There was a summary change! I've decided to go in a different direction with this story. It's now an AU story. I just hope it can be written as well as I have it laid out in my head...There is going to be a little bit of OOC-ness for some of the characters. I just hope it's not too distracting.
Enjoy!

At approximately two in the afternoon, Amelia took a half an hour lunch break. She made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and paid for it using her employee discount. Settling into one of her favorite corners, she pulled out her iPhone and placed one ear bud into her left ear. For a moment, she closed her eyes and let the swell of the music carry her away to another world. When the choir joined in with the symphony, shivers ran down her spine. No one quite understood her attachment and involvement with music. It affected her like nothing else in the world.

She was sharply jolted out of her reverie by the sound of her phone receiving a text message. It was from Jen.

Trn around slwly. There's some1 u need 2 check out. In more ways thn 1 ;)

She did as instructed, slowly as to not attract any unwanted attention, and her gaze locked with a man straight out of her imagination. There were the high cheekbones, the dark hair, the sinewy figure, the intelligence behind pools of deep green, the height…everything. It was like someone went into her mind and built her fantasy man out of skin and bone. Amelia found herself riveted by his piercing stare. His thin lips flashed a miniscule smile. She flashed him a shy smile in return before getting up to take his order. Placing herself behind the register, she found his eyes even more entrancing up close. Green lines spread outward from a gold ring that encircled his pupil. Gold flecks were scattered among the emerald sea that seemed of infinite depth.

"Hello," she greeted softly, looking down and tearing herself away from his gaze. "How may I help you?"

His lips twitched slightly before he spoke, "I would like a small cup of tea."

Amelia felt shivers run down her spine as his voice seemed to wrap around her in a blanket of warmth. She was quite glad that this man was a customer and not a coworker. That devilish accent of his would have been her downfall, "O-of course. Would you like to add milk or sugar?"

His answer was short, "One cube of sugar will do."

"Will that be all t-today?" Damn, her nervous stutter. He nodded with a hint of a frown on his face. "Your total i-is two dollars and f-forty-five cents."

As he fished around in his coat for his wallet, Amelia went to work preparing his order while sneaking glances at him out of the corner of her eye. Shortly after he pulled out a twenty, she returned with his drink. Her eyes wandered to his wallet where she noticed a familiar drawing with surprise.

"Are you interested in Norse mythology?" She spoke up, louder than she expected. He looked at her quizzically. "Your w-wallet," she clarified, seeing his confusion. "It has Yggdrasil on i-it. I thought you m-might know of the myths somehow."

He narrowed his eyes, "Is that so?"

She nodded, "I l-loved learning about the gods and goddesses w-when I was little. It's a-always been a pastime of mine to study m-more about it."

He appraised her with his powerful eyes. Intense pain flashed momentarily across his expression but vanished just as quickly. Amelia forced herself not to look away during his contemplation. When he spoke again, it was a low rumbling in her ears, "Not many residents here know of the tree."

"D-disappointing, isn't it?" Amelia wanted to continue this conversation as long as possible. She loved the myths and the great majestic tales of old. This man, whoever he was, was the only person she had met that knew anything about them.

"Hm," he seemed to deliberate for a moment. "Yes, I suppose so."

After a moment of stifling silence, Amelia thought it best to let the man continue on his way. He didn't seem be interested in her much anyway. After handing him his change, she ended with, "Well, have a g-good day, sir."

"To you, as well."

And that was that. Amelia let disappointment flood her system as she watched his long strides carry him through the door. She had just let her dream guy walk out of the café! She shook her head at herself. This is why she would never find a man. Her stupid low self-confidence held her back from making a move every time.

Jen came bouncing through the door from the back, "So, how'd it go?"

"Serving a customer?" Amelia played dumb, "Same as always."

"Amelia! You know that's not what I meant," Jen exclaimed quietly, "That man was what you've been chattering on about for the two years that you've worked here. You just let him walk out the door?"

Frustration quickly built up in Amelia's head, "Of course I did! What was I supposed to do? Give him my number?"

"Yes!" Jen said, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world. "Go do it now; before he gets away!"

"Jen, I'm not going to go chasing after some guy that I barely even talked to today," Amelia shrugged nonchalantly. "Besides, he seemed like he just wanted to leave."

Jen pouted, "You're no fun."

Amelia rolled her eyes and continued with helping customers. She couldn't get the man out of her head though. The way his voice curled around her and made her feel warm was disconcerting. She was sure he could talk his way into anything that he wished. His eyes had seemingly pierced directly into her soul and the fact that he was somewhat involved in Norse mythology was something straight out of her wildest daydreams. Suddenly, rushing outside to try to catch him before he disappeared didn't seem like such a bad idea, despite how much he looked like he had wanted to leave her sight. Just as she was getting ready to fly out from behind the counter, a huge influx of people streamed through the door. A sigh escaped Amelia's lips as she let the disappointment crash through her once again.

By the time she was done helping every customer, she knew there was no hope of catching up to the man. Amelia decided to wait out the end of her shift but the last hour passed dreadfully slow. Every five minutes, she glanced at the clock and then at the door; wishing against all odds that time would speed up or that the man from earlier would walk back in. She knew neither of those things were going to happen but hope still wormed its way into her thoughts. She couldn't help but think about the way his eyes appeared like an endless emerald pool. The depth of emotion that they seemed to hold, even without meaning to, was incredible. When she surprised him with a question, she could see the dispassionate mask slip. He surprised her with the amount of agony and anger behind his façade. Just as soon as she saw the torrent of emotion, however, the mask was back in place. Amelia was curious as to what was causing him such pain; thinking about that torturous look of his sent goose bumps all over her arms.

She realized, with a silent chuckle, that she wanted to give the poor man a hug.

"Jen! I'm leaving!" Amelia called to the back of the café.

The small woman bounded to the front to embrace her, "We need to get together sometime, before you leave on some grand adventure and forget all about this little shop."

"Oh, please," Amelia scoffed. "A grand adventure? Maybe after college. I've still got eight years left."

Jen raised her eyebrows. "Wow. Psychology really takes a while, huh?"

"You have no idea."

Jen laughed musically and ushered Amelia out the door, "Go get some sleep, girly. You look like you need it."

"Yes ma'am!" Amelia grinned and unlocked her bike. As the sun set behind the trees, Amelia barely paid attention to the ride home. She re-chained her bike to the rack outside her apartment and plodded tiredly up to the elevator. She nearly missed the ding that signaled her arrival to her floor. Her hand felt incredibly heavy as she dug her key out of her pocket and unlocked her door. The familiar smell of the place had her dragging her feet to her bedroom. A short change later, Amelia was in her pajamas and crawling under her very comfortable sheets. The last thought she had before sleep claimed her was of intense green eyes.

Amelia awoke with a start as the sound of her telephone rang shrilly in her ear. She looked over at her clock.

1:05am. You've got to be kidding me.

Rubbing her eyes, she picked up the phone, wondering what was so important that it couldn't wait until a reasonable hour.

"Mm-ullo?" Amelia mumbled, not attempting to hide the sleepiness in her voice.

"Amelia? It's your mother," a soft voice came from the speaker.

"What's up?"

A short, weighted pause, "It's your father."

Amelia began to wake up. Fast. "What about dad?"

"He's…" A shaky breath, "He's been in a car accident. It's pretty bad."

"Oh my God," Amelia whispered. "Is he going to be okay?"

"The doctors…they don't know. They don't know! They're doctors, how could they not know?" Amelia heard her mother becoming hysterical. "I just don't know what would happen if…if…"

Amelia's mind shut out irrational thought, for her mother's sake, "Mom, he's going to be fine. What hospital are you at? I'll be there."

"Presbyterian," her mother's strained voice becoming shaky with tears. "Please, hurry."

"I'll be there soon."

Amelia hung up the phone, threw on some jeans and a t-shirt and raced out the door. She hailed a cab quickly, nearly shouting the name of the hospital at the driver. Lights flashed by as the driver sped down the road. Amelia urged it to go faster despite knowing that it could only go so fast without breaking the law. After what seemed like an eternity, they arrived at the hospital. The cab barely stopped before Amelia dropped a twenty on the driver's lap and flung herself out the door. When she entered the disturbingly white emergency room, she saw her mother sitting in a corner, her eyes red and puffy.

"Mom," Amelia rushed over. "How is he doing?"

She sniffed, "I don't know. They haven't updated me yet."

"Have they caught the person who hit him?" Amelia felt rage course through her system.

Her mother nodded weakly, her neat bun falling apart on top of her head.

"Where are they?"

Anger flashed in her mother's brown eyes, "He is over there."

Amelia followed her mother's pointed finger and her eyes rested on a bored-looking man with ebony hair, pale skin, and long legs. Small blood spots were scattered across the white shirt underneath his black suit. His gaze was directed out the window as if he was longing to disappear. Unexpected fury at this stranger flared inside of her and she stalked over to where he was sitting. It felt like tongues of fire were spreading over her skin. With every step towards the man, the rage increased until Amelia thought she would scream. As she drew nearer, she felt a spark of recognition through her whirlwind of emotion. Those features were nagging at the back of her mind. Amelia was sure she had seen this man before.

"You," She spoke venomously before she reached him, "Are you the man who hit my father?"

His eyes flicked over to hers and Amelia stopped dead in her tracks. Emerald orbs met her brown ones and she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her.

Oh, no. Why him? Why me?

That slight smile that had made her heart flutter earlier now made her rage all the more intense. Amelia never considered herself a violent person, but the overwhelming urge to punch this man across his perfect jaw said otherwise. That ridiculous smirk of his wasn't helping. He only seemed to smile wider as he stood up.

"Yes," he nearly whispered. "My sincerest apologies."

Amelia's jaw dropped, "You nearly killed him and all you've got to say is sorry? You're lucky I'm not suing you!"

This seemed to amuse him, "Quite," he chuckled.

"I hope you realize you're paying for all of the damages."

"Of course," he replied with the ease of a wealthy person.

She sighed softly, "Well, alright then."

An awkward silence settled on the trio. The soft sniffles of Amelia's mother nearly drowned out the TV in the corner of the room. After the longest twenty minutes of Amelia's life, a doctor that looked as tired as she felt stepped through the door on the other side of the room. A small smile on the doctor's face lifted Amelia's spirits.

"You must be the Corteza family," the doctor greeted amicably, holding her hand out to shake. "I'm Dr. Witzner. I treated Anthony."

Amelia took the offered hand, "I'm his daughter Amelia. This is my mother Giselle. How's he doing?"

The doctor's smile faltered a little, "We've stabilized him but he hasn't regained consciousness yet."

Giselle spoke up with a shaky voice, "Can we see him?"

"Yes," the doctor hesitated. "But be prepared. It's not a pretty sight."

The walk over to the room took an eternity. All of the cool blues, greens, and purples did nothing to soothe Amelia's nerves. When they finally reached the room, Giselle didn't hesitate as she rushed to her husband's side. Amelia held back tears as she took in the bandages on his head, the casts on his left arm and leg, and the brace on his neck. Bruises seemed to cover every inch of his visible skin and minor scratches littered his face and neck. The heart rate monitor on the side of the bed showed a weakened rhythm and a slowed pace. What scared Amelia the most was the amount of wires and tubes that he was connected to. One for a blood transfusion, one for liquids to prevent dehydration, and wires to monitor breathing and heart rate made him seem like a robot or a machine. It terrified her.

Amelia pulled the doctor out of the room, "How bad is it?"

Dr. Witzner sighed, "Arm broken in two places, leg broken in three. He lost a lot of blood through internal bleeding but we've gotten most of that stopped. He broke five ribs; two almost punctured his left lung. He's got a concussion, though his skull remained intact. He sustained major whiplash but his neck didn't break. Quite frankly, he's very lucky. It's almost impossible for him not to survive now."

For the first time that night, Amelia smiled, "Thank you."

Dr. Witzner returned the smile and walked back down the hall, towards another patient's room and disappeared. Amelia walked back inside her father's room and laid a hand on her mother's shoulder.

"He's going to be alright," she whispered happily to her mother.

"Oh, thank you Lord," Giselle gasped in relief.

Tugging lightly on Giselle's arm, Amelia said, "Come on. Let's get you home so you can sleep."

Giselle didn't budge, "No, you go. I want to stay here with him."

Amelia nodded and headed for the door, "Mom, call me if you need anything. I'm only fifteen minutes away."

"Okay," Giselle responded as Amelia exited the room.

The walk back to the waiting room didn't take nearly as long as Amelia remembered. She pushed open the doors, taking a deep breath to steady herself before confronting that man again. Instead of staring out of the window like before, he was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His hands were folded in front of his mouth and his eyes were staring right back at her. She froze for a second before regaining her confidence and striding over to him.

"I need your information," she demanded.

He stared back at her coolly and silently.

"Don't make this difficult, please," Amelia rasped tiredly. "I just want to get home."

He stood once again and smirked, "But that would be too easy."

She rolled her eyes, "Seriously, I just want to sleep. Write down your information and let me be on my way!"

His smirk got wider and he stepped closer to her, "And what would I get in return?"

"How about I won't prosecute your ass for reckless driving?" Amelia snarled, holding her ground.

This made him laugh. His voice lowered, sending shivers down her spine. "Empty threats, my dear. We both know you wouldn't follow that through."

"Watch me!" Amelia turned on her heel and stalked toward the exit.

A strong hand grabbed her arm, "Wait."

"If you don't let me go, I'll scream," she threatened quietly, ignoring the sparks emanating from his hand on her skin.

His eyes narrowed but he relinquished his hold, "Fine. I'll tell you everything you need to know," he paused. "On one condition."

"And that would be?"

"I take you to dinner."