The day of Eli and Garrett’s planned meeting played out like any other ordinary day for the playwright, aside from the fact that his daydreams consisted less of his work and more of the pianist. It had been awhile since Eli had crossed his mind right up until, by the grace of sweet fate herself, he stumbled upon the younger man at a bar that turned out to be his workplace. But now ever since that moment, he couldn’t quite stop imagining all the ways this long overdue conversation between them could go.
Many of the scenarios ended with the same sharpness of the tongue and dark emptiness in the eyes that Eli displayed on their not so pleasant previous encounter. A fair share of them were more optimistic though, and those were the ones Garrett held onto for confidence while sauntering into the location Eli shared with him. Not that he needed any extra boost to get him through, his head was big enough on its own to keep him afloat through most situations. He arrived a few minutes prior to 8pm, scoping the place with his ever observant eyes before deciding on a place to settle. Garrett ordered himself a drink that now sat untouched on a square napkin in front of him, condensation collecting on the exterior of the glass as he patiently waited for his company to arrive. Once the older man caught sight of Eli, a face and a presence he could not miss in a bar full of strangers, he swept his hand in a gesture toward the seat across from him. “This seat isn’t taken,” Garrett offered to him pretending as if this wasn’t already prearranged, grinning upward at Eli. “I would’ve ordered you a drink but I didn’t want to offend you by assuming you still pick the same poison.”
Eli had tried his best to not keep his hopes up and his expectations as low as possible, otherwise he was sure he’d gone completely insane by now. Seeing Garrett again was enough to occupy his mind, let alone thinking about all the ways it could go. He tried his best to relax his shoulders and his tensed jaw when he walked into the bar. Knowing Garrett, he was sure that he’d already gone in so his eyes scanned the room while his chest felt like bursting with how fast his heart was racing. He almost froze when his eyes met with a pair of painfully familiar dark orbs and he did his best to force a smile that almost, almost, reached his eyes. A part of him was genuinely excited to see the other man but a bigger part of him felt uneasy, tense and still full of spite.
With a sigh, Eli dragged a shaky hand through his hair, trying to keep things casual before he huffed out a chuckle and slid into the seat across from Garrett. His head was lowered, his eyes barely making contact with Garrett’s while his hands remained in the pockets of his jacket. With a half smile, Eli finally dared to look at him and while his stomach sunk, he also felt a strange sense of familiarity that he wished he didn’t feel. He could deny it all he wanted – they definitely were anything but strangers. In fact, they knew each other inside and out and yet Eli felt distant, which was for the better. Or at least that’s how he felt. “Thanks,” he said, finally settled before his brows raised and he huffed out a humorless laugh at the little poke coming from Garrett. “Wow, you think I’d get offended over an act of consideration and friendliness? You should know better than this because as you can imagine, I need a drink in this very second, no matter what kind,” he half-joked, grinning as he shook his head once more. “Just so you know though…my poison hasn’t changed either. I guess we truly are creatures of habit,” he told the older man with a shrug as he leaned back and tried his best to stay relaxed. “Have you been waiting for long?” He asked, internally cringing but he was currently fighting the urge to run once again and figured that some small talk would still be better than getting angry again.
origamiaround
turnnoffyourmind
vaporwave
pixelskylines
discoholicmusic
