Utopia

He stood, back pressed against the sun-warmed bricks, eyes shut against the harsh sun, and waited. He was outside of the Ice Cream Parlor waiting for Willa. He knew she wasn't out of school yet, so he waited. Not daring to go in.

He was actually enjoying himself. Alex hardly ever stopped to give himself a moment of spare time. After spending the last several years with his nose buried in a book, trying to stay one step ahead of his classmates, it was safer that way, an afternoon spent outside just appreciating the fresh air seemed amazing to him.

"I should do this more often," he sighed contentedly. It really had been far too long. He stretched, arching his back. Then he heard it, a car coming down the road. That wasn't exactly unusual, as he was in the middle of town, but something just told him it was her.

He took a deep breath to steady himself and watched. The car pulled up around the back of the shop. He stood outside for several long moments, waiting for her to get inside before he did. Another deep breath, and he was pushing the glass door open.

A little bell at the top dinged as he walked in. He flinched at the sound of it. He was seriously nervous. What if she lived with other witches? They wouldn't take his presence so well...

He gulped and glided over to a nearby booth, waiting for her to come over. At least he hoped it would be her. Maybe he hadn't thought this over too well.

'Keep it together. Even if they don't like you, they won't do anything too rash. There are too many witnesses for that.'

That didn't help his nerves. Finally, after several long moments of hesitation, he decided to leave. He would think out a better plan. One that didn't involve getting caught by the three big men sitting at the bar. He was pretty sure they were more than just customers... but he didn't really want to stick around long enough to find out.

He got quickly to his feet, and began his swift retreat to the door, when he saw her. Willa Cox. Her dark hair was pulled up messily and a pencil was stuck behind her left ear. Alex had never felt such a strong desire to talk to anyone as he did upon seeing her.

He shook his head, to clear his mind and walked towards her. He wasn't really watching where he was going, mind to occupied with trying to come up with what to say to her. Which would make sense why he didn't see the thing he walked into until it was too late.

Looking up, Alex's heart rate had sped up. The thing he had walked into happened to be one of the big guys. His eyes burned with hatred as he stared down at him. Alex gulped, fear preventing him from moving.

"Your kind is not welcome here, half-breed!" he hissed venomously. "Get out now!" Alex wanted to obey, he really did, but his legs seemed to have a mind of their own. He couldn't take so much as a single step.

"Did you not hear me? I said leave!" the entire shop had gone deathly silent, as all eyes turned to the two men. Still, Alex did not move. "Fine, then I will have to make you move."

Everything after that happened quickly, too quickly for him to really understand it. All Alex could remember later, when he thought about it, was a severe pain in the side of his face and falling to the tiled floor.

The man went to make another swing, but was stopped at the last moment. Hanging from his arm was a small teenage girl. "David! Stop!" he voice called shrilly, filled with panic.

And then everything went black.