Jolting upwards with a loud gasp he’s woken by a bright light and a throbbing headache. Looking around his heart began beating out of his chest upon seeing a room full of naked people around him. The bed he’s on was unfamiliar but felt way too expensive for him to even touch let alone sleep in. Confusion and panic started to set in realizing he had no memory of the night before but he’s also never felt this well rested either, despite the headache of course. He felt that something was off about his usual routine, reaching inside his pocket he realized he still had his prescription bottle on him. The label was the same but the pills inside were a slightly different color than normal.

“What the hell did they give me…” Caleb muttered out loud running a hand through his sweat-drenched blonde hair. His breath hitched in his throat at the sudden feeling of cold hands grabbing his thighs. Quickly lifting the blanket to reveal an older man smiling up at him. It’s also at that same moment he realized he had no clothes on from the waist down.

“Good morning to you too” He happily slurred his words, popping his head out of the blanket confidently to rest his head on Caleb’s chest.

“W-who are you, where am I?” He spoke, a little frightened of the situation.

“I’m Jonah, and this is my hotel!” he bragged proudly, nuzzling his face against Caleb.

“How did I get here…?” Jonah tilted his head, almost confused at the question.

“I brought you here, my friends insisted you came uptown with us for a little um…” He sat up letting the blanket fall off his shoulders as he seductively looked Caleb up and down. “Fun.” He finished with a little giggle at the end. Jonah was still clearly out of it from whatever he took the night before so Caleb tried to desperately pull him off with one hand and cover himself with the other. “Leaving already?” he whines rolling around in the sheets.

“I have to go, I’m sorry!” Caleb quickly grabs some random pair of jeans on the floor just to cover himself up despite it constantly dropping a little too low as he walked. Rushing out the building once he found a mask and began his walk of shame all the way back where he came from. Guilt washed over him, the cheating was no longer part of his job, he had gone out and slept who knows how many people. Though his memory of the night was still very hazy he started remembering pieces of the events that unfolded. But the one thing that shocked him the most was the fact he managed to sleep until morning. What if the way he acted is just what he truly wants with no filter or debating with himself, he wonders if that's why he felt so excited waking up next to all those strangers. Caleb only wishes he had his sketchbook with him to capture the beauty of the scene. 

His thoughts then trickled down to Beau, he had to keep her from finding out at all costs, she was the only person in his life he truly cared about after all. He couldn’t tell her the truth it’d only hurt her, yes, it was best to keep this hidden. Besides he knows she’s cheating too, it's only fair. However, despite this reasoning, he can’t help but think about who she was talking to the other day. Who has been making her so distant, maybe if Beau paid Caleb more attention he wouldn’t have to seek it out through other means. He deserves to know what that person has that he doesn’t! Perhaps he’ll be more comfortable continuing his unfaithful adventures if he had confirmation that she was being just as unfaithful. Caleb stops in his tracks looking at a gift shop as a plan began to form in his head. Meanwhile, Beau was yawning as she flipped a pancake, its sizzle alone made her stomach rumble lowly.

“Perfect! It only took five mistakes to get it right!” Damien’s praise made Beau confused.

“I can’t tell if that's an insult or not.” She plopped it on the plate with the rest.

“Sorry, still new to the whole casual conversation thing.” He chuckles awkwardly.

“Can I eat now your highness?” Beau spun the plate to let him examine it.

“But we haven’t made my special syrup-” Another loud rumble of her belly cut him off. “Ah, I guess we’ve been cooking for a while, go ahead.” Finally feeling the hunger pangs himself he grabs a fork for her.

“You’ve familiarized yourself with my house pretty quickly, are you getting used to this?” Beau asks curiously as she takes a bite of the warm pancake.

“Eh, more or less, I miss my body but it feels like I’ve finally made a friend so I’m kinda grateful.” Beau’s cheeks grow a little warm at his kind words. “Was that weird to say? I’m sorry.” Immediately retreating bashfully, Beau lets out a small laugh.

“Not at all, though I wish we became friends under better circumstances…” She laughs guiltily at herself. “I still feel bad but once we meet with the higher-ups we can stop lounging around get started trying to get you back!” She sounded so determined to make things right, it warmed Damien’s heart to hear. Luckily Beau has been back to her optimistic self ever since her little breakdown a few nights ago. A knock interrupts their breakfast, once Beau opens the door Damien lets out an annoyed sigh seeing Caleb again. “Wow, you look like you actually have energy today.” She looked surprised to see him standing up straight with more than just half-opened eyes.

“Doc gave me a new prescription for my insomnia.” Caleb lied smoothly as he waltzed into her apartment, slightly pushing her out of the way. After a quick glance around the place he smiles and extends his arm letting a purple gift bag hang loosely off his boney fingers.

“Is that for me?” Beau’s brown eyes widen in shock, after their last encounter a gift from him would be the last thing she expected.

“No, it’s for my other girlfriend.” He rolled his eyes sarcastically letting it drop in her hands. She reached in and let out an audible gasp as she pulled out a medium-sized white bear with a big bow on its head.

“Oh my gosh it’s so cute, thank you, Caleb!” Beau hugs the fuzzy fella happily.

“I realized I haven’t done anything super nice for you in a while so here you go, I still love you” Caleb smirked as he ruffled her hair.

“About last time, I’m sorry I made your day worse but when I checked my phone I didn’t have any missed calls so I guess they just never came through?” Beau looked apologetic despite her feeling somewhat suspicious before.

“Mm. If you say so.” Caleb puts his hands in the pockets of a stranger's baggy jeans.

“Oh by the way!” Beau quickly ran out of the room and just as quickly ran back in with his sketchbook in her hands. Caleb’s heart drops to his stomach seeing her hold it so casually, if she knew the filth that was on those pages she’d never look at him the same. “You dropped this last time, here.” She smiles innocently as she held it out for him. With a swift motion, he snatches it out of her hand, quickly stuffing the small book in his back pocket. “Ah, don’t worry I didn’t look, I know how you like to keep your sketches private.” She looks at him nervously, afraid he’ll think she’s lying but he simply nods.

“Good.” Caleb grabs her chin roughly and just as suddenly plants a kiss on her mouth. Damien’s arm quickly shoves him off feeling almost nauseous at the action.

“Bleh! Disgusting!” Damien exclaims. Caleb looks angry as he steps closer to her putting a finger in Beau’s face.

“Push me away one more fucking time, Beau, I swear to god.” His jaw clenched as spoke in almost a slow whisper, Beau began feeling legitimately afraid seeing his other hand clenching tightly at his side like he was ready to strike at any moment.

“I-I’m sorry…” Her voice was small and trembling at his aggression. Just as quick as he entered, he stormed off again.

“What the hell was that?!” Damien was baffled by the encounter however Beau seemed to be more shaken up than outraged by it. “Shit, are you ok?” His voice went gentle, placing his hand on top of hers to stop the shaking.

“Yeah, he hasn’t been that angry in a while, scared me is all, I’m sure he’s just stressed and misses me being physically affectionate.” Beau tries to smile through it but Damien can feel her body trembling.

“I may not know social situations but that doesn’t exactly seem like an appropriate response.” Concern was dripping in his voice so she immediately shook her head.

“No it’s ok, you can feel what I feel right? That probably wasn’t the most pleasant first kiss.” She joked patting his hand as if he was the one that needed to be comforted. After a moment of inner debating, Damien decided to let her distract herself rather than force her to talk about it.

“He tasted like an ashtray and warm beer.” He shivered in revulsion as Beau giggled.

“Good thing it doesn’t count since it’s my body” She stuffed the remaining bits of pancakes in her mouth before putting her dishes in the sink.

“I suppose you’re right, lets's get ready for the day shall we?” Damien didn’t like sitting around in pajamas even if it was going to be a day spent at home. Beau nods, washing down the dry pancake with a cup of water. “See? If you let me make my special syrup it wouldn’t have been so hard to swallow.” He said in a very mothering tone of voice.

“I am going to pretend those words did not come out of your mouth.” Beau snorted childishly to herself as she skipped along to the bathroom ignoring Damien’s confused questions. Once they are dressed and fresh she sits on the couch ready to start her day doing nothing. While she does nothing, little does she know that she’s being watched doing just that. Caleb sits in his dirty apartment, eyes glued to his phone watching his girlfriend through the eyes of her new teddy bear. He finds himself taking another pill despite not trying to sleep at that moment but just so he can feel something. He knows deep down he’s not going to find what he was suspecting more so trying to find an excuse for his own guilt. Gifts are not always given with love, in fact, some use it to make you forget their shortcomings. Of course, the only person who knows the real meaning behind the gift is the giver themselves. It goes to show you don’t always truly know a person's intentions or how much they’ll change within a blink of an eye.