closed | Benji
The scent of blood hung in the air around him. Smoke was starting to raise as well, but the panic was being overrun by despair. He stared helplessly as the one person he loved was engulfed in the flames, tears streaming silently down his face. The sound of footsteps from the floor below echoed up to him, but Ziggy refused to move. He thought he heard a woman scream somewhere. In the distance, a gun fired. He stayed on the ground, watching the flames crawl closer. There was no point in being alive anymore.
---
The sound of his name being called snapped Ziggy out of his memories. His eyes flicked to the barista that was holding out his coffee and shot her a tired smile. He put aside the book he hadn't been reading and shuffled over for his drink. The barista who's name he hadn't gotten held out his drink with the same smile he was used to from females around here. Somehow, they were always just as affected as the guys, and it was highly amusing to him. He just nodded his thanks and returned to his seat.
It had been a few weeks of read and searching, and he was no closer to finding the man that had robbed him of his life. Or, had he given him life? Ziggy shook his head, trying to focus. Those kinds of memories didn't fade easily, as it turned out, and they were clear as day even though they'd happened over a hundred years ago.
The small tinkling of someone entering the cafe chimed again and Ziggy sighed. It was getting late and the place was blissfully empty; until now. He reached towards his bag for headphones but paused when he got a whiff of wet dog. He scrunched his nose and looked around at the person. He had light blonde hair that curled in multiple directions and as he stared at the array of baked goods, ran his fingers through the well maintained mess. He was dressed perhaps too warm for this area, in an oversized knit sweater and jeans that, in Ziggy's opinion, weren't tight enough. Ziggle assumed he must've been from out of town too.
Ziggy narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched the newcomer order coffee. He didn't care that he was openly staring, and he was sure that he felt Ziggy's gaze on him. But there was something about the stranger that had Ziggy on edge, so he didn't care.