Tuesday, Febrary 11th

The loud ding of a notification made Eden jolt up, waking suddenly from a troubled sleep. He had no idea when he passed out. He knew he’d dreamt of Dean, but as soon as his eyes opened, he couldn’t remember anything that happened in those dreams.

Nothing good, I’m sure.

He groaned and reached to grab his phone, undecided on whether he was thankful or annoyed that he’d set the volume so high. There was one message and he sighed in frustrated relief reading it.

< Hey dickhead. I’m fine. I’ll go home when I’m ready. >

Then another came through, just a moment later.

< And don’t lie. Mom is always mad. >

Eden shook his head at his sister. He loved her, but she really said and did whatever she wanted. Turning the volume down, hoping it hadn’t woken his roommates, he wondered if Maddie had been harboring her this whole time. Aside from her best friend, he didn’t know where else she could go to hide.

< If you’re not going home, tell Em you’re alright. You know she worries. >

He doubted she would actually do that, so he sent his own message.

< Aug texted. She says she’s fine. I’ll try to convince her to go home. >

The reply was almost instant.

< Thank you for letting me know. I’m glad she contacted you. >

He sighed again, this time in resignation, and collapsed back onto the stiff mattress. After Dean had stormed out, he spent an unknown number of hours staring blankly into the dark. He should have been contemplating his life, or at least the events of that day, but instead his mind was empty, incapable of thinking anything at all. Eventually, exhaustion hit him and he fell asleep.

Looking at the time, there was still an hour before his alarm would ring, but he was already mostly awake.

And what absurd things will happen to me today? he thought as he pushed himself back up, then forced himself to get ready.

“You’re up early.” Justin greeted him as he shuffled into the kitchen, his smile too wide and too bright for this time of the morning. “Coffee?”

Eden shook his head and slouched over the kitchen counter. He hadn’t thought about it after everything that happened the night before, but so much of him was still sore and he dreaded walking the six blocks to work. He felt a soft tap on the back and heard a light chuckle.

“You look like shit, dude.”

“I feel like shit,” he mumbled, rolling himself over and propping up on his elbows.

Justin’s quick smirk confirmed that how he felt was obvious. “Did you hear from Auggie?”

“Yeah. She said she’s fine and not going home.”

He tried to hold it in, but his friend couldn’t stop a smile and a short laugh. When Eden glared, his hands went up in defense. “It’s not funny, I know. I just really like that girl. She’s so stubborn. It’s cute.”

“Fucking adorable.”

She really was cute. He wasn’t actually that upset now that he knew she was safe, but she could have chosen better timing.

“So, what happened with Dean?” Justin asked, taking a step back when Eden growled. “That good, huh?”

“We broke up.” The words made his friend’s eyes grow wide. “Not that we were ever dating. But it sure as hell felt like a break up.”

Justin nodded, as if he understood a situation he knew nothing about. He gave him another pat. “I can tell you don’t want me to ask. Alex doesn’t really like him, but last night... Well, he was really worried for you and didn’t even know why.”

He already knew that, but Justin saying it out loud just added to his guilt. “Yeah. Which makes the whole thing even worse.”

With another nod, Justin grabbed his mug of coffee and quietly sipped. He wouldn’t ask any more and Eden was grateful. After a few minutes of silence, each going about their morning routine, Justin met him at the door.

“Going to work?” he asked. When Eden grunted in reply, he smiled sweetly. “Let’s walk together then. I have some things to get done before my first class.”

Eden doubted that was true but didn’t question. He was happy to have the company to distract him. As always, Justin was bright and chatty while they walked toward campus. Somehow he made it all the way to the café entrance barely remembering the trip.

“Well, this is where I leave you,” his friend said cheerfully, giving him a final pat, then a short wave.

Eden flashed him a small smile and watched him turn and stroll across the street toward campus, whistling as he went. With a huff, wishing a bit that he could be so carefree, he entered the café, the little bell on the door announcing his arrival.

Hardly two steps in, he caught sight of a familiar face sitting at a window table and spun in surprise. Wearing a playful smile, Kell raised a hand in greeting. He couldn’t help himself and smiled back, heading over to join him. It had to be a coincidence. He was at least a half-hour early for his shift and he worked random hours, taking whatever openings he could get and swapping with others for more time. There was no way anyone could have known his schedule this week, but the tiniest bit of him, somewhere in the back of his mind, kind of hoped he’d purposely come to see him.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Kell teased. The playful grin grew a little softer and his hope grew a little with it.

“Very funny.” He approached the table, smiling wider, then noticed the second cup of coffee. “Expecting someone?”

“More like someone just left.”

Eden, you’re such a dumbass. What are you thinking right now?

Before he could comment or offer to take the empty cups away like the good employee he was, feeling bitter for no reason, he heard a high-pitched grunt from across the room. His eyes bulged and jaw dropped at the sound, and he almost stumbled toward the source.

A pre-teen girl, with long, wavy, light blond hair and big, sparkling, gradient blue eyes was stomping her way over, hands flying in front of her. Her expression was angry and annoyed and tired, but he was too shocked to fully process the image. His eyes darted to a table in the far corner, an empty cup and plate sitting on it. On the windowsill was an overstuffed backpack and small handbag.

The girl slapped him hard on the arm and his eyes snapped back to her. A large scowl covered her pretty, porcelain face.

“Hey, dickhead! Are you paying attention to me? I’ve been waiting here all morning! What took you so long?”

Her hands and fingers flew furiously through the air as she glared at him, but now he was glaring back, identical blue eyes staring down at her.

“What are you doing here? How did you even get here?”

His gestures were just as fast and his expressions just as frustrated. She pulled a phone out of her pocket and pointed to the map still filling the screen.

“GPS, idiot. I’m Deaf, not stupid.”

Before Eden had a chance to respond, a loud snort burst from behind. He turned to see Kell’s gorgeous dark brown eyes focused on the two of them, smiling in amusement.