FRICTION

Ch. 2: Ire's Procession

-Eric-

It wasn't until I was seated on the bus that I realized the sheer insanity of my plan. Or lack of a plan, more so. This towering, ill-tempered man had almost beat me to a pulp, and I was willingly barging into his workplace?

What if I accidentally bumped into Shawn while returning the wallet? What if he saw me on one of the building's security cameras and had me shot by a security guard?

Fuck, could he do that?

I restlessly glanced around the mostly vacant bus, considering just getting off at the next stop and walking back to the dorms. Except, I didn't get up when the bus reached its next stop, gritting my teeth and just... sucking it up. I knew I was tempting fate, but I'd made up my mind already. I knew it deep down, even if my hands were shaking at my sides.

"Why so nervous?" a soft, disembodied voice asked from somewhere behind me. I turned back, noticing an older, blonde woman sitting a few rows back, curiously watching me with an amused expression on her face. "You're not headed somewhere dangerous, are you?"

The playful tone of her voice eased me down somewhat. And so, I forced a polite smile in response, which was likely for my own sake more than anything. I shook my head as well, even though I was most definitely heading into a lion's den.

"No, nothing like that," I assured the stranger while glancing out at the blur of static buildings, sighing to myself before abruptly turning back towards her. "B-but if I was—not that I am! But, if I was, I should probably... not, right?"

The woman pondered on that, seemingly just as conflicted by the thought. But then she just shrugged nonchalantly, as if it wasn't a matter of life or death here. "Depends on what's at risk, I suppose. If you're going, I'm assuming it's for a good reason?"

I didn't know how to respond to that. At least, not without having to explain everything that had unfolded thus far. And as much as I typically enjoyed oversharing, there was no way I was letting this sweet old lady know about any of this nonsense. No, I'd take it to my grave if possible.

And luckily for me, it seemed like I was being driven straight to it.

"Is it work drama?" the woman asked, frowning in displeasure. "Because if so, just quit."

I chuckled under my breath, deciding that I didn't mind the older woman's company. Talking to her was, at the very least, allowing me to breathe a bit easier, a much-needed reprieve from my own suffocating thoughts.

"Not quite," I replied softly, and it wasn't even a lie! I was actually between jobs, since my former manager had been an obtuse, unaccommodating asshole. I'd had to quit my part-time job ever since my workload was increased during the semester and said ex-manager refused to change my hours, which was just... a hell of its own.

"Girl drama?"

I just shook my head in response, resting my chin on the backrest behind me and releasing a weak sigh. Because I was occasionally romantically weak-minded, I still did miss Sarah sometimes, even if she'd two-timed me with someone from the accounting department. Not that it even mattered, though; I'd already gotten wasted and thrown up all over Mason's bed about it, so there was no way he'd willingly let me crawl back to her. Besides, this wasn't nearly as cut and dry as being cheated on. Hell, if only it were as simple as relationship drama...

"Boy drama?" she mused, quirking an eyebrow.

I shook my head once more, grinning at how unbothered she seemed by the idea. Surprisingly, at the moment, that would honestly also be preferable over my present debacle. Even if it'd inevitably have to involve some identity crisis about my sexual orientation, I could always deal with that privately, right?