Running in the Rain

(Intro) "Coffee - Part 1"

2016

Lost. There were many words to describe how Xavier was feeling, but the word lost seemed to describe the tired pup quite well. Sitting in a small booth, in the corner of a busy cafe, wearing only what he was able to quickly grab before he was forced to leave his home. A grey hoodie that was two sizes too big, a band shirt to a band he didn't even listen to, a pair of worn black jeans, and his dad's flip flops he took off the porch of his house. He was drenched, shivering in his booth. To add to everything else, it had been raining non-stop since earlier that day.

"Sir?".

Xavier snapped his head to his side. A tall blue jay stood in front of him. He was donning a green polo shirt, khaki shorts, and dress shoes, along with rounded frame glasses. He looked at Xavier with a odd expression. "You in there?" The waiter's nasally voice rang against Xavier's ears, causing him discomfort. "Yeah...sadly" Xavier said in a graspy half yawn, as he raised his arms above his head and let out a long yawn. "I-Im sorry?" The waiter gave him a confused stare, as he watched the tired pup slide back in his booth. "Ill take a coffee, Black" He adjusted his glance from the waiter, back to the window, "Biggest cup ya got".

...

Xavier had been sitting at his booth for quite a while now. He'd been through five cups of coffee, and the rainy day had turned to a rainy night. He stared out the window, watching the cars drive by, the street lights shining against the puddles in the street, and the people walking down the sidewalk in front of the Cafe. There was something about it that was calming to him, just staring off into the distance-

"You know we close soon, right?"

Xavier turned his head to the source of the nasally noise. "It's almost eight, you've been here six hours". The tall blue jay stood beside Xavier again, except this time his look of confusion was replaced with one of annoyance. Xavier looked behind the waiter, noticing the once packed cafe, now only had about three customers left. "Do you like, not have a place to live or wha-"" Fuck off". Xavier stood up, and got out of his booth. He put his hood over his head, and made his way to the door. "You still haven't paid, asshol-" Xavier slammed the door behind him.

...

Xavier had been walking for hours now. It was well past midnight, and the rain had only gotten worse. As a result, Xavier was beyond soaked at this point. The streets were dead, save for a few cars, and no one else was out walking the sidewalks. There were a few street lights lining the sidewalk, to the right was a street, and to the left, a few closed stores. There were a few stores across the street, but most looked abandoned. Xavier had no idea where he even was. His phone was dead, and none of his surroundings looked familiar. This was the farthest he has ever strayed from his town, especially alone, and at night. He was weighing out what options he had in his head. He could try to flag down a passing car, but even if he wasn't raped, kidnapped, or murdered, he still had nowhere to go. Going back to his parents wasn't an option, he had no friends left to speak of, and-

"Lex" Xavier said softly. He stopped walking for a minute.

He could only imagine what Lex was going through right now. Xavier's parents were enraged for sure, but Lex's parents...

...

The day before

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in, Lex!?". Xavier and Lex sat in front of Lex's dad. Lex's dad, an older opossum, stared down the two boys. One, his son, a younger opossum named Lex, and the other, A pup named Xavier. They were sitting by each other on the couch in Lex's living room, while Lex's dad stood directly across from them. Both boys were only wearing shirts and boxers, while Lex's dad was wearing a black suit. "I come home early from work and find you fucking balls deep in some mutt?! The fuck were you thinking, Lex?!". Lex looked down in embarrassment, while Xavier was starting his dad down. His dad shifted his attention to Xavier, giving him an almost sadistic grin." Whats the matter mutt? you look so down". "Xav, ignore him" Lex said as he looked over to Xavier. Lex himself was on the verge of crying. Xavier wanted to comfort him, but kept his stare locked on his dad, trying to keep a sort of poker face.

"So the mutt has a name"

His dad stepped closer to Xavier, leaning in to the point that his face almost met Xavier's. "Tell me Xav, Do your parents know about your...escapades?" He leaned back from Xav's face, and grabbed his phone out his pocket. "I have a co worker who mentioned having a son named Xavier. Tell me, does the name Daniel ring a bell?". Xavier continued to stare his dad down, remaining silent. "Yeah, a guy I work with named Daniel apparently has a son named Xavier. He also happened to be a mutt as well" Lex's dad turned his attention to his phone. He brought up contacts, and scrolled down until he found the one he wanted.

"Maybe I should give him a call"

...