Mel woke up to the unfortunate blaring of Mars' alarm clock at five in the morning on Monday, already missing the days when his circadian rhythm wasn't disrupted by his roommate's training schedule. It didn't matter that their rooms were separated by the living-room when the walls were thin as they were. Still, the sacrifice was worth it as it came attached to the best friend he'd ever had, not that he'd ever admit that to Mars. He then heard the distinctive thump of Mars tripping on the sheets that were likely tangled around his feet, followed by a groan and what was definitely an apology for the racket. How such a prolific athlete could be so uncoordinated first thing in the morning was one of the universe's greatest mysteries.

Mel tried rolling over to fall back asleep and, after failing to do so, got out of the plush nest of blankets that made up his bedding. His phone buzzed as he stretched, he ignored it, more intent on finding Lulu among the mess of blankets. By the time he found the python curled up under a pillow, his phone had buzzed three more times. He glanced at it on the off chance that it was his aunt. After confirming it wasn't, he put Lulu in his tank and continued his morning routine of feeding all the pets which included changing the water in Rover's bowl. He'd put his phone in his pocket and regretted it already as the buzzing continued, so he gave up on the cold shoulder tactic.

This was precisely why he had a one-strike policy, Mel didn't need some guy who'd caught his eye but been a mediocre date at best clinging to him. Then Brad came along and Mel thought maybe, just maybe it wouldn't be so bad to entertain the possibility of seeing the same guy on a regular basis. Six months later, that had proved to be a disastrous experiment as Brad continued to pester him even after they'd stopped "hanging out" before winter break. He opened his chat with Brad to seven new messages, most of which acted as a monologue of the man's monotonous weekend. It was fitting, Mel thought, that even after weeks without seeing each other in person, the asshole thought himself so interesting that he didn't seem to realize Mel was, in fact, not interested at all. 

He answered the messages with a couple monosyllabic ones of his own, poured himself a mug of steaming coffee and sat at the dining table with his laptop. After giving Mars so much grief about his insane schedule, while also helping him build it, Mel was staring at an insane schedule of his own. He may not be an athlete like his roommate, but he had a part-time job at one of the coffee shops on campus and a second one as a peer tutor for multiple departments, all of which was on top of his full course load to maintain his not-quite-enough academic merit scholarship. He didn't mind the jobs, he got to bum baked goods that weren't up to the coffee shop's standards whenever he wanted and tutoring gave him the perfect chance to meet all sorts of people.

He finished setting up his tutoring hours to the intermittent buzzing of his phone. A part of him wondered if he should just entertain the guy one last time and break things off more cleanly this time around, while the rest of him rued the fact that simply changing his phone number would be just as much of a hassle as actually dealing with the man. The first option at least potentially guaranteed that Brad wouldn't keep reaching out to him… or so he hoped. Mel's stomach rumbled and he looked at the clock, he still had an hour to kill before he got to go in for opening shift, so he loaded an online video yoga class and focused on feeling the slight burn of his body stretching awake before taking a quick shower and heading out to campus.

The Milky Way was a small coffee shop and bakery that had been owned by the same family for generations, when the university started expanding its campus and acquiring the surrounding buildings and lots they had offered the family to build around them and partner with them. Mel had started working there during his first year, taking as many shifts as the owners would allow him as he struggled to not drown in his bills, which inevitably got him a lot of experience and trust from the owners. After Mars moved in, with his unenviable schedule, Mel had asked his bosses to always get opening shift since he was already awake anyways rather than have a rotating schedule like the rest of the student employees. Most of his coworkers thought him insane for it, but Mel actually enjoyed the calm routine of setting up the shop for the day, even if it came accompanied by the morning rush of students desperately seeking caffeine to wake them enough for their first class.

There was something about making sure that closing shift hadn't forgotten some task, while the cafe was filled with the scent of fresh pastries in the oven and ground coffee, that centered him. He was in the middle of taking out the first batch of croissants when someone approached the counter.

"Sorry, we're not open yet." Mel spoke up, eyes glued on the croissants so he wouldn't drop any.

"I figured you'd make an exception for me."

The tray clattered on the counter, thankfully, when Mel dropped it, his head whipping in the voice's direction. It was fucking Brad.

"I haven't even turned on the point of service." Mel deadpanned.

"Then I guess I'll just have to sit here and wait then," Brad replied, making himself comfortable in one of the booths, "I knew you were working early today so I figured I could keep you company."

"How sweet of you." Mel turned his back to him and rolled his eyes, his previously idyllic morning turning sour immediately as Brad started prattling on with stories of his winter break. Mel tried to tune him out as he kept organizing pastries in the display.

"So, when are we going on our next date?" Brad asked, after twenty straight minutes of hearing mostly his own voice with the occasional sound of Mel moving things around.

"I'm off on Sunday, if you want to do something Saturday night." Mel answered, bending over the counter and batting his eyelashes and smiling dreamily at Brad. "If… you're not too busy…"

Back when they started seeing each other, Brad had loved knowing that despite Mel barely ever had any time for anything other than working and studying, he still tried to adapt to Brad's own schedule. So Mel used it to his advantage and incorporated it into his act of the timid guy Brad thought he was.

"Perfect timing, actually," Brad smiled in a way that made Mel shiver, brewing two shots of espresso and bagging a croissant, "the boys will be partying all night at Cosmos, so we'll have the house to ourselves."

"Awesome." Mel said, booting up the system and logging in, Brad got up from his perch and approached the register, student ID in hand. "Black coffee and butter croissant, right?"

"I love how you know me so well." Brad smirked, swiping his ID when prompted and in the same motion, resting it under Mel's chin, making their eyes meet. "Can't wait for our date, wear something nice, I'm taking you out to dinner."

Brad left just as Soledad, Mel's favorite coworker, walked in. She glared at Brad's back and raised a brow at Mel, but knew better than to comment on it. They had argued the man's existence in Mel's life ad nauseam already. Her perspective was that Brad was a piece of shit, while Mel's was that he was a hot piece of shit, and now he wished he'd listened to her and cut him off a long time ago.

Morning rush came and went peacefully, Mel thought he'd make it through the entire shift scot free but Soledad turned on him the moment he clocked out.

"All I'm saying is make sure you're being safe with him, I don't trust his attitude." Was all Soledad said before he had the sense to bid her goodbye and walk towards his first class.