Sleep

Part 30

The first two days were fairly easy. Staying awake all night wasn't something new to me, and by 7am I was tired enough to fall asleep.

Waking up was a little harder, but a little before 12 I rolled out of bed, put on the clothes I'd laid out, and was out the door.

Next time, I should sleep earlier.

A message to Delirious after that shift, confirmed that he'd be asleep before 6, and I was safe to sleep at that time.

The next few days were alright, the extra hour much appreciated.

Nights were a slight struggle to stay awake, and 6am was more of a relief than it was in the fnaf games.

By the end of the first week, I was certain humans weren't meant to be entirely nocturnal. How did the guys do it? Maybe just more hours?

The eighth day, I entered work, waving slightly at the guy I was working with today, who id found out was Joel. He was as friendly as he'd seemed the first day I saw him, when he was talking with Alessia. His scruffy red hair and freckles only managed to highlight his bright white teeth, whenever he smiled, which was often.

"You alright?" He called in the raspy bass tone you wouldn't expect him to have, and as I tried to reply, a yawn escaped me.

"You look like you're about to fall asleep." He chuckled, and I shrugged half heartedly as I tied my apron at the back.

"You're not too far off. I need coffee."

Immediately, he grabbed a cup from behind him, and gestured to the cash machine.

"I'll pay if you don't want to get it, you need this." He said decisively, starting to make a cappuccino.

Laughing, I pulled my bag off my shoulder and dug out my wallet, like I was about to do anyway.

The strong smell hit my nose as I passed Joel, and I couldn't help the smile on my face. Admittedly, I was loving working here. Not everything was going shitty.

Joel was nice, Alessia was nice. The elderly owners were lovely too. There were three other people who did morning or lunch shifts, and one casual worker who didn't come in often, none of which I'd properly met. But Alessia had assured me they were all great too, and I trusted her judgement on the topic.

"Milk and 2 sugars." I said as I finished paying, also grabbing a muffin from the glass cabinet beside me.

Admittedly though, as tired as I was, I wouldn't change my situation. Meeting all the youtubers I watched and loved was just a dream for most people, and despite the circumstances, I'd gotten to speak with most of my favourites. And that was worth being tired.

_____

Sitting down at a table with a cheese and ham croissant fro dinner, I pulled my phone from my pocket. Instead of seeing a message from who I expected, I spotted a Twitter notification from Cartoonz.

The words across my lock screen had me drowning in confusion.

"CaRtOoNz- Don't you work in a cafe?"

Deciding to voice my thoughts, I quickly typed back.

"LunaLirious- yeah? How'd you know?"

"CaRtOoNz- delirious told me"

It should have been obvious, but still it made my cheeks heat at the thought of him talking about me casually. I wonder what else he'd said.

"CaRtOoNz- which one?"

The question was really random, and I was only getting more lost, but still I answered with the name.

What a mistake.

When he didn't reply straight away, I started checking other apps, replying to friends and checking likes.

'CaRtOoNz shared a photo with you.'

Clicking on the notification, I froze when it loaded, before swearing under my breath.

A screenshot of a Google search was on my screen. More specifically, a search of the cafes opening and closing hours. And it clearly closed at 8pm.

He clearly caught on and there was no point making excuses, so instead I went straight to pleading.

"LunaLirious- don't tell him. He didn't work it out did he?"

"CaRtOoNz- there's a few 24h cafes around, I just knew none were near you and wanted to check. I don't think he'll realise."

Grumbling about the mans intelligence, I shifted in my seat, glancing around to see Joel serving someone and Jackie, one of the elderly owners, smiling and waving toward me.

Planting a smile on my face, I waved back to the woman, before looking back down.

"LunaLirious- you aren't going to tell him tho? Please don't. It doesn't really matter anyway, he doesn't need to know..."

"CaRtOoNz- when are you sleeping? You haven't popped up in any games."

He brushed off my question, and I decided to just answer him, praying I'd be able to convince him it was fine. Well, half answer.

"LunaLirious- I just go to sleep at 6, I work nights so it's fine."

"CaRtOoNz- so you're getting enough sleep?"

Deciding to lie, I wrote a confirmation, but before I got to send it another message popped up.

"CaRtOoNz- when do your shifts start? If you lie I'll tell him."

Scowling, I looked at the time, noticing my break was almost over. He wouldn't catch out a lie anyway, how could he? Stuffing the rest of my food into my mouth, I stood up.

"LunaLirious- I do, I work 5 hours. I start at 3, it's plenty of time (: anyway breaks over. Please don't tell him."

Locking my phone, I slid it back into my pocket, heading towards a laughing Joel and smiling Jackie.

(932 words)

Two updates as an apology for being so shitty. They're kinda short but that's because they're just building up to the end. I wanted to finish it tonight but I've got a killer headache. I've been really sick and I'm still a little sick, but well enough to focus and write now at least (: