drop the game

“Oh, sorry.” He apologized a bit sheepishly. Leo finally cracked a smile when he realized who it was. He visibly relaxed as he leaned against the bar. “My sister will kill me if I am not home immediately after I get off, she’s been watching Giulia all day. But you’re free to come over if you want.”

Needless to say it’d been a long time since she last sketched like this, her thumbs held a brief tremor when she attempted to adjust her papers — a little, constant phenomenon occuring since her return and she had absentmindedly chalked it off as sheer rustiness. Discovering a vacant time for a quick sketch was hardly possible these days, at least one that wouldn’t involve deadlines and cash being dangled on a thin rope; she hadn’t drawn anything just for the sake of drawing and she’d missed the freedom of too-large noses and ridiculous art involving funky breasts and the president being mauled in the dick with a goddamn chainsaw. Heather was sitting on the other edge of the bench while sculpting new lines, raised an eyebrow when she noticed a heap of kids flicking water towards the sleeping man’s face. “You’re going to wake him up. You’re going to- there he is,” she eyed him, the children ran, and held her hands up when he began to inspect his surroundings. Her pencil was bitten between her teeth. “Not me, I’m innocent,” she piped. “I’d suggest chasing after ‘em but those little devils might end up throwing their fucking cans at you. Trust me. Been there done that. Hey,” she flipped her paper to him, showing a large, unfinished furball, “does this look like a dog or a Yeti to you?”

James squinted through the soda on his face, briefly forgetting that he had hands he could use to clean himself off.  Through muddy movements, he managed to wipe enough of the liquid off before it dried and got too sticky. Having cups of coffee, or other variously mysterious substances thrown onto him was actually a normal wakeup call in his routine --- though he hardly considered it to be unusual, as most others would. It was the life of a man constantly drifting between normalcy and having an actual existential breakdown. 

He didn’t bother looking after the group of kids that had been harassing him (what was he to do, anyway? Chase them down?). Instead he turned to the woman that was talking to him, confusion clouding his face at how quickly she had wrapped him up in a conversation. His eyes grazed the paper and he almost smiled. It resembled the many unfinished sketches he had in his own books and files. “I think,” he began, turning his body to face her before sitting crosslegged where he was on the grass. “You and I probably have very different ideas of what it could be.”

“Listen,” Leo didn’t mean to sound so irritated, but everything in his life seemed to be weighing down on him all the time. He hated that he seemed to take it out on others more often that he liked to admit. When he realized how rough his tone was, he softened it a bit. “You’ve been here for a while, are you going to order something?”

“Obviously you haven’t taken a look at my face,” James began, his voice much lighter than the bartender’s was. He grinned as soon as his friend (at least, that’s what he liked to think they were) turned to look at him. With his back having been to the bar most of the time he was there, he wasn’t surprised Leo hadn’t recognized him. “I drank at home. I just came to whisk you away once you’re off.”

blair shrugged. “my kid doesn’t pee on everything, she knows how to use an actual toilet,” she said. “yeah, i don’t go to starbucks — i know how to make my own tea and coffee.

“i... sorry, didn’t mean to assume.” like the flip of a coin, his demeanor instantly changed. for a disgruntled miscreant, his face showed a large amount of interest. “you have a kid? how old are you even?”

To put it simply Noah wasn’t sure why he was here either. He should be supervising the employees at his store but things had been so quiet and calm lately he just decided roaming outside would be a better idea. A cancer stick dangled between thin lips, he figured he should treat himself by enjoying the rather sunny day outside. When he realized someone had jolted up from what he assumed was a bad dream, Noah turned around to inspect him. His breaths heavy. “What’s going on?”

James sat up, aware that eyes were on him now. Being from San Francisco, and moving to New York, he was used to his antics going on without being bothered by passerby. So someone taking an interest in another of his public episodes wasn’t exactly rare, but it wasn’t something that happened often. He didn’t look at the stranger yet, and instead began digging in his pockets for his weed and lighter. A few moments later and he had a joint in his hand. He lifted the joint to his lips and lit it, taking a puff. “Life and bullshit, buddy. That’s going on.”

“dude,” she said, picking joey up and resting her on her hip. “you shouldn’t lay in the middle of the ground. you know dogs pee in this grass, right? …and the occasional child or hobo.”

Much to their ultimate delight, the sun is radiant enough for them to go outside in lieu of stranding in the cusp of their own apartment for the rest of the day. That’s what they’ve been doing for the last forty five minutes, stealing a stroll and now they’re just seated on the grass with elbows propping up just so they could savour the warmth further. Elijah smiles and adjusts their shades, hoping to stay here for so much longer - but then the soft little curse earns their attention. They’re quick to turn around, eyes darting to study the man all over. “Hey. You good?”

James looked at the other, squinting to get a good look at their face. Vaguely recognizing it, he sat up. There was no name that he could put to the face, as he had only seen it once or twice in his old office. His head still throbbing, his hands shaking, and his stomach churning, James managed to shake himself off and nod. “Never been better,” he said through a quick cough. 

he considered calling someone. anyone. to maybe help this guy since he looked so rugged up.. maybe he was sick? it looked like it, he didn’t know any hospital nearby so that could be a bit of a hassle but zachary genuinely wanted to make sure he would be okay. he would have guilt burdening his shoulders if he didn’t. hoping it didn’t look inappropriate, zack kept staring at him when he fumbled around and swallowed the thick bile in his throat. “it’s ten fifty.” he said, since he had checked the phone before plugging off his earbuds. “do you need me to call an uber or something?”

“no.” he responded immediately. “i don’t trust those things.” finally letting curiosity get the best of him, he pulled out the bag in his pocket. the bag was too big for the mere gram of weed that was in it, so that partly explained why he felt so tired. he glanced up at the man, unsure as to whether that was a good move or not. james quickly stuffed the bag back into his pocket, clearing his throat. “i probably look like hell.” he hadn’t missed the way the guy was looking at him. “you look scared enough to be my mother. i’m fine. ...you ever been married?” 

the park was a place zachary frequented often. he didn’t enjoy being around a lot of people but he liked how calming it was when it was a lot more quiet than usual. it seemed like people avoided the place today, at least some of them due to the bright sun which meant it could probably rain later. zack decided to take advantage of the situation and started a walk around the area. he had earbuds plugged to his ears and was beginning to stretch when he began to notice a very disgruntled guy. he kind of reminded zack of himself a couple years ago, always befuddled with everything so after a few seconds he went to approach him. slowly. “hey. are you okay?”

he looked up at the voice, hoping it might have been a friend. while it wasn’t a familiar face, james didn’t discredit the possibility of it being a helpful hand. heaven knows that was what he needed most. “uh...i’ll get back to you on that.” he looked back down, his eyes sore from the bright light of day. the sun had still been up when he blacked out, so he was slightly terrified of how long it had been. a glance at his wrist told him whatever he did had cost him his watch. ruffling in his pockets, he felt a small baggy, and the absence of his phone. he looked back up at the stranger and pushed himself to stand. “you wouldn’t happen to have the time would you?”

“Im so so sorry I’ll make you a new one right away.” Hugo was nothing short of a mess that morning as he had just spilled the customers coffee all over the floor as he went to put it on the counter. Great, there goes his tip.

“Thanks, thanks, aw shit– you guys are so nice. That’s, uh, the set– thanks for listening, maybe you just forgot your earbuds, but– enjoy your coffee. Thanks, guys. Yeet.” Pepper hopped off the stool, headed for the bar to grab her coffee. She felt a little shaky, still, letting people watch her, even though she felt her thighs touch at the top when she paced or her stomach rolled up a little when she sat. But people kept smiling at her, guys, girls, just when they caught her eye, like she was pretty and worth attention– and she was determined not to give up. She felt someone approaching, and she was trying to be more social, so she addressed them while she stuck her straw into the iced coffee. “’d you like the set?”

James often found himself in a variety of locations, from shady dive bars, to sunny suburban-like parks, to hole-in-the-wall coffee places like the one he was sitting in then. At least, to him it was a hole-in-the-wall. He could never be sure. Just like he couldn’t be sure what it was exactly he was watching the woman perform, partly because he had close to no idea where he was, and because he had absolutely no idea who she was. What he did know was that she had caught his eye through the crack in the door as he had been passing by outside. 

He approached her as though he knew what he were doing, when in reality he still had no words to say to her. Stopping beside her, he briefly cleared his throat before smiling, his hands hesitating for a second before he held on out to her. “Hi,” he started, clearing his throat again when the word came out a bit quieter than he intended. “I know this is probably really forward, and creepy, but you’re...you’re stunning.” 

After having been released, Alex felt better than ever. Of course, he was still checking in with doctors and taking medicine…But he had his freedom. He did regret staying in New York now, but it was a little too late for him now, he was comfortable. Lately, he’d taken to the park, letting himself enjoy the openness of his. After strolling for a while, he was sure he’d heard someone call his name. Glancing at the nearest person, he raised an eyebrow “Sorry, did you say something?”

It was a terrible habit, the way James tended to get drawn in by things that caught his eye. The result was often at least a few minutes of idle standing or sitting wherever he had stopped, just to stare at something others would have simply passed by. This time it was a bird’s nest, two finches sitting in it. “Beautiful,” he had mumbled, unaware of the stranger nearby.