Someone's Knocking

[François Laffont]

Franck let out a heavy sigh. Ever since he got here today, he spent most of his time lying against the counter and talking with the other employees of Cool Beans, having barely any customers. But in the last hour or so, they all decided to arrive at once. And that meant running around like crazy to prepare every order while hoping you don't get any mixed up. Now the whole line had been served and Franck was allowed a little break. It didn’t happen that often but it were days like this one that tired him the most. He preferred a continued line of customer to having nothing to do for a while, get flooded, then have once again nothing to do.

Although he could hardly say he was idle. He had to clean up now. He was not complaining, it kept him busy and busy was still better than rest against the counter. It was not like he could pull out a book during that time. It would not give a proper image of the place if people walked in to see an employee reading at the counter. They expected you to always have something to do, or at least to be ready to serve them when they’d show up. So Franck was giving them that and cleaned up the counter and the machines they used and made sure they had enough cups for when the next swarm would come in, the others doing the same and restocking the supply of pastries and food they also offered with the drinks.

During that time, some of those who chose to sip their coffee here left and Franck walked around the counter to clean up the table and get their tray. He had it in his hands when someone walked in. It was instinctive when hearing the door, he just had to turn his head to look at whoever it was. It was not in the hope this would be someone he knew. Except this time it was. This wasn’t strange, it happened often, but this person, he never expected to see ever again.

“Lux?” He could not believe it was her. He was certain she had died. Didn't she have died? Last time he met her was... before graduation. She was very sick and was sent somewhere abroad. Everyone who knew her knew it would happen one day, that her power would get the best of her. While he prayed for her to recover, the fact he had no news got him to assume the worst. Yet here she was.

He shook his head. He probably mistook some random passerby with his old dead friend. It had to be. He turned away, ready to go back to work.

((TAG: Luxanna Viera ))

[Luxanna Viera]

She got this a lot; the stares of people she had once known. The ghosts and haunting of her past staring at her whenever she walked by or entered a building. She had expected it in many ways, but nothing could ever have prepared her for the uncomfortable feeling that seemed to settle over her. As if she'd cheated death - which in many ways, she had. And she couldn't really blame them. After being sent abroad, she had more or less stopped any and all contact with all the people that had known them. It was easier that way, right?

Now, here she was. Back in Kalispell with no power and even fewer relations than what she had had when she left. She had grown from being a meek teenager with long, curly hair and a figure she hid beneath layers of clothes to a mature woman with short, wavy hair and a much more feminine way of dressing herself.

Stepping into the coffee house, her green eyes immediately traveled towards the familiar voice that called out her name; He looked confused and surprised, then dismissive. She offered him a vague smile before he turned, seemingly shaking the idea of her being here away. Taking a deep breath, the non-powered brunette stepped forward and calmly put her hand on the boy's shoulder, the boy she had once held dearly to her heart.

"Now, is that how you greet an old friend?" she asked. She wasn't sure if it was her place or not. Maybe it had been better had she simply walked away instead of engaging in conversation. She had no idea how people would take her being alive, let alone coming back. Without a word. For over three years. 

[François Laffont]

It made sense that Franck did not recognize her, right? She looked at lot like his friend, a more mature version of her at least. But that was not possible. He hurt so much to know she was going away to never returned, he prayed so much so that, if she could not be saved, at least it would not be long and painful. He forced himself to focus on those still around, and his job, and his studies. So many things that required his immediate attention that he slowly stopped thinking of Luxanna up until he ended up on a picture of her or thought of things they might have done together. Franck figured it was how you coped with the dead of someone who had been close to you. They could never fully be away, since you still thought of them.

It was normal that he figured this was just another person living here in Kalispell. He didn’t expect that person to hold onto him. He had a light startle, he was always so easily startled, and turned to look at her. My, she looked even more like the Lux from his pictures up close. She seemed happy, but also nervous, hesitant. Something scared her deep inside. But she still had a light smile as she addressed to him.

His eyes widened. No? Could it be? “Lux?” he called out again. He looked at her. The eyes, the facial features, the whole silhouette. Before he could even understand what was going on, he had already grabbed her into a tight embrace. His brain might not have assimilated what it saw but his heart had and chose to act on its own. He was chuckling too, although a little nervously. “I thought...” He stopped himself, unable to say dead. “You’re back.” Who cared if people found this little reunion strange? If they knew what she’d been through, they’d want to hug her like that too. “You’re... really back, right?”

[Luxanna Viera]

She saw the surprise; the way it seemed as if Franck couldn't quite believe his eyes. In a way, she didn't really blame him. She had left without a word and hadn't called any of them. She hadn't even told them she'd lost her power; not until she knew that everything was fine and she was in the clear. And the moment she'd gotten cleared from the hospital, she'd come back home.

The embrace had the green eyed brunette laughing and she returned it, her arms going around Franck's back; had he grown taller, she wondered. She didn't flinch at his words; that life was behind her. She'd survived it. She wasn't going back. "Yeah," she said softly as she stepped back, her hands lingering on his shoulders. "Or at least for a little while," she quickly added with a light hearted shrug. "I'm not sure what to do next, honestly."

At least she'd come back; whatever happened from here, she hadn't planned though. She was in no rush. She had her entire life planning ahead - right now, she just wanted to live for the now. Stay in this moment of relief and joy from seeing her friends again - all looking more or less healthy and good.

"God, have you grown taller?"

[François Laffont]

It had been too long since he last saw Luxanna. There was a time he knew her well enough he could recognize her only through her emotions. It seemed strange but he realised over time that people never stopped feeling anything and if he concentrated enough, he could recognize them through what could be considered their natural emotional state. Now, however, he couldn’t say for sure. He had to trust his eyes. Of course, a lot of things could have changed in that time. Starting with the fact she was still alive.

The nervousness he might have felt at first when they were looking at each other seemed to be melting away. She must have feared his reaction. Now that she knew it, she no longer had to. He could have hugged her again. He wanted to, just like he wanted to talk to her. But he was at work. He nodded at her words, understanding why she might have no idea. He bet she never really bothered thinking of the future when she had the death sentence hanging on top of her head. What changed? Who knows, maybe they found a way to regulate her power or something. Wouldn’t that be great?

He wanted to hear everything she had to say about it. Only, he was supposed to do something else. He turned his head and looked at the others working today. With the amount of girls he talked to at work, they must think he was some sort of Casanova. It wasn’t like he bothered to tell them he was gay. Maybe he should kiss some guy to show them. But that would require a boyfriend first. And that was quite far on his mind now that he was Lux in front of him.

He laughed when she asked if he grew taller. He hadn’t in a while but it had been a few years since they saw. She might have forgotten a few details about him. He didn’t mind. “You should order something to drink. Anything. My treat. Then you sit down and tell me everything,” he told her. He was eager to know to what they owed this miracle to and what she planned to do next. But this was a coffee shop so he assumed it might be best she ordered something if they were to take a table.

[Luxanna Viera]

Nodding, the brunette looked around for a free table. As she found one, she gestured towards it. "As you wish, but I can pay for my own drink," she mused, offering Franck's shoulder a quick squeeze. She wondered briefly if this place took orders by the counter or if the waiters came over to the table. Uncertainly, the brunette remained standing in the middle of the room, deciding whether or not to take a chance on one of the options.

At the end, she decided that the less rude option would be to walk over to the counter. She offered Franck a smile before walking over to the counter. "Be right back," she tossed over her shoulder at him.

She ordered herself a glass of ice tea; she didn't like coffee very much, even though she should probably have started drinking it the same time as her peers, but she'd always been an abnormality.

Once seated, she placed her hands on the table and waited for Franck to join her; she didn't mind waiting, though, he seemed to be busy at work or at the very least at work, and she didn't want him to get in trouble for talking to her. She had all the time in the world, after all.          

[François Laffont]

Franck really hoped they would not mind if he took his break now. If not, well he could still try and explain just who Lux was and how miraculous it was to see her here, in this shop, alive. Even in his dreams, he wouldn’t think she was still alive. Because it was so obvious she should have died. They all had to accept it. The moment they befriended her, they had to accept the fact their friendship would likely die with her. Yet here she was, insisting on paying her drink. He laughed at this, still under the shock of seeing her here. “Right sure, what would you have?”

But Lux was already going to the counter rather than letting him get the drinks for both of them. If she wanted to pay for her beverage, it might be best, for he likely wouldn’t have let her otherwise. He moved behind the counter with the dirty cups to send them in the back to be washed. By that time, she already had her drink in her hands. Franck then explained the situation in the hope that he could sit by her table with her and have a little chat. He shared that she was an old friend he never thought he’d ever see again. Franck was allowed, but only for the time of his break or at least as long as it was calm around here. If too many customers were to show up, he’d have to get up and help out. He nodded, finding this fair and thanked the other employee of it. He knew he wouldn’t tell their boss he was slacking or anything for doing that. It was not like they had that much to do. The big rush was over, the other wouldn’t be in a little while.

Franck brought a coffee cup along and sat in front of Luxana. He stared at her, studying the features of her face. It really was her. With a new haircut. But it was her. “How is that even possible?” he said on a soft tone. He really was asking her while also just throwing this in the air. Miracles don’t need explanation and he was just glad that she was alive. But, at the same time, he couldn’t help wondering how that happened. “Do the others know?”

[Luxanna Viera]

When Franck finally joined her, Lux offered him a smile. At his question, the brunette had to shrug. "That's a long story," she chuckled. "A few does," she said, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "I've met up with Jack," she clarified. "Everyone else seem to have either moved on or is too busy." She wasn't sad, she supposed. Though, it was a little bittersweet, but she couldn't expect everyone to be at the same place they were when she'd left. That'd be foolish of her, even if it made her feel like she'd lost so much time.

"SPRITE," she then explained. "It took my powers away. I spent a long time letting my body get used to working on its own without having a power to supply it. I basically had to build my immune system up from the scratch." She placed her hands around the warmth of the cup and stared down into it, her brows furrowed. "After that it was pretty easy for the doctors to patch me up and when they cleared me, I came straight here." Sure, there was a lot more to the story, but she saw little need in telling it in full detail. She'd told him the most important and at the very least, offered him an answer.

"What about you? Are you still with that boy... Jasper, was it?" She was curious about that. When she'd left, the two of them had seemed awfully close and Lux was happy that Franck had finally found someone who loved him as much as his friends did.

[François Laffont]

Franck was not expecting to be the first one to know for Lux’s return. No doubt there were plenty of people who deserved to know as much if not more than he did. The only reason why he could believe to be the first would be if she chose to stop here before going to school or telling anyone. Luck was the only reason. He nodded as she mentioned Jack. She told him before of the guy and Franck eventually met with him. Quite a character, who seemed to believe that Franck had a crush on him or something. “How did he react?” This one was so unpredictable that pretty much anything was possible, from being too shocked to react to trying to exorcise Lux because she had to be a ghost.

At the mention of others being gone or too busy, Franck had a sad smile. “Yes. That’s the thing with a boarding school. It gives you the feeling you’ll be there forever with everyone else. Then you graduate and you move on.” Franck too had seen quite a few friends leave. Some stayed in town, some kept contact with him, others just remained memories. He made new friends to replace them. It was life.

“I see,” he let out. He should have figured something like SPRITE to be involved. He knew some people lost their power. He feared some might gain one but since his father never got any, his worries slowly left him on this regard. “That mustn’t have been easy,” he said once she was done explaining. He didn’t know exactly how you could build up your immune system, but he couldn’t believe it was something pleasant to go through.

He smiled, happy that she chose to come back here once she was given the right to leave the hospital. He extended his hand to touch her arm. Physical contact had always been something Franck both craved and slightly disliked, due to his power, but it never stopped him from touching people if he really wanted to. Besides, he didn’t think he’d read into Lux more than what he was getting right now. “I’m glad that you’re back. Even if you wouldn’t come back to Kalispell... I’m just glad that you’re still alive. Are you feeling any better? Is it hard to adjust?”

A light chuckle escaped his lips as he looked down, removing his hand from her arm. “No I... we broke up the year you left. We remained friends though. Then, after graduation, he returned home. We still write mails from time to time. Well, more his brother but that’s kind of the same...” Franck didn’t want to admit it, but he felt a light pinch thinking about Jasper. He was over him, he knew they couldn’t have stayed together forever, not with the way the boy was or saw relationship. Still, it had been the longest relationship he ever had. And the most meaningful. He didn't know if he should laugh or cry at it.