I Have Been Chosen

Cody 22

Saturday 14th February

The alarm sounded, it was a sharp and high-pitched trill. Cody was accustomed to this every morning and, like clockwork, obeyed his mechanical overlord that it was time to work, even if he got no sleep at all or was hungover. And then he realised that there was an Oliver next to him in bed.

"Ah, shit, I forgot." Cody winced, chuckling slightly as he heard the angry grumbles under the duvet, followed by what he assumed were Welsh curse words.

Oliver sat up, his eyes barely awake and squinting as he glanced over to the alarm clock, his eyes widening at the time. "It's fuckin' five thirty!"

"I did warn you," Cody sang.

Oliver had said he was not planning on staying the night. At first, Oliver had told Cody he would leave after eating food and watching The Tigger Movie. Then he said he would leave after another round of impromptu sex, and then after a significant and satisfactory amount of time of spooning, which Oliver had then fallen asleep. Cody didn't want to disturb him, not minding if Oliver slept over or not, but Oliver was clearly not a morning person, unlike Cody, who was used to waking this early for work whilst simultaneously staying up late from band performances or previously, not currently, from drinking and socialising, hence the addition to coffee.

Cody got out of bed, scrounging his wardrobe for clothes and stepping over his outfit thrown off from last night that was scattered across the floor. He continued his morning routine, brushing his teeth, showering, and then ensuring he was all packed for work, doing so as quietly as possible to allow the grumpy Oliver more sleep and not disturb him.

"Hey," Cody whispered as he dressed into his usual jeans and band t-shirt with a plaid shirt over the top. "You're free to sleep in, but I need to go to work soon. My keys are by the door, just lock up and pop by my work and hand them back."

"You're not going to dinner straight after work?" mumbled Oliver.

"I don't exactly want to smell like eggs and grease; I'd want a shower." Cody then motioned over to the blazer, shirt and freshly ironed trousers hanging on the wardrobe door. "Also, wouldn't want to mess that up by stuffing it in my rucksack."

Oliver made some form of affirmatory muffled noise; his face planted deeply into the pillow.

"I would say help yourself to breakfast, but I sadly haven't got anything in," said Cody. "There's just a whole bunch of pre-batched dinners in the freezer."

"You're not having breakfast?" asked Oliver, turning with a disapproving and stern look on his face.

"I tend to make breakfast at work whilst I'm setting up the open," Cody explained. "Don't you worry, Nurse Oliver, I'm not skipping meals."

Oliver sat up, rubbing his eyes, and then sighed. "When do you need to leave for work?"

"In about fifteen minutes."

"Does your work have a coffee machine?"

"Of course." Cody grinned. "Can't serve breakfast without coffee."

Oliver let out another long sigh. "I want you to make me breakfast." He got out of bed and then searched for his clothes, which were somewhere on the floor. "If that's alright with you? I won't be in the way of you opening up, right?"

"No, not all." Cody smiled, feeling energized even without his first cup of coffee of the day. He always enjoyed cooking for others, especially breakfast. There was something about breakfast food, even though it was perhaps the simpler and overlooked meal of the day. Perhaps it was because of all of the eggs and crispy bacon smell. And then there was the rare occasion where Cody got to make breakfast the morning after spending the night with someone. The majority of people would not stay the night, but for those that did, Cody enjoyed making fry-ups or pancakes and talking over coffee. Anyone else would perhaps feel awkward, especially when thoughts would drift back to their dealing of the night before, yet Cody sometimes felt it was the best part of the ordeal.