The summer air is cool on my face as I step outside, my pockets stuffed with everything Sam had given me. I'm wearing the sweatshirt and jeans that are a little bit too large for me, but it doesn't matter- i'm just glad to be out of the uniform I was required to wear. My combat boots pad loudly against the wet cement, and for the first time in a while, I laugh. Not loudly, of course, but a soft giggle escapes my lips as the rain beats down on me. I haven't been outside that institution since I was put in it, two years ago.

The streets of London are crowded, as they always were. Packed with a mix of tourists, street artists, and school children, the atmosphere is mixed with different emotions. I pull some money out of my pocket, playing with it in my hands and looking around for the one place I was so used to being around before the incident.

As the rain comes out in soft pats on the pavement, my own footsteps mingle into it, soothing me a bit to know this experience is all real. I'm free from these ties that bound me to that place, the ropes pulling me back to my family's suicides. I can become a new person, now, if I'd like. I'd still be Alexxa Ward, my given name, but I could change from the shy girl I always was. I could become friendly, maybe even get a job.

That is, if I decide to speak again.

I turn the corner, jogging up to the familiar, forest green building with little flowery vines growing around it. A small sign hangs in front of the glass door, reading 'Cafe Luna' on it. The place is almost empty, with the exception of the two workers and a few people sitting in crowds around the small tables. I walk in, going up to the counter and peeking my head over it for a familiar face. My heart is beating wildly out of my chest- What if she doesn't recognize me? What if i've been forgotten, like the rest of my family?

"Sweetheart, is that-?" I turn to see Luna, the owner of the shop and my mother's old friend. We were very close before everything happened; i'd spend weekends at her house and helped her at the coffee shop during the week. Her warm brown eyes widen, and she cries out a bit, wrapping her thin arms around me. "I thought you were dead," She whispers, and I can feel a wet tear soak through the fabric of my sweatshirt.

I shake my head, meeting her eyes. She looks concerned, but she has a right to be. "Are you okay? What happened to you?"

I say nothing, swallowing and wiping a tear from her cheek. She starts to panic, backing a bit away from me. "Why won't you talk to me? What's wrong?" I dig into my pockets, pulling out my shiny new license and handing it to her. She examines it quickly, eyebrows furrowed.

"B-but.." She stutters quietly, somewhat in awe. "Your not Alexxa. Your mother is." She pauses, glancing at the black print at the bottom. "Mute?" She hands it back to me. "You aren't mute. We've had so many conversations before.."

I shrug, wanting to speak but afraid if I do, i'll screw everything up. "Where were you?" Sighing but smiling quietly to myself, I pull out my wallet, handing her my discharge papers. "Holy shit. The institute?" I nod, letting her read it over. "Hallucinations?" I don't move, trying not to think of the many times the hallucinations took me over. It would only call them back, make me relive more moments of their deaths. She sighs, putting them back in and taking out a single euro. "I'm making you your coffee." She announces, I nod, and take my wallet, walking back out without a word and down the street.

Oh, how I wish I had the balls to talk to her. She's been through thick and thin with me, which amounts to everything. My mother was never there for me, too lost in an affair with her secretary to pay any attention to me or my brother. My father was a softie, although he was getting drunk with our bachelor neighbors every chance he had. It pretty much resulted in my older brother raising me, and he didn't do a great job of it.

I walk into the corner store, knowing my way around by heart. Pulling a back of Marlboro lights off the rack, I put it on the counter and slide across £8.00. "Good evening," He says, eyes roaming my soaked body. "Got an I.D?" I try not to shudder, looking away and handing him my plastic white i.d. He examines it quickly, smile fading. "The institution, huh?" I smile, saying nothing and taking my cigarettes. As I walk back out, I hear him start to whistle a tune.

Some people are nice, and some are perverted.

As I walk, I pull out one=and light it in my mouth, taking a deep inhale. A slow, lazy smile comes to my face as the taste of smoke and tobacco fills me. God, I missed these.

"You know, those are terribly unhealthy." A deep voice calls out. I ignore it, walking back towards the coffee shop and thinking the voice was talking to somebody else. The rain has slowed to a light sprinkling now, giving me the chance to enjoy my first cigarette in months. "It'd be such a waste, seeing a pretty face like yours ruined by all that smoke."

I turn around abruptly, watching as an extremely attractive man walks up to me, a grin on his face. He has dark, chocolate brown hair and stunning blue eyes, his tan skin slightly damp from the rain. "Ah, noticing beauty sure gets the ladies attention." He breathes, holding out his hand for me to shake. I glance down at his hand, raising my eyebrow and taking another drag of the cigarette. "Seriously, sweetheart. Those things kill."

I roll my eyes, handing him one. He shakes his head, putting his hands in his pocket. Usually when people rant about something you're doing, they want to do it, too. I guess not, in this case. Continuing to walk, he decides to trot next to me. "I'm Gabriel, and you?" Saying nothing, as usual, I turn the corner. The coffee shop is in view. "The silent treatment doesn't work with me, sweetheart." He says in a sing song voice.

Getting tired of his persistance, I distance myself from him and walk through the glass doors. Luna is glancing worriedly out the door, a smile coming to her face when she sees me.

"I thought you had just run off back to the insti-" My eyes widen, and I stop her from saying another word. She gets the hint. "You know you can't smoke in here," She says in a low voice, trying not to attract the attention of others. I nod, stubbing it out on the doorjam and tossing it into a trash can. She hands me a cup of coffee, which I thank her for with a shy smile.

"Hey, Luna." Gabriel says, smiling at her. "Want to make me one of those?" He nods to the coffee cup in my hands. She grins, clicking some buttons on the register and taking his money.

"Of course. You've met?" She asks.

He nods. "She won't talk to me, though, will you, sweetheart?" He glances over at me with those stunning cornflower blue eyes, a hint of amusement in his tone. My eyes narrow as the irritating feeling crawls up my spine at 'sweetheart'. Can't he just go away?

"Ah, well, she will eventually." I glare at her, not joking. No way will I ever talk to this nuisance. I fidget uncomfortably in my sweatshirt, wanting to change but realizing I have no clothes to change into. Sending a final, stiff smile to Luna, I sit down in the windowsill, watching the people walk around outside while I cradle my coffee in both hands, inhaling the bittersweet scent of hazelnut.

A little boy with a blue umbrella stands on the sidewalk, twirling the handle around and making the droplets of rain scatter everywhere. People shoot daggers at the young redhead as they pass, crinkling their nose as the water hits their faces. The boy, too in wonder of how the water moves at his command, doesn't notice. His pale, freckled face is lit up in a gap-toothed smile, green eyes shining with happiness. "Do you usually stalk little boys?" Gabriel's faint irish accented voice brings me from the happy scene I had been watching.

I say nothing, sipping my coffee and watching the way he looks at me. His blue eyes flicker over my face, probably trying not to stare at my strange, icy eyes. I notice a light scatter of freckles around his cheeks, hardly visible but there all the same. His dark brown hair is lightly curly at the ends, giving him a boyish look when he smiles. His eyes and full, pouting lips seem to take up his whole face. "Having fun?" Gabriel asks, a perfectly dark eyebrow raised.

Blushing, I focus on playing with the hem of my new sweatshirt. "So I know you aren't going to talk to me. I'm perfectly fine with that." I look back up at him, motioning for him to go on. "But I will, someday. You're mysterious, and I like that. Maybe one day, we can have a conversation. For now, though, I might have to settle for having one sided conversations for a while."

That gets me to smile, and a grin forms on his face. "You should smile more often, sweetheart. It suits you." I feel the heat crawl to my face, and look over at Luna. She leans over the counter, dirty blonde hair flowing over the wood. She seems amused, as if she's watching a movie unfold. I stand, giving Gabriel one last, faint smile, and go over to here.

"Do you have a place to stay, sweetie?" She asks gently, staring past me at something. I don't turn, feeling eyes on the back of my neck and knowing it's Gabriel. I shake my head solemnly, feeling sort of weird staying on the streets. I just hope I don't run into Sam, or he'll take me back to the institute for sure.

"You can come with me for a little while, if you'd like." I nod, and she pulls me into an embrace.

God, I missed her.

...

Ayyyeeee! Edit number two, and i'm already bored of this. How did you guys manage to keep interest in the story? Blah. I'm not even halfway through and i'm dreading the cliches I have to edit out.

Anyway, Alexxa is on the side! Mega cute.

Vote/ Comment / Be my friend, i definitely need those ;)