The Maze

Travis

I stare at the empty seat before me, blink once, then dart out after her.

I stand on my toes and crane my neck to try to find her. I think I see her red hair in the midst of the crowd, but she's too far gone. I slump down and head back inside. I sit at the table again and drop my head into my hands.

"Hey, Trav. What's up?" Zeke asks, sitting down.

"My dick." I mutter.

"Whatever." He laughs

I raise my head, my face expressionless "Don't ask a question if you don't want the honest answer."

Zeke's eyes widen and he looks under the table. His head pops up a second later. "Liar."

I shrug

"Seriously, dude, what's wrong?"

I close my eyes and drop my chin into my palms. "I screwed up. Like always."

"And how is that?"

"I asked Luna about her maze."

"So?"

"So, she flipped out and walked out on me. I didn't know the thought of having me as her charge was so repulsive."

"She'll get over it."

I shrug again. There are a couple seconds of silence before I push the chair back and stand up. "My shift is over, so I'm gonna head home. You can come if you want."

He shakes his head as he rises. "I have to go to my actual job now."

"Ok, man." We grasp hands and I pull him in for a hug. I pat his back. "See ya later."

"Yeah." He pulls away and starts walking towards the door. "Oh, hey Travis?" He says, turning back around.

"Yeah?"

"Don't beat yourself up over, Luna. You're a good guy and she'd be lucky to have you as her charge." Then he leaves without waiting for my response.

I walk to the back door and to the apartment a couple feet away. I reach into my pocket as I walk up the stairs to the 4th floor. I fish out my keys and unlock the door. I walk in, kicking the door closed behind me.

My apartment is actually pretty spacious. It has a kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom and balcony. I keep it clean too. A fact that I'm proud of.

I walk to my bedroom in the back and sit in the office chair. I swirl around to face my equipment set up on my desk. I boot up my laptop. As that happens, I grab my headphones and out them on.

"Shit!" I shout as the Bluetooth automatically connects and the startup sound blasts in my ears.

I yank the headphones off. I have got to remember to turn down the volume.

I click on the picture and type in my middle name for the password. Christian. Travis Christian Dean.

Once it loads up, I slip my headphones back on and pull up one of my music mixes. I turn up the volume, lean back, and close my eyes. I think better with music. And right now, I need to think.

My mind drifts back to Luna at the diner.

I know it might be a bit weird if we were charges. I've known Luna for years in a platonic way. If we were charges, we'd have to be more than that. Its expected for charges to either have children or at least begin trying within the first four years of being together. Maybe that's the issue. She only sees me as a friend and not a partner. I think we could work past that. It might be awkward at first but we could learn. It's not like I'm not already in love with her.