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Cataclysm

Disclaimer: Disclaimed.

Chapter Four

Eli dragged a hand over his face. He had been sleeping peacefully, enjoying a blissfully lackluster dream about chocolate bars and elephants, when the crinkling of paper beneath his face jolted him awake.

Imogen had set her alarm for early in the morning, hurrying to rehearsal for a local production of Brighton Beach Memoirs that Eli sincerely hoped would actually see its opening night. True to form, she had taken it upon herself to fill the empty half of the mattress with a letter professing "a tragic regret in abandoning his angelic face." Eli rolled his eyes, though he folded the letter and tucked it into the cluttered drawer in his bedside table.

He dragged himself through the living room, pulling the same wrinkled T-shirt he had worn the day before back over his head just as he reached the coffee-maker. He cursed the unnecessarily complicated machine that Imogen had insisted on purchasing-Eli was more than content with letting trained professionals fuel his caffeinated lifestyle, but Imogen had provided him with irritatingly convincing nonsense about the fulfillment he would discover in making his own coffee. Inspecting the robot on his counter, Eli selected a sequence of the shiny, silver buttons that seemed as though it must equal coffee. He smiled, suddenly inflated by victory when dark liquid began to drip slowly into the empty glass pot below.

Four minutes later, Eli was grumbling under his breath as he dumped out the worst cup of coffee he had ever tasted. To hell with fulfillment, he thought as he pulled on a pair of jeans, grabbing his keys and locking the door behind him as he started towards the nearest coffee-shop he could find.

He had barely made it 12 feet in the direction of the elevator before he remembered to grab a jacket, but by the time he had his key back in the lock, Clare's boyfriend was headed in his direction with what Eli identified as a concerning look of focus. Paying heed to the heavy feeling in his stomach, Eli kept his eyes down, violently jiggling the newly-stubborn key.

"Hey, Eli." Damn it. Eli looked up, making a conscious effort not to smile. "Jake," he greeted shortly, nodding his head.

"Are you busy?" Eli nearly choked, quickly eyeing Jake's unreadable expression.

"I was just going to grab some coffee, actually," he answered, hoping his tone conveyed its intended dismissal. Jake nodded, but didn't make any action to move. Eli found the moment to be far too awkward, but before he realized that it was certainly far more bearable than the discomfort that would come from spending more time together, he had muttered out, "Wanna come?" For the first time since he had shown up, the corner of Jake's mouth turned upwards and he smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, that's perfect." Eli thwarted a reflexive sigh and shoulder-slump, instead motioning towards his apartment.

"Just let me grab my jacket." He nearly swore out loud when his door unlocked with unprecedented ease.

Eli's eyes shifted awkwardly, drifting from one split in the sidewalk to another as he scoured his mind desperately for a point of conversation. "Don't you have to work, or something?" he wondered aloud.

"A meeting got cancelled so I don't have to go in for a few hours." Eli nodded, realizing the futility of his hints. Jake, who had been watching where he was walking quite carefully, glanced sideways, but looked away without a word. Picking up on his hesitation, Eli quirked an eyebrow. "To be honest," Jake sighed, "I was sort of... waiting for you."

"Um... oh." Eli wasn't sure what to say.

"Not to make you uncomfortable, or anything, I just really needed to get this over with." Eli sidestepped a fire hydrant, wishing it were possible to just hide behind it until Jake was gone.

"Get what over with, exactly?" Jake laughed lightly, and Eli felt suddenly defensive.

"I don't think either of us can deny the fact that this entire... situation, has been significantly awkward for us all." Eli gave a grunt in agreement. "I mean, don't tell Clare I'm saying this..." This time Eli chuckled, and Jake smiled at this first sign of a lesser hostility. "Right, talking to Clare - non-issue." When Eli failed to elaborate on the friendly moment, Jake continued. "I just feel like it's all sort of melodramatic, don't you think? Oh, hey, is this place alright?" It took Eli a second to realize Jake had stopped walking, and was gesturing towards a small store. As soon as Eli recognized the word "coffee" on the window, he was nodding vigorously and reaching for the door.

"You see where I'm coming from, right?" Eli shrugged, asking the young girl at the counter for the largest black coffee they offered.

"I guess, I just don't see what this has to do with stalking me on a Thursday morning..." Jake frowned, paying the cashier for his own drink.

"You're right." Eli perked up, hoping this meant Jake would finally leave him be. "I can't show up outside your apartment and hi-jack your morning, demanding a discussion. Maybe we could talk a little, not be such strangers?" Or not.

"Well, what could possibly be awkward at this point?" Eli's bone's were feeling heavier with dread each second they were together, but he pulled out a chair at one of the small tables and took a seat.

"So, you don't have to work this morning either, I see," Jake began. Eli shook his head, sipping his coffee and basking in the taste momentarily before answering.

"I teach writing workshops at a few of the universities, it's a pretty flexible gig."

"Like a professor?" Eli tapped his fingers on the table self-consciously.

"Not nearly; just kids trying to impress their teachers, or their middle-aged parents who fail to resign their aspirations of being published. People are pretty busy come November, so I probably won't have more than one or two courses filled until mid-January." Jake looked unimpressed.

"You're published though, right? Not into that anymore, or...?" Eli's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Just taking a break," he muttered.

"Right, well, you know about my boring job-"

"Look, Jake, I really don't think a strained attempt at forging friendship is conducive to any interaction you were counting on, so perhaps you could just tell me why I'm not drinking my coffee alone, then we can both be on our way?" Jake raised his hands defensively.

"Eli, I know that you have a tense history with Clare - I have no idea what happened between you two. Frankly, I don't care. Clare came with a lot of baggage, and given the amount I was brining into the equation myself, we only work because she refrains from dwelling on it. Or, she did until you moved in." He gave Eli a pointed look. "Do you see where I'm going with this." Eli glared.

"Barely." When Jake laughed, it was a far less welcoming sound than it had been earlier.

"I'm not unreasonable, Eli; I won't ask you to move out, I won't ask you to stay out of our path at all costs, I won't ask you to go out of your way at all."

"Good," he answered stubbornly.

"Except to ask that you just... apologize to Clare. I'm not a dramatic guy, Eli. I'm sure you're used to it, you're living with a literal character - "

"She's an actress," Eli growled.

"Well Clare is a waitress who erased her past and can't even fathom making friends. Our life is a satisfyingly mundane one, and this period of nonsense we've been living through because of new neighbours is ridiculous. Clare hates you, that much is obvious."

"And you want me to apologize to her for that?" Eli was growing clearly impatient, and increasingly aggravated.

"Hey, I'm not trying to offend you. In no way do I mean to imply you actually did something wrong - that's for you and Clare to argue about. All I know is Clare blames you for something, and if you apologized... well, it would make my life a hell of a lot easier." Eli slammed a fist on the table.

"What makes you think I give a fuck how easy your life is?" he whispered harshly, minding the customers at other tables. Jake smiled patronizingly.

"Just apologize to Clare, let her get over your lingering teenage crisis, and everything - all the stress, all the avoiding, all the fighting - it can just... go away." Eli stared at him angrily, his jaw clenched. Jake threw his head back, draining what was left of his coffee, and stood up. "Just think about it."

Eli remained unmoving for a few minutes, his long-awaited drink growing cold and forgotten in his hand. To hell with coffee.