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Crimson Flame
B L U D H A V E N
October 3rd, 2021 | 3:17 PM | Bludhaven, New Jersey
It was an overcast, mildly chilly day in Bludhaven as Vincent walked down the streets in his trench coat to block the chill. He had just finished his mentorship with Firestorm, but rather than head straight home, he had decided to revisit a few of his old haunts in Bludhaven, given that it’s been a while. Despite the events that led to him leaving the city, he still considered it home, since it had just as many good memories as his old hometown out west. As the thought crossed his mind, he found himself standing before one of those places: an old, 60’s themed diner. After a quick peek through the window to make sure he wasn’t interrupting a rush, he stepped through the door and playfully called out, “Roscoe, you old bastard! You still knocking around?”
The person standing behind the counter was decidedly not the heavyset, bulbous-nosed old man he was expecting. Instead, the person who glared at him in response to his greeting was a young woman, about his age. She had long red hair tied back in a ponytail and her emerald eyes bored holes into him with an intensity that actually made Vincent shrink a little. She wore a black t-shirt with some kind of design on the front, hidden by the light blue apron she wore, along with a pair of faded blue jeans. The girl opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a boisterous voice from the kitchen calling back, “I only know one asshole with the balls to call me an old anything!”
The swinging door flung open as the man Vincent originally expected stepped out, wearing the same old apron stained with decades of serving food. The old man’s glare lasted for all of a few seconds before he broke out into a bright grin. “Vince! How ya doin’, kid?! It’s been ages!” he exclaimed as he crossed the distance with surprising speed before scooping Vincent up in a tight hug.
“I’m good, Roscoe,” came Vincent’s strained reply, “though I’ll be less good if you break my ribs.”
The cook laughed as he released Vincent, patting his shoulders. Roscoe was Vincent’s other mentor. When the Old Man wanted Vincent to learn a more sustainable skill so he wouldn’t have to spend all of his time fighting, he turned to his good friend Roscoe. Despite a rather rocky start and Vincent nearly burning down the diner a few times, it was because of Roscoe that Vincent was able to awaken to his other passion: cooking.
“Hope insultin’ me isn’t the only reason ya decided to swing by. Come, have a seat! It’s slow, so we’ll get some food in ya and catch up!” As Roscoe led Vincent over to the counter, the young hero glanced at the girl, only to feel some surprise when he saw her expression had softened into a smile. Roscoe urged Vincent to sit down before he hurried into the kitchen, leaving Vincent and the girl alone.
A few moments passed in silence before she said, “Sorry for glaring at you like that. Gangsters and the like come by from time to time to give Roscoe grief and I assumed you were one of them, so I was getting ready to throw you out.” She held out a hand. “I’m Erin.”
“Vincent.” he replied, smiling as he shook her hand. “I get it. This isn’t exactly a safe part of town. I’ve had to toss some assholes out back when I worked here, myself.”
“Oh, you’ve worked here before?”
“Yeah. It was actually working here that made me fall in love with cooking. I don't do it as a job anymore, but I cook pretty often for my…roommates, I guess you’d call them.” After a moment, he asked, “So, you’re the one running security for the old guy these days? What made you wanna work here?”
“Well, he’s my grandpa,” Erin replied as she leaned forward, resting an elbow on the counter and her chin in her hand. “I was out of town for school and when I decided I didn’t wanna do that anymore, he offered me a job. I’ve always liked working with him, so I was glad to help him out and get paid for it. Especially since he needed the help after the last guy disappeared on him.” After a moment, she blushed and added, “Oh, shit. You’re the last guy, aren’t you? Sorry, I shouldn’t assume you’d just bail on him, especially since he still seems to like you.”
Vincent forced a smile. He wasn’t upset with her by any means, but the mention of how he up and disappeared still made him feel a little guilty. “It’s alright,” he reassured her. “I wouldn’t have left if I could’ve helped it, but it was a…rough time. I know I’ve gotta talk to him about it, but I’m not sure when I’ll be ready for that.”
Erin smiled at Vincent, who felt his heart skip a beat, and said, “Well, after seeing how happy he was to see you, I’m sure he understands. He doesn’t seem to be in any hurry for an explanation, so take your time and talk to him when you’re ready.”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’ll definitely do that…” Vincent muttered before clearing his throat. This…was weird for him. His heart thrummed and he felt the same familiar, yet somehow altogether different, buzz in his gut that he normally felt right before a fight, but there was no reason for him to feel this way. Despite their initial meeting, Erin wasn’t being hostile to him, far from it, yet he couldn’t deny how he felt. The hell’s going on? Why do I feel so weird? he thought.
“I’ve got a question for you.”
Erin’s voice nearly made Vincent jump, as distracted as he was by his inner turmoil, but he managed to keep his surprise contained. He cleared his throat once more and answered, “What’s up?”
“You said you used to keep people from messing with my grandpa before I started working here, right?” When Vincent nodded, Erin continued, a bit more hesitantly as she fidgeted with some hair that had fallen over her ear, “I go to this gym over by Melville Park. Since I moved back not too long ago, I could use a new workout buddy…and I kinda wanna see how I compare to my grandpa’s old ‘bodyguard.’ Would you wanna meet me over there sometime? Show me what you can do, maybe we can give each other some pointers?”
Vincent blinked. Was that all she wanted to ask me? She looks pretty nervous if she just wants to hang out. However, he couldn't deny his own, inexplicable nervousness as he answered, “Sure. Yeah, I don’t mind. I think I’m free Saturday, if that works for you?”
She grinned and Vincent once again felt his heart skip a beat. “That sounds perfect! Mind if I get your number in case something comes up?”
Vincent nodded and just as the pair finished exchanging numbers, Roscoe (who definitely wasn’t stalling so he could let Erin and Vincent get to know each other) stepped through the swinging doors, balancing plates of burgers and fries for each of them. “Hope you kids are hungry! I didn’t make more burgers, but there are plenty of fries!” He set the food on the counter, then hurried over to the open sign hanging from the door. He flipped it to the “closed” side to avoid any interruptions and returned to his granddaughter and old employee.
The rest of the afternoon passed quickly as the three of them talked and laughed, mostly about all the mistakes Vincent made when he first started working for Roscoe. It wasn’t until sundown when Vincent finally decided to head home for the day after an admittedly reluctant farewell to Roscoe and Erin. As he flew home, he found himself excited for the next weekend when he could see her again.