was put out on display. Alex and I sat at a small table near the window. We were the only customers, but then, that wasn't surprising since it couldn't have been later than eight a.m.

"Wait." I held up a finger. "How are you going to pay?"

I thought I'd finally snookered him at this, but to my dismay he simply shrugged. "I know the owners very well. They can put it on my tab."

I looked down to hide the slight blush on my cheeks. Did that mean he often brought girls here? Was this his regular haunt, was I just one of many? How many had sat in this seat before me?

"My family know the owners," he corrected himself, as if reading my thoughts.

"Oh." He handed me a menu. "Are you close? With your family, I mean?"

Alex leaned back in his chair and observed me for a moment, his handsome expression very serious. "Family is everything," he said simply. His tone left no room for argument or disagreement, and for some reason it gave me the chills. A moment later, after scanning the menu, he looked up. "And you?"

"It's just me and my dad," I shrugged. "I take care of him, he takes care of me."

I couldn't quite read Alex's expression, but a breezy waitress in her late thirties approached and saved me the effort. He ordered two coffees and two plates of pancakes without hesitation or confirmation. His charcoal eyes never left mine.

"What if I don't like pancakes?"

"You do." He took his menu along with mine and carefully placed them back in the stand. He spared an extra second to make sure they were exactly aligned.

"How do you know?" I challenged.

"Because you're too nice to genuinely complain about something, especially if it's a gift," he shrugged as though the answer was obvious.

It was a little unnerving how much he'd already picked up about my personality.

The waitress quickly brought over our coffee and pancakes before departing again. I stared down at the huge heap of them and knew instantly I was about to lose all dignity in front of Alex. The truth was, I could eat like a man, and today I was especially hungry. Every few seconds an angry growl would erupt from my stomach as a reminder.

Alex picked up the golden syrup and squirted some all over his plate, then added a thick sprinkling of sugar to top it off. When he looked up at me, my brows were raised. "I didn't expect you to have a sweet tooth," I admitted. Though sweet tooth seemed like an understatement when a further layer of Nutella was added.

"And you?" he said with a smirk, gesturing to my still untouched plate.

I picked up the lemon juice and sugar pot. "I'm a simple girl."

We tucked in, remaining in silence for a short while. When he was too busy focusing on his pancakes, I took the time to examine Alex again. He really did look out of place in such casual clothes—never mind the fact that it was winter! The short tight sleeves accentuated the sinuous muscle of his biceps, and his broad shoulders seemed to stretch the material of the shirt. His face, though, was the most interesting part; he was desperately handsome, but in an almost rugged way. Not in a delicate, pretty-boy way as Lena would have favoured. His hair was dark and curly, though the sides were cropped close to his head. So dark it was almost—almost—black.

"See something you like?" he smirked.

When I realised he'd been watching me admire him I looked away, my cheeks burning red. "Sorry," I mumbled. "I was just curious." I shoved another mouthful of pancake into my mouth so I couldn't say anything more embarrassing—I wasn't even ashamed to admit that half of my pancakes had already gone, but Alex was too much of a gentleman to point it out.

"Curious?" I nodded. "About what?"

"Um," I swallowed my pancake. "Everything."

Alex shrugged, wiping the corners of his mouth on a napkin before refolding it perfectly and placing it back on the table. His eyes seemed to twinkle with amusement as he spoke. "Ask away."

A/N - I'm a little bit in love with Alex already! And also Grace, I feel like I know exactly who I want her to be and so far everything is falling into place perfectly!

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