don't you walk away

-1-

/late 2013 (specifically december 2)/

I finished up another day of work. A band had hired me a few days ago to work on an album cover, and I was finishing it up when my boss asked if I'd finished the artwork for the video game job, so I put some finishing shines on it and emailed it to him. Luckily, being an artist for a company, my work days were short and they ended at one every day. There was a coffee shop a little ways down the road that I frequented after work where my friend Luke worked. Today, it was very crowded, so I decided to just run in and out to get my coffee. The strange thing was that there was almost no line because everyone was over at the tables. I grumbled because someone famous must be here today. I reached the counter.
"Hey, Luke," I said as the barista looked up at me.
"Tal! The usual?" I nodded at him and he rung it up.
"Who's the celebrity today?" Luke raised his eyebrows.
"You didn't hear? The lead singer of Foster the People is here!" I frowned.
"You mean that awful band you're always listening to?" Luke pursed his lips at me.
"Yes, the GOOD band I always listen to," I rolled my eyes.
"Just get me my drink, dork," I glanced over at the crowd as Luke disappeared to get my drink. I just shook my head and before I knew it, Luke was back with my drink.

The next day began no differently than the rest. I woke up at seven to be at work by eight because the boss needed me in this whole week. I arrived at work and as soon as I sat down, my phone began ringing. It was a number I didn't know, so it was probably a client.
"Thalia Morris, how can I help you?" The voice that came over the line was smooth and a bit deep.
"Uh, hi. My name's Mark Foster and I need some artwork for an album cover?" I nodded as if he could see me. "I heard from a friend that you were a good person to talk to," I brightened at this.
"Oh! Well tell your friend thank you for me. Now, what would you like the album art to look like?" Mark began explaining and I took notes.
"Also, if you could save my number and keep me posted on the progress, that would be good," I pulled my phone away from my face and wrote the number down on the top of the notes.
"Done. I'll be sure to keep you up to date, Mr. Foster," I heard his next words catch in his throat from surprise.
"Ah, uh, please call me Mark," I scribbled that down next to his number.
"Alright, Mark, I'll be sure to keep you posted! By the way, when do you need it by?" Mark paused.
"About that," I prepared for the worst. "Is a month alright?" I let out a sigh of relief.
"That sounds wonderful. I'll get back to you in a week. alright?" Mark agreed and we ended the call.

It was the end of the work day for me, so I headed to the cafe for a snack and a drink. It wasn't as crowded as yesterday, but there were a few paparazzi outside. I grumbled. This Foster the People guy needed to leave my cafe alone. Luke was at the counter as usual and we chatted for a bit before my drink was ready and I retreated to my normal seat. By this time, the paparazzi had dispersed, leaving four people total, not counting me or Luke, left in the cafe. An amazingly attractive man was sitting in the table behind where I usually sat, so I didn't know if I would be able to focus on this album cover. I hadn't been able to work on this in the office much since I'd been pretty busy with our latest company project. I pulled my design book from my bag and prepared the notes I'd taken from the call with Mark. I'd just put my pencil to paper when Luke came over to talk to me.
"Any good music today, Tal?" I squinted in thought.
"How about 'Sexy Lovely' by Delivery?" Luke groaned.
"We listened to Delivery last week," I pursed my lips.
"And? That was last week," Luke looked at me with puppy dog eyes. I groaned. "Fine, how about, uh, 'Shark Attack' by Grouplove?" Luke nodded in semi-approval and went to pick the song from his phone. I went back to sketching as I heard the beginning notes of Shark Attack.

aaaaand that's the first chapter of don't you walk away. hope you enjoyed! all of the chapters are gonna be about this same length, some being longer (about 1100) and some being shorter (about 670). but there're gonna be multiple chapters, maybe twenty if i'm being ambitious? and i already have a sequel planned with a big plot too so yeah. updates will probably be every week on a day i have yet to decide, either fridays or saturdays. anyways, yeah have fun, be safe, don't do anything i wouldn't do...

-dastilleban