Disconnect (Damien Haas x OC)

nine

Several weeks had passed, Damien and Robyn were still messaging frequently between work and meetings. They still hasn't arranged a time to meet as every option wasn't suitable for the other. Trying to fit a social life around a hectic work schedule was draining to him, often leading him to not want to be social with anyone. He was slowly falling back into his 'hibernation phase' but Shayne was not going to let that happen, especially after seeing the way he spoke about Robyn.

That morning Damien woke up earlier than planned, he decided that he should embrace this change and be active. He rose from his bed, tidying around as he got ready to start his day off right. He was greeted by the purrs of his pride and joys as he walked to place more food in their bowls and ensuring they had enough water for the day. He had spoken to them a lot about his mindset over the years, often finding solace in their inability to reply with words. They comforted him through previous breakup, the thought of nearly losing his job at Smosh, they were the only stable things in his life.

"Do I try again today? Will we actually arrange something," he sighed as he stroked Freyja as she crossed over his feet. "Or will I just be let down again?" This question was responded with a loud meow, Damien took this as a notion to pull himself together and live in the moment. All he would do is burden his cats with wonder, when he could just find out for himself. They had carried enough of his burdens, it was time for him to reach out. 'Wouldn't Shayne be proud' was all that Damien thought as he opened his messages.

No new replies from Robyn, he assumed she had a busy evening. She had mentioned she was working the closing shift and then rushing to a meeting regarding an 'opportunity'. She never told him what she came to LA in search of, but he never pushed. She didn't even ask what he did, he constantly implied it was media related but given his broad spectrum of career options at present he didn't want to sound obnoxious.

He went to type a message, a simple morning text followed by an invite to meet that evening. The fully formed message was soon deleted as a thought flew across his mind. She often sent him voice notes, for no reason other than ease and what he later found out to be a drunk habit. He had never sent one to her, often too busy or in a very loud and crowded environment. But this very morning, it was just him in his apartment. He shrugged to himself, thinking why not just do it. If he's going to push the boat out, he might as well go all the way.

"Hey missy, yeah it's early, I know, sleep is for the dead, right? I hope you're good and last night went well. If you're free this evening, you could tell me all about it over some food. My treat, let me know!" He listened back to his recording, his voice showing signs of anxiety. This is why he hated voice notes, they shine a light on all the small imperfections. He knew he'd overthink his words as he listened to the message again. He hit send and locked his phone. It was too late to change it now. He exhaled deeply, pushing all the anxiety and thoughts out of his body. He looked back at the clock on his wall, 8am. He still had 2 hours before call time and plenty of anxious energy to burn. Damien found his running shoes laying under a mass of coats and jackets that had fallen off their hooks. He chuckled to himself, it had felt like forever since he ran. He placed them in his feet, grabbing his earphones and keys and made his way onto the street below.

Music played loudly as his feet hit the ground beneath him heavily. He was pushing himself more than he should, but the gentle breeze and the open space gave him chance to rid his thoughts from his body. He felt empty as he returned to the apartment, not in a bad way. He felt cleansed and energised, almost like a new man. He gulped a glass of cold water down, swallowing his medications along with it. He knew he was slowly running out of time before he was due on set so jumped into the shower without a second thought.

The warm water poured over him, washing the last of his worries away. He felt confident, happy. He felt like he could achieve anything. It didn't matter what anyone would say to him today, he was ready to take on the world. He washed his hair and lathered his body in record time, once again becoming aware of the disassociation that was occurring during the warm embrace of the water. He dried himself, and styled his curled purple hair before changing into fresh clothes ready for his day. He looked at himself in the mirror, hoping that he was presentable enough for the recordings. He was more worried about what would happen if Robyn said yes, would he have time to come back and change if he needed? Should he bring a change of clothes to work? He did, just in case. The emergency button up shirt was stored away in his car in preparation, even on the days he didn't ask her. He wanted to be ready at all times.