𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝘼𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝘽𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙚!

SIX - Dinner at Le Cirque

David couldn't recall anything that had happened between then and now.

He was sitting at the dinner table he had planned to sit at, with the people he planned to sit at, the place they planned to be, but this wasn't how he planned feeling.

He was worried.

Anxious, paranoid-- crazed, even.

He just didn't feel right.

People were speaking to him, he was responding, but it was almost as if he didn't know what he was saying, or even what he was responding to. He couldn't recall a single event since he parallel parked outside and met up with Mari, John, and Yoko.

This was obvious to Mari.

She didn't know how she knew, but she just knew. He was high. She could tell, with the way his eyes darted from place to place. He'd been here dozens of times, nothing had changed, she knew it. He was with people he knew in a familiar place, somewhere he planned to be on this very day for possibly weeks. He zoned out every so often, only moving to touch his face, most considerably his nose, or run his hands through his hair.

Until finally, as soon as a rant of John's ended, David suddenly got up from his chair. His movements were smooth, but sudden.

"I need to use the restroom."

Not another word followed as he left the area, making his way to the place he desperately hoped was empty. The three others at the table looked at each other in confusion, what had gotten into him?

David pushed the door open, sighing in relief after he quickly checked every stall, making sure no one was there. He backed up and leaned against the wall, putting his hands over his face as he broke down. Rushing to the mirror, he looked into it to make sure there was no one watching as he broke down into tears, sobbing, slipping into a panic attack.

Situations like these had become increasingly common for David. He felt like he was slipping into something, something bad. He knew nothing he was doing was good for him, but he just couldn't stop. He was too far gone. Hell, he had a container of pills in his pocket at that very moment.

Mari, John, and Yoko continued to speak for around five minutes, John told Mari that David had finished his album.

"What's it called?"

"I'll tell you, but don't tell David I told you," John said, "it's called Young Americans."

She nodded, though her mind was more so stuck on David's whereabouts. 

David was taking deep breaths, finding quick ways to try and calm himself down, but the thought of someone coming in and finding him in the state he was in was making it even worse.

He hated to have to leave early, but he wasn't hungry. He hadn't been for a while. He scratched at his arms, they felt like they were burning. His nose wouldn't stop running, he felt like he couldn't breathe, he didn't know what to do. 

"Go check on David." Yoko finally told John around three minutes later. 

"Alright." He said, Mari internally sighing in relief knowing that he finally decided to go check on him. 

John was about to open the door to the bathroom when David opened it, straightening his shirt out and looking up to see the man.

"What you doing?" David asked, tilting his head to the side.

"I was checking on you, it's been around ten minutes."

"Oh." he deadpanned, realizing how long it had been since he left the table.

John brought David back to the table, Mari locking eyes with the flush-faced man as he sat down. That's when he realized she knew what happened, the knowing look on her face all-telling. He quickly avoided eye contact with the woman, looking down at the table.

"I'll be back, I'm going to take a smoke."

David's eyes shifted back to her, "I'll come with you."

She arched an eyebrow, only he noticed, "Alright."

"Yeah, yeah, let's all get up and leave..." John said under his breath.

The two made it outside the restaurant in complete silence, Mari passing David a cigarette and lighter.  The silence continued until Mari finally spoke up.

"Are you alright, David?" she asked, taking the cigarette out of her mouth. 

He looked her in the eyes, "Yeah. I'm alright." he nodded. 

She hummed in acknowledgment, she wouldn't force him to speak on his issues, but she couldn't say she wasn't close.

"John told me you finished the album."

He was relieved at the sudden change of subject, "It should be out sometime in March." he told her, "I'm really nervous about it. Usually the ones I like most are the ones that kill me to put out there."

She nodded, "I feel the same way about a lot of mine, though I don't think you've got anything to worry about other than maybe the change in genres. That sort of thing can be tricky."

"My assistant told me that change could be beneficial."

Mari looked out into the city, watching the cars pass by.

"I bet it could."

***