dinner alone (caleb)

[Nova Sandoval]

tonight is the full moon. a thin layer of misty clouds veils it. the bright, glowing aura is enchanting, moreso than the food on my plate. i've been out of pills for two days and the headaches are enough to about knock me out. this week's been one giant metaphorical drunken stupor and i can hardly remember how i got here.

mulholland's. i've thought this was stupid since learning my los angeles geography but the food's good and the atmosphere's better. there's nothing better for a swollen, throbbing headache than dim house lights and a warm cup of decaf.

sip.

light music that can't decide if it's american or mexican plays deep in my ears and i can't hear anything but this. my breath contrasting with slightly off-tune jingles. voices belonging to artists much happier than i can remember being. what the fuck am i doing here?

sip.

dining alone is one of the loneliest and most depressing things you can possibly do, at least i've heard. it's regular for me... i hardly order anymore because almost all of the wait staff knows what i want the moment i come in the door. i glance down at myself--i'm thinner than usual. the white that i'm wearing is an unusual break from my otherwise dark wardrobe. i must look strange tonight to those who recognise me. momentarily, the swimming inside of my mind cracks when i hear a chime as the door opens. this is one of those places... the sort with a door bell. 

a sigh. a gulp. perhaps i should have gotten caffeine after all. i can feel my eyelids drooping. i'm really not looking forward to adding school to all of this... if only i had some narcotics.

(http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ksabgcFkXN1qz8dk2o1_500.jpg outfit)

[Caleb 'Cale' Lumetta]

{ www.polyvore.com/charlie_haunted_woods/set?id=87124658 }

Driving alone can be a bad idea, especially when your mind has a tendency to wander. I had driven past my original destination miles back and not even noticed, well, not until now anyway. When I realized I just pulled in to a parking lot, the first one I saw. The place looked familiar, which was good, at least I knew I was in the same city ... Sort of.

I've never been one to just go in to random restaurants and get food alone, but I was starving. My original destination had been McDonald's and I was craving fries. Hopefully this place had fries, even thinking that made me laugh as I got out of the car, what kind of place didn't serve fries?

When I walked in a little bell over the door made me jump, which I'm sure looked really attractive ... Not like it mattered anyway, there couldn't have been more than five people in the place. I decided to keep my head down, who knew what kind of weird people ate here, it looked familiar from outside but inside was far from it. I shuffled over to the counter, head down, hands in my pockets and ordered some coffee and fries, an odd combination but I was feeling it. Not knowing whether to sit of wait I stood by the bar with my back against it, arms crossed over my chest wondering if I should have just kept on driving.

[Nova Sandoval]

times like this, i find it easiest to forget about my afflictions if there's something to focus on. my eyes wander to the door as a dark-haired boy comes inside. he looks out of place. uncomfortable. even before i developed my addiction, i've always loved places like this. i remember trying to get my friends to join me after high school classes and they'd pass it up for chains or places where the chairs didn't have rips in the upholstery.

this boy is like my friends. 

i've become so busy paying attention to him that i don't even notice when my coffee cup is empty. shit. i think i'll go for the caffeine after all. it will carry me home, at least, and then i can crash to sleep.

and then i'm thinking of sleep again. it's always harder to rest without pills. my body has become so dependent on them that when they're gone, i toss at night for hours and 'awake' with red, puffy eyes and hair i don't feel like managing. yeah. i'll definitely grab another cup.

i traipse to the counter, which is smudged with grease and written on in pen. "i need caffeine," i say, vaguely aware of the boy who is still standing at the counter next to me. i turn and study him, completely uncaring if he notices. "new here?"

[Caleb 'Cale' Lumetta]

'Hm?', I didn't even notice that someone was talking to me, busy checking out my reflection in the window opposite. Not that I'm anything to admire or anything, just distracted again I guess. The girl is just looking at me waiting for a reply, I feel like I know her, maybe from School ...

'Oh, yeah, I guess, I mean, I've never been here before, so, yeah', I've lot the ability to speak properly, which isn't like me. There's something about the place, the time of day, the surprising fact that someone had approached me. Now that didn't happen often. I was usually the one to go bounding over to new people, but not tonight, weird.

'I'm guessing you're not?', I ask, it seems weird to say but she had the look of someone who liked places like this. I wanted that look. Places like these were quirky, different from the places that I so often frequented.

[Nova Sandoval]

"this is one of the only areas around the campus i know," i tell him earnestly. "i'll be a freshman so i don't frequent the area as such, but this place? yeah, know it like the back of my hand." it's true--i've been here so often that everything is familiar to me. the musky scent in the air mingling with the fresh smell of bread. the bussing light in the back left corner that flickers off at night when the street lamps come on.

i run my hand through my hair, causing more of it to fall out of its bun, and sigh. what did i do to deserve this fucking headache? i bite my lower lip, hard, hoping to distract myself from the throbbing in my skull. "you don't happen to have any pills do you? painkills."

moments later, rowland, the owner of the place, brings a giant tray to the counter--on it is a plate of fries and two cups of coffee, both black. i reach for one without asking and slam it to my face. i just can't get these drugs in me fast enough. i turn around to face the boy better. "i'm nova, by the way. who are you?"