<div style="background-color:#6c9cb8; border:1px solid black; margin:10px 10px; padding-left: 5px; padding-right: 5px;"><span style="color: #000000"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Century Gothic;">The familiar Southern accent jabbed at her like needles of nostalgia for the people they used to be. If she was honest, she didn't think she had changed much. Still same dead-end job. Still no idea what she wanted to do with herself. Although, she had finally admitted to her parents that she had dropped out of college, so she supposed that counted as change. It just wasn't a very good kind.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Dan is pretty overprotective of me,"</span> she said, blowing on her coffee. <span style="font-weight: bold">"Butcha right. It is nice to have someone look out for ya."</span> Like Dimitri had once. But that was a long time ago now. His problem was that he liked looking out for <span style="font-style: italic">everyone</span>, and always had to go rescue them. That, and an asshole dad who used him as his errand boy. Alannah had never met Nereus<span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="vertical-align: super;">1</span></span>, but from what Dimitri had told her, he didn't sound like he was a very fun or even tolerable person.<br/><br/>Being so close to Dimitri again felt surreal. And they weren't even <span style="font-style: italic">close</span>, what with a counter blocking the space between them. <span style="font-weight: bold">"Don't be sorry,"</span> she said, admiring his brown eyes with a familiarity she wasn't sure she was allowed. But fuck, it felt so <span style="font-style: italic">nice</span> to have him back, even if she, like always, had no idea how long it would last for. A small laugh escaped her lips.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"Hello sounds nice,"</span> she replied, smiling gently. <span style="font-weight: bold">"But I'm sure ya didn't come here just to tell me hi."</span><br/><br/><span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;"><span style="vertical-align: super;">1</span>Little does she know!</span></span></div></span></div>