Smells Like Coffee ~ (Etho x Bdubs)

Chapter 22 - Back from the grave but a whole lot's missing

9:30, was not working.

Sure, in theory, getting to sleep early equaled more sleep, assuming you got up at the same time. You can still wake up at the same time, and mathematically, there were more hours of sleep. Math, that made sense, right?

But unfortunately for Etho, those hours were filled with dry eyes, tossing and turning, and a whole lot more awake-ness than sleep is supposed to provide. Doc's idea was supposed to help him feel more rested, but it seemed to have the opposite effect. In short, he could not sleep.

He passed out eventually, but it was dreamless and stiff, and didn't do much to help his eyebags or the growing pain in his joints.

"I had just gotten better!" He argued with his mind as his alarm reminded him more of the time (it didn't do much to wake him up really). "Why can't I sleep now? It wasn't so hard before!"

Succumbing to the sunlight, he begrudgingly got out of bed without more than a quiet curse. He did not feel rested what-so-ever. Maybe his caffeine withdrawal was starting to kick in? Doc mentioned buying another bag soon, but Etho was only able to make a small cup before it was gone.

It might be awhile before Doc went to the store to get more, so reasonably, he should probably go to some sort of, I dunno, cafe? To buy coffee?

"If only there was some building nearby that sold coffee!" His mind thought sarcastically. He told it to shut up.

Unfortunately, there was just the one (That he knew of. He didn't really get out much), and stepping foot there again before Bdubs -as Doc had put it- cooled off was a no-go.

He stepped into the living room, and Doc spoke loud enough so he could hear, but didn't actually look up from his phone.

"Etho. Just got another text from Xisuma."

"Hmm?"

"The first time, the dead battery made it take an extra day. Now, the cable fell out, it turned off, and reset."

Etho looked at Doc's eyes, dread growing as he saw the genuine expression Doc had.

"It'll be finished this afternoon."

It wasn't good news, but it also wasn't as bad as he had been expecting. He sighed, both in frustration and relief.

"Thanks for telling me. I'll uh- am I allowed to pick it up?"

"You up for it?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll tell X."

"Doesn't he hate me?"

"You apologized to Keralis. That was what he wanted."

Etho nodded, not having the energy or courage to say or ask more.

He got ready for the day, finally with quieted thoughts that let him move more comfortably. Anxiety had been nagging him for days, but even with the idea of his computer again, it was finally silent. Peaceful.

"I'm going to borrow a laptop from the library. See you in class." Etho said, reaching for the doorknob.

"See you, Slab."

And with a slightly more relaxed smile underneath his mask, he pushed forwards.

---

The library. He hadn't been here since the previous year, and scarcely at that.