I grit my teeth as one of the boys spilled his drink on the table. The large group of boys had entered my café half an hour ago, and I was ready to tear my hair out. Though they looked to be about my age, they had resorted to grade school tactics to annoy me.

“Miss,” one of them jeered, “we seem to have a problem.” He pointed to the spilled coffee and raised his eyebrows at me.

“Of course,” I said, with a forced smile. As I cleared their table, someone grabbed the back of my apron and I fell into his lap. Instinctively, I squirmed away amidst the cat calls and whistles. I glared at the blonde haired culprit who gave me a smirk in return. Rashly, I grabbed his coffee and threw it on him.

“Please refrain from giving me too much trouble,” I said coldly, as I turned away. Though I could hear angry footsteps and cursing behind me, I wasn’t brave enough to turn around. A hand grabbed my shoulder roughly, and my shoving did nothing to loosen its grip.

“Is that how you treat a paying customer?” the blond boy asked darkly. “Maybe you ought to learn a lesson, .”

“Get away from me,” I said, my voice slightly wavering. The boys laughed, but the blond grabbed my wrist and began to twist it. Desperately, I tried to kick him, but he only twisted harder.

“Apologize,” he said softly, his eyes narrowing. I shook my head, and bit my lip.

“No,” I said, so quietly that I could barely hear it.

“What did you say?” he asked, menacingly.

“No,” I said louder, willing myself to glare at him. This time, the group closed in on me, and the blond seemed intent on breaking my wrist. Then, the bell tinkled, and my boy walked in. Immediately, the group around me dispersed, and the blonde let go of my wrist harshly. With a nod of his head, the blond motioned for the others to go outside. Within a few seconds, the café was empty, save for me, the boy, and the blond.

“What are you doing here, Kai?” the blond asked nastily. “You’d better run along now before you end up like your poor mother.”

“I suggest you leave,” the boy said tersely. The blond smirked.

“Look at my face, girl. You see that scar? This bastard did that to me,” the blond taunted, leaning in my face. I saw a white scar that traced his eyebrow and dipped dangerously towards his left eye.

“Shut up,” the boy said, pushing the blond away from me.

“He’s got a temper,” the blond said. “You don’t want to do anything to make him mad.” He headed towards the door and paused.

“You better watch your back, . I don’t forgive people very easily,” the blond warned. He slammed the door and I winced.

The boy glared at the blonde’s retreating back, and I tugged at his sleeve gently.

“I’m fine,” I said, before he could say anything. “That boy didn’t hurt me.” The boy looked down at my wrist, and I quickly covered it with my sweater sleeve.

“It was really my fault,” I sighed. “I shouldn’t have poured that coffee on him.” There was no response, and his eyes stayed serious.

“He called you Kai,” I hesitated, monitoring his expression. “Is that really your name?”

“No,” the boy said tightly, “but everyone calls me that.” I was about to ask him another question, but the look on his face stopped me.