Vigilante | ✔

Part IX: Thought Caption

Later on in his life, when Eli thought back to his college years, he would wonder what the hell he was thinking when he decided to become involved with Vigilante. Granted, it wasn't so much of a conscious decision as it was a series of unfortunate mistakes. In the end, he would look back on that first night he decided to help Matthew out as the night it all started. Not that he'd really meant to help him.

He was just doing it because he was under the mistaken belief that news of his mysterious disappearance would be reported on the next day otherwise. The moral of that story was, never unmask anyone who regularly beat up criminals as a hobby.

As it was, it was already too late for Eli to even try to have a normal life. The fact that he had his not so reliable stalker back only made this more obvious.

He still did his best to ignore the not-so-creepy knowledge that someone was watching him. Eli wondered what it said about him that he could actually differentiate between Matthew and his newest — and unknown — stalker. It probably wasn't a good thing.

With all the oddness in his life, it was nice to know that some things stayed the same. Even if it was just studying or having lunch with his friends. Work and school provided some sort of reprieve. It was a slice of normalcy in his suddenly hectic life, and Eli learned not to take those moments for granted. After all, he could never be sure when a crazy masked man would decide to break into his apartment.

That being said, he was all too glad when Tucker and Collin told him about a party — which was more of a get together at a couple of guys' apartment — and decided that Eli needed a break. Eli wasn't about to argue with them because they were right. He most definitely needed a break.

For once, Eli was actually looking forward to the weekend. So much so that he didn't dwell on how sad it was that he rarely had anything to get excited about. He definitely needed a social life.

Collin seemed to agree.

"You need a social life," he said bluntly as they ate at a cheap diner close to their school.

Eli rolled his eyes as he chewed the bite of greasy goodness that was his cheeseburger, and swallowed before taking a sip of his cola.

"You've said that. Repeatedly. For the last two years," he reminded his friend.

"Well it's true," Collin said with a shrug. "You work too much. And you're always stressing over school. You're gonna be bald by the time you're thirty and I'm not gonna lie, I'll laugh — a lot." Collin grinned and then took a bite of his breakfast burrito (which Eli had pointed out, was not supposed to be eaten for lunch).

"For your information, not a single person in my family is bald," Eli said. He was perfectly sure of this too. He'd checked. "Plus, working at a coffee shop is stressful." Mostly because Eli thought people were idiots — at least when it came to their preference in drinks.

"I'm sure it is," Collin said sarcastically. It was his usual response, since Eli always told him about the terrible people he had to tend to. Personally, he thought the redhead was being too dramatic. "So, you're going to the party tomorrow, right?" he asked.

Eli thought about it for a moment. For the first time since he'd been told about it, Eli had his doubts about showing up. He knew it would be fun — knew he needed it — but he was wary about having to actually talk to people. In his honest opinion, he was more than rusty when it came to making friends. Really, it wasn't his fault, especially when he always ended up meeting weirdos.

"Yeah, I guess I will," Eli finally said, deciding that no one he met could ever be more of a creeper than Matthew.

Plus there would be free food and that was always a bonus.