Two

“Hey Quincy, get up!” I moan in response and fall off of a couch. Ow. I look up from the floor and see my friend Amber standing above me, holding a spatula for some inexplicable reason. Huh, I guess that car didn’t kill me yesterday. But why am I back at Amber’s place? I stare up at her from the floor.

“Why am I here?” I croak. She looks at me as though I just asked her if we lived on the moon.

“Well, you’re the one who decided to sleep on my couch…” I have no memory of this, but whatever. I decide to go downstairs.  Astraeus is waiting there. He’s hovering by the stove, which has something sizzling in a saucepan on it, and he’s looking for a spatula, just like yesterday. 

“Morning, Quincy!” Says Astraeus brightly. He said that yesterday.

“Morning,” I mutter as a response. 

“Want a coffee?” I nod. Coffee will make all this make sense, won’t it? Astraeus hands me a steaming mug as Freddie walks past and heads for the stairs. Her red hair is impossibly messy, just like it was yesterday. I take a long sip of the coffee and even though it’s mind-numbingly hot, it feels great. Wait. If everything’s going to happen the same as yesterday, then Freddie’s about to fall down the stairs. I should stop that from happening. Without thinking, I pick up Robespierre from the counter where he was sitting and hurl him at Freddie’s nest of scarlet hair. The fur on his back rises as he latches his claws into Freddie’s skull. Maybe that was a really bad idea. I should get out of here. I leave without anybody noticing and decide that now is as good a time as ever to buy my groceries. What do I need from the store? Hmm, I could probably do with another tube of toothpaste… and I’ll get some of my favourite biscuits too, why not. Actually, I really think I deserve some biscuits. I’ve had a tough week. 

When I get to the grocery store, a man with strawberry blond hair and a neat beard is leaving the store, and I notice that he’s holding a packet of my favourite biscuits. They’re called Cosmic Crunch biscuits, and the hard biscuit part of them is dark blue, tastes like forest berries, and has popping candy in it, and then there’s a sort of caramel inside and there’s popping candy in there too. They’re great, I love them. Clearly this guy has good taste too. 

It’s almost completely empty in the store, the only people I see are the cashier and the guy leaving with the packet of Cosmic Crunch biscuits. I have a minor panic attack when I reach the snack aisle and see that there aren’t any Cosmic Crunch biscuits left. That man must have taken the last packet! Suddenly all the respect I had for his good taste in biscuits evaporates and is replaced with hate. How dare he take my biscuits? I needed those… grumpily, I get the other items I need, pay for them, and leave the store. I’m in a bad mood now, maybe because of my lack of biscuits, and maybe because I haven’t had any breakfast. I decide to eat at the Egg & Rye, as a sort of challenge against myself to see if I’ll get hit by a car this time. I don’t let myself get pulled away into the new, colourful sign, and I make it across the road without any incidents. 

Once I’m inside the café, I order an egg and rye bread sandwich and sit myself at a small round table for two. Not that I’m here with anyone, of course. After a few uneventful minutes, somebody taps me on the shoulder. I turn around and see a man about the same age as me. That seems to be the only thing we have in common. His hair is darker than mine, his eyes are somehow more blue, and his skin is very pale. He’s also really, really pretty. 

“Sorry, is this seat taken?” He asks. I look around the café and see that all the other tables are full. This is a spectacular coincidence.

“No, no, not at all,” I answer, trying to sound casual. I don’t know if it works. "So, do you come here often?" I ask, realising how cliché the question sounds as soon as I’ve asked it.

“No, not really,” He answers, not seeming to mind how stupid and obvious my question sounded. “How about you?”

“Well, I, um… yes, sometimes…” God, I’m a mess.

“Well then, maybe I should come more often, if you’re here a lot.” He smiles warmly, and my stomach erupts into a cloud of butterflies. I notice that he’s finished his coffee.

“Well, it was nice talking to you. My name’s Lev, by the way.” He gets up and leaves. I wonder if I’ll ever see him again. How long have I been sitting here? Somehow, it’s already started to get dark outside. It gets dark pretty early these days, but it’s best that I get home before it’s too dark. Bad stuff happens in this area after sundown. I shiver and remember the terrible things that have happened around here before, and not so long ago. I leave my little white plate on the round table and exit the Egg & Rye. 

I make it back to my apartment without any incidents and collapse on the couch. For some reason, I feel exhausted.