Overkill // Joseph Quinn

14- eventful

We voted on going to this cute little cafe downtown. It was allegedly themed differently everyday, which caught my attention the most.

The weather was perfect as the day carried on. The sun was out and the clouds were sat at the perfect places. I changed out of my old attire back into some jeans and a little baby tee I found thrifting back in L.A.

Joseph is dressed casually, but he still comes off as so elegant.

"So, do you prefer to be called Jo or Joseph?" I impulsively asked as the silence grew louder around us. We were sat at a booth in the corner of the restaurant near the window, allowing me to people watch from a distance.

"Either or, really. I do like that you call me Joseph though." He smiles and drops his head down to face the table. He twists around the straw inside of his drink, showing he's nervous for some reason.

"It's easier for me to know who's who. Since Jo is usually only called Jo." I shrug and mimic his movements of playing around with the straw inside of my drink.

He looks up at me and instantly narrows his eyes when he notices me mocking his motions. I hide my smile behind my free hand and look out the window.

"Are you mocking me?" He leans over the table and forms his lips into a straight line. I shrug, keeping my eyes out the window and my smile hidden behind my palm.

"You guys ready to order?" The waitress soon makes an appearance, allowing us to end our childish games.

We ordered our food and the waitress was sent back to the kitchen. The silence came back again, leaving me to think of something to talk about.

"Where are you from?" Joseph speaks first. I look over at him from the window and grew nervous. I don't know what I'm going to say if he asks about my family.

"I'm from Ohio. Small town, nobody really knows where it's at when I tell them." I release air out of my nose at the thought. "What about you?"

"London, born and raised." He smiles as if he's proud of where he's from. I smile too, wishing I could feel the same.

I don't want to ask him cliche questions like "how did you know you wanted to be an actor?" and "how did you start your acting career?" I remained silent in hopes that he'll start the next conversation we'll have.

"Does your family live near you? Or are they still back in Ohio?" I wince at his question, knowing it was bound to happen. I really don't want to scare him away by telling him I'm no longer associating myself with them. I don't want to have him wonder why or eventually have to tell him one day. I've been lucky that Jo has been supportive of me and there for me throughout my decisions involving my family. He understands more than anyone and I really would like to keep it that way.

"I don't really know of my family much." I spit out, almost taken back from my own words. It would've just been better to tell him the truth. This is so much worse than the truth.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear." He speaks lowly with embarrassment for intruding. I am probably way more embarrassed than he is right now, though.

"It's okay, it's been like that for a while. I moved out to L.A to pursue music and that's just been my life." I shrug, somewhat telling the truth.

I feel bad for lying to him, but it's still too soon to try and explain everything about my family. I could just be vague about it, but again, I don't want him to wonder about what shitty life I live considering my parents have nothing good to say or do with me.

It was now almost 1:00 pm and we had to get back to set at 3:00 pm. There was still time to kill, but no ideas on how to do so. I've never been anywhere besides Ohio and Los Angelas, so nothing here is familiar to me. I should've done my research.