Chapter 21: Chapter 21

Vida

Burn's Bar, New York City

This man seemed like a god.

A god who had been in a fight.

Vida only intended to take out the trash but she got more than what she had bargained for: a spawn from heaven touching her face like she was some delicate China or something. She should be panicking since this man was a stranger in even stranger clothes. But as soon as his hand touched her face, her heart fluttered with something she could not explain. One thing was for sure: it was electrifying.

The man cleared his throat, "Hi."

Vida smiled warmly and replied, "Hello."

There was something hypnotizing about his eyes that Vida could not seem to look away. And it appeared that he felt the same. Ever since he opened his eyes, he never left his gaze on her. They were both lost in each other's eyes, as if they were frozen in time.

Vida realized that he was still sprawled on the street, so he helped him up from the ground. "Here." She reached out her hand for him to grab onto.

Once the man had regained his balance, Vida could not help but notice what the man was wearing and the fact that his chiseled face was bruised.

"Uhm, are you okay?" Vida asked, unsure if he needed medical attention

The man looked uneasy. "I'm okay. I was, uhm, I was on my way home from a party."

Vida thought so since he was kind of dressed for a party, but his ensemble was so out of sync with a typical party look. It was leaning more into a medieval costume party. An aggressive costume party, perhaps?

"I don't want to pry but you don't seem like you were at a party." Vida looked suggestively at his cut lip and bruised face.

"Oh, I got into a fight before leaving." he said, trying to sound casual. "This is nothing."

Vida knew he was playing it cool, so she just laughed nervously. "Okay, then. Should I be worried about them catching up to you?"

The man shook his head and said, "No, they're long gone."

They were quiet for a while. Vida did not know how to approach the man who, for some reason, was passed out in the streets. But they were in New York City, nothing was out of the ordinary anymore.

"It suits you though." She said, breaking the silence.

"The bruises?" the man asked.

Realizing her mistake, her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. "No, no, what I meant was your suit. It compliments you."

His eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled at her. "For a moment, I thought I needed to get beaten up more often as it 'suits me'"

Vida laughed. His smile made her warm inside, like coming home after a long shift and soaking in a nice bubble bath.

"Would you want to come inside?" Vida asked. "We have a first-aid kit and I know a decent amount of first-aid remedies for cuts."

The man looked down at their hands, still touching, holding on. "That would be wonderful." he said.

"Alright, then." She breathed out, her cheeks turning red once more. "Uhm, we should head in."

She let go of his hand and turned towards the door, but before she could take another step, the man grabbed it once again and said. "My name's Colter."

"Colter." She said. "I'm Vida."

"Vida," Without breaking eye contact, he bent forward for a low bow and kissed the back of her hand. "A pretty name to accompany a pretty face."

Vida liked how her name rolled easily out of his tongue, his voice smooth and sweet. She turned even redder and cleared her throat. "Thank you."

"Nothing but the truth." Colter said as he straightened up. "Well, Vida. Lead the way."

The man that had been occupying her dreams for days now suddenly turns up, passed out in front of the place she's working at, and looks like he's been through a fight.

This shift got a whole lot more interesting.

---

Colter

Burn's Bar, New York City

To say that Earth is similar to Howard would be an understatement.

Howard compares nothing to Earth. There was a lot to see and Colter had not even begun his exploration.

After he went inside the tavern with Vida, she situated him at one of the tables, and left him to get the healing kit she mentioned.

"You can make yourself comfortable while I get first-aid. Uhm, would you also want something to eat?"

"If it's no bother to you, then yes please." Colter said, not realizing how hungry he was.

Vida smiled and disappeared off to the door where they first entered.

Colter looked around him and noticed how modern and futuristic the place was. It was unlike the tavern back at Howard, Pruneé. The design was new to Colter and it surprisingly pleased his eyes. The walls were lined with drawings of people and big, black, round discs that Colter did not know the name of. A jazzy tune was playing from a machine by the door Vida went into. It was indeed magical as there was no musician playing from the inside.

There weren't that many customers in the bar. It was only him, a couple, and a big group of teenagers laughing raucously.

"Here," Vida was back carrying a tray and a small white bag. She expertly maneuvered the tray onto the table and carefully settled in the chair in front of him.

"Thank you," Colter replied. "I appreciate your kindness."

"Don't mention it." Vida said. She scooted in further to reach out to him. "Let me clean your wounds first, then you can eat."

Colter gave her a smile and leaned in. He watched her as she applied some sort of liquid to a cloth, her movements so refined that it gave Colter butterflies in his stomach. Vida's hands were gentle as she worked on his cuts.

"This might sting a little bit." Vida said softly. Colter nodded, still entranced by Vida. He was used to these kinds of pain since he had been training since he was young, but the moment that the piece of cloth came into contact with the but on his lip, he could not help but to hiss in pain.

Vida moved away and said, "I'm sorry."

Colter immediately said, "No, it's alright. Continue what you're doing."

Vida looked unsure but proceeded to patch him up. He gritted his teeth so he would not react to the stinging pain brought upon by the healing salve. "I'll make this quick, I promise."

He nodded and held his breath. Back in Howard, these cuts could have magically healed in just seconds after Deity Flora cast a healing spell. It just would not be possible here on Earth.

After she was done cleaning his cuts, she carefully covered them with a colorful adhesive. "There," she said, leaning back to admire her work. "That ought to do it. I just need you to stay away from fights while they get better."

Colter smiled at her. "I think I'll be getting into fights less often now that I'm here."

Vida looked thoughtful. "Well, I really hope so, since it'll be bad to ruin such a pretty face."

He laughed. The girl in front of him was candid. She's not afraid to speak her mind. It was refreshing as Colter was used to people being careful around him, afraid to offend or say something against him. This must be what it feels like to be a normal person.

"Thank you again, Vida." Colter said.

Vida smiled, her cheeks turning a pretty shade of pink. "It's no big deal." She pushed the plate toward him. "You go and eat."

Colter looked at the food and his stomach grumbled. With all the running and fighting, he could feel the exhaustion catching up to him. "This looks good."

"Well, if you like greasy food, then yes, it's great." She shrugged, looking sheepish. "Burn's got the best burgers in the city."

There were no spoon and fork so he picked up what Vida calls a 'burger' and gave it a hearty bite. The moment the burger touched his mouth, he could not stop eating. Colter had never tasted anything so savory and flavorful before. Not even the best culinary chef in Howard had made this mouthwatering

Before he knew it, he had downed the burger in a matter of minutes. He also inhaled the potato strips that were on the plate.

"Wow, that was a great meal." Colter said, wiping the corners of his mouth with the table napkin.

"I'm glad you found it filling," Vida said, her eyes twinkling with genuine happiness.

Silence fell between them. Colter had never been tongue-tied when it comes to girls. Although, he had not been much of a playboy like his upstart brother, he had no problem carrying a decent conversation with the ladies.

It might be because of the fact that Vida was a human.

Vida cleared her throat. "So, uh, you must be new around here."

Colter suddenly felt nervous. "Uhm, kind of."

"I hope you don't mind me asking," Vida leaned forward. "But what did you mean by what you said earlier?"

"What?" Colter asked.

"You said, that it was nice to finally see me." Vida clarified.

"Oh," Colter hesitated for a bit. She would definitely think that he was a weirdo if he says that he had been dreaming about her. "I've been around the area recently and I caught glimpses of you when I was passing by."

It sounded wrong to lie but he thought it was not the perfect moment to divulge his wild fantasies.

"I see," Vida said, obviously not convinced by what he said.

"It is rather unfortunate that we met in such an awkward situation." Colter said hurriedly. "I swear, I'm no creep or a bad person. It just so happens that you caught me at a bad time."

Vida's face softened. "That's fine and no I don't think you're a creep at all."

"I appreciate it." Colter said.

Before he could ask what she thought about him, a low but playful tune, played out of nowhere. Vida pulled out a small device from her pocket and pressed the surface.

"Sorry, uhm, I gotta take this." Vida said. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

Colter smiled and nodded. "No worries, take your time." He wondered what 'jiffy' meant.

Vida got up and went a few feet away to take whatever it was. Colter could not help but hear the conversation between Vida and another woman. He found it a relief that his enhanced senses were still intact.

"How's the guy?"

"He's fine now." Vida replied. She turned to look back at their table, but Colter's reflexes were quick and he pretended to be interested in the wall decors. "We're actually talking right now."

"You brought him inside? Oh, Vida, my darling. I thought we went over the 'don't talk to strangers' thing. What if he's a psycho? He looked beaten up, he must be on the run from someone."

"Shhh! No, I don't think he's a criminal or something."

"Well, if you say so. But please, please don't agree to come home with him or take him to your apartment. It's not safe. Remember what happened -- Hey! Watch where you're going, idiot! Sorry. Kids today are so rowdy. They're riding their skateboards in the sidewalk. The friggin' sidewalk! Don't they have skateparks or something where they can do their tricks and flips?"

Vida chuckled. "Yeah, they do. Give them a rest, Tess."

"Anyway, you better say goodbye to that guy, ASAP."

"He just finished eating."

"Yeah, cool. Whatever. Just please, Vida. Keep safe, I won't be able to accompany you home tonight."

"You don't have to keep doing that, Tessa. I'm fine and I have you on speed dial."

"You better have me on speed dial, because if not I'll taser you."

"Right," Vida said, dismissively. "Oh and by the way, someone came in to see you earlier."

"Who would even visit me? My mom's in New Mexico with her boyfriend."

"It's Detective Matthews."

"What did he want?"

"I didn't talk to him. Lance did."

"Hmm, alright. I'll just give him a call, I guess -- Grab a cab of your own! -- I gotta go, Vida. Text me when you head home, okay?"

"Yeah, I will."

Vida ended the conversation by clicking the device as she went back to their table. "Sorry, it was my friend Tessa. She can be a bit of a mother hen."

Colter smiled. "It's not a big deal. I too have a friend like that." He immediately thought of Vergil and his smile widened. He can't wait to go back and kick his ass for doing a number on his face.

"Well, I better head out, as well. I don't want to keep you from your job." Colter said, standing up from his seat.

"Oh, you're actually not." Vida said, standing up as well.

"I've been extending your hospitality already. You healed my wounds and gave me the best meal I've ever had in my entire life."

"It was just a burger." Vida mumbled.

"It wasn't just a burger, Vida." Colter said. "It was everything."

Vida looked confused. "Will you drop by sometime again?"

"I might, I might not." Colter answered. He was glad that he finally found the girl in his dreams and yes seeing her again would be nice as well. But right now, he wanted to explore Earth and what it has to offer. He would also like to know more about being a human so that the next time he sees Vida, he won't act like a fool and give his real identity away.

With that, he bid Vida farewell. Before he went out of the bar, he heard Vida mutter, "I guess, this goes to my paycheck."

Colter thought about the perfect thing he'd figure out first: how to get money.