Apple glanced over her shoulder, still not used to being followed, well, everywhere. By a very well dressed woman in sensible shoes who was very put together, but... still being followed. And, of course, there was the fact that this woman could probably incapacitate anyone in the room with her bare hands. That was a little unsettling, even if it had been happening for months now.
But if she was anything, Apple was cool under pressure, so she simply tossed her hair and continued up to the counter to order her drink. The barista smiled at her, even if it seemed a little forced, and she smiled back, dropping her change and an extra two dollars into the cute little tip jar. Turning around to ask Darling what she wanted, her smile soon turned into a frown. Darling was staring quite intensely at another woman across the room, who was turning red and looking very pointedly down at her book.
"Darling!" She placed a firm hand on Darling's arm, whispering but hopefully sounding stern. "What's wrong?"
"Iced chai tea for... Apple?"
Deciding it was better to ignore Darling's strange behavior, she instead picked up her drink and looked for an empty table, settling on one not too far from the woman Darling had stared down. She would've preferred something farther away, if just for the woman's comfort, but the shop was busy, and she wasn't going to waste her hour of free reading time. Pulling her book out, she motioned to Darling and then to the chair across from her. She wasn't really going to stand over her looking intimidating for the whole time, was she?
... yes. Yes, she was. Apple sipped at her tea and turned another page, glancing up when Darling's shadow shifted over into her light.
Oh, no. Darling was cracking her knuckles now, clearly trying to intimidate the poor woman who was coming towards Apple's table. Unless the woman - who, Apple noted, was the same one from earlier - was going to bludgeon her with a book, Apple was perfectly safe. They were going to have to take a few minutes to talk about just how seriously Darling was taking her new position.
"S-so. Have you read the series that comes before that?" The woman had managed to get around Darling, which was almost a miracle in and of itself, and she was running a hand nervously through her long dark hair. Apple smiled sympathetically, and nodded in response, closing her book after a quick peek at the page number. She could pick it up later.
"Of course! I think I actually prefer Sydney as a protagonist, though. She feels more flawed than Rose and I find her easier to relate to." Perhaps gushing about the books would calm her.
"No, Rose definitely had flaws! They were just hidden more carefully because of the kind of narrator she is. She didn't dwell on the things that were wrong with her, or obsess over them. Sydney's development is slowed by her personal hang-ups. Which I guess is actually in character but... Wait. Okay." She finally stopped for a breath and Apple barely held back a giggle. Yep, gushing about the books was definitely the way to get her to open up. Neither of them was really noticing Darling at this point!
"Hi, I'm Apple," she flashed the other girl a bright smile and held out her hand.
"Raven," she got in return with a weak handshake.
"And I'm Darling, and we're going to be late, Apple." Darling nearly put herself in between Apple and Raven, guiding Apple gently towards the door.
"Darling, don't be rude! We have another twe-" She was cut off by Darling pulling out her phone and shaking her head.
"I received a message from your mother just a minute ago, the time changed." Darling flashed the phone screen at Apple too quickly for her to actually read it, and Apple rolled her eyes. Sure she did. This wasn't just a quick way to get her out of here.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Raven. Maybe we can come back next week around this time and talk about why Sydney is the better protagonist!" Apple stepped around Darling and set her purse on the table with a loud thunk, searching through it for a pen and paper. Finding them, she slipped a folded sheet of paper into Raven's hand and waved goodbye.
Darling heaved a sigh of relief and followed Apple out the door, glancing over her shoulder for any other threats on her way. Apple simply rolled her eyes again, waiting until they were well out of hearing range before turning around.
"Darling. Mother hired you to protect me from potential threats, not from awkward girls trying to flirt with me." Her hands were on her hips and she was trying so very hard to be serious, injecting the royal tone into her voice and everything.
"She could have been a threat, Apple."
"And if she had been, you would have stopped whatever she was doing anyways. We both know that." Apple's serious demeanor dropped and she smiled again, resting a hand on Darling's shoulder.
"Well... yes. I can't promise not to do it again..."
"I know. I wouldn't ask you not to anyways. Now, did my mother really text you at all?"
At this, Darling's normally collected front dropped and she blushed. "O-of course. We should be on our way!"
Apple giggled and walked towards the exit, trusting that Darling would follow.
----
And back in the coffee shop, Raven watched them walk away and unfolded the piece of paper in her hand. She read a phone number in neat print, with the name Apple and a smiley face above it. What had she gotten herself into?