Colder Than Ourselves.

"Are you sure this place is even open?" Jeph asked Quinn as we got out of the car, not seeing any other cars parked near the store. "I mean, it says that it's open, but sheesh!"

We walked in and a man pulled his feet off that counter and set down what ever he was doing, “Welcome to Batlash, if you need anything just ask.”

We all walked across the store and barely acknowledged the man. Only when I realized he was analyzing us, did I take notice of him.

“Shouldn’t you boys be in school?” He smirked, reading his comic.

Nobody answered him, not wanting to give away our demeanor.

“Should be,” I shrugged, “does it matter?”

His eyes went to the Wolverine cut out and then back to me, "Not really."

I opened my mouth to answer him, but was scared shitless by something jumping out and me and screaming. I fell backwards and let out a yelp, "Shit!"

Quinn and Jeph instantly started laughing and strode up to me, "You squeal like a girl, Bert.”

I pushed Quinn's hand away and stood up myself, "Hey, that wasn’t me. It was that… what was that?"

Suddenly the man smiled and picked something up of the ground and placed it on his hip, "That was my daughter. Say ‘hey’ to the boys, Bandit.”

Giggles filled my ears as I stared at the little demon that had just scared me. Okay, so she wasn't a demon, she was a little girl. Quite adorable, in fact. She had dark hair and a smile that could be called infectious. Her father egged her on by laughing as well, sitting her down on the counter. I took him all in, the dark features of Bandit's clearly coming from this man. He was handsome and couldn't be a day over 21.

"Hi Bandit!" Jeph cooed, walking over to her giving her a high five.

Bandit kept her eyes on me though, for some strange reason. Quinn followed in suit with Jeph's action, setting the comic books he had chosen on the counter. I sighed and trudged over to the counter to join them. The man took Quinn's items and began ringing them up. I settled my eyes on the man, noticing how mysterious he appeared. But wait, how could a guy with a kid be mysterious though? Right as this question came across my mind, I noticed the silver wedding band on his left ring finger and I felt my heart drop.

"What ya looking at?" Bandit's tiny voice questioned as she poked my arm. "My daddy's pretty isn't he?"

The man stopped and looked at us both, his cheeks becoming a violent red. He laughed it off and quickly went back to ringing Quinn up.

"What were you looking at?" I asked back, folding my arms on the counter so I could be on her level.

She looked at me and a big smile spread across her face as she raised her little arm to point at something behind me. I turned around in the direction she was pointing in and saw a huge Batman cut out that was right next to the door.

"That's Batman!" She squealed, grabbing on my arm. "He's my favorite! Lets go see him!"

Her little arms lifted, almost begging me to lift her up. I looked over at her dad questioningly and he nodded in approval and a smile spread across his face. Scooping her up, I took her over to the cut out. Once we reached it, she leaned forward and gently kissed the board on the cheek.

All of a sudden, the guys were behind me with their purchases in hand.

"Ready to go?" Quinn asked as Jeph walked out the door.

Torn between Bandit's amusement and the guys, I was met by her father.

"I can take her, Bert. I'm Gerard, by the way." He said, taking Bandit from my arms, his use of my name grabbing my attention. "Come back again, soon, Bandit and I both enjoyed your company."

I smiled and opened the door, giving Bandit one more goodbye wave. As I climbed in to Quinn's car, I thought about that store and knew that I was going to beg to go back tomorrow.