"I thought you'd say that," Alexandria replied, kind and unnerved. She switched over to her "battle mode"—smile and get through anything. She had done this a thousand times when her grandfather and her mother would lose their minds over her father's behavior. Her childhood was full of such instances, and her mother's emotions weren't exactly mild nor did they quickly pass.

"Ah," her eyes automatically panned over to Hélios lap when he made his offer. She made a mental note to fantasize about that later but shut it down for now, evoking no emotion inside her. She was good at that, shutting down her emotion and thoughts when it's not the time and place. "It looks comfortable, thank you. But it's okay, I can stand."

She moved herself to Hélios side, assuming a less confrontational position. This was the closest she had ever been to Hélios and he was even larger up close. The chair that fit nicely for her seemed like a toddler's for him. It was kind of funny, in a way. Her gaze traveled around Hélios table. He didn't bring a bag, and the only thing he had was a pencil. Alexandria switched her bag to the front of her body and got an empty notebook out. It was a basic notebook with black cover.

"Do you need a notebook? You can take it, I have a lot at home," she offered and placed it in front of him. A peace offering of sorts. She guessed he wasn't listening to the teacher, and probably wouldn't want to hear about the project anyway, but she just had to try. Who knows, he might not be as difficult as he seemed. "I can explain the project again to you, if you didn't catch it. It's kind of hard to catch anything from back here." Her tone turned into a mildly joking one. "I've got a plan on what we can make, if you like. We just have to make the presentation for the first part. I can do this part, and this part..." She got her own notebook out and showed him the page with the plan she scribbled out while the teacher was explaining, purposely marking the most difficult parts for herself. The rest was easy, but time-consuming. Alexandria calculated the time she would need to finish it by herself and knew that alone, she would have to pull a few all-nighters in order to finish in time. "Please tell me what you think."

She knew her chance of success was almost nil. She planned to hear him snark at her once again, then make some kind of proposition. All business deals need to be profitable for both sides. She knew what she wanted, but what could Hélios probably want? Alexandria's analytical gaze scanned Hélios, gathering information. If there's anything she didn't lack, it was money. And they say money can buy anything. She could only hope it would be able to buy one difficult partner for an important school project.

(No worries, my writing will wildly fluctuate as well, especially during interaction xD)

Hélios was caught by surprise with what she had said. Except, he didn't show it, not even his eyes let anything up. Switching his gaze back to her, he watched her for a short moment. Her eyes swept his thighs, that were currently in his usual man spread. Hmm dirty minded teachers pet. Maybe his first assumption was wrong. Normally, a girl looking at his lap like that did something for him, but not this time. Yeah, he slept with lots of girls in the school. Call him a manwhore, but he had a type. Tall pretty blondes. The cheerleaders were his favorite lays. With their skimpy uniforms and all. Alexandria, not so much his type.

Lio rolled his eyes at her saying she can stand. "It is. Try it sometime." Once more sarcasm leaked through his words. Leaning over to the empty chair that was not too far from their table, he dragged it closer. He maneuver it just enough to where it was directly behind her knees. He pushed it, forcing her to sit down. Deciding she was still too far away, he grabbed the leg of the chair and pulled her closer to him. He'd only done it because he didn't like that he had to look up slightly to look at her. Not because he was doing it out of the kindness of his heart.

He watched her analyze him. It wasn't hard to tell what she was doing. He does it to people all the time, although they usually shrink back. He tends to make people nervous under his gaze. He looked at the notebook she put on the desk. He dropped the pencil back onto the desk. It wasn't even his, he'd found it on the desk. "The fuck am I going to do with that." He snapped, his deep accent playing into his words. Why would she offer him a notebook? Because she thinks he's some poor troubled kid? Hes not a charity case. His jaw clenched at the thought.

"Please tell me what you think." His amber eyes gazed over the notes she was showing him. He'd skimmed it and understood it rather quickly. "I think..." He paused, pretending to think over her notes and plans for this project. "You're wasting your damn breath." He shrugged his shoulders. Defiant as usual. Funny, she really thought he'd take this serious and help her on this project.

Again he was only here attending, and not skipping, because he was forced. His ankle monitor was programmed to go off once he stepped foot off the school property, before the set time school ended. At home, he already figured out how to shut it off without alerting his parole officer. He couldn't sneak the tools he needed into the school, as they made sure to pat him down for any weapons, before even leaving his home. Joshua was like an annoying fly that no matter how many times you swatted at it, it wouldn't go away.

(Yeah that tends to happen to me too with interactions XD)

It is unfortunate that she wouldn't try it, Alexandria thought.

She was surprisingly happy with Hélios's snarky, inapproriate remark. With how she looked and carried herself, most guys didn't ever say anything inappropriate to her. Even a lot of girls were hesitant to talk about dirty things with her, gauging her reaction to anything risky, or even avoided the topic altogether. She was the kind of presence that subtly demanded respect and distance. She did not ever flaunt her wealth, at least purposefully, but one could see that she was refined. The way she walked, the way she moved her hand, the way she sat, down to her expressions. She carried herself with natural—no, learned grace from watching people she grew up with.

After this realization, Alexandria was also pleased with how people perceived her. It meant she successfully presented herself as proper, unlike some other sloppy girls. They all would be surprised to know what she fantasized about on her own.

Hélios didn't mind all these, but he's always been off the grid so it didn't speak much about the reputation she built.

"Oof," she let out a little surprised voice when Hélios pushed the seat under her. Another new experience–no one were ever physically rough with her. It was thrilling, but Alexandria shut down that thought quick. She had a mission to accomplish.

She had guessed that Hélios wouldn't like someone standing over him, and being right was something she liked. She was wrong about what he would do about it, however—she didn't think he'd actually make her sit closer to him.

Ever so vigilant about people's expression, she noticed his jaw clenching and couldn't figure out why. Was the notebook not nice enough? Alexandria didn't think it was necessary to buy any particularly expensive notebook. It looked sleek, it served its purpose well. It was a logical, reasonable choice without looking tacky. But now she felt a little self-conscious. She didn't like to be perceived as "cheap". She thought Hélios wouldn't care much about whether everyday things are fancy or not, but she noted to herself that she was wrong.

She watched him read her notes. Another wrong expectation—most students would just glance at it, just glad that someone did their work for them. Alexandria would have to take good measure to explain their part to them whenever she had group project, just so they would certainly know what they needed to do. She expected Hélios to not read it at all. But he actually did skim it, even if the answer was still a rejection.

"It's my breath to waste," she smiled at his remark, unfazed.

"Hélios," her tone was cooler. She looked into his eyes to catch his attention. They were striking amber. Reminded her of a wild wolf. They had fire in them, as if he could burn anyone who looked at them too long—opposed to her own civil, analytical eyes without any true passion. "I don't want to make an enemy out of you. No one would." She guessed Hélios liked how people were intimidated by him, seeing how he didn't try to be less intimidating—and tried to play into his ego.

"How can we make this comfortable, for you and me?"

"I need this, and it would be very difficult for me to finish this alone." She showed him a pleading little smile. "What can I do so you'll help me? It is important to me, but I know you don't like it, and I don't want to be selfish. If you want anything for your troubles... I will try my best to give it to you."

Her perfectly manicured fingers on the table opened, palms up in an offering gesture, her expensive ring tapped on the table's surface.

She knew she could've simply paid someone to help her do the work. But Alexandria was particular about doing things the proper way, and more importantly, she was carrying the expectation that the teacher placed on her with one apologizing look earlier.

Hélios' was starting to dislike her the more they spoke. Then again there was never a person he has meet that he liked. Hookups didn't count. He liked their body and their face, but not the person themselves. He used them to get what he wanted, an easy lay. He hated holding a conversation with someone he sensed was dumb. Growing bored of them rather quickly, when he found them to be unintelligent. Then again, he never spoke to any of the students that held a reputation of a "golden student." That was mostly because most of them feared him. Plus, they probably believed being seen with Lio would tarnish their perfect reputation. And they weren't wrong. Hélios would ruin them. For his own entertainment.

He could feel her watching him. A part of him hated her calculating dark chocolate brown eyes. Yes, he already took note of her eye color. For a split second they looked black. He also noticed her neat handwriting in the notebook. The male was very detail oriented. If one changed their hair in the slightest way he would notice.

Hélios' hated the fact that she was analyzing him. He was suppose to do that, not the other way around. The way she carried herself didn't hold fear around him. He couldn't read her eyes. Either people approached him with fuck me eyes, or fuck you eyes. Lust or hate. Hell, she approached him like she was about to propose a life changing business deal. If this was all just a front, she could only fake it for so long, before she broke.

As she smiled, his gaze dropped to her lips. She had perfectly straight white teeth. A nice smile at that. Except, it looked look she was trying to convince him of something. A smile that was used as a selling point. It didn't look genuine. His eyes snapped back up to meet her dark chocolate brown eyes once more, as his name slipped off her tongue. "I don't want to make an enemy out of you. No one would." His amber eyes flamed at this. The hell was she trying to get at? He held his tongue, even though he wanted to rip into her.

This was an interesting approach, but not a new one. It made him feel as though he was speaking to a teacher, not another student. He let her continue speaking freely, without any interruptions from him. He held eye contact the entire time, not once dragging his gaze away from hers. Once she finished, he glanced down at her hands. Her hands perfectly manicured. Not a callous on her delicate hands. Did she do anything for herself? Christ. He hated her more. He looked at the band on her ring. It hit him.

So she's rich. Or at least comes from a wealthy family. It clicked. The way she walked, talked, her mannerism. It fit the part quite well. The more he watched her the more his assumption fit. She had an elegance to her. Poised. Not a slouch in her posture. Anything for his troubles, huh? He'd entertain her for a moment. Little did she know, nothing, would make him do his part of this minuscule project. If she cared that much about it, she could do it her damn self.

Call him cunning, but he wanted to see her mask break. He ran a calloused hand through his black hair, pushing the loose strands that had fallen into his eyes, back. He leaned in real close, invading her personal space. Throwing a muscular arm over the back of her chair, he blocked her in. He cocked his head slightly to the side. With this proximity, she could probably see the very outline on the scar over his eye. He ignored just about everything else she had said. The only thing that caught his attention was the last thing she said. "Anything?" He questioned, voice low and husky. His glare unreadable, gaze on her. He hated when people tried to bribe him, or pay him off. That was the exact feel he was getting from her as she spoke.

Alexandria could see how Hélios was growing angry with every word she said. She was trying to be thoughtful, but she messed up. But then again, this was the only way she knew how to approach people. She couldn't fake being bubbly like those cheerleaders Hélios used to hang out with, at least yet. Seductive? Definitely not. Perhaps she should've mimicked Hélios, by being haughty and crass. She didn't know how to do that either. Then perhaps she should've approached him nicer instead of being business-like.

Or perhaps it was because she kept her eyes on his for too long. She read somewhere that carnivores get provoked by prolonged eye contact. She shouldn't have been too busy memorizing the details of his eyes, the slight gradation of his irises, but she did it out of habit.

She started feeling guilty. It was not her intention to anger him. If anything, she wanted Hélios to find the interaction pleasantly forgettable. Too late now, though.

The person who made the phrase fight or flight forgot one of the most common response to danger. Freeze.

He got too close, to the point Alexandria could see the outline of his scar, and he blocked her exit. Alexandria's emotions completely shut down in dire or any sudden unexpected situations. For a second her face lost all expression. Not even fear. She looked like a blank doll.

"She's being unreasonable."

Her grandfather's dismissive tone crossed over her head, him sitting on the table, eyes not looking up from the newspaper in his hand. Her mother's screams ringing in her ear. It was one of the most vivid childhood memory etched to Alexandria's mind.

He is being unreasonable.

Her expression changed for a split second as the memory passed, mimicking the one her grandfather had during her mother's outburst. Dismissive annoyance.

The thoughts ran a mile a second in her head. She figured he wanted to intimidate her. The expected response required of her was fear. She should provide it, through her expression. She did not want to fall short of his expectation. How did people express fear, again..? Alexandria was not one to freely express her emotions in the presence of other people. She didn't try to be this way, and loathed it, as it always made her feel trapped and ingenuine. As if her mind was inside a wall. Every emotion she showed went through a filter—her thought would process a situation and logically tell her that she was feeling a certain way, or at least supposed to feel that way, then she would try to emulate it with her body.

Yes, she was not good with split second expressing that was required of her now. Her mind splitted to her other calculation—Hélios was drawing too much attention, and it was not good for her to get associated with him in the public eye. She needed to show them everything was fine and this little interaction was not worth gawking at. Blind as she was to improper interactions, the implication of Hélios' word completely flew over her head.

Therefore she went straight to her default. In a sudden, near insidious change, her lips raised along with her cheeks, and her small eyes disappeared as she presented to him a pleasant expression, as if nothing happened. Smile.

"Of course, Hélios. Anything that I can provide for you."

No matter her approach, it wouldn't go well for her. This was Hélios they were talking about. She could have been the sweetest person with an innocent soul, and he'd still be an asshole to her. Nothing would have worked. Certainly, not her trying to bribe him. Either if it was money, or a hookup, or anything else that held value, he wouldn't have accepted. He didn't need money, he got by just fine on his own.

Hélios watched the slight battle going on among her. He watched her face drop any and all expression. He still remained in her personal space. He saw a glimpse of an expression, that passed as quickly as it came. She was cracking, but not shattering like he wanted her to. He gave a simple, "Hm." In response to her proposal. What could she possible provide him that would seal her little deal? Absolutely, nothing.

It was odd how she tried to cover up with a smile. Of all things. His jaw clenched, and he pushed away from her slowly. Leaning back into his own chair, he removed his arm from behind her chair. "What made you think I want anything from you?" His tone still held annoyance.

(Eh short :'(

"Everyone wants something. Don't you?"

Her eyes followed him from behind her glasses as he leaned back into his chair. It seemed that somehow Alexandria gave him something he wanted, so that was good. She still felt numb, and that meant she kept on that hospitality smile. She thought over what she should say next and put on an apologetic face as she spoke gently.

"I'm afraid I've offended you, so... I'm sorry. We've only talked today, so I don't know yet how to talk to you. Let's get to know each other, alright? If you'd tell me what, I'll try my best not to say anything you dislike." She took care to not look at Hélios directly in the eyes this time. His cheekbones, his hair, his lips. Triangle method except she simply didn't want to flirt with his anger.

Some people hate apologizing, but it was very easy for Alexandria. She had no pride attached to whether she was seen as wrong or not—she found it an easy way to placate people. Besides she really did think that she messed up this interaction, so her apology held some weight.

In a normal situation Alexandria wouldn't push people, and would have made her exit at the first clench of Hélios' jaws. She hated any unpleasant exchange where she's directly involved. However in the presence of duty, it was nothing personal. She was merely completing a task she was entrusted with, and she could be one very stubborn little teacher's pet about it.

(It's okay!)

Hélios began spinning the silver ring on his pointer finger with his thumb. A habit of his. "No. I don't want shit." He sent a glare her way. She was so damn persistent. Add it to the list of things he didn't like about her. She was just like everyone else. Just because she had a slightly different approach than anyone else didn't mean she was different.

He shook his head and scoffed. How to talk to him? What was he some object that was missing an instruction pamphlet? He hated the fact that she was trying so hard to what befriend him? All of this just so he'd cooperate with this silly school project. Was it really that serious? Frankly, the girl needed to learn how to relax. Stop caring so much about a dumb little letter on her grade book.

Glancing at her, he watched as her gaze flickered over his features. "I don't want to get to know you, four eyes." He sighed, out of boredom. "Stop trying so hard. You're on your own." He snapped, his tone held finality in it. Shoving his seat back, he stood up to his full height. Not giving her another second of his time, he walked past the desks and to the front of the room. Then he just left, not even glancing at the teacher, or asking permission to leave. He didn't need permission. As the door shut behind him he heard the teachers voice, "Mr.Vieyra?!" It was weak.

He wandered the empty halls. The first class still had half an hour before it ended. Stopping in one hall, he leaned against a locker. Pulling his phone out he just scrolled through his messages and notifications.

"Good job, Alex. You scared him off."

A male pulled his chair over to Alexandria's side and soon people had gathered around her. Curiosity, amusement, worry, envy.

The male's tone sounded sarcastic, but there was genuine happiness in those narrow caramel eyes, and something unpleasant that Alexandria couldn't quite pin down. Gelled red hair, strong stocky build, square jaw. Even sitting, he was huge compared to Alex, though not as big as Hélios. Derrick Johnson. He smelled strongly like aftershave.

Alex had talked to him now and then, especially when exams were near, as Derrick's grade were swimming on the lower part of the rankings. He was the football team's star player, and Alex knew he definitely would get a sports scholarship.

For whatever reason, Derrick had always kept a respectful distance with Alex. Alex knew he wasn't polite with everyone, though. The football team told stories how he'd throw a temper tantrum both in the locker rooms and the field, especially when they're losing. He once threw a table at his girlfriend's ex, Kade Adams, a player who was infuriatingly also an excellent soccer player and a top student.

Derrick was in a really rough relationship with Laura Willis—a popular cheerleader with tan skin and blonde hair, who was famous for dating several college students before getting with Derrick. At the beginning Derrick looked at Laura as if she was everything to him. But as time went by, Derrick grew extremely jealous over Laura, and they would have public fights both in the classroom and the social media. It was mostly Derrick cussing at Laura, talking about cheating. Laura, too, was rumored to have slept with Hélios.

Alexandria was grateful that Derrick never cussed at her, of course. However she actually wanted to be a part of his group, the popular kids, instead of just being a respected classmate. This was the first time Derrick made a quip at her, and Alex couldn't help but notice an opportunity to get closer to him. Unfortunately she was still in a defensive state after the interaction with Hélios and couldn't bring herself to be chatty.

Not that she had the chance. The other kids immediately barraged her with questions. Some pulled their chairs closer, some just stood around the table, leaning towards her. Mostly girls.

"Are you okay?! I was so worried when you got paired with him!"

"The teacher is crazy. Our sweet Alexandria with that guy, really?! You should refuse!"

"Did he hurt you? I saw him force you to sit!"

"He blocked you with his arm like a korean drama oh my God. I got goosebumps."

"What the hell happened, why did he storm off like that?!"

Alex laughed, friendly and polite. She would've rejoiced all these attention if she hadn't felt so exhausted. "Calm down, calm down! It's all good. He just needed...convincing about the project. You saw how it went."

Alex thought Amel would be the first to lose her mind over this, but she couldn't find her in the group of people surrounding her now. That's odd.

Alex were thinking of an excuse not to tell them the story, and prepared herself to fail as she saw their faces—a pack of wide-eyed highschooler hungry for any piece of gossip. She got saved by the teacher.

"Guys, guys! We're still in the middle of class! You can gossip about this later."

Disappointed sighs and protests, but they all went back to their own seats.

"I'm really curious, though." Derrick said, hesitant to leave. "Got anything to do after school?"

"Yeah, I do. Sorry."

Alex needed to start making the presentation, properly organize her scribbled plans earlier. She's only got an hour after school reserved for group projects such as these. Thankfully she didn't have any club activities after school today.

She felt someone moving to her side again. It was Derrick, and another student—presumably Derrick's project partner. Michael Myers. He was thin, awkward, and didn't have much presence. Looked like a nerd, but his grade was so-so. They took a seat on Alex's table.

"He shouldn't have left you alone without a partner," Derrick said nonchalantly. Alex was touched. She noted in her head—so this is what made Derrick popular, despite his famous temper, and what kept Laura from leaving their relationship despite everything.

♤♡◇♧

"Ms. Ranayuda," the teacher called Alex as the class ended. Alex gathered her things and approached her. "Yes ma'am?"

"I'm sorry about what happened. Are you okay?" The teacher looked guilty.

"I'm okay, Mrs. Thatcher. Sorry for the commotion earlier."

"No, no," the teacher sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose. "I know you'd try your best. I'm really grateful to have good students like you, Ms. Ranayuda. Mr. Vieyra on the other hand, is...difficult."

If you're grateful, why would you dump him on me and risk my perfect grade?

"Don't worry, Ma'am. I've always wanted to get to know him, so this is perfect! I'll try to talk to him again later. I think he's actually not so bad...we already agreed on what to do earlier but then he got frustrated."

"You have?" The teacher looked shocked. It was a white lie, and Alex was pleased that the teacher bought into it.

"Yeah, I can handle it and it's okay. Please don't worry. We'll turn in something good, no—great!"

♤♡◇♧

The rest of the day went smoothly, for the most part. Alex drowned herself in the project during recess, jotting down points as she sat on the table with her friends, without a word stopping them and other people from asking her about what happened with Hélios. Rumors, like fire, spread quickly, and everything that had to do with Hélios was practically hellfire. Kids from other classes began to peer at Alex in curiosity and she grew increasingly uncomfortable. This wouldn't do. She wanted to fit in, preferably with the cool kids, not stand out because she was linked with a troublemaker.

It would've been a long day, had her thoughts not been mostly occupied with the project. Alexandria was a pessimistic estimator when it comes to how long it'd take to finish something, leaving wriggle room just in case there was unexpected blocks along the way to completion—and Hélios was such a gigantic roadblock that could even be seen from space.

She planned how to spin it to make it sound plausible that Hélios also did some work. She would need to tweak her presentation style a little bit to make it seem like two people work in it.

As soon as the bell rang, Alexandria went straight to her car. Carl quickly opened the door for her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Alexandria," Carl greeted her. "Straight to your lessons?"

"No," Alex was occupied with the planning in her head. "I need to do some school work, can you please take me to..." She furrowed her eyebrows, annoyed that she had to browse through the list of café in her head, comparing their merits to each other and decide which one to go to.

"You seem to have a lot in mind. I can recommend a good place, if you don't mind, Miss—delicious snacks, not much people. Good music, too, not too loud, good for working."

Alex shot him a grateful smile.

"Then let's go there."

Hélios ditched. It was quite the walk back home, but he simply put his headphones in and ignored the alarm on his ankle. It gained him a few odd looks from bystanders, but he solved that with mean mugging them. Which in return, they quickly ripped their gaze off him and scurried past. The closer he got to where he called him, the more less people were out an about. He lived in the run down area of the city. It was right outside of the city area. In between city and suburbs. This was home. Of course, he had no fear of walking the streets here.

The building was years old and had an odd build to it. It was two stories. The bottom floor was his grandmothers cafe. D'Amico's Caffè e Pasticcini. It was in Italian, translating to D'Amico's Cafe and Pastries. D'Amico being his grandmothers last name a full blooded Italian. It was the small side of his family that were honest and hard workers. Working hours for the little bit that they had. Unlike his Greek side.

The Cafe was cute and had a homey feel to it. It had plenty decorations of the Italian culture. It was far from an expensive look. The future all hand built and crafted to his grandmothers delight. His grandfather actually hand built every piece of furniture in the cafe. Including the cases that lined one side of the wall. Hélios' grandfather wanted to bring his grandmothers dream to life and that he did. It was very different from the cafes they have now. Those were modern and with the current times. They also had American names.

Hélios assumed the reason his grandmother's cafe doesn't get much business like others was because it held so much culture within its walls. American's were ignorant. Anything that they couldn't immediately read and understand turned them away. They liked quick and easy things. It didn't help where the cafe was located either though. People who had money didn't come down to these parts, afraid they'd get mugged or something of the sorts. The area was always on the news. Of course, nothing good. However, his grandmothers place was a hidden treasure, for those seeking new tastes. They had a few regulars, but nothing compared to the big named places. Wifi was too expensive at the moment. Hélios guessed that also played a big part in the lack of customers.

Seeing his grandmother's dream die was tough. She'd worked so hard to make it in America. Coming here to seek safety and shelter. America was treating her just as badly as Italy was. It was painful to watch. If there was one person Hélios truly loved and respected, it was his Grandmother, Fiorenza. She was the only person that kept him going in life. Funnily enough, in a way he just met her. There were a few times throughout his childhood he came to the states and met her, but that was about it. He wished he'd met her earlier. If he had grown up with her, he'd be a very different person. She was the reason he even came to the states. She showed him a new world. One could even say she picked up the broken pieces of his heart. Putting them back together. Although, his grandmother didn't know much of the side of himself he didn't show her. He kept her in the dark about his lifestyle outside of the cafe. However, his grandmother was a smart woman, she knew her grandson was up to no good at times. She just didn't know to what extent.

Now the upstairs of the building was their home. It was small, but it had everything they needed. A kitchen, small living room, one bathroom and two bedrooms. The rooms were small, but it was livable. No complaints from Hélios. Hell, here he had his own room. A place to even call home. It was small, to the point where Hélios' head brushed the ceiling at some points. He'd have to duck to get through the doorways, but that was fine. Furniture was small too. Everything was small if one were Hélios' hulking size. His grandmother was a tiny woman. Standing at 5'2. Everything fit her perfectly. Or any regular sized human being. At least, he had his own balcony. Also small and old, but it was something.

The back of the building was an alleyway. One who lived or work in the surrounding buildings could park their vehicle there but it was rather awkward. There was a back door that lead to the alley from the back side of the cafe. A plus was they had their own garage in the back. Also small, but enough for Hélios.

Hélios phone rang in his pocket, he ignored it. He knew who it was. Joshua. Calling about his whereabouts most likely. If he wanted to know so bad, he would do his job and find him. Reaching his home, he pushed the glass door open. The bell tied on the door, jingled, announcing his arrival. Hélios looked around, as per usual, empty. He held back a sigh. Making a beeline behind the cases and counter, he walked into the kitchen area. The way the cafe was set up, one could see the "baker" working through a large window. It wasn't really a window, as it had no glass, but acted as one. The window was right behind the front counter and glass cases. A large menu right above the window. It was a extra large chalk board like menu. All the goodies and drinks written out in their categories. Most of the pastries were in Italian.

Not seeing his grandmother anywhere, he took that as his chance. Opening the back door, he skipped the two steps. Pulling keys out of his pocket, he opened the garage. Walking over to the workbench, he worked quickly to shut his ankle monitor off. He perfected his technique. Never damaging the little box, or resetting anything. Tossing the tools onto the wooden work bench, he exited the garage. Locking the garage back up, he went back inside. This time actively looking for his Nonna. (Grandmother) Checking the walk in, and storage, he didn't see her anywhere. She must have been upstairs. Running a hand through his soft hair, he sighed. At this point he would just have to get to work seeing as there wasn't anything else to do.

Shedding some layers, he remained in a black tank top. That was rather form fitting. Grabbing a white apron off the hook, he put it on. Walking over to the sink, he began washing his hands. He was drying his hands off when he heard a familiar voice, "Hélios! Did you skip school?!" It held a heavy accent, just like Hélios' voice. Except it was sweeter than nectar. Even when she tried sounding mad. Turning around he looked at his Nonna. Finding her standing on the other side of the kitchen, hands on her hips. She was trying to look mad, but it didn't suit her. He shrugged his broad shoulders, not wanting to make eye contact. "I just didn't want to be there anymore." He mumbled. Only his Nonna could get this side of him out. She sighed, "What am I to do with you, Lio." She shook her head, her soft dark brown eyes on Hélios. "Sorry." Lio mumbled out, peaking up through his long lashes to look at his grandmother.

"Just this once, I will look past it." Fiorenza broke out into a smile, quickly getting over her anger. Hélios looked at a white board on the wall. Pointing at it, "I can start working on the Maritozzo." He suggested, as he began walking around the kitchen gathering ingredients. That was his way of saying sorry. Helping in the cafe. "That works. Thank you, Lio. I need to finish cleaning out the case." She rambled out, as she made her way to the front.

Hélios got right to work as well. The kitchen got extremely hot, with the ovens going off. That was why he usually wore a black tank top. Although, it did reveal just how muscular and defined his arms were. His veins were also very prominent. Tan skin on display, except a few scars littered his arms. Some deeper than others. He did take his three rings off, tucking them away in his jean pocket. His silver necklace remained on.