Chapter 9- Stressful Days and Nights:

Erin:

I smiled happily at my father. His eyes shone with joy as well, though it was a bit hard to see from the back seat. My father still didn't like me sitting in the passenger seat. He said it was too dangerous for someone as short as I was- even if I was almost fifteen. We sang loudly to the song on the radio. The backseat was filled with blankets, a portable DVD player, and various DVDs- all the things needed for our road trip. It was rare for us to take vacations since we had Hoppers to look after.

This time we were driving to go see one of Dad's old buddies. I called him Uncle Ben, but we weren't related by blood. He was having a lot of heart trouble so Dad said that he wasn't going to be around for that much longer. The street was dark and the trees reminded me of big monsters.

Suddenly, it happened. Dad swerved to miss a deer and ended up hitting a tree instead. There was screaming- screaming from me mostly, but Dad was screaming too. The airbags went off and I blacked out.

I woke up drenched in a cold sweat. My breathing was labored and my fists were clenching the sheets tightly. Paprika was staring at me innocently as she rubbed her face against my arm. It was her touch that brought me back to reality. I let out a small cry- none of it was real. But that wasn't true. It was real. That was the day Dad died and soon after, 'Uncle' Ben died too which left me no other choice than to be legally independent. Dad's will instructed for the café to be mine (completely) when I turned eighteen. He was so proud of that café. He had big dreams for it and I had to carry on those dreams while fulfilling my own.

Still, I groaned as I laid back down on the pillow, I don't get a lot of sleep as it is…

"So how's the school life," Ryan asked as we started to clean up the café.

Thanks to school, I was switched to the late shift as I still had to work- there was still money I had to earn for myself and for my café. Ryan and I were the only ones working nights so we were the ones stuck cleaning up.

"Busy," I said simply.

Busy was an understatement. Nathaniel finally did talk to his sister and while she was still a bitch, she was at least tolerable. He wasn't mad at me at all anymore. That wasn't the problem though. School, work and homework were the problem. I felt like I was going to get gray hairs, I was getting too stressed out, but I wasn't going to give up. I needed to help around the café. I needed to earn my money. I needed to get good grades. I needed… I needed more hours in a day to get everything done.

"Any crushes," Ryan asked slyly, "Because I have seen those guys you hang around- and those girls if you prefer that. Everyone you hang around is hot."

I blushed slightly. Ryan was possibly the only one who picked up on the fact that I swung both ways- he was also the only one to know of a previous girlfriend I had (the only girlfriend I had actually and it only lasted five weeks). But do I have a crush on anyone? Two people came to mind instantly- two very attractive boys, one of whom happened to my best friend. I felt a bit more drawn to my best friend rather than the other one, but they were both crushes nonetheless. Still, Lysander had to be my first choice, my strongest feelings.

"Yeah," I said slowly, "I do."

Ryan put his mop down and turned to me with a sly grin,

"Ohhh… Gossip. Who is it? That shy girl? The one with the braid? That blonde guy?"

"Blonde guy," I answered with a bit of a laugh, "His name is Nathaniel… But I also like Lysander- he's my best friend. He's the one that sang here at the café- he dresses a bit like me with the Victorian flare and he has mismatched eyes, white hair…?"

Ryan nodded, but he tsk'ed at me. He flicked me in the nose, causing me to cry out.

"Idiot," he said, "Liking two guys at the same time is only going to lead to trouble… Don't string them both along, okay?"

"I don't necessarily like both of them evenly," I defended myself, "I like Lysander a lot more. He's amazing, but he… I don't think he's going to make a move anytime soon so I don't want to get too caught up on him. Nathaniel is good, cool, and I do like him and I think he may make a move…"

"And both of them can like you without you knowing which is why this is going to be a lot of drama," Ryan pointed out, "Just promise me you'll go with your heart, not your brain. If one of them asks you out, say the first thing to come to your mind. Don't go over pros and cons. Don't think about the other boy. Just act. Because if the first words out of your mouth is 'I'll think about it', then it's probably not meant to be… Speaking of your boy-toy, he's here."

Ryan pointed out the door. I turned and sure enough, Lysander was standing outside politely waiting as the café was closed. I forgot. We were going to do homework together and he wanted my help on working on a song we could do for a duet someday. I quickly discarded my apron and all but shoved it into Ryan as I grabbed my bag and ran out.

"Thanks for the advice, Ryan!"

"No problem."

"Erin," a voice whispered, "Erin…? Erin, wake up…"

I groggily opened my eyes to see Nathaniel's face inches from mine. Oh yeah… We were doing a study session…

"It is Study Hour for a reason," Nathaniel said dryly.

I yawned and stretched. Nathaniel just shook his head as I let out a large yawn,

"I'm sorry, Nathaniel. I just haven't been getting a lot of sleep… I've been kind of stressed out lately."

I twirled a piece of my hair with my finger. I had a suspicion that everyone noticed how stressed I was. Lysander was nice enough not to comment directly about it, but he did constantly ask me (both in person and over text) if I was okay or if I needed help with anything. Even Rosayla, Iris and Violette kept checking up on me. Castiel cracked jokes about it… Was Nathaniel really the only one oblivious to how I was feeling? Talk about a jab in the heart…

"It can't be that bad," Nathaniel insisted, "I get stressed as well, but I am sure it's nothing that cannot be fixed with a relaxing bath…"

I felt my eye twitch. Nathaniel could possibly be one of the most dense, least empathetic people I knew. He had his good points, true, but then there were times like these. The times where he seemed to act like he knew everything and downplayed my own emotions.

"Let me put it in math terms," I offered, a bit ticked off, "Six hours of school, plus three hours of homework, plus the nine to ten hours I work not counting if I do overtime, leaves me with five hours to sleep, relax, eat, socialize and bathe. Not to mention the fact that I have a cat I have to take care of- that's bathing her, feeding, vet visits and shopping. Then there's also the days I have to shop for myself- food, clothing, etc. On weekends, my work hours vary so sometimes it's eight in the morning to nine at night, sometimes later. I have to work though because I can't afford more employees and as manager and boss, I have to oversee everything. Then I have to choose between homework and socializing which is one of the most basic things teens need to have a good mentality. I have every right to be stressed…. If you'll excuse me, study time is over."

I glared at him briefly as I stormed out. I could hear him cursing and then trying to call out to me with mumbled words of apology. I wasn't going to take it. I was too stressed to deal with him right now. I ended up heading straight to the courtyard where I found Lysander sitting on a bench- study hour was over, but it was now lunch time.

"Hey Lys," I greeted tiredly and sitting down next to him.

I leaned my back against him and stretched my legs out on the bench. Looking up, I saw his confused expression quickly turn to one of sympathy.

"Are you alright?"

"Just… tired."

"Perhaps more sleep would help," Lysander offered.

"More like I'm emotionally and physically tired," I corrected myself, "And even if I wanted to get more sleep, I can't afford it. There's so much work to do- school and then at the café. I can't hire more people, I can't afford it."

"How much sleep are you getting," Lysander asked curiously as I rested my head on his lap.

He seemed a bit flustered, but he didn't comment on it or tell me to move. I did like him- a lot- but I was doing this as more of a I-am-so-tired move than a intimate one.

"Five hours if I'm lucky," I answered honestly with a small yawn.

Lysander frowned- it was clear he wasn't happy with my answer. Who could blame him? It wasn't healthy and I knew that, but there wasn't much I could do about it.

"Five hours," a voice said a bit shocked, "Don't tell me it's because of my music."

I turned my head and saw Castiel standing over us. He was crinkling his nose in confusion. I raised my hand a bit,

"In all honest, you've only woken me up twice this week."

"So why the five hours?"

He lifted up my legs, took a seat, and placed my legs over his lap as we continued to conversation. Lysander seemed a bit happier- probably because Castiel and I were getting along. By now, the hothead was more of an annoying big brother than a jackass neighbor. He even came over once for diner (he was out of food and that was when I learned he was legally independent as well because his parents were always out for work).

"That's all I can get," I closed my eyes, "Between school, homework, personal activities, and the café… Five hours is the best I can do. Which is more than some people, but lately I have been only two hours because Paprika, my kitten, keeps waking me up or I get nightmares."

"An optimistic girl like you gets nightmare," Castiel asked skeptically.

"Everyone gets nightmares," Lysander tsk'ed, "It is human."

I didn't give anymore comments as I tried to get a bit of shut eye. I can't tell them, I thought sadly, I just… I knew Lysander well enough to know that he would be willing to listen and offer advice if I ever told him the truth about my nightmares, but I just didn't know if I could bring myself to him. My nightmares weren't pleasant ones since all of them were memories (which had me in counseling for a while).

"Erin," Nathaniel's voice called out, causing me to groan.

I cracked open my eyes as Castiel moved my legs in order to disappear into the gym to avoid Nathaniel. Nathaniel looked at the position Lysander and I were in and I got up with a stretch,

"I'm up… Thanks for being my pillow, Lys," I smiled at him.

He gave me a nod and I looked at Nathaniel. He seemed a bit flustered,

"Erin, I wished to apologize for my behavior… Everyone gets stressed and it was rude of me to assume that your stress wasn't bad… I… I talked to the principal about changing your schedule. It wasn't easy, but after explaining the circumstances of you owning the café, she was willing to knock off your personal finance class, counting your café work hours as that class time, giving you an extra free period that you can use to study, do homework or sleep… I know it's not much, but it was all I could do…"

He scratched at the back of his neck in a flustered way as his face turned red. I couldn't help the large grin on my face as I practically tackled him,

"Thank you," I praised, hugging him tightly.

I didn't mind that I was practically dangling a bit in the air as I held onto his neck and shoulders for the tight hug. It took a moment, but he finally did hug me back, awkwardly placing his hands on my waist and lower back. I laughed and finally let him go,

"Thank you Nathaniel," I repeated sincerely, "Really.. It means a lot."

Poor Nathaniel was blushing red all over his face as he shifted the weight on his feet,

"You're welcome."

"Isn't that great, Lys," I turned to him with wide eyes and a wide grin.

Lysander's smile seemed a bit forced as he kept glancing towards Nathaniel.

"Of course."

After school, I headed towards the café to get started on my shift. The place was as busy as it usually was- people were filling up the chairs. Though it was oddly peaceful. There wasn't any cursing from behind the counter like usual (our baker had a bit of a mouth on him). Soft guitar music filled the air with no vocals, but it wasn't coming from the speakers. I turned to the small stage we had set up for our special nights. Instead of seeing it empty, Castiel was sitting there. He was actually wearing one of our café uniforms with his own twist- he still wore the black slacks but the white button-up shirt wasn't buttoned all the way, the Hoppers café cap was turned sideways and the apron was tied around his waist. In his hands was a guitar and he was playing soft music instead of the normal head-banging music I heard from home.

I walked by the stage confused, but not complaining. The soft live music was a nice change of pace. I headed towards the restrooms and changed into my uniform and then got ready for my station at the counter, but I was stopped by Ryan.

"Nu-uh. I heard about your sleeping patterns. You're going to go change back into normal clothes, go sit down on the couch, listen to the music, and sleep."

"But my shift," I protested.

"Covered by your boytoy," Ryan pointed his thumb towards the counter.

I leaned over to the side to look behind Ryan. Sure enough there was someone behind the counter working my shift- Lysander. He looked rather nice in the uniform, even if he didn't wear the cap. He was being polite to the customers. When he got my eye, he gave me a wink before continuing to work.

"Why," I asked dumbly, "I… We can't afford two new employees."

Ryan smiled,

"That's the best part. See, they got there as soon as school ended. They insisted to work here, for free. I know you trust them and have a huge crush on the Victorian one. I know that we need the help. I was hesitant until Lysander, was it? He explained why they wanted to work there for free. We worked out a deal. Lysander takes half of your shift every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Castiel takes half your shift every Tuesday and Thursday. I heard them talking and Castiel agreed to not playing his music so loud at the house so you won't be waken up by it. Lysander even told met to give this to you."

He handed me a small piece of paper with Lysander's neat small handwriting on it that listed some medications.

"Sleeping meds. Those are some good friends you have, Erin. Now go rest so their efforts aren't in vain."

I looked over back to Lysander and he gave me a smile. I looked over to Castiel. He huffed slightly at me, but there was a smirk on his lips. I felt I could cry I was so happy. They had no idea how much this meant to me and how much it would all help. Yeah, I have some amazing best friends… Thank you, Lysander…Thank you so very much…