No Appetite

Travis tucked his hands back in his pockets and looked at the ground for a moment as he shrugged. "Eh... It could have been worse." Actually, he'd experienced worse before, and having Angel there today had really made a mess of his emotions. 

He glanced back up at Ashlee and smiled a little. "I had fun too." It really had been nice, just the two of them on a date. They hadn't done anything wrong while they'd been alone - it was just nice not having an audience for their smalltalk and laughing. Would they get another chance? He hoped so...but it looked like it might be a while now. 

"I'm still sorry, though." He glanced around for a moment then sighed. He knew he needed to keep this short as Stacy wished. "I better go before I make things worse. I'll um... I'll see you around, okay?" Even if they weren't allowed to be together, he'd still see her from a distance at least, right? 

Turning, he finally left to trudge back to his own bunk for the night. 


Aaron didn't say anything more, but kept to himself, reading and dozing off now and then, too. He didn't complain when he was brought the typical frozen dinner for meals, and didn't fight Rick's poking and prodding around his knee either. Maybe, just maybe something Sam had said had triggered a more positive response than he'd displayed lately. Tomorrow? Who knew? 


Hal glanced at the clock and yawned. He wasn't used to working days, but until he was confident Sam had a handle on her new job, the graveyard shift was out. Ty would be here all night like usual, and Rick had volunteered to come in at some point every night to check on Aaron, so things were covered enough at least for now. 

Turning off his computer, he grabbed his leather jacket and keys, and headed out. His stomach growled, reminding him it was nearing suppertime. Which was usually breakfast. Or something. Getting out to the parking lot, he spotted Sam just nearing her own car. "Hey." He wandered closer. "How'd it go with Aaron this afternoon? Didn't hear any screaming." 


Carson nodded and glanced over at Jamison again. There were certainly a lot of changes in the Elite, and he hoped all of them were for the better. It was kind of scary, but there wasn't much he could do about it. If Dalton was hanging out with Jamison though, he couldn't be too bad of a guy. "What can I get ya?" 

Jamison glanced at the menu quickly. "Um...let's go with a personal cheese and veggie and...a water. Thanks." 

"Sure." Carson looked to Scott, who looked like he'd had a rough day. "Cheese and mushrooms...no sauce?" He cocked his head. "How about two small slices?"

Scott managed a grateful smile and nodded.  "Yeah, that sounds good."

"Mountain Dew?" 

Scott thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Water." His stomach was not on its best behavior tonight, and he knew when not to push it. The lack of tomato sauce would help at least... Carson had figured out his pattern well, always helping him not be embarrassed by his abnormal but necessary eating habits. 

"Alright. Hang tight, it'll just be a few minutes." 

Once he was gone, an awkward silence fell over the table. Scott fiddled with a napkin. Jamison looked around the restaurant, just taking in the atmosphere. It seemed like a nice little place. He knew a bit of the background since it was now connected with Carson, and it did look like he did a pretty good business. Jamison finally broke the silence. "So...you guys just know each other through work or...?"

After that, the smalltalk kept up, making things a bit more relaxed. There food was brought out and Jamison agreed the pizza was very good, and he knew he'd have to come back sometime. Talk drifted back to work mostly, and Jamison learned more and more about the Elite and how they functioned. All in all, he enjoyed the evening, and it was kind of nice to get out and do something different with someone else. He did have some things he wanted to do tonight at home though, so he was the first to leave, telling them both, and Carson, goodbye and he'd be in to work tomorrow ready for more. 

Sitting alone at the table with Dalton, Scott nibbled on one of his pizza crusts. He'd managed to eat a slice and a half, but that was all, and he knew his big friend would notice. His gaze remained downcast. "You...gonna hafta stay with me again tonight?" He assumed so, since the current threat hadn't yet been resolved, but it was worth asking.