Ryan smiled as he slipped in the back door of the diner and checked in.  He twisted the brim of his hat around to face backward and stepped up the to counter. 

As he began to work the morning orders, he felt his stress levels rising a bit, but he never failed to drop his smile.  Even when a customer spilled coffee on him and then knocked a plate out of his hand, he kept his temper in check. 

Finally, after the breakfast rush was done, Ryan snagged himself some waffles and coffee. He sat on the floor behind the counter in case he was needed, his plate on a shelf.  He smiled as he saw where he wrote his name the day before, then noticed the little note beside it. 

Ryan smirked to himself and grabbed his pen. He thought it was ironic how he was being condemned for vandalism in a way that embraced it.  With a second thought, he decided to grab one of the order pads and write his note on there instead.

"Ironic." He jotted down first. "Name? Shift?" He added, thinking that was a decent conversation starter.  Ryan got up and went back to work, writing songs in his head and occasionally scribbling a few lines out on a napkin. 

Just as he was getting ready to leave, Vinny came in and parked himself in his booth. 

"'Sup dude." Ryan fixed his hat to be the way he preferred it, kicking his feet up on the bench as he relaxed a bit.  He pulled out a package of cigarettes, passing Vinny his lighter so they could both smoke. 

"Ya know Ricky? He works graveyard.  He's really chill. I think you'd like him." Vinny spoke up as he noticed the similarities between the two waiters that both frequented his company.  He flicked the ash from his blunt and Ryan shrugged. 

"Ya' know I don't need a boyfriend..." Ryan sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I got you and work and..." He ran out of things he enjoyed that kept him busy.  "I'm good by myself. I've learned to cook for one now.  Well, more like two..." He joked as he pinched at his bit of belly fat. 

"Anyways though, I should get going.  I have a cat waiting for me." Ryan smirked as he stole a sip from Vinny's water bottle, cringing a bit.  "Really dude? Whiskey?" Ryan laughed and raised his eyebrow at him.

"You're the one that got me hooked on this shit." Vinny took a sip and a pull from his blunt, relaxing in the booth.  "But think, you could have a hot dude waiting for you at home instead." Vinny pressured as Ryan began to walk away, giving him the middle finger. 

The sun was just beginning to set as Ryan left, so he decided he'd take a detour on his way home.  He drove about two miles down the road to an abandoned train yard, climbing up one of the boxcars and laying down.  He starred off into the distance for a while, a loneliness washing over him.

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