#romeo1

    After Jaime’s last appointment for the day finally came to a conclusion and the new piece was cleaned and wrapped and the woman sent along her way, Jaime was exhausted. His shoulders and neck ached, his ears rang - honestly, he was in desperate need for a drink. The studio had been abnormally busy, and he hadn’t eaten, and the recent habit of smoking cigarettes had left him with a nasty need for nicotine. Of course, he didn’t have any - and no one was willing to bum a few more. Yet, he refused to buy a pack for himself, knowing once he did, he may never stop. So - he was toughing it out, teeth grit together as he made his way home in the chilly nighttime air. 

   Being broke meant you also couldn’t afford to get your oil changed, which led to him walking or skateboarding everywhere. Needless to say, Jaime was not in a good mood of any kind, eyes dark and his shoulders hunched. He’d stopped for a little breather, the 45 minute walk home taking the wind out of him after a long day, when he saw another figure in the dim street lamp lighting. “Hey man - got a cigarette?” Jaime asked, a scowl on his face under the mop of dark, unruly hair the brushed his shoulders. “Okay - fine, whatever. Yeah, keep walking. Totally didn’t just ask you a goddamn fucking question. A simple no would have been fine,” He grumbled, not bothering to try and be quiet. “Jackass.”

   With all the hustle and bustle happening and what felt like a dozen new patients daily, Grayson had been barely hanging onto sanity since discovering his boyfriend in the emergency room. Markus was stable, and though remaining PTSD symptoms haunted Grayson, the best thing for him had been returning to work, at least a little bit in-between visits with Markus and his sister, Arlo. New people weren’t something that Gray did particularly well with, so he’d stuck close with the staff from Wilmington who had also traveled to the hospital with the transfer patients in the evacuation. 

  Now, in the cafeteria, Gray’s eyes scanned the crowded tables for a moment in panic, transported back to High School for a moment when he realized not a face looked familiar- but then he saw Romeo, and his shoulders relaxed. Maybe not a friend, but he at least recognized him. Sliding across the table from him, Gray offered a small, weak smile in greeting, and started to open the plastic top of his fruit cup and prepare to eat. 

   “Pretty crazy, huh?” Grayson said after a moment of silence, timid but encouraged to at least attempt a conversation. If it would help quell his constant state of anxiety the past day or two, it was worth it.