Things had more or less gone back to some strange form of normal.

He was able to go back to work, which wasn't all that great to be honest. And actually, going back to school wasn't something Eli particularly enjoyed either—and would have enjoyed a whole lot less without Collin's godly note taking skills. Still, there was something to be said about getting back to a routine. For the first time in a while, Eli felt like his life was back on track.

Which was good, even if Eli still had those moments where he would pause in what he was doing to consider how his life choices had led him to where he was.

Like when he walked back into the front of the coffee shop carrying a new tray of muffins and caught a glimpse of Mikey sitting in a corner of the shop. And sure, Eli knew he would be there at some point. After all, Mikey was a regular now. Mostly because he had to keep an eye on Eli, but also because he loved the banana nut muffins judging by the way he practically inhaled them.

It was still jarring to see the goon sitting there, sipping a cup of coffee and not at all looking like he would shoot someone in the face.

"You know, sometimes I wonder about the regulars we attract," Michael said as he sat by the counter snacking on chips.

"I blame the shitty location." Eli was only half joking. There was an abundance of weirdos in the area. Matthew was very much included in that.

"I mean, yeah, probably. But also there's you." Michael popped a chip into his mouth while staring at Eli, smug as always.

"What? How's that my fault?"

"How is it not? You're literally a weirdo magnet. Look at who you're dating!" Eli would rather not think about that.

Which is why he just huffed indignantly and walked off to arrange the muffins. He still heard Michael snickering behind him. Which was why he was almost relieved when he heard someone enter the shop. Right up until he looked up and found himself face to face with Tucker and Collin. Eli could have cried.

"Break! I want my break," Eli said, doing his best to not sound desperate. As was usually the case when he actually tried, he failed.

"What? And leave me with all these wonderful customers?" Michael looked downright gleeful. Eli suddenly wished he hadn't bothered arguing with Matthew about going back to work and school.

He supposed he could blame it on a moment of madness, like most of his dumber decisions. Dating Matthew, for instance.

"Yeah, and we have a surprise for you," Tucker said, grinning in a way that Eli just knew meant he'd want to toss his friends out. It was exactly that grin that made him turn to look at Michael.

"If I kill them I'm blaming you."

"Rude," Michael said, still looking particularly gleeful.

"Your face is rude," Eli muttered, deciding to go back to work. He figured he might at least try to pretend his horrible friends weren't there.

"That doesn't even make sense," Michael pointed out. Eli dutifully ignored him.

It was almost a relief when a group of students walked in, all looking very much in need of some coffee. Granted, most students were in need of something to keep them going. Eli just preferred greasy burgers, but he supposed that might have been because he was just tired of the smell of coffee.

Either way, he was, for once, glad to have to fill orders while Michael basically fucked around with his friends like he was just there to gossip and be petty. Which, to be fair, he kinda was.

He almost managed to completely ignore whatever his friends were talking about. Although, it had something to do with their stupid Vigilante merch business, considering they had a box of stuff they were showing off to Michael. Not for the first time, Eli was painfully glad that Matthew had been too busy to show up at the shop.

"So we were thinking of selling these at the Vigilante-Fest."

Eli's head turned so fast he actually heard his neck crack.

"The what?!"

All three of the men turned to look at Eli, Tucker holding up an oversized mug with a stylized picture of Vigilante. Collin turned to Tucker and smacked him on the arm.

"You ruined the surprise!" he said.

For a moment, Eli thought he was going to pass out from a mixture of shock, disbelief, and a sprinkling of rage at the universe.

"WHAT?" he repeated, maybe because his brain had short circuited and couldn't process the news. Or maybe it was just that he was in deep denial.

"The Vigilante-Fest," Tucker said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm actually surprised you haven't heard about it. Pretty sure they played some ads on TV."

"Eli only watches game shows, so you know all he sees are ads about arthritis medication and life insurance," Collin said with a grin. Eli thought that was unfair. It wasn't his fault all his Nana watched when babysitting him were game shows. Children were very impressionable.

"We were gonna tell him anyway," Tucker said, ignoring the breakdown Eli was having, like the good friend he was. "He has to help us anyway." Well, that brought Eli back from the brink of madness real quick.

"Excuse me? Help with what?"

"You really weren't listening, were you?" Michael said, looking at Eli with a look of mock disappointment.

"We're selling some Vigilante merch!" Tucker said, sounding downright giddy. "The official Vigilante fanclub invited us." The way Tucker said it, one would think this was some grand, official, very exclusive club. Not a bunch of obsessive fans with little else to do and too vivid imaginations. Way too vivid. Eli shuddered as the repressed memories assaulted him.

"I'm not setting foot into any place filled with Vigilante fans." Eli already regretted working with one and being friends with two others.

"But we need you! You've actually met the guy. Multiple times. Think of the stories you could tell the fans. It would be great publicity!"

Oh, Eli definitely had some stories to tell. Maybe the one about Vigilante nearly falling off his balcony after stepping on a poor cat's tail. Or there was the time Vigilante got his ass kicked and had to call his boyfriend to go pick him up because the idiot broke his leg. Honestly, if it weren't for the whole secret identity thing, Eli would dedicate a lot of his time to shittalking Matthew's crime fighting persona.

"Yeah, no. Not doing that. Don't care what you say."

Tucker and Collin exchanged looks, having one of their weird wordless conversations. Maybe it was something they could only do because they usually had the same kind of stupid ideas.

"What if we pay you?" Collin said.

Fuck, Eli thought, his greedy little soul perking up at the sound of money. No, be strong!

"Nope, fuck that," Eli said, ignoring the way his soul seemed to be weeping. He still held strong and was very proud of that. Which is when things got worse.

Maybe it was because the universe hated Eli. Or maybe it was just that Matthew seemed to have a sixth sense that told him the exact moment when he could most efficiently piss Eli off. Either way, Eli wasn't even that surprised when the door of the shop opened and in walked Matthew, looking as cheerful as always. Even if he still looked like a sleep deprived idiot.

He stopped when he noticed the little impromptu meeting happening in the shop. Or maybe it was just because of how displeased Eli looked at the moment. Either way, something alerted Matthew to there being some sort of shenanigans going on. Eli very much wished that wasn't the case.

"What's going on?" Matthew asked.

Eli tried to rush over to him, hands reaching out to shove him out the door. He wasn't certain how he'd convince Matthew to go home, but he'd think of that later. At least, that was the plan. Which, unfortunately, Eli failed to put into motion. Mostly because Michael, like the asshole he was, kept him from reaching Matthew before his so-called friends went and blabbed.

"We're talking about Vigilante-Fest," Tucker said with a grin. He still looked giddy enough for Eli to want to smack him over the head. If only because his joy came at a great price to Eli.

Eli saw the moment the words registered in Matthew's mind. He saw the glimmer in his eyes and the way he just brightened, as if the whole thing was a great idea. Which, to be fair, he probably thought it was.

For a second, Eli wondered if maybe he should just make a run for it. He figured he could probably make it out the door before anyone realized he was escaping. And sure, maybe he'd get fired, but by that point, Eli was more than okay with that.

"There's a Vigilante-Fest? When?"

Too late, Eli thought.

"In a week," Tucker said, apparently over the moon over having found someone as maniacally enthusiastic about the whole thing as he was. "We were just telling Eli—"

"That it's sold out!" Eli cut in desperately. He might have almost knocked Tucker over as he shoved him aside and shot him an absolutely murderous look. It was a glare that conveyed all the pain and suffering Eli would inflict upon him if he didn't shut his mouth that instant. Of course, Tucker ignored it.

"It's not sold out," he said, and Eli could have throttled him.

"But even if it was, we're gonna be selling some stuff there. Got a special invitation from the official fanclub," Collin added with a positively smug smirk.

"Really?" Matthew sounded a bit too interested for Eli's liking.

"Yeah, we were asking Eli to help out." The way Eli glared at Tucker, one would expect the guy to drop dead from the viciousness alone. Once again, that went ignored, along with Eli's whole existence. "We figured he could help us with our booth, maybe talk to people about his run-ins with Vigilante. Bet we'd get more people that way."

As soon as the words were out of Tucker's mouth, Matthew turned to Eli with a look full of hope. Eli didn't hesitate to destroy that hope.

"No," was all he said. Granted, he said it in a way that left no room to argue. For a normal person, at least.

"But it sounds like they need your help, and it'd only be for a little while, right?" Tucker and Collin nodded enthusiastically. "Besides, it sounds fun!"

"Fun?" Eli asked, looking at Matthew like he'd lost his mind. Then again, of course Matthew would think it sounded fun. He could be a real attention whore at times. A whole festival in his honor sounded like the kind of thing he'd dream about. It really just made Eli wonder about the sanity of the town they lived in. "Wait, how is there even a whole ass festival dedicated to the guy the cops are still trying to catch."

"Well, the fans have been talking about it for a while. Some of the fanclubs even started fundraising to make it happen. They actually got enough for a small gathering," Collin explained. "Then some of the local companies decided it'd be good to get some more publicity and signed on to sponsor the whole thing. So now they moved the whole thing to the Convention Center."

"The Convention Center?" Eli felt lightheaded. He wondered if he was about to pass out from either shock or panic—he really wasn't sure which.

Still, the fact that the thing had grown so big it had to be held at the convention center was enough to make Eli want to cry. He could already picture large banners with Vigilante's name and crappy pictures of what people thought he looked like. There'd be fans squealing about the latest gossip on who Vigilante was dating and arguing about what kind of martial arts the crimefighter used. It was, in Eli's mind, like the forums he'd looked at out of sheer morbid curiosity. The ones where he'd read things that would forever haunt him.

Eli most definitely wanted to cry.

But that would have to wait until later. First, Eli had to get Matthew out of there before he did or said something stupid.

"Hey, maybe you can ask Vigilante to make a special appearance next time you get mugged."

Too late.

The smug way Matthew looked at Eli when he said that made the redhead wonder why he hadn't pushed the idiot out a window. It took Eli a second to gather his patience. Then he looked at the clock on the wall and almost sighed in relief.

"Oh look at that, it's my break time," Eli said to Michael, who was watching the whole thing with a smirk. "I'll just leave you to talk business," Eli struggled to say the last part without rolling his eyes.

Before Michael or his friends could say anything, he grabbed Matthew and dragged him out of the shop. They made it halfway down the block before Eli stopped to glare at him. He conveniently ignored the people giving them weird looks. He figured it was fair. Especially with Mikey lurking nearby and looking all too conspicuous.

"Are you out of your mind?" was the first thing he asked. Granted, he already knew the answer.

"What? I think it sounds fun! Besides, they're your friends. Don't you want to help them?"

"Not if it comes at the cost of my mental wellbeing."

"Don't be so dramatic." Matthew had the gall to roll his eyes.

"Me? Dramatic?" Eli said dramatically. Matthew didn't answer. "You know what, fine, they're my friends. But aren't you a little busy to help?" He certainly hoped so because then he might stop bothering Eli.

"Oh, well, only at night. It's not like I can do much during the daytime and Adria prefers not to look at us. You know. On account of her hating us." Fair enough.

"Then take that time to rest instead of giving into your desire to be an attention whore." Matthew looked downright scandalized.

"First off, rude. Second, maybe I just want to spend some time with you and your friends." Eli just looked at him, not believing a word of it. "What? Is it so hard to believe that I might want to get to know the people you're closest to?"

"No, but it's also not hard to believe you just want to look at all your fans losing their mind over a whole event centering on you."

"I mean, fair enough." Eli sighed and held a hand to his face.

"You're going to give me a fucking stress induced ulcer," he muttered. Matthew just snickered before pulling him into a hug.

"Look at the bright side, there'll probably be tons of food there." That was a pretty good bright side.

Eli leaned against Matthew, wondering why he couldn't have a single normal day. Then again, as far as things went, this wasn't the worst way his life could get weird. Definitely better than getting stabbed in the gut.

"If you drag me there I will leave you," Eli threatened.

"I know, I know," Matthew said with an amused tone as he patted Eli on the back. He pulled away, a grin on his face. "If it makes you feel any better, I promise Vigilante won't be making any impromptu appearances at the festival."

"Yay," Eli said with a deadpan look.

He figured that was still something. 

# # #

Guess who managed to write this just in time! :'D

Yeah, I forgot I had a lot going on this week, but I do know where the story is going so it makes it easier, lol. Also, poor Eli. It's a good thing Adria isn't around to laugh at his suffering.

Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter! Next one should be up on Friday, June 11th unless I forget. But I probably won't. As always, thank you all for your continued support and please vote and/or comment if you can! You all know how much I love your comments. :D

Also, here's your usual reminder than I'm on Tapas and you can read an edited version of Vigilante there. Other than that, I hope you all have a great weekend.

Stay safe everyone!