Disordered Eating (Skephalo)

Better Than IHOP

Darryl's POV

"So, where are we going to eat?" Zak asked after he pulls away from my face.

Small tears of happiness started to come out of my eyes, but I tried to contain it. Zak was asking us about food? Before he would struggle to even mention it. That seems like such a small step on paper, but it's huge.

"Do you want to go to a diner? There's this diner here called Dan's and Stan's," I said.

"As long as we don't have a repeat of IHOP," Zak said.

Dan and Stan's was one of my favorite restaurants. It was owned by a local gay elderly couple and they were super nice owners. The staff was friendly and the food was delicious. It was like a safe place for LGBT people besides a bar. Some bars were fine, but some people were just either uncomfortable with bars or they were too young.

Dan's and Stan's actually paid their employees a good, living wage as well. And you could tell it made the employees happier and better.

"I don't think we'll have a repeat," I said. "This place is like a secret gem."

"Good," Vincent said, "I don't want to beat up some guys again and then hear you call Darryl the hero."

Vincent laughed, obviously teasing.

We got in the car and started to drive to Dan's and Stan's. I kept looking at how pretty Zak was healthy.

"Darryl? Can you teach me how to cook?" Zak asked.

"Yes! I'll teach you how to make gluten free muffins!" I clapped.

"Why specifically gluten free?" Vincent asked.

Zak and Vincent both laughed and I did a tiny frustrated growl.

They kept meming me about gluten free muffins, but I just eat that way.

We finally arrive at Dan's and Stan's after a good twenty minutes of memery. It has been a while since I've been here, but I still had a Dan's and Stan's gift card. I came here more when I still lived with my parents, as it was a safe place for me.

We were able to seat ourselves in a booth at the corner of the restaurant. Zak sat against the wall across from me, and Vincent sat next to me. We had menus on the table already.

"What do you reccomend here?" Zak asked me.

"Definitely breakfast," I said.

"What kind of egg is good? I've never had egg before," Zak asked again.

"You've never had egg before?!?!?!" Vincent said in an almost yell.

His parents really failed him.

I gave him some tips on the different kinds of eggs and how they're different. I knew a lot about eggs, but I didn't make them often. Zak decided on scrambled eggs with french toast and bacon. Vincent was going to eat a cheeseburger, and I was going to have  strawberry waffles and toast and bacon.

A punk girl with blue hair took our orders when we were ready and brought us our drinks. I had doctor pepper, and Zak actually had coffee that wasn't just black. Vincent was boring and asked for water, which surprised me. He didn't seem like the actual hydrating himself type. I didn't ask him about Doctor Pepper this time.

We were waiting for our food when I noticed "Rose," our flower cashier, walked in. Jude must have got off work. He was wearing a tight, red dress now and he still had the wig and the beanie. Vincent instantly started blushing and Rose noticed him.

"Babe!" Rose ran up to Vincent.

Zak had a shocked look on his face like we both had back at the flower shop.

"Babe what a coincidence! I didn't know you came here too. I come here every Friday," Rose said.

"This is actually my first time. Darryl reccomended it," Vincent said.

Zak had a look of disbelief on his face. He was so confused. This made Rose/Jude laugh like at the shop.

"Oh, this is my friend Zak," Vincent said, "Zak this is my..."

Vincent stopped and looked confused for a moment. He turned to Rose.

"What are we?" He asked Rose.

"Dating," Rose said.

"Oh," Zak finally said, "that's great for you guys! Vincent I'm glad you got a girlfriend. What's their name?"

"When I dress like this I'm Rose, but when I'm not I'm actually Jude. It's confusing I know. I'm not trans, at least I think. I'm still questioning that," Rose said. "Or you can just call me Finn for both versions of me," Rose laughed.

"What pronouns are you comfortable with?" Zak asked.

"I'm fine with any when I dress like this. I honestly learned to not care," Rose said and then turned back to Vince, "Babe, would you mind if I joined you guys?"

"We already took our order, but sure," Vincent said.

Zak got up and let Rose sit next to him. Rose took her order when the punk waitress came over. The waitress wasn't shocked. I guess she servered Finn before.

We got our food and Zak actually ate all of it.

"This is definitely a better place than IHOP," Zak laughed.

He didn't seem too upset either, just anxious. I was so proud of him for being able to do that, especially in public.

I am so worried he was going to struggle with that. It's easier to eat in an inpatient setting, as the real world doesn't effect someone as much. Going on his own could make him prone to go back. I guess he wasn't dealing with that stress yet.

Zak didn't go to the bathroom after he finished his plate either. Him purging it crossed my mind, but he didn't do that. I just started to randomly cry at the table thinking of how amazing this was when Finn and Vincent were talking. They were all confused, but I didn't answer why.

This was truly a miracle.

I'm just scared I'm getting my hopes up too much, or that it goes away.

I want this for Zak so badly for him to recover.

I want Zak to be free from a life of Disordered Eating. To learn to enjoy meals without stress and to eat for the taste too. I want Zak to be able to feel in control with his life so he doesn't have to control his food. I want Zak to be able to feel beautiful at this size.

And it might finally be happening.

He might be recovering.