The Upside of Heartbreak

A Rather Strange Breakfast Date

Ugh, Hi all. I know it's been FOREVER, and I feel awful about that, but I swear that I haven't forgotten about or lost interest in this story. Honestly, I hit a wall (mentally) with this chapter, and it just never seemed to flow right. I finally came to the conclusion that I was trying to fit way too much into one chapter, but by that point it was over a month since the last post and I really didn't want to start the whole thing over from scratch. Instead I've opted to split it into two. Here's your first part, and I'm sorry if it sucks. The next half should be up pretty soon. I just need to rework it a bit so that it makes sense as a standalone chapter. Thanks for sticking with me <3

SpicyPisces980: This one's for you! Sorry it's so late... :(

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As Scott made his way through the still dark streets, he tried to focus on the traffic. His insides feeling a bit like he'd swallowed a bowl full of live worms for breakfast. Not that he'd actually eaten breakfast - having been too queasy to stomach it. Sighing as he raised a hand to rub absently at his face, Scott chanced a quick glance in the rear view mirror. His mouth flattening to a grimace at the sight of the purpling bruise on his cheek, and he sighed again as his eyes shifted back to the road. Practice had been pretty gruelling last night, and after fighting with both his dad and Sabrina afterwards, you could say that yesterday had just been an all around shitty day.

Honestly, Scott's hopes for today weren't all that high either. After all, this was the first time that he and Hayden were willingly choosing to spend time together since they were little kids. An already uncomfortable situation made even more daunting with the possibility of Astrid being there too, but Scott needed to do this if he wanted to keep his Captaincy. Then again, Hayden had claimed that Astrid knew Scott was going to be there this morning. Maybe she was planning to stay at her condo until after Scott was gone. Unless she'd spent last night at Hayden's of course, which would mean that she was already there...

Shaking away that thought as he rolled up to a red light, Scott took a calming breath as he glanced around him. He had reached the downtown core of Berk now, and Butterfly Tower was just coming into view. The elegantly curved shape and soft ivory colour making it stand out amongst the cold glass, concrete, and steel structures around it. Pressing the 'call' button on the steering wheel, Scott forced out Hayden's name into the waiting silence. Swallowing around the lump in his throat as the seconds ticked by.

A moment later, Hayden's nasally drawl came through the speaker accompanied by some odd rustling sounds. "Mmf... Hey Snotface..."

His voice sounded oddly thick - as if he was half asleep, using speakerphone, or both. Making Scott wonder for a moment if Hayden had forgotten their agreement already. "Are you still in bed," he couldn't help asking with a disbelieving snort. Admittedly, 9 am was a bit early for a Saturday, but Scott just hadn't really wanted to hang out at home this morning. He'd just assumed that Hayden would already be up too, since he was the 'responsible grown-up' in this situation.

"Yep, I am," Hayden offered back blandly. Sounding thoroughly unimpressed with having his lie-in interrupted. "I take it you're on your way?"

"I'm about 4 blocks and probably two red lights away," Scott supplied. Feeling something almost like guilt creeping in now as he realized that he probably should have called Hayden before leaving his apartment instead. "Look, if you want, I can always circle around and come back later," he offered tentatively. Not really looking forward to driving his land-yacht through downtown twice today. The Caddy was great, but on these crowded streets it was a bit like driving a tank through that proverbial china shop.