For as Sick as it May Seem

1 - I Saw Your Eyes

Chris walked into Starbucks with a scowl on his face and steam coming out of his ears. Nothing had gone his way today. Nothing. He'd gotten zero sleep the night before because he'd had a migrane and was stressing out about his band's next upcoming tour. His dog had also managed to run out that morning so Chris had to go out for her. He found her, but got a seventy dollar parking ticket in the process. And to top it all off, the hockey team he was rooting for lost their game today.

So now, he needed coffee.

Chris was literally on the verge of pulling out his shoulder-length synthtetically black hair. He stepped into line, desperately craving a pumpkin spice latte, but oh! Those wouldn't be in season for another week! Chris could just not catch a break.

Or perhaps we've spoken too soon...

As Chris stood in line, a girl with raven colored hair with cherry red low lights walked in...or maybe it was red hair with black highlights...Her hair was red and black, let's just say that. Her hair was up in a pony tail, but a few loose strands hung down. Her green eyes looked through a pair of big, thick, black glasses. She had a nose ring, an anti - eyebrow piercing, and her long black nails tapped against her cellphone as she talked into it.

"Yes, Cole." She says, "So keep stirring it...Then wait until - no...no, don't do that...yeah, yeah...then you pour the - you pour the cheese in...yes...no you - yes...yes...okay...okay, you got it?...okay, I love you. Please don't burn the apartment down." She says before hanging up. She sighs, and runs a hand through her hair.

"Glad I'm not the only one that uses Starbucks as a stress reliever." Chris says over his shoulder to her.

"Are you running late for work and trying to teach your nine-year-old brother how to make mac 'n' cheese over the phone too?"

"No, but my dog ran away and I got a seventy dollar parking ticket when I went out to find her."

"I have three exams tomorrow that I haven't even begun to study for."

Chris blinks, "Okay you win." He says.

"Maybe if this line would go a little slower. That'd be stupendous!"

Chris actually turns to face her, "Where do you have to get to work so quickly?"

"The Hot Topic at the mall."

"Why don't you just go to the Starbucks in the mall?"

"Because I have OCD and this is the only place that spells my name right."

"Ah." Chris says.

The girl stares at him a moment before quircking her pierced eyebrow and smiling, "Is your name by any chance Christopher Cerulli?"

Chris was taken slightly aback. That wasn't the name he was used to being referred as.

"Yeah, that's me."

"Oh my God! You probably don't remember me. We used to be neighbors! Your sister used to babysit me."

Chris thinks a moment, "What's your name?"

"Corianne Stanley. You know, brown hair, green eyes, pigtails. Extremely short for my age. Cameron and Calvin adopted me."

Chris thinks, still not quite remembering.

"Nick used to call me 'Four-Eyes' and you used to call me 'Squirt'."

Chris' eyes light up as the light bulb goes off, "You're Little Squirt Stanley?!" Chris asks, "Holy shit! I haven't seen you since you were eight years old!"

"And my last memory of you before we moved was you screaming to your parents that some producer wanted to make an EP with your band. I'd never seen someone so excited in my life."