ORPHANED

:: two ::

when dream walked into The Grind today, he did not expect to end up standing behind the counter, being taught how to use the register, and how to operate the multiple different coffee machines. many times did he space out and had to have sapnap re-explain how to make a particular beverage. in his opinion this was the best outcome of the day, but it didn't come expected. now, he actually had a job.

after speaking with bad they exchanged personal contact information, and he was told he'd take over late shift. thankfully for him the shift was free because someone had quit a few days prior. sapnap insisted dream stay and help him finish his shift, so he could help him with any problems he came across. dream knew this meant he would be doing all the work, and sapnap would just stand and watch. for some reason it didn't seem to bother him, he was glad to finally be working again.

then he struck a problem, he turned to sapnap, "what train takes me back to my house that early?"

sapnap looked up from his phone and shrugged. "ask someone, or look at the routes."

dream sighed throwing his head back, hopefully he wouldn't have to skate back in the dark. that's practically begging to fall into a ditch.

after helping a meager amount of customers a bell shrieked on the clock. "well, my shifts over." sapnap hopped down from the counter he had been sitting on. "let's see...thomas will come by in the morning and he'll take over from there. don't forget there are no dimes in the register, either give them your own change or just look away or something. you'll be fine. text me if anything." sapnap patted his shoulder and kissed his cheek. "you're gonna kill it dreamy."

he took off his apron and waved as he pushed past the door. now, dream was left with the calming music and the occasional whir of a coffee machine, alone on his first day of the job. he was praying he wouldn't screw this up.

just eight hours to go.

after a few minutes of no business he pulled out his phone, and rotated through his apps. when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him, he apologized and turned to the counter. he felt slightly embarrassed. sliding his phone into his pocket as he looked up to give the customer his full attention. clearing his throat in response, "how can i help you?" with a gentle smile plastered to his face.

"what happened to pj?"

dream looked at the customer, having never seen him before he was confused, "excuse me?"

it was his time to be embarrassed now. "i'm sorry, the employee who used to work this shift? his name was pj? i haven't seen him in a while?"

dream didn't know what to say, he never met pj so he wouldn't know. "i think they said he quit? i'm sorry, i didn't know him personally."

the customer nodded his head and smirked, "he actually quit, huh? never thought he had the balls." after that remark neither of them said anything. dream was questioning why someone would want to quit, the coffee shop might have been boring but he never had a single issue. the man spoke again, breaking the strangling silence that fell between them. "so this is your first day and you're already slacking?"

dream diverted his eyes, trying to suppress the embarrassment that was surely settling onto his face.

"i'm just kidding, i know this place barely gets any work this late. i'm george and you're...?"

dream blinked at the brunette in front of himself, "dream."

george smiled towards him. "well hello dream, welcome to The Grind."

dream smiled in response, the newly discovered friendly demeanor of the man eased his nerves, "why thank you george. The Grind hasn't off put me nearly enough to quit, so you might have to get used to seeing this face"

george grinned towards the boy at the register, "i don't see a problem with that, i'll have a black coffee." dream was glad he ordered something he knew how to make, fear there was more he could embarrass himself with.

george settled himself at the bar with a laptop, the screen illuminating his features. "i'll be your company for your first day."

dream turned from the glassware and smiled at george, "how thoughtful." he turned back to the glass cups in front of himself, glad he wouldn't be alone again. he placed a cup of black coffee in front of george, waiting to see the mans reaction

the brunette took a sip of the coffee and his face scrunched. dream's eyes widened, he did something wrong. he put too much water, not enough coffee grounds, there were so many things he could've messed up. george immediately began to calm him, "dream it was fine, i'm just joking." the blonde let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. "you look so pale, calm down." george handed him cash, allowing dream to catch his breath before continuing the conversation.

dream tucked the money into the register gathering the change before his eyes landed on the vacant canal where the dimes would sit. "there are no dimes..."

george chuckled at him, "of course not, just keep the change for yourself." dream nodded his head, still regaining his composure. "you okay, still spooked?" dream blinked at george as he looked at him with concerned eyes. "no more pranks, noted."

"you are officially my least favorite customer so far." george laughed a contagious giggle and the blonde couldn't help but join in on it.dream shook his head again and finally managed to calm himself.

george butted into the silence, "now if you don't mind, i have a very important project due in several hours, and it would be a terrible shame if i were to be distracted from it." they shared a playful smile.

"that's too bad, i was just about to tell you the time i pissed the bed."

"what?" george's face shone with the hysteria of his laugh.

dream smiled and shook his head, "actually, you're gonna have to spend a little more money here before you get to hear that one."