Not Acid Nor Alkaline ~ Sleep Token FF ~

7.Talk

He looked at me the same way and sighed. 'Well...', he mumbled. 'I'm sorry. Can we have a new start of this conversation?' His look at me softened. For a second I thought about his words. I took my cup and went behind the counter and got two muffins.

I walked back to the table, him starring at me being confused.
My plan worked, hopefully.
I placed the plate with the muffins in the middle of the table and sat on the other side of him with my cup.
After taking a deep breath I smiled. 'I thought you might want a muffin as well. So, what did you do since our graduation?'

Now it was his part to frown. He looked between the muffins and me.
He tried to say a word, gasped and then he laughed.

It was catching, I had to laugh as well.
'I always liked your attitude. You didn't change at all.', my counterpart said.
'I guess you neither.', I grabbed my muffin and he followed doing the same.

'Thanks.', the young man went on. 'I actuall studied...music production.'
'Well, what a suprise.', I joked and grinned at him. 'So I don't need to ask my second question if you're still making music, mhh?'
'I think not.', he laughed. He looked a lot eased by now.

'How comes you're coming to this place since a couple of weeks? Did you move here?', I asked curiously looking over my cup I was sipping at.
'Sort of...', he tried to hide the truth again. I raised an eyebrow and gave him a stern look.
'I finished my studies and came back here.', he explained.
I nodded in silence.

'And you? Still no new job?', he asked me. 'Well, I have a lot of interviews at the moment. But a lot of the companies wait for my results. And I want to have some option to choose from.', I answered truthfully.
'What are your plans? Do you work for a music studio or are you planning on being a musician yourself?' I looked at him and recognised his jaw was clenching.

'Don't know. Maybe checking my options as well.', it was the first time he didn't look at me. His mood changed as well.
'Sorry if I said something wrong.', I whispered, looking at my hands. 'I guess it's not so easy in this business.'
'No. It's all about the musicians, not the music itself.', he explained. 'If you don't fit in the scheme, you're out.'
'I understand...', I just replied.

I didn't want to open up to him. We were never real friends and I just met him again. And I didn't talk about the past at all. I never had the guts to talk openly about what had happened with my family. I learned fast that talking about such topics was a thing between yourself and your shrink, not with other people. You're going to be always the daughter of the killer couple.

I was lost in my own thoughts and started kneading my fingers and knuckles. Both of us were silent.
'You want me to bring you home? I guess you're tired after the shift. You already were tired before, so.', the man suggested.
'Sure...', we both stood up and I quickly got my jacket before we both left.

'You're having your own flat?', my companion asked politly.
'No, I'm living together with Abby. She's a friend of mine. I met her in university during a lecture. She's a primary school teacher now.', I answered. It felt easier to talk about other people than myself. 'And you? Are you living alone?'
'No, I'm currently couch surfing until I find a little  place I can call my own.', he chuckled. I just realised his walk seemed way more confident then back in school. He has always been the shy boy that so many others had chosen to be their victim.
Now eventhough he held his head low, the rest of his body language was full of energy.

'Everything alright?', he looked over to me. I blushed. Did he see I was watching him all the time?
'Yeah. I just thought about...', I began and tried to find the right words. '...our time in school. Now that I see you. You actually did change a lot.'
Now he stopped and our eyes met.
'What do you mean?', he asked me. It was clear he couldn't read me in this moment.

'You're not the same. You are more mature....and...you radiate confidence...', I stuttered.
He snorted. 'I'm still the guy everybody isn't taking serious.'
He looked away for a second before he turned to me again.
'But you, you changed. You're not the all so positive girl anymore. Someone broke you...' his brown eyes were glued to me.

I chuckled insecure.
'Who isn't sort of broken in our age in some way?'
'Being broken doesn't always mean the same. Some are it physically, others mentally. A lot are maybe a little broken a few shattered into pieces. And I'm sorry if I misinterpret, but you look like you've been through a lot the past years.'

The lump in my throat got heavy.
'Let us better not talk about it.', I tried to hide a trembling in my voice.
He nodded and for the rest of the walk we didn't say a word.

'Here I live. Thanks for the walk and our talk. I enjoyed it.', I was being honest to him.
'I liked it, too. It had been a long time talking that openly.', now he opened up a bit as well.

'I can give you my number...I mean, you said you're couch surfing at the moment. If you need anything, you can text me.', I explained my offer.
He didn't hand me his phone. He kept it in his hands, but waited for me to tell him my number.

'Thank you for being so nice to me all the time.', he put his phone away again.
'Natural...you never did anything to me. Why shouldn't I be nice to you?', I smiled.
'I better head off now. I need to get the bus in a few minutes over there.', he said.
We both akwardly waved each other and so he walked away.