Thinking fast, Nick hid the ashtray which was on their table so that he could ask for the one at the girl's table. Still, he didn't want to spook the girl so he waited for her friend to come back. Once her friend got back, he approached their table.

"Excuse me, could I borrow your ashtray? Our table doesn't seem to have one." He asked as politely as he could.

"Sure, go right ahead," as he expected, the answer came from the girl's friend.

It was polite but rather dismissive. As if his mere presence was somehow bothering her.

The girl who got his attention was looking intently at the table as if there was a sacred texture written on its surface and never lifted her gaze. Although her eyes seemed to be glued to the table, Nick could feel she was watching him from the corner of her eyes. Clearly, she was curious but tried her best not to let it show.

"Thank you," he said.

"By the way, I am Nick," He added casually.

The friend shook his outstretched hand firmly with all the confidence he expected from someone dressed like she was. Still, she maintained her cold attitude that was starting to make him feel rather chilly.

"My name is Tea, and this is my friend Mia." Tea said robotically.

Mia just nodded in Nick's general direction and didn't show any intention of shaking his hand. It was as if she was doing her best to preserve her personal space and Nick respected that and didn't try to shake her hand.

Though the introductions were made, it didn't seem to get Nick any closer to Mia. Even Tea seemed to be on the defense, probably thinking Nick would hit on her. It was classic 'I have a boyfriend' syndrome.

The terrible thing was that it didn't even seem to cross Tea's mind that Nick might be interested in her friend. He believed the reason behind it was the fact that Tea was wearing fancy clothing and full makeup.

Mia, on the other hand, had no makeup at all, and she wore casual clothes. Her t-shirt had skeletons on it, and she had a skull as a belt buckle which made him even more intrigued.

There seemed to be so much more to her than met the eye but it was difficult to tell what it was. She seemed far more complex and intriguing than most of the people Nick had had contact with before and that made her even more compelling. Mia was a mystery.