ORPHANED

:: one ::

the train, the most efficient form of transportation aside from the board under his feet, rode beside him on the rails nearing the station. as the board took him against the pavement he looked up from his feet and faced the sun. admiring the spotty breeze the speed had caused, he gave the board a handful of hearty pushes, and arrived at the station before the train.

popping the board into his hand he settled it into a comfortable position resting on his hip. he stood at the gate waiting for the train. the slow creciendo of the wheels on the tracks could be heard well before the train was seen. the best part of taking the train at the time he does, is that everyone is already off at work so there's no one to occupy the carts of the train.

everyday he takes the same train, to the same coffee shop, to greet the same barista, to order the same coffee.

but today is different.

today he will be taking the same train, to the same coffee shop, to greet the same barista, soon however he will be the one behind the counter greeting customers. as the doors in front of him hissed open, he made no hesitation to step into the cart and find the seat he's been sitting in since the very first time he stepped foot on the train. he settled himself into the seat standing the board between his legs. when his eyes scanned the area he was not surprised to see the same regular people as the day before. it's almost as if there's nothing unique in this town, the schedule never changes everything just repeats. over and over with no variation.

below him he could feel the train begin to leave the station and his eyes naturally found their way out the window to search the foliage. he always found it interesting how not even the weather seemed to change. never violently raining, never overly windy, never too sunny, never too cool. instead just always overcast with a slight breeze and a few rays of sunlight. just like the husk of a town it was, stuck on repeat with nothing to break the cycle. he shook his head.

fingers ran through the hair that matted to his forehead with sweat he accumulated skating to the station. next he retrieved his headphones from the pocket of his sweatshirt and plugged them into his phone, immediately opening his playlist and tucking his phone back away into his pocket. he found it considerably difficult to find music he enjoyed listening to, and even this particular playlist took a great deal of blood sweat and tears.

he glanced at his thumb and began picking at the skin beside his nail. a peculiar habit he picked up a few years back. he couldn't remember exactly when he picked it up, but he knows it's not in his best interest to continue. he sighed in defeat and instead picked at the sleeve of his sweatshirt. before long the train came to a holt and he knew it was his time to step off. when he stands he rolls back his shoulders and again traps the skateboard between his hip and his wrist.

minding the gap he steps off the train and follows his repetitive route to the unchanging coffee shop. his feet take him forward with no thought as he cautiously avoided splits in the pavement, and passing civilians. he stands in front of the standard coffee shop. the words "The Grind" pictured above the doors. there was nothing extraordinary about The Grind, it was just most efficient because of it's proximity to the station. he huffed and pushed the door open.

he looked around the small shop and just as always nothing had changed. he took a seat at the counter to be met with a grin and a snicker, "can't get enough of me can you?"

he rolled his eyes feeling a smile find its way to his face. "oh shut up." he balled a straw wrapper that was discarded on the counter and flicked it at the man before him.

"hey c'mon now, that's no way to treat your future coworker."

his head snapped up and his eyes widened, "i got the job?"

the man behind the counter only chuckled in response. "congratulations mr. dreamy welcome to The Grind." he took off the visor sat atop his head and settled it onto the blonde's.

dream looked at him with open eyes in response, "sapnap, you're joking?" sapnap smiled and shook his head.

"does this look like the face of someone who would lie to you?" he spoke pointing to himself.

"yes, absolutely. yeah."

sapnap mocked offense and then his face let up, "that's fair." he continued refilling the napkin dispenser. "no, but honestly, i saw your application on the top of the pile, and i overheard the boss man talking about a special tall blonde. if you know what i mean."

dream stared back at sapnap, "that could be literally anybody." sapnap shook his head as he turned from the counter, speaking louder for dream to hear him.

"i was here when they were holding the interviews, and not one other tall person walked through that door. they're probably using their height for basketball or something, and not being a coffee barista." he shrugged jokingly and dream was certain he was being pranked.

"I didn't get a call?" dream questioned, but sapnap only shrugged in response.

"believe what you want, but i know you got the job." sapnap turned to wink at the blonde. dream stilled while thinking about if there was a slim possibility sapnap was being serious. "speaking of," dream looked up to see sapnap nod in the other direction.

"ah, dream, just the man i was looking for." dream could already hear sapnap's i told you so's burning deep into his ears.

"hey bad." he smiled over to the older man.

"do you maybe want to come talk about that job?" dream nodded enthusiastically and avoided looking back to see sapnap's dopy smile.

—

**major slowburn warning**

you see how many chapters there are (i am sorry in advance) be ready for what i'm going to put you through