walk the barren path

[evelyn-yates-blog]

          “You didn’t happen to see a total idiot running around with my coat and purse, did you?” Evelyn asked when she noticed someone watching her, probably wondering why she was walking around outside without a coat on in freezing weather. She had told her assistant to ‘bring everything back to the office’ and clearly meant all the case files they had been going over, but instead he had taken literally everything instead, and left her phone-less, wallet-less and coat-less. 

[stephendonaghue]

Oh. He thought he’d bumped into someone who looked like they were moving, or a scene from a television show, or some bagged down assistant. Sounded like it was a bagged down assistant in this situation. “Yea, I saw him haul a cab or something like that. I think. I don’t know, I don’t usually pay attention to the scenery, or people that aren’t gathering attention you know?” He grimaced a tad at her attire. “Guessin’ he made off with some of your stuff that you really needed.”

[stephendonaghue]

frankienotfrances:

“Does a cup’f coffee count?” Frankie asked, raising her own steaming mug. “Or does it have to be, like, a whole sorta bacon… And eggs… And… Uh… Bacon…”

“Help me out here…”

“A cup of coffee is better than nothing! I have a sinking feeling if I actually had a doctor and went for a physical, I wouldn’t pass most of my exam but I’d have to even find a doctor.” Which he never did, after he moved out of his grandparent’s place. “Adulting, hey?” 

[stephendonaghue]

elliefeatherstcne:

“Zero times?!” She would have answered his question, and she had been about to form it on her lips when the last bit of information had the reply reform and turn into something else. “You didn’t have breakfast a single time last year? How did you make it through?” She looked at him, shocked, but maybe also a little in awe. She couldn’t go through a single day without breakfast, not too often at least.

“I slept through it, or woke up and did something else instead. That whole late and run out of bed thing was something I never outgrew from highschool. This hair, not styled. It’s probably bedhair.” As undisciplined as that made him sound, at least it was just the honest truth.

[stephendonaghue]

harleymarshxll:

“I’m not saying that you should be drinking them, I’m just saying that everyone else is and that seems like something you’d be into, unless you’re telling me that it isn’t something you’d be into?” She asked with a furrow of her brow.

He couldn’t be mad at that, ‘cause when he really thought about it, it did suit the rest of his preferences. “I’ll have you know that trend I was on about quinoa and kale did not last. Healthy is not easy, or tasty. At least, not the way I’m making it. Beer, good. Meat and bread, good. But a cup of herbal tea still makes me happy as any other camper. Speaking of the Kardashians, I’ll bet I’d look great with some bigger puckers.” 

[stephendonaghue]

rafedelgado:

+ “How do you not have breakfast? It’s just the first meal of the day. Wake up at 3pm? Bacon, beans, toast, bit of Cap’n Crunch on the side. Bam. Breakfast.”

“I like that. No fuss, no muss. Evidently I’m thinking to hard about it when it’s just the principle...” And it’d make it easier to not break his resolution. “Anything to give me more reasons to eat more than 1 or 2 meals in a day is a good thing, I think.”

[stephendonaghue]

vanessahart:

“Okay, I see what you did there but no one ever really calls it brunch unless it’s on the weekend. If you’re having breakfast for dinner, well then that’s just what they say. I’ll have you know I’ve never done such a thing, well at least not in the past six years or so. Did I ever tell you about that time I got written up?” She always got a weird enjoyment out of telling the story, proud of how she stood up for herself. “He was being a complete ass, ordered me to get him another cup of coffee. So instead I poured it on him instead.”

“Erm,” and before he got a chance to answer her question, Vanessa had already continued on (and his answer would have been ‘no, I haven’t’ anyway.) The corners of his mouth perk up at her tale. “Hey, it’s not like you got fired. And from the sounds of it, he deserved it anyway. They probably only had to write you up for politics. You’d be fun to work with. Not that I’d survive at a precinct of any sort.”

[syntacked]

[stephendonaghue]

roseofthewood:

“I never did it, no. But an old roommate of mine did. We had so many boxes of shitty protein shakes.” They smiled to themself, remembering happy times when they were overseas. “Yeah, I don’t usually subscribe to anything. What are your plans for your goal you definitely won’t give up on in a month?”

“I um...” He paused. “I don’t think I have any other goals, if I’m being honest. I’ve got this routine down pat you know? There’s usually only a few options for the way my day goes, and this late into the game, I am not that keen on changing anything.” Truth be told, once life got comfortable, Stephen could feel no temptation to do anything different. “Maybe I’m lazy, or maybe I’m too damn comfortable but being this much into a rut is probably not a good thing. That should be what I do as a goal -  tryin’ something new... Look at that. You’ve helped me come up with something that’s much better than forcing breakfast down when I don’t even wake up in time for it.”

[stephendonaghue]

harleymarshxll:

“I thought you’d be on a new shake or something. No, wait. Are they called green smoothies? The things the kardashian drinks?” She asked with a furrow of her brow, thinking aloud.

“Okay, not that I would know what the Kardashians drink, but I would rather eat because it tastes good, and not to lose weight.” He paused, hands on his hips. “You sayin’ I ought to be drinking these green smoothies?” 

[stephendonaghue]

lucasxblake:

   “I made the mistake of letting you cook something for me on our first date” he chuckled as he tapped the table lightly. “Yup. There are some free cooking class you can take ad we can go sometime” 

“Don’t be a troublemaker,” Stephen mockingly glared at Lucas, reaching over to grab a cup of water. “I’ll have you know, I make a mean omelette. Didn’t you know that a percentage of America’s youth don’t even know how to boil an egg anymore?” 

[courtneylwilson]

[stephendonaghue]

maxinercgers:

“I’m always hungry for mimosas and croissants,” Maxine commented, spinning her seat just enough to be face to face with him. “Na-ah,” she stopped him, shaking her head dramatically a couple times. “I was homeschooled until freshman year. I literally rolled out of bed and I was in class,” she shrugged, smirking cockily for a moment before she rolled her eyes. “After that, you can for sure imagine how hard it was to wake up at six every morning.”

“Ooooh, fancy taste. I’m much more for just some rum and... a grilled cheese.” Stephen smiled, the thought in his mind for what he ought to make tomorrow. ”Okay, I know being homeschooled sounds nice in theory, but did you actually like it?”  The 8-5 life didn’t work for him. And K-12 proved that enough for him. “The second I was able to make my own schedule in Uni, you bet I put everything as night classes. Good too, because there weren’t that many people fighting for those spots.” 

[stephendonaghue]

lucasxblake:

   “We both know that is not going to happen Stephen” he replied as he looked at his ex, who he still had feeling for and liked. “Can you cook?” asked and teased in a friendly manner. 

"Okay, well-” He looked down at the food in front of him before turning back to look at Lucas. “See, I am trying not to rely on takeout. Cause that adds up and all that jazz, y’know?”  He’d never had too much of a large budget, and even if he did, honestly- food probably wouldn’t be a top priority. “It’s... edible. Honestly, it’s a good thing they have chefs at the Cellar, ‘cos if I was in charge of that, I’d probably be out of a job by now.”

[stephendonaghue]

jamiefrench:

         “A woman I work with literally came back after the holidays with a diary that says those exact words…” Jamie chuckled, “Want to know my goal?” He asked, sipping on his coffee. “Get through the year without considering telling one of my students to fuck off.”

Stephen’s brows raised, before he burst out into an audible laugh. “Oh yea? And how’s that going for you? I reckon it’s sometimes hard to resist, but then you’d be in absolute shit if you told them how you really felt.” 

[stephendonaghue]

erin-lhakpa:

“At least a dozen times every January since I was fifteen,” Erin stated plainly. She thought for a moment. “I don’t have a goal for the year. Which may not be a good thing. Oh well,” she shrugged. “You really should eat breakfast, though. It’s the most important meal of the day,” Erin added, rolling her eyes.

“Love it. Ridiculous, amirite? I’m here making this grand declaration and I know I won’t see it through. What did I try to make a goal of last year, ergh-- I don’t know if you remember. I barely remember because I definitely didn’t do it past the first two weeks. Mm, probably something stupid like saving up for a new car but look at me driving my old clunker. Hey, if she still drives, I’m riding. And she ain’t broke, so I don’t need to fix her. Yet. Knock on wood.” Stephen rolled his eyes with humour behind them, taking a bite of his sandwich. “Yea, I know. That’s why I’m trying.”  

[stephendonaghue]

theoblum:

“That’s the first realistic resolution that I’ve ever heard,” he commented, huffing a soft chuckle as he shook his head. “Not exciting, but least it’s doable. I had a friend tell me that they wanted to visit every continent before 2018 was over. We’ll see how long they stick to that itinerary.”

“Oh now that is a resolution I wish I could afford, but damn. I could barely afford to backpack across America, and I’m already on this piece of land.” He was rather jealous, not having been out of the country since he was a preteen. Which meant the other countries were just ghost of memories. “Do they even work?” 

[stephendonaghue]

harmonyeandrews:

“I’ve heard it a fair amount.” Harmony replied, letting out a small chuckle. “I don’t bother with new year’s revolutions.” 

“That’s a good thing too. Don’t need to be defined by the goals of one singular day when we’ve got years to live...” Stephen nodded his head in agreement. “I wonder how many people actually stick to their resolutions in the end.”