Hot Chocolate and Lawsuits

[Megami†]

It was a cold Saturday morning -- not surprising, given Seattle's geographical position. Kevin de la Torre sat in a small eating area in the back of one of Seattle's local coffee shops, feet reclined on the small table in front of him, iPhone held up to his face, partially blocking the view of the people around him. It was about 10am, and the coffee shop was absolutely packed.

That was partially the reason he had come.

Kevin loved to people watch, and this particular coffee shop was always bustling with customers, catering to this particular characteristic of his. The coffee was fantastic as well, but that was just an added bonus. Kevin was far more interested in watching the people around him rush around, some fighting the crowd to get their morning coffee before work, others relaxing and -- he smirked -- doing some "public writing". Because writing wasn't valid unless you did it in public.

And then, there had been one more reason Kevin had chosen this particular coffee shop at this time on this day.

He could see her standing at the entrance to the coffee shop from where he was sitting. Straight black hair, coming to the middle of her back, the entire top layer bleached blonde, dark brown eyes -- the same color as his own -- and a slender body... Alecia de la Torre was a pretty girl, and easy to pick out in a crowd. Word had gotten around to Kevin that his little sister had been seeing someone much older than her. Kevin, however, hadn't come to the coffee shop in order to confront the man dating his under-aged little sister. He had simply come to watch.

He kept the phone in front of his face, careful to avoid attracting attention. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, Alecia could have been standing directly in front of him and not noticed. Instead, she was glancing this way in that, obviously in search of someone. Several minutes went by before someone Kevin recognized very well approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Kevin raised an eyebrow.

Frederic Milovich was an intern for one of the freshmen teachers at Aurora High School and was, at minimum, between the ages of 24-26. In other words, he was about ten years older than Alecia de la Torre. The older man hugged Alecia in a tight embrace, and the two stepped into the long line to get coffee. Kevin tilted his head slightly sideways, still watching the couple. He found it odd that of all the people standing around the two, no one stopped and questioned why this man had his arm inappropriately placed around a minor's waist.

He wondered how many of those same people would suddenly turn around and jeer the same man if they knew that that girl was, in essence, one of his students.

He began chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully. If he were a "good" brother, what would he do? Mass media told him he should stand up, go over there, punch the guy, and cart his sister out of the coffee shop. That's what would happen on television, and it was the same kind of display of testosterone he'd seen so many times before in similar situations. Kevin, however, was different.

He simply watched as the two moved further and further along in the line, never getting so much as an awkward glance from the people around them. Even the man behind the cash register -- probably around 18 or 19 -- didn't give the two a second glance, despite the grotesque amount of PDA the couple had been demonstrating. Was it because Alecia looked much older than her actual age with the attire and makeup she wore? Was it because the people around them couldn't tell the difference between a teenager and someone in their late 20's? Kevin found it very strange.

He wondered how long it had been going on -- his little sister's involvement with this older man. He wondered how far the relationship had gone, and what would be done to this man should that relationship come to light. Most curious of all, at least to Kevin, was the fact that this man, Frederic Milovich, seemed to have no qualms about publicly displaying his involvement with Alecia. Wasn't he worried that he'd see a member of the Aurora faculty, or a family member? Or perhaps... another Aurora High student.

Oh wait.

Scrolling to the camera function on his cell phone, Kevin targeted the couple and discretely snapped several pictures. He paused for a moment as he glanced over the photos. Having evidence of their involvement was as likely to get Alecia in trouble as it was to cause problems for Frederic.

Even better.

He placed the pictures into a text message, and forwarded it. It was only to one person -- a contact of his with no ties to Aurora High School whatsoever. He hadn't gone to school there, had no relatives, knew next to no one except the occasional student he ran into on the street... but that would be enough. It always was.

As he pressed the "Send" button, Kevin's lips twisted into a snake-ish smirk.

---

His little sister and her older boyfriend had left the coffee shop after that, neither of them having ever noticed Kevin amidst the hustle and bustle of the business. It hadn't taken long for the pictures to turn up online, and after that, Frederic Milovich found himself with a whole lot of unwanted publicity. It wasn't long after that before he disappeared from the halls of Aurora High School, and along with that, disappeared out of Alecia de la Torre's life.

She had been heartbroken for a while, and mortified at all the publicity that had been drawn to her. Fortunately -- at least for Alecia -- her father, a well-to-do lawyer, somehow managed to keep at least her name mostly out of the press. Still, it had created a large strain on their relationship, and her father had never quite looked at her the same way after that.

She had sworn up and down to her father, the lawyers, and everyone in between that they were waiting until she turned 18 before they pursued an intimate relationship, but Raphael de la Torre would hear nothing of it, and was relentless in his charges against the intern. Things were never quite the same in the de la Torre household after that incident.

And Kevin found that fascinating.