Disclaimer: Neither Inception nor 50/50 belong to me.
Ariadne tapped her pencil against her teeth. She was sure the frail looking man who had left the Warehouse had been Adam. But she couldn't be sure, and realised, with a rush of chagrin, that she didn't have his number.
She bit the top of her pencil. Would he ever call her? She was beginning to suspect not. Sighing, she bent her head over her blueprint, and got back to work.
Adam slumped on the couch, and sighed. He hated the afternoons. In the morning, his life was consumed by a routine - get up, wash, walk Skeletor, tidy up, go to the hospital three days a week - but afternoons were blank.
He missed being at work. Missed feeling a though he were part of the human race. He felt trapped, and stifled, as though he were a fly in a piece of glass. His life had been put on hold.
"I'm in limbo," he muttered. Skeletor wandered over, and put his head on his lap. Adam stretched out a hand, and gently caressed the greyhounds' ears. Skeletor whined appreciatively, and licked Adam's hand.
"If I called her..." Adam murmured, "I'd have to tell her I'm sick - maybe she won't want to know."
Skeletor licked his hand again. Adam reached for his iPhone.
Ariadne looked critically at her draft. Frowning, she began to gently shade in an area. Suddenly, her phone buzzed. She picked it up, and clicked it. "Hello?"
"Um...Ariadne?"
"Yes." She frowned slightly. "Who is this?"
Adam coughed. He was beginning to feel embarrassed.
"Its, uh, Adam. We bumped into each other a couple of days ago...I made you trip, and you gave me your number, and I thought, well, you wanted me to use it-"
"Oh!" Ariadne exclaimed, a rush of warmth spreading through her. "Hi there! Yes, of course I remember!" She bit her lip. She was genuinely touched he'd called her. "What can I do for you?"
Adam took a deep breath. "Well...do you want to meet for coffee, tomorrow? About 4?"
She blinked. "Sounds great! Where shall I meet you?"
"Um, there's a little coffee shop called The Golden Bean, its on 44th Street."
"I know it. See you then!"
He clicked off, and slumped back on the couch. Skeletor came over and nuzzled him. He smiled.
"Hey, she didn't reject me over the phone," he told his dog, scratching his ears. "Maybe she won't reject me in person." Skeletor barked, and Adam smiled. "I hope so."
"You called her?" Kyle sounded genuinely surprised and impressed. "Way to go! And to think, last week you were moping about how you'd never have a date again?"
"Well, think about it," Adam admonished his friend, taking the hash pipe from him. Both were sprawling on Adam's couch, watching a DVD Kyle had brought over. "Having cancer doesn't exactly make you dating material. I look like Voldemort! Worse, an anorexic Voldemort!"
Kyle snorted. "Sure there's a fetish for that, somewhere."
Adam raised his increasingly hairless eyebrows. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Kyle inhaled, exhaled, and settled back. "So, does she know about you and the big C?"
"No." He swallowed. "Think I can avoid telling her?"
"Of course. As long as you can come up with convincing tales of why you're bald, why your back hurts, and why you have to go to the hospital for hours at a time."
Adam grimaced. "Thanks."
"I'm just being honest, I'm sorry." Kyle bit his lip, and turned to him. "I just don't think you should live in a dream world!"
Adam leaned back, and closed his eyes. "Live in a dream world? Preferable to this."
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