《A Villain's Kiss》 Day 1 The sun is bright as it pours into my dimly lit bedroom, i gently sit up as the smell of fresh coffee fills my lungs. It was morning yet again and the coffee shop that I lived right above was getting ready to open once more. I slipped out of bed and promptly turned around and fixed the sheets and blankets strewn across the bed. I proceeded to slip into my black leggings, tank top, and jacket. I then walked down the stairs to the coffee shop. A newly hired worker offered a gentle wave along with a smile, a warm lovely smile, it brightened the whole room, I smiled back then proceeded to walk towards him. His voice was smooth, deep, gentle, and kind, he softly spoke, "Good morning, Miss, what can I get you?" I replied, "A black coffee will do, thank you." He gently nodded and smiled, he quickly turned around and began brewing a warm black coffee. I sat quietly at one of the tables studying him, he was much taller than me, his hair was dark, and he carried himself in a gentle way, as if he was being as careful as he possibly could, he seemed to move like he was surrounded by delicate things and one wrong move could bring everything into shambles, I was in no place to judge however, I, too carried myself in a similar manner, although with the line of work i was in, i was always walking on egg shells, one wrong move could prove to be fatal to me or anyone else. "Ma''am"... "Ma''am?" I jumped, there he was, the man who took my order, he towered over me, "Oh! thank you!" I grabbed the coffee out of his hands, politely smiled and walked off. ''I was daydreaming again... i really can''t do that anymore, it could cost me one day.'' I hurried myself out the narrow door into the wide street where the city boomed, there was a significant change between the quiet calm atmosphere of the coffee shop and the loud bustling one of the city. After 15 minutes of walking, I arrived at the nearby bar, I slowly walked inside half expecting the bar to be loud and full just like the city, but nevertheless it was just about empty, I promptly walked over to the bartender, "Oh hey albert, how is everything going?" i said, "business as usual." he then stepped aside so I could walk into the room just past him. in the corner of the room there was a trap door, I opened it and proceeded to walk down the steps that were lying just inside. The artificial light blinded me, as i stepped inside a voice boomed, "Good morning, Sage, it''s about time you showed up!" I looked over at him, he was a taller muscular man with short bright blonde hair. "Good morning, Richard." I sighed. Richard was my coworker, my accomplice, my sidekick, or even like my brother. We walked into the meeting room where we would be having our biggest meeting of the year. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Good Moring!" I smiled to all of my coworkers as I entered, i walked to the front of the room and began, "as you all know, we have a serious problem, villains have been becoming more prevalent and we are being faulted. As people who claimed the title of hero''s we cannot let this happen." After an hour or so of brainstorming on how we will deal with our growing problem i dismissed the meeting. I walked out of the meeting room into the vast office with multiple pro heros. I called everyone to the office for the meeting, after the meeting I told everyone that they should promptly return to work... so why were they gathered around the desks? I slowly walked over ensuring that no one noticed my presence, then i heard... "did you hear about that crazed villain who is plotting to take over the city..." "yeah I heard he was stronger than sage..." "no way! no one could beat her..." I chimed in, "i assure you all, everything will be ok, besides these are mere rumors." everyone then nodded and disbanded to go to work. After 9 grueling hours of work, i was finally done, I slowly dragged myself back to the coffee shop, i walked in... and there he was, the same man from this morning, he smiled and waved me over to him. "Hey! fancy seeing you here again!" he exclaimed, "oh yeah, well I do live here after all" I awkwardly laughed. He face palmed himself and said, "that defiantly explains why you were here so early...and why i didn''t see you come in" he muttered something to himself but i couldn''t quite hear what it was. "Anyway! i was meaning to ask you, do you think i could get your number??" he trailed off, i thought to myself ''As a pro hero im not supposed to have any kind of interpersonal relationships... but i guess it couldn''t hurt to offer him my number...'' "Sure!" i happily replied, I then wrote my phone number down on a piece of paper and handed it to him. A few hours had passed, and I was in my apartment getting ready for bed when suddenly I heard my phone chime. I grabbed my phone...a bit to excitedly might i add... it was him. "Hey Sage, its me, Blake, from the coffee shop!" ''Come to think of it, I never even got his name... I never gave him my name either... weird'' I thought, nevertheless i replied, "Hiiii" and conversation went back and forth from there Blake: soooo how are you doing? Me: oh you know, a bit tired but im ok Blake: tell me about it, I had two shifts today- Me: that must have been exhausting Blake: Well a little but not to bad, but hey, do you wanna hangout sometime in between my shifts? Me: Sure! Blake: how about 12:30 Me: sounds good! Blake: well then, I''ll meet you at the coffee shop, at 12:30 Me: sounds great! With that i clicked my phone off and proceeded to get ready for bed... I couldnt help but feel nervous, ''a cute guy really asked me for my number?! and then essentially asked me on a date!! what is this? a dream??'' I then slipped into bed and went to sleep excited for tomorrow''s new adventures... Day 2 As my eyes fluttered open, I smelled the familiar smell of coffee just like every morning. I had taken the whole day off from work to prepare for my date, after all it was the first one, I had ever been on... and this will probably be the last, ''I shouldn''t be doing this... I shouldn''t go... I know what my job was when I signed up... That includes no interpersonal relationships... what am I doing'' I caught myself pacing around my small apartment room, ''what am I worried about, it''s no big deal, if anyone sees me ill just say he''s a good friend of mine. so... it''s been decided, I''m going... after all Blake seems like a very nice guy, nothing bad is going to happen'' With that I stopped pacing and turned to head to my closet, I slid the door open and was presented with many options, most of my clothes were boring and plain, after all I couldn''t stand out in a crowd, I sighed to myself, I grabbed a pink and white floral sun dress and slipped off my pajamas. I began to slip into the beautiful dress and zip the back, ''this was the only time I got to wear something so... noticeable, I loved that feeling, the feeling of being noticed, the feeling of standing out in a crowd, yet it was a feeling I rarely experienced. I sprayed the floral perfume onto myself and combed my long brown hair, I looked into the mirror and felt as if I was finally living, the feeling of being a hero was wonderful and still I felt burnt out, I felt like my life was lacking greatly, but knowing that I was going out with someone... someone who noticed me, and wanted to know me, well it felt breath taking, I felt all of those feelings I was missing. I stepped into my basic sandals that were rarely used, and headed downstairs. I walked out the back way incase Blake was working; I didn''t want him to see me before our date, I wanted to surprise him. I had woken up later than usual and the clock read 11:00, ''an hour'' I thought, ''one single hour.'' my excitement had begun to grow even more little by little, I had grown incredibly nervous and excited at the same time, after all I had no experience whatsoever, what if''s ran through my head as I walked the streets. I walked in and out of little obscure shops that I had never noticed before... ''I have been so consumed with work that I forgot to look around, I never noticed the little candle shop across the bar where my work was placed just under. I never saw the candy shop just up the way from here. I missed so much, I feel like my life has only been work and I am just now noticing it.'' As the clock struck 12:20 I began to head back to the coffee shop where I agreed to meet Blake, I grew more and more nervous as a walked down the paved sidewalk, my legs felt like jelly and my hands trembled, ''I''ve never done anything like this... what am i doing'' I briefly hesitated in the middle of the sidewalk. ''Could this be a terrible idea, am i making some kind of mistake... gosh i hope not'' I began walking once more, ''I''m already headed that way I suppose'' If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. I arrived at the coffee shop; I feel like chickening out. I began walking around to the stairs where my apartment was my head hung low, ''thats it im not going'' i quickly walked to the corner of the building but, as I turned the corner to go to the back stairs I was greeted by a friendly smile, "Hello, Sage!" Blake beamed, "Oh! h-hello b-blake" I began stumbling on my words, "you look simply beautiful" He chimed, I offer him a warm smile and he quickly grabs my hand, "Come on Sage!" My face turned bright red at his sudden gesture. We walked hand in hand to a nearby park, "Here is where i was planning on bringing you, it''s peaceful and I thought that you might like it..." he trails off clearly embarrassed by his idea, "Oh Blake its beautiful here!" The trees swayed in the breeze and the air smelled fresh, the birds happily chirped, I walked over to a large tree and sat down, Blake quickly rushed over, "No no no dont sit on the ground! you''ll get your dress all dirty!" He grabbed my hand and gently pulled me up, he then proceeded to take his jacket off and lay it on the ground, "here, sit on this" he gestured to the jacket that was now laying on the ground, "well I feel terrible sitting on-" "No No I insist" I gently sat down onto the jacket and Blake slowly sat next to me. We sat in silence for a moment, "sooo, what do you do for a living?" Blake quietly said, ''oh no'' I thought, "oh well- uhh you see well um, im um well like, im an uhm" ''I am drawing a blank'' i think "AN ACCOUNTANT" I shout, I mentally face palm, ''why accountant, that''s so lame'', "oh cool" he says with a puzzled look on his face. "So anyway, what do you do for a living?" I pause for a moment remembering that he worked at the coffee shop, yet Blake looked as though he was a bit panicked, which I found weird, but he probably was just caught off guard. "So, what do you like to do outside of work, Sage?" He asked completely ignoring my previous question, "Oh well, you see I dont get much time off of work, it seems like it''s consumed my every waking moment", "Oh gosh that sounds kind of awful..." he says, "Yeah, but I like my job... i really do it just gets in the way of my personal life" I replied, "well why would that be... you''re an accountant, and that shouldn''t stop you from your personal life... right?? he says a bit confused. ''OH SHOOT i have said way to much oh no oh no, this isnt good, thats so weird an accountant lives a normal life what do i say now?!'' I paused, "I just um uh work a lot... that''s it" It was around 1:00 now and Blake had to be getting back to work, "so we should do this again sometime, yeah?" he said while picking himself up from the ground, "o-oh yeah!" I say back ''im surprised he wants to go out again especially after how weird i was...'' I got up off of the ground and me and Blake walked back to the coffee shop. "Here we are!" Blake says, he leans in and gives me a hug, "I had a really nice time... thank you." I say, he nods and walks into the coffee shop where he begins to go back to working, I slowly head up to my room ''That was really nice'' I thought to myself, but I couldn''t help but worry if someone at the agency saw... Day 3 I woke up earlier than usual today, ''i didn''t sleep well i could help but feel incredibly nervous for work today, I had just broken the most important rule in our whole entire agency I could be fired over this, but much worse it would ruin my whole life... they would make sure of it'' I thought As I tossed and turned in my bed my mind kept wondering back to yesterday afternoon ''Did i actually do that-'' my mind was racing and out of nowhere there was terribly loud banging on my door, "IN A MINUTE" i yelled, I pulled myself out of bed quickly made it, and walked to the door... as I opened the door, I saw a familiar face smiling back at me, it was Blake, "Heyo! I thought it''d be nice if i brought you a cup of coffee this morning, after I felt like it''d be a nice start to your day considering the fact that you seem really stressed about working and everything..." he trailed off a bit looking down at the ground, i could tell he was nervous by the way his hands were shaking. "Oh gosh thats really sweet of you, but I feel terrible taking a cup of coffee that you paid for, here how much was it let me pay you-" I was quickly cut off by Blake saying, "No no its quite alright, consider it a thank you gift!" he gently smiled while giving me the cup, i take the cup out of his hands, "are you sure there is no way that i can repay you... i think I have some cash in my purse let me go..." he stops me again, "Well if you insist on repaying me, i suppose that you could go on another date with me" he looks at me with hopeful eyes but I hesitate, ''The first time was risky enough but i suppose i could always say we are friends, no one will know... right?'', "ok sure its a date" I happily smile at him, he gives the brightest smile that could light up any room and quickly turns to walk down the hall to go back to the coffee shop. I quickly get dressed and start to head out the door to go to work, but this time it takes me a little longer to get there, I stop and look around more, the city is amazing, I stopped into the flower shop and looked around for a while, I loved flowers, but I never got any, I was always to consumed with work to think about what I liked, or what I wanted but.. Blake he, he opened my eyes, to think about myself for a second. I glanced at the clock "OH SHOOT" i yelled in the middle of the flower shop, "IM LATE" I run out of the store as fast as I can into the Bar and down the stairs. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. I enter the agency as nonchalantly as I possibly could, "OOOO SAGE IS LATEEEE" Richard yelled, "Cut it out Richard, I don''t need the whole world to know" I rolled my eyes in a joking manner and walked over to my desk and began filling out my paperwork that was due, this was the worst part of the job, who would have ever thought a pro hero would need to do paper work, the paper work was our monthly code of conduct, i looked at the paper I _____ here by declare that I am dedicating my life to being a pro hero for the greater good I promise to not Involve myself in a love life or anything of the sort. I promise to be available at any time in case of an emergency. I also here by declare that I am willing to put my life on the line to save others and that I will throw myself in harm''s way (if necessary) to protect others, I also promise to never tell anyone the whereabouts of the agency OR that I am a pro hero. If i fail to uphold this responsibility I will quit my job or face the consequences of being found out. ''Geeze every time I read this it seems to be harsher and harsher, but I guess it makes sense, we already had two employees get fired within the past month for trying to tell others about their occupation'' I sigh and sign my name, I walk over to the boss''s desk and set it down. "SAGE" Richard yells, "what now Richard" I groan, "SAGE NO ITS REALLY BIG SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAS HAPPENED TO THIS WEIRD OBSUCURE COFFEE SHOP" ''hey how weird i live in a weird obscure coffee shop... HEY WAIT I LIVE IN A WEIRD OBSCURE COFFEE SHOP'' I Jump out of my seat and run over to him, "WHATS GOING ON?!" "IT WENT UP IN FLAMES NO ONE KNOWS WHAT HAPPENED, ITS ALL OVER THE NEWS... sounds like this isn''t the first time this has happened, and it wasn''t caused by a machine..." "you don''t think it was..." "i think it was vanish..." Richard responds quietly, ''Vanish is the name oof the villain we as a whole agency have been trying to catch for years now but just as his name implies... he just vanishes, no one knows who he is or what he looks like, or even what his motives are...'' I tremble at the thought of him, I have had to go after him so many times, I almost caught him once... but i never got a good look at his face. "don''t worry sage, I''m sure everything is going to be fine, no way he knows your here" "your right... I- uh um" I start tripping over my words as my heart pounds against my chest ''I know he''s after me... I almost caught him; he wants me gone'' "take the rest of the day off, ill uhhh cover for you" Richard says. I quietly sneak out the door back up to the bar and walk outside, i figured walking around for the day might be nice, I haven''t done it for God knows how long. I proceed to walk around the city with no destination in mind, just free, just walking.... Day 4 As I walked slowly through the city the bustling atmosphere seemed to fade away as my thoughts took over, ''There''s no way vanish doesn''t know your here... but I''ve moved four times in the past year how could he know?'' I took a deep breath and walked into the nearby flower shop I began looking through the wide selection of flowers that the store had to offer when suddenly I bumped into someone... "Oh hey fancy seeing you here" a familiar voice chimed, I looked up at the taller man to see none other than Blake standing in front of me with a wide grin, "Blake?! What on earth are you doing here, i thought you had work?!" I said surprised, "Oh well, heh, about that... The coffee shop kinda sorta.... burnt down..." he trailed off with his head hung low, "Oh righhht" I nodded, "Sage, why are you being so chill about this dont you live there..." "OH RIGHT" i yelled, i mentally face palming, ''how did i forget that I LIVE THERE?'' blake gently pats me on the shoulder, "hey listen to me, its going to be ok, dont worry its ok" I felt tears being to fall from my eyes and I begin to sob The realization finally hit me, ''my house its gone... all of my personal belongings... gone'' blake proceeds to gently pull me in for a hug while i cried, "I hate to see you like this, how about we go somewhere to cheer you up ok?" he says in the most gentle voice, I nod and he takes my hand As we slowly walk out of the flower shop he says, "where do you want to go?" I shrug and we begin walking again, we walked in and out of shops, Blake begins buying items such as warm fluffy blankets and pillows. "Blake why are you buying random things?" "they arent random, they are for you, i figured that you lost everything in the fire so I thought I could help you out a bit" he smiles, "oh you really dont need to blake" i say, "Hey sage, whats your favorite color?" "red" I reply, he smiles and picks up a deep red blanket and puts it into a basket. "Dont you think thats enough blankets and pillows" I say as I stared at the large stack of blankets and pillows shoved into the basket, "Hmmm maybe" he says while walking over to the check out, "here i can pay" I said, blake quickly rejects my idea and puts his card into the chip reader. We exit the building once more and continue to walk around, he then brings me to a nearby restaurant, "You must be starving you poor thing" He leads us inside and the waiters quickly bring us to a table, "order whatever you''d like" he smiles, I ordered dino nuggies because dino nuggies, he offers me a strange look but nods and orders a burger, "so uh if its ok with you, you can stay at my place until you find a new home" I was incredibly startled by his proposition ''me?staying at his house?!'' The idea sounded crazy almost but, yet I didn''t have another choice where else was I going to go if I rejected him it''s not like they were any cheap places for me to stay, I shyly reply, "o-ok" he flashes me the brightest smile and says "Ok then!" This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. After a while of chatting at the table and enjoying our food we finally finish and Blake stands up and says "well, we should probably head back to my place to get everything situated and make sure you have a proper place to sleep" I simply nod and we walk out of the building after paying, "it''s going to be a walk from here I live quite far away from the coffee shop" he says, "oh that''s quite all right I''m...sort of an active person" Blake seems a bit surprised at me saying this, "but I thought you said your job took up most of your personal life how do you stay active?" My eyes go wide ''HOW DO I STAY ACTIVE?!'' I panic," oh you know when I''m not at work I''m running" he gently smiles and nods and we continue down the street After a good while of walking Blake breaks the silence with, "so uhh, have you been in many relationships?" ''Such a weird question'' I think, "uh no, this would be my first" Blakes stops in the middle of his tracks, ''Oh wait, we never actually made anything official oh no oh no'' I silently panicked to myself, ''I probably have just freaked this guy out we''ve only been on one date before I hardly even know him and now I''m saying that we''re in a relationship this is crazy but I feel like it''s a little too late to double back now'' as I am deep in thought Blake is standing there staring directly at me, "so are you considering us a thing?" He questions, "oh well uhhh well uhhh like well, ok so, yes and no" he looks puzzled but gently takes my hand and continues to walk, I was so incredibly confused by this gesture, ''what does it mean'' more questions spun around in my head, before I even knew it we were in a weird, secluded area "Uhh like don''t get me wrong I trust you, but where are we" I said nervously, "OK I know this is gonna sound really weird but I live in a very secluded area and I wouldn''t blame you for being a little frightened but I assure you my house is just up the way" I gulp nervously and we continue '' yeah I''m a pro hero but that doesn''t mean that I should beat someone upif they try to attack me ....but then again it''s self-defense so then it would make sense that I had attacked them....but also couldn''t that get me into a lot of trouble in the agency'' I must have looked like I was thinking pretty hard because Blake looks at me and asks, "hey are you doing all right you look a little pale" hey gently sets his hand on my forehead to feel my temperature, " oh yeah I''m all right" "that''s great news because we''re here!"