It wasn't a Sunday. But Eleanor sat in the coffee shop anyway. Alone. On a Saturday. She had earned some extra money for covering a few shifts down at the fast food place on Friday. And, as much as wasting her money on coffee may not have been the smartest idea, buying something was the only way to be allowed to sit in the shop and she needed some space to think. Away from Thalia. 

Waking up that morning, Eleanor had anticipated an in-depth conversation, finally getting to the bottom of Thalia's disappearance and perhaps even digging further into the mystery of her predicted death. Recently, her thoughts had been filled with death, heart fluttering at the very mention of the word and her dreams filled with every possible scenario meshed into one. She needed the mystery of it to return, craved it. She required a puzzle to keep her mind turning because she wasn't too keen on what occurred when her brain had the time to stop and think.

She sighed, taking a sip of her coffee that had gone slightly cold. She hadn't even registered how long she had been sitting there. Just staring out of the window without really seeing anything. There were so many feelings inside of her, some that even she struggled to acknowledge. There were gloomy thoughts filling her all the way up from the bottom of her stomach to the top of her throat, sheets of paper that she had ripped up in hopes of destroying now massing together into one large pulp, gluttonous and greedy as it rose all the way up to her neck. Choking. 

There were so many things that she felt the need to say. But she couldn't talk to anyone about it. She didn't want them to worry; they didn't deserve that. It was part of the reason she had been so excited to talk to Thalia, elated at the thought of finally having someone to share her problems with.

But Thalia had downright refused, giving her a cold glare at even the mention of the subject. The tension between them had been suffocating, unanswered questions polluting the air around them and hiding in the words they spoke to one another. It had made Eleanor feel incredibly uncomfortable, especially as she had always viewed Thalia as someone she could always be open with. The pure awkwardness and frustration of the situation had caused Eleanor to get away from her and that school as quickly as possible. She couldn't explain it, but she never felt at ease in the academy; there always seemed to be someone judging her or making her feel out of place. 

In a coffee shop, she could at least pretend to be normal. Not that she wasn't normal, of course, she had just heard the words so much that they were becoming part of her thoughts. Come on, chin up, Eleanor. You are awesome. You are brilliant. You are beautiful. You are a queen above all other queens. You don't care whatever the hell they think. She took another deep breath, attempting to push all negative thoughts from her mind. But they pushed right back and she felt her resolve begin to weaken. She had been fending off the thoughts for some too long, under the illusion that she could continue to "live her life". What a joke. She didn't even have a life anymore. What was the point of anything? She could work to pass her exams, sure, but what would be the point? From her predicted death date, she would cease to breathe before she could even begin to do anything with her grades. No. No, Eleanor, pull it together. Don't you dare think like that. Don't just freaking accept it. Fight it. Live like the queen you are, don't let some idiot scare you into not living your life.

"Excuse me, but...uh...are you going to be sitting here long?" Eleanor looked up to meet the warm brown gaze of a tall, blonde boy. Even when sitting down, it was obvious to see how abnormally tall he was. He was thin, too, smile slightly frail as he glanced at the table Eleanor was sitting at with something that looked like...longing? For a table? "I...uh...I don't mean to be rude...I...I'm just expecting to meet someone here and we...well, we always sit at this table." He gulped after he said the words, Adam's apple bobbing as his eyes flicked around the room to land on anything but her.

Eleanor raised her eyebrows, not exactly sure why she was surprised to find that the table was particular to someone other than herself and Nate. But she supposed that she had never actually come here on a Saturday. For all she knew, tons of people could favour the table. Also...it was a table. A table. There were plenty of other tables to sit at. It wasn't a big deal. Right? Right. Oh for god's sake, why did she have possessive tendencies over a table? She smiled. "No, don't worry about it; I was just finishing anyway."

She made a move to get up, deciding that the interruption had really been for the better. If it weren't for the distraction, she would have been in danger of falling into the deeper elements of her thoughts. She had only scratched the surface so far and, from what she had seen, what lay beneath wasn't exactly enticing. 

However, as soon as she had risen from her chair, the boy's eyes went wide, facial features becoming slack as he frantically reached out a hand to push her back down again. Out of pure shock, she fell back down onto the chair in the most unladylike manner. "No...I...I'm sorry. I...you don't need to leave. In fact, don't; it was rude of me to ask you."

Eleanor tilted her head to the side, eyebrows furrowed as she studied the guilt-ridden look on his face. She couldn't help but smile. He was about her age, incredibly handsome and biting his lip out of pure nerves. He wore dark, tight-fitting jeans and a plain white T-Shirt with a dark, red, unzipped hoodie hanging over the top. "But don't you have someone to meet here?"

The boy stuffed his hands into his pockets, eyes cast to the ground as a strand of blonde hair fell in front of his eyes. He sighed. "I...well...no...I...sort of. I...I lied before." His eyes immediately snapped up to meet Eleanor's as he said the last few words, eyes wide and seemingly fearful as he raised his hands in a defensive motion. "Not that I...I meant to lie to you in a deceptive way, I...I...I just...damn...I just sit there every Saturday. I...I...me and my-"

It was Eleanor's turn to raise her hands in defence. "It's okay, really, don't worry about it. You don't need to explain yourself to me."

He shook his head frantically, raising a hand to rub the nape of his neck as he began to speak once again in a low, quiet voice. "No...I...I lied to you, that wasn't very nice of me. I was raised better than that. You deserve to know. I...uh...I come to sit at this table every Saturday because-"

"You really don't have to tell me if it makes you uncomfortable."

"But I want to."

"But you don't have to, I really don't mind. Don't worry about it."

"But...but it would make me feel a lot better. That way I don't have to feel like a complete jerk all day."

Eleanor let out a sound that was halfway between a sigh and a laugh. She couldn't explain it, but there just seemed to be something so genuine about this boy. It was honestly such a breath of fresh air to see a genuine smile, one that was so different from the fake grins she usually received at the academy. "Well, don't let me stop you then." She was smiling now. She couldn't help it.

He let out a breathy chuckle, running a hand through his hair in a way that looked far from frustrated, almost as if it was a habit. "Well...uh...I first came to sit at this table by chance on a Saturday, because it was the only table left. And...well...this other guy came in and he...well...there were no other tables left, I'd taken the last one so...he asked if he could sit with me. And...well, I said yes. So...we sat together. And we got talking and...I...he was really sweet. I...we kept meeting up here every Saturday for about a month but he...I walked in one Saturday to see him talking to some other ginger haired guy and he...he looked terrified but he...he left before he had seen me and I...he's never come back. I...I...it sounds lame but I...I sit at this table every Saturday just in case...just in case he comes back."

Eleanor frowned, eyebrows creasing as she saw his own facial expression drop. He was looking at the floor again. And Eleanor found herself no longer possessive over the damn table, because it obviously meant more to this guy than it did to her. She was lucky enough to still have her partner in crime, but it seemed as if he had lost his. And, thinking about what she had felt when Thalia had left and how she would feel if Nate were to ever just suddenly vanish, she could picture herself doing the exact same thing. Waiting for him to return.

"I...I'm sorry. I...I didn't meant to go into so much detail. I...I just got a bit carried away. I...I've never actually talked about it with anyone."

Eleanor smiled. "Don't worry about it. And you can have the table. I...I actually think what you're doing is really sweet." She raised her eyebrows with a growing smile on her face as she saw his cheeks flush a deep shade of red. "And, if someone I cared about went missing, I would probably do something pretty similar."

She rose from her seat just as he sat down, giving him a nod and, feeling the need to get better acquainted with the boy who seemed to have a bigger heart than her own, she held out her hand for him to shake. "I'm Eleanor, by the way."

He smiled, nodding and shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Oscar."