Chapter Text
Monday, October 15th. 9:00 A.M.
Zoey paused for a moment. She didn’t know why she did- the bus stop was the same as it had always been, and it was warm out; the street was quieter than it normally was at this time, too.
She paced over to the sign of the bus stop, quietly leaning against it. Inhaling sharply, she assessed the situation, even though there wasn’t much to assess.
It was the same as any other day for Zoey. Wake up, get dressed, walk to the bus stop. Ride the bus to work, work your shift. Ride the bus home, walk home, cry in the shower, stay up too late drawing, fall asleep in front of your desk. Wake up an hour later and actually go to sleep in bed.
She couldn’t shake off this— this.. feeling. Something would be different today, breaking her out of this endless and tiresome loop of everyday life.
What was she even thinking about anymore?
Zoey quietly pulled out her phone, checking the time. The bus would be here in around.. maybe, 5 to 7 ish minutes, if it was on time.
She started looking through her sketchbook- not drawing anything, but observing. A drawing she did yesterday caught her eye- the Saint Louis Art Museum.
Zoey liked going there a lot; the artwork inside was very beautiful, and she also liked walking around on Art Hill too, just watching other people exist. It was melancholy- some people had families, brought their kids, and it felt so sonder for her to think about how other people in her town had found the ability to get stable footing.
And then there was her- a broke college dropout who would spend her weekends drawing the scenery at parks and lakes and buildings that held significance in the town.
The place she worked at was close-ish to there.. maybe during her lunch break she’d walk around the park in that area a bit..
Zoey closed her sketchbook, overthinking things again. She had to start getting her stuff together cause she’d be getting into work mode soon..! Hah.. great.
Glancing over, she noticed another person sitting in the bus stop. She’s seen them here before, she’s sure of it. Not that she knew who they were or why they were here, but she acknowledged it.
The person sat rather calmly, aside from their leg bouncing up and down in the seat. They had dark, curly hair.. and Zoey noticed various tattoos on their arms, also.
She had to admit.. she did think they were pretty.
SSSQQUEAAAK!
The bus haltered to a stop. Zoey walked towards the doors, fumbling with her wallet to get cash out to pay the fare. Her boots clunked against the metal stairs as she gently held some of the fabric of her skirt up as not to trip on it on the steps.
She looked around the bus- it was rather busy for this time. She quickly found a seat- it was the last one available where you wouldn’t have to sit next to someone else on the ride.
Putting her wallet away, she noticed someone else approaching her.
It was the other person from the bus stop.
“Uh.. could I sit here?”
Zoey looked up, stammering for a moment. “O-oh! Yeah, yeah. Go ahead.”
They sat down next to her, casually minding their own business. They smelled like incense and held a sort of comforting vibe, almost.
They’re still a stranger, though- best not to bother them. Zoey started to shuffle through her bag, looking for the hair tie she always carried with her because she had to put her hair up for work-
Fuck! She forgot that she lent it to a coworker yesterday.
If she wanted to get promoted and get better pay rates she couldn’t forget something as simple as a hair tie.. her boss was already mad at her for watching anime in the break room on her phone when she wouldn’t realize her break time would be up.
She had to go to her last resort in this situation.
“H-hey, do you have a hair tie I can borrow?” Zoey politely asked the stranger next to her.
“Mmh?” They looked back at her with these deep, coffee-brown eyes. “Oh, yeah, of course.” They pulled a singular hair tie off of their wrist, handing it to Zoey.
“Thanks so much.. my boss would kill me if I forget to put my hair up again.” She thanked them, holding her hair up and using it to tie it up.
“Yeah, I get that. I’ve had jobs like that before, too.” The other person remarked with a soft chuckle.
Zoey exhaled a soft laugh back, trying to reply somehow. She thought for a moment, tapping her foot against the floor of the bus.
“I like your shoes.”
Zoey looked over, a little taken aback that this stranger was comfortable making small talk so quick. “Oh, these old things..? Thanks, haha..” She looked down at her shoes- they were these old scuffed Doc Martens she had gotten second-hand.
“No, no. They’re cool- are those real ones?” The other person asked, which made Zoey surprised at how intrigued this person was with her.
“I’m.. not sure? I got them thrifting, so there’s not too much telling.” She replied softly, her brain slow when thinking of words.
“The thrift would be a good idea. I’ve always wanted a pair, but I haven’t been able to afford too much lately..” The other related to her, leaning back in their seat.
Zoey looked at what seemed like their offer for chit-chat, and started to muster up words to say. “So, um.. where are you headed off to?”
The other person looked at her, starting. “..The library, actually. I like finding books to read, and the quiet is nice too.”
She’s finding out things about this stranger she would have never thought to ask ever before. “That’s nice. I haven’t been to the library in a while.”
“What about you? Where are you going?” The other asked her.
Zoey started a sentence. “Oh, me..? Just going to work. I, uh.. work in fast food. Gotta clock in on time, you know..”
“Oh, shit, that sucks.” The other person responded. “Retail stuff like that is annoying to do.”
“Tell me about it, haha..” Zoey empathized.
The two talked for a while, sharing various opinions and small talk. Zoey found it comforting; she had always been interested in this person ever since they first saw them start to appear at the bus stop. After some time, the bus started to slow down.
“Okay, so, you’re telling me that you’re 26 years old, you’ve lived in Saint Louis all your life, and you’ve never been to Soulard Market??” The person asked her with a giggle.
“I’m not very good at managing my time, okay?? I mean, I want to, but..” Zoey felt her face get a little warm. “Y-yeah. You’re right.”
“You should go sometime, it’s real nice. Vendors from all over, there’s good food.” The person remarked, checking the time on their watch and where the bus was. “Oh, the bus is at where I need to be. I should probably get a move on.”
“A-already? Wow, that.. felt a lot faster than it usually does.” Zoey commented.
“Yeah, I know.” The other person agreed, rising up out of their seat. “Hey, I never got your name?”
“It’s Zoey.” She smiled softly. “What about you?”
“Riley. Riley Verselis." They shared. “See ya ‘round, Z.”
She watched Riley leave and step off the bus. With careful eyes, she could see them walk through the library doors as the bus pulled out back into the road. “..Yeah. Bye.”
< ************* | 🎭🧩 | ************* >
Monday, October 15th. 11:06 P.M.
Zoey sighed, looking at the papers sprawled across her desk. Her hair was wet from her shower; and she eyed the pencil sitting on her desk.
Next to it was the hair tie that the other person at the bus stop had given to them.
That other person.
Riley Verselis.
Zoey picked it up, tying her hair up with it in the same way she did on the bus this morning. Normally, she wouldn’t tie her hair up when it was wet, but for some reason, her body basically dragged her to do it.
Next to the papers was an old tape deck and a pile of mixtapes that she had gotten from her mom’s old things. She put one of the tapes in the player, letting it play whatever songs that were recorded onto there years ago. It was crunchy and glitchy, but the volume wasn’t too loud- it just felt right in the situation right now.
The lamplight, Zoey, and that tape deck were the only real signs of anything still active in her small little home.
Well, maybe she should be at least a little productive and get herself to draw something. It didn’t have to be much, but if she wanted to write a webcomic then she should get to it.
She started to doodle a headshot of one of her characters.. maybe she should attempt at realism? She wasn’t very good at it, but maybe she should give it a shot.
< ************* | 🎭🧩 | ************* >
Tuesday, October 16th. 12:14 A.M.
Well, damn it.. this drawing didn’t look like who she was originally trying to sketch.
Zoey held the paper, looking at it carefully. The tape deck made a loud crinkling sound, which soon faded out into the next song that was recorded onto the cassette— Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder.
This.. this drawing looked nothing like her OC. If anything, honestly; it looked like Riley.
Really, now come on. What the hell was she doing? Drawing some stranger that she met on the bus? It wasn’t anything graphic, of course- but the thing is, she barely knew this person. At all! Why would she do this..
She lowered the paper down, still holding it, but refusing to look back at it. As much as she hated to admit it, the song playing on the tape deck was correct.
They were quite lovely.
Agh, what the hell?! It was getting late. Her mind keeps wandering around at the worst times.
Zoey pulled herself out of her chair, flipping the paper over so the blank side was showing.
It was late. She had work in the morning.
Silently, she turned off the tape deck and the light. Darkness was the only thing that could help right now- she had to move on over this warm.. weird, weird feeling that she’d been thinking about all day.
She hadn’t been very good at sleeping these past few days.