Cam's eyebrows furrowed at the strange accusations, obviously not expecting the sudden whirlwind that was the disgruntled...no, highly emotional, restaurant patron standing in front of him. She was nowhere near angry or trying to fight with him, but he didn't have to be on his usual defense when a customer came up to him; it was a rather tricky business, and no one could tell if they were going to spend the night in the restaurant being berated and harassed for nothing. He'd known that all too well, the night before having been complete chaos as he'd gotten into a near fist fight with someone; luckily Brin had been around to help him difuse the situation. This, however, was unusual. She seemed upset beyond belief, more so than he'd seen in a customer in a long time. "I...don't know who Connor is, I'm so sorry," he said, glancing down at his wrist tattoo. Surely this type of tattoo wasn't uncommon? She had to be mixing that up in some fashion, not all tattoos were completely unique. "My tattoo is...it's not the most uncommon thing, I don't think."
Danni pulled out her cellphone, pulling up a picture of Connor to show him that they looked exactly the same. To show him the tattoo that was so clearly in the same spot. She couldn't seem to find her words as she shakily pointed right at the rocket ship in the picture then the one on "Cam's" wrist. Rocket ships and Saturns weren't uncommon no, but this specific tattoo sure wasn't common. Next she pointed to the brightly smiling face in the picture, he couldn't deny that they looked exactly the same right? There was no way. "Th-this is you. You have his f-face." She sputtered out, feeling as if she were losing her mind all over again. Maybe it was time to leave before she really did something she would later regret. Not that she didn't already regret this whole situation. Danni wasn't the type to lash out, but in this devastating state of mind who knew what could happen?
Cam stared at Danni's phone for what felt like an eternity; the tattoo was indeed the same, and he saw similarities between himself and the person she was showing him. "I don't...know what happened or who this is, I'm sorry. I...have my face," he explained slowly, trying to choose his words carefully so he wouldn't upset her much further. There was a saying that there were seven other people in the world who looked like you, and this had to be what she was getting confused by. He was Cam, no one had ever called him Connor before. "Everyone's got lookalikes," he said, a polite chuckle leaving him to ease the tension just a little bit. And here he thought he could have a normal night after yesterday; Brinley would find the whole situation entertaining for sure when he saw her later. Something else caught his eye, or rather someone behind Danni who gently grabbed her elbow.
"Danni, hey. Is everything okay?" came Blake's voice. He didn't know what was going on, but judging by the way Zachary returned to the table and watching Danni a bit from afar he knew he had to step in. Zachary couldn't and Blake knew that; he'd crumble with the way he was right now.
Lookalikes? No. Why was this happening? Danni should have never come over here, she was making a fool of herself and she knew it. It felt like all eyes in the place were on her; her skin was crawling and it was far from a comfortable feeling. The door wasn't that far away, she could slip out before anyone from her party noticed. Or not. She jumped a little when she felt a touch to her elbow, turning her head to look at Blake. His voice reached her ears and before she could stop herself she blurted out: "no!" She didn't mean to speak so loudly but everything was not okay. Blake of course knew she what she had gone through, but she couldn't tell him that she thought their waiter was Connor. It was bad enough that Zachary and the waiter himself thought she was nuts, she didn't need anyone else to either. "I have to go." She mumbled out, pulling her arm away from Blake and making her escape through the restaurants front doors. Coming out tonight had been a mistake.
"I...have to get back to work, I really hope whatever...this is for you gets sorted out," Cam said carefully, taking a hesitant step back. This was his chance to get away from the situation and to go on his break. He had to keep reminding himself that his shift ended soon, it would all be worth it once he could just go home and relax. He watched Danni nearly bolt away from her friend, offering him an apologetic smile for the trouble before he headed through the doors to the back. How odd.
The moment Blake felt Danni pull away from his gentle hold, he spun around on his heels to try to catch her. Though, unfortunately, she was too fast for him to grab before he watched her dodge in and out of people to make it outside. The whole thing caught Zachary's attention, of course, and he ignored whatever it was that Elliott was saying to him in favor of leaving the table once again to go after her.
Oh no.
Zachary pushed his way out, knowing the rest of them were close on his tail. They'd probably left money for their bill and tipped their waiter. Probably one than the bill actually was to apologize for whatever was going on, but Zachary couldn't care less. His focus was on catching up to Danni, and he made sure he could. "Danni, wait," he said, finally reaching her and taking hold of her wrist.
Danni tugged on her wrist as a hand closed around it, fighting back the tears that she knew were lingering in her eyes. Not here, not now, she didn't want to be sobbing all over the sidewalk in front of a whole group of people who wouldn't understand. Well maybe they would but she was in no state of mind to think clearly about this. She just wanted to walk, walk until she couldn't anymore. Walk until she couldn't feel anything anymore. Why did she have to be so invested? Why couldn't she have moved on already? Things would be a whole lot easier, she would be living in the present as she should be. The past was just a painful part of her life that she would prefer not to know at the moment. Zachary wouldn't have to worry about her and she wouldn't have to worry about others seeing her as crazy. Emotions were horrible. She bit the inside of her cheek and looked at Zachary with a hardened expression. "Just leave me alone." She said coldly, not meaning to be so harsh but she didn't know how else to control how she was feeling at the moment.
The harsh tone surprised Zachary only a little, used to the reaction from her but a small part of him had hoped tonight would be different. That she wouldn't try to push him away after everything. Clearly he was wrong. This is where hoping and dreaming get us. He took a deep breath, not daring to let go of Danni's arm and ignoring the people around them with everything he had. "I'm not leaving you alone. Not now," he said quietly, meeting her gaze and he knew the others were there now by the weight of their stares on his back. They stood a distance away, luckily not suffocating him or Danni; they knew better. "We can go. But I...can't let you go alone. Not like this."
"I'm not a little kid." Danni replied, ripping her arm free from Zachary's grip. She was stronger than she looked; years of dance had given her pretty toned arms and legs. There wasn't a set destination in her mind, she just wanted to get away from this place and never return. Seeing that waiter again would probably only bring her back into this state of mind that she currently was in. Whether she was manic, devastated, or just upset she didn't know, but she knew that it was good to get away from other people. Again she didn't lash out much, but she was capable of doing so and that's usually why she locked herself in her room until she was okay again. To make sure that she wouldn't. Zachary was the only one who hasn't given up on her and she wanted to keep it that way; of course she didn't see that she was only pushing him away further. If she did would it matter? If he left he wouldn't have to deal with her mess. "I need to walk." She mumbled under her breath, turning on her heel and making her way down the sidewalk. Clearing her mind was important.
"I'm not treating you like a child," Zachary said, though he didn't have much more time to stop her; Danni was already headed down the sidewalk and he couldn't do anything about it. Elliott had appeared at his side, a firm hand holding him back. He wasn't going anywhere, he knew Elliott wouldn't let him. Something about it being for her own good and his mental health, Elliott had told him this multiple times in various other scenarios. He glanced over at his boyfriend for a moment, avoiding the curious stares of their friends. They would ask far too many questions for his liking. "I...we can go," he mumbled, ultimately letting Elliott lead him back to Blake's car. He sunk back into the seat, hearing that the others were heading back instead of coming over which he was grateful for now. He stared at his phone, open on his text conversation with Danni for a long while before he sent her a text. He wasn't sure if she would read it or even answer but he had to try. To Peach: I'll be awake if you want to talk. Please just...come home at some point.
The hot pink haired girl laid on her stomach on the dark gray couch in the otherwise dark living room, chewing on the end of a pen as she stared at a laptop screen. It was opened to some media app, one of the many she used to mix music. She had a show coming up soon and she wanted to debut some new tunes for the people; they would grow bored of the same thing every single time and she lived for this type of stuff, seriously. Music was her life; her everything. Brinley tugged at the hem of her cut off jean shorts, glancing at the time briefly before she returned her attention back to the brightly lit screen of her laptop. Her roommate would be getting off of work soon and she was excited to have some company. She didn't get lonely, but the thoughts in her head could get loud and she needed a break from all that. Besides, who else would she test her new tunes on? Sure she had other friends, but they had been "busy" tonight, the nerds. Brin dropped the pen, tapping away at the keyboard. Some noise played through her clunky bright green head phones and a look of dissatisfaction crossed her pixie like features, that was not what she had wanted. She could be a bit of a perfectionist when it came to her work, but honestly who wasn't?
The door opened to their shared apartment, revealing a worn down and on edge Cam coming inside. It was dark, but he'd expected as much; Brinley tended to get so lost in her work that she forgot how much time passed and all of a sudden it would be night and dark in their apartment. He shook his head as he turned the lights on and adjusted the dimmers so it wouldn't be too bright, shutting the door with a heavy sigh. "You'll ruin your eyesight at that rate," he called over to her, not caring whether or not she heard him. He'd gotten used to her having her headphones on and only vaguely hearing him when he entered a room. He tossed his bag aside, briefly considering making his way to his room to put it down but he needed to crash for a bit. Cam nearly threw himself onto their loveseat, watching Brinley on the couch across from him as he sunk back and tossed his legs over the arm of the chair. It had been a long, confusing night, even after he had the strange interaction about a boy named Connor.
Brinley heard the door open only because she had paused the awful noise, her gaze turning to the rather ragged looking roommate of hers. Something had obviously happened at work, she could see it in his face. Over the short time they've known each other she had gotten pretty good at reading him "Ha," she stuck her tongue out at him, pulling her headphones from her head as she sat up. The least she could do was let him sit down before she pounced with her questions. Her gaze fell back to her laptop for a moment, how long had she been working anyway? Time blurred together when she got into it, if not for her friends reminding her that there was more to the world than her music she would forget to take care of herself. A bad habit perhaps, but it was also her job and she had to get work done just like everyone else. Her work just involved a computer more than other jobs. "So, how was work?" She "attacked," eyeing him closely. "You look worse for wear."
"Well, I was threatened, berated, harassed and nearly strangled. Is that any different than my neveryday?" Cam asked sarcastically, a heavy sigh leaving him. "Oh, and how could I forget? I was told I was someone else, with proof and all. Can you believe that?" He pushed himself to sit up a little better so he could see his best friend. "So let me ask you. Which part of my interesting night would you like me to start with?" Interesting was one way to put it; customers were typical, violent and rude from drinking and others just plain creepy. Brinely would have found it hilarious when he had his sharp comebacks at work; she always did. He ran a hand through his hair, eyes catching sight of his Saturn tattoo. What was that girl on about? It didn't make any sense to him that she was so sure that no one else would have a tattoo like his.
Brinley wasn't surprised by this, his job had its downfalls. The general public could be awful to deal with at times, and she was no stranger to unruly people. Alcohol was a form of liquid courage, she's had to break up many fights during her sets because of it. What interested her most was this being accused of being someone else, that was different. "Someone else?" She questioned, genuinely intrigued by this tidbit of news. Who was he if not Cam? Was she living with an imposter? Her thoughts brought her amusement, but she was fairly sure she knew who he was. She wouldn't live with a complete stranger. Well, maybe; Brinley was a bit on the wild side and there was a time where she had been jumping from couch to couch. Half of the people she had barely known. "Are you some international spy and you didn't tell me? That's kind of rude you know."
Cam actually laughed at that, forever grateful for Brinley's presence in his life. An amused smile found its way onto his lips as he locked eyes with her. "Oh, yeah. International super spy. Heavy stuff," he joked. "Can't tell you more because then you'll have the enemy tracking you down," he said, wiggling his fingers for a bit of dramatic effect. What a funny idea, him as a super spy; he could never see himself doing that. Hell, he couldn't even see himself being a waiter but there he was. "Some girl I was waiting on said I looked exactly like some guy she knows. Same face and tattoo, she showed me pictures to prove it. She was sure my name was Connor. We don't even look that similar," he sighed, shrugging as he thought about it. He wondered how she was faring now, hours later. "She seemed so distraught. No clue why."