Into You •Finnpoe Stormpilot•

Chapter I

San Francisco, California

Poe Dameron wiped the sweat from his forehead after lugging the trash bags full of half eaten and picked-at dishes from the restaurant behind him. He bent over resting his palms on his knees and caught his breath. Being a trash boy for a lousy diner had its perks but this, pure exhaustion at the end of the day, was not one of them. Resting one of his hands on the concrete behind him, Poe leaned backwards and lied on the ground.

He didn't enjoy working there, but no other place had good enough pay for someone as inexperienced as him. The twenty four year old could barely keep a studio apartment and a cheap broken down car as it is.

He didn't talk to any of his neighbors except an older black lady who had made it her job to make sure he got home safely.

Moving there from Georgia was not what he thought it would be. Poe thought he could've have a fresh start after running from what little family he had left but all he'd gone was nowhere.

He sighed and tried squinting at the dark blue sky to make out some stars but the city lights blocks out any beauty that the vast beyond holds. Poe closed his eyes for a few minutes just to have some rest and the lullaby of downtown San Francisco calm him.

Poe's eyes shot open after a large hand gripped his cream colored shirt and shook him furiously.

"Do you think you're payed to sleep on the job garbage boy?" Richard, the loud owner of the diner, yelled.

Poe gripped the edge of the sidewalk and glanced up, "No, I was just taking a well deserved break."

Richard spat on the ground next to him, "You've done absolutely nothing that's worth taking a break. You should have a little more appreciation for someone giving you a job."

Poe scowled, "Sorry your highness," and clenched his jaw, knowing what the owner's next move would be.

The back of Richard's hand came down forcefully against the side of Poe's face; his ring left a jagged gash underneath the boy's eye.

During the slap, Poe didn't wince, but only closed his eyes. After seeing this, Richard kicked his side as a final blow and left him lying on the concrete beside the dumpsters.

"Come back tomorrow with so much as a smirk on your face and I'll knock your damn lights outs," he called out before slamming and locking the door behind him.

Poe lied there for a few more minutes before slowly standing to grab his jacket nearby and drape it around his shoulders for some type of warmth.

He did this to himself and he knew it. He never could shut up, always had to throw some type of comment in. Not that he regretted it too much, his "ego" would just level it out after taking a beating. Although, that time he was a lot luckier. The previous time he tried to add a snarky comment, he couldn't move for three days. But he always gave himself a way to fight back, and if not physically, with words.

Poe pulled the car keys out of his pocket and fidgeted with them while he limped to the employee parking lot. When he reached his car, he noticed a fresh scrape against the side on the entire drivers side.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath while shoving the keys in the lock and opening his door.

Driving at night was difficult enough for him already but having bruised ribs and a half-swollen-shut eye made it just a little harder. He tried to focus on the road but his eyes just seemed to keep getting heavier and heavier.

A loud truck horn went off in front of him and Poe whipped the steering wheel to the right nearly crashing into an eighteen wheeler that was barrel towards him. He ran a hand through his thick hair and messed it up even more than it was before. He took a few moments to catch his breath before speeding the car up to normal.

His mind hadn't been able to focus on anything for so long. He couldn't even watch a whole movie without dazing off or falling asleep. It'd happened so much he began to believe it was normal even. But he knew that there was something wrong, he just wouldn't admit it: he needed something in his life to have some meaning.