Bdubs had woken up extra early to get ready for his first class of the year. It was an interior design class, 3 times a week in the mornings which fit perfectly in his schedule and still gave him plenty of time between classes and work in the afternoon.

Unfortunately for him, sleeping in was his normal routine, so "extra early" didn't mean much. He threw off the blankets, allowing the cold to wake him up quicker as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and sat up.

Reading the clock on the far wall, his eyes went wider than Keralis's and he jumped up to get ready.

"Shoot- I'm gonna be late on the first day!"

He lived alone, but Keralis and other friends were over enough to never really make it feel empty. Today he was too rushed and busy to notice the emptiness all the same.

Bdubs tried to make a mental to-do list of the day's events, but it was interrupted with the thoughts of what he needed to remember to grab before he left. Mixed thoughts plus a tired brain were not helpful in trying to keep track of things.

"Ok so class 1, then the next then- wait I gotta grab that too-" His thoughts raced and he shook his head violently to set them straight.

First things first, get dressed and ready.

He grabbed a blue shirt and flung it on then looked at 2 outfits that he had laid out the night before.

"It might be cold in the classroom-" He mumbled, reaching towards the comfy moss hoodie instead of the thinner jacket.

Pulling some black joggers on, he stumbled out of the bathroom and reached his backpack. Past him was smart enough to pack it the day before so he could just grab it and rush out.

In the kitchen, Bdubs threw a protein bar and a tangerine into his bag for breakfast, before slinging the bag over his shoulder. He grabbed his keys from the counter and maneuvered the right one into his hand to save time in the hall. He looped his arm through the second strap of the backpack and adjusted it better, pulling his hood out more comfortably.

He reached for the handle to leave, with his frazzled hair in his face, and his keys in his hand ready to lock it from the outside before he realised-

"Shit."

He sighed through his teeth and dropped his shoulders, spinning on his heel to rush to the nearest mirror. He temporarily put his keys in his pocket to free up his hand as he knocked the door more open with his elbow.

There was a spare headband strewn on the bathroom counter and Bdubs swiped it up, not even stopping to put down his backpack as he pinned up his hair with his hand and tied the red fabric around.

"Ah, much better!" He grinned at his reflection.

"Wait- dammit I'm still gonna be late-"

And with that thought moving faster than his legs out of the door, he slammed the apartment shut with a wince, silently apologizing to his neighbors in his head, and locked it faster than he thought he physically could.

----

Running to class after sleeping in? Why yes, that should be considered an extreme sport. One that he should get extra credit for too. At least that was how Bdubs felt as his chest heaved with every breath and his legs swore they would never stand again the second they got to rest.

He needed to work out- maybe take one of those stupid gym-weightlifting-whatever classes that Doc tried to coax him into over the summer or some yoga class Cleo was always talking about.

Right now though, his eyes scanned the room for the closest empty seat, landing on one a few rows back near the aisle.

"Perfect."

He slumped down in the chair with a sigh, relieved that no one sat next to him so he could throw his backpack onto the empty seat near him. He checked the clock charm attached to his keys, which served as both a real clock and a lucky charm.

It wasn't as convenient as a watch, but he liked the novelty of it and it made him feel a little like royalty. Plus, it was always a great conversation starter when someone asked about it, because it let him ramble about the good uses of it as much as he wanted each time.

The clock hit the 12, and the teacher in front hit a little bell of her own to get the class's attention.

Bdubs sat up and paid attention to the front, stuffing his keys back in his hoodie pocket. He didn't think he had any friends in this class so he really hoped they didn't have much partner work or need for study groups.

"Hello class! And welcome to interior design 101! You've all taken the stem prerequisite, so we don't have to go over most of the boring stuff here." The teacher said.

She seemed nice and enthusiastic, but her energy wasn't something Bdubs could match at the moment. He liked to think he was a morning person, but a morning without coffee or breakfast was a different scenario.

The teacher said more things or other, but when she started to get into the rules Bdubs had heard a thousand times over since 1st grade, he rolled his eyes and stopped paying attention.

"Alright Bdubs, what do we have to do today?" He thought to himself, making a mental list in his head. "First, this class- that I should probably be paying attention to..."

He looked up to the board to see her holding up a little bell and pointing to a bathroom pass like they were in middle school. He figured he could ignore this part.

"Ok so this class, then the english credit I need to get out of the way, then I'll have about an hour before my shift at the coffee shop starts." He planned out. Simple and straightforward, the way he liked it.

About the coffee shop.... "I wonder if that guy will be there again. He was fun to talk to, and look at- Yeah- yeah, he has a cool style and all. Unique."

Bdubs thought back to the earlier day. And the stupid customer walking in, "Ugh, I should've just asked him for his number eariler. Could've avoided the awkwardness of now having to try again. I hope he didn't notice."

Bdubs, bored and a little annoyed, looked around the classroom. He was near the front and didn't feel like straining his neck to look back so he didn't try. There wasn't anyone he recognized. The teacher was now pointing to a board with some words on it that he didn't bother reading.

"Oh! What if I write my number on the cup for him! He'll be back today, right? Couldn't hurt to make a friend!" Bdubs shot up enthusiastically.

"Do you have something to say?" A piercing voice shot through the room, directed at him.

Bdubs whipped his eyes to the front, to see the teacher glaring in his direction.

"U-uh no ma'am! Sorry!" Bdubs sat down awkwardly and ignored the small snickers around the room.

"Very well then." She said harshly. "If I can get back to the plan, I was going to explain what the curriculum will be like this year."

Bdubs put his hood over his head and slouched down. There were eyes burning the back of his neck and he tried to ignore the embarrassment and red on his face, which now matched his headband. Thinking about the white haired hottie at the cafe was not helping his situation.

One word the teacher said caught his attention before he could space out again, and he held back a sigh.

"Partner work"

And since he didn't recognize anyone and was now known as the awkward guy who stood up randomly, he doubted that anyone would want to partner with him willingly.

"Great start to the school year Double-O, great job."

---

Etho was also up extra early, but considering he never went to sleep, that still didn't mean much.

Doc had gotten ready pretty quick too as normal, and before long, they were both out of the door and on the sidewalk to the cafe.

Along the way, Doc had called Beef and explained the situation. Etho got a good scolding on doing all nighters on weekdays, with things like:

"Etho, you know we care about you, and you need to care about you too."

"If you need to skip classes today to sleep, you can ask people in your class for the notes."

"I know you're a night owl, but night owls at least get sleep during the day!"

And Etho figured if Doc was his (goat)father, then Beef was his mother. He guessed that made him the weird emo-teen kid in the family dynamic, and the thought brought him a silent chuckle.

His mind was so tired that it wandered to wedding ideas without permission, until Doc nudged his arm and he snapped out of spacing out. And now spacing out was another thing on Doc's list to prove how tired Etho was. Great.

Beef had decided to meet them at the cafe and "see Etho's condition", again, ignoring that Etho could hear everything. This was normal now it seemed.

It seriously wasn't a big deal, but Etho found it sort of funny they cared this much about a little sleep deprivation. It really wasn't uncommon either for Etho. So maybe they were trying to embarrass him out of doing it again this year.

Maybe it was working.

They had all met at the cafe, and Beef did another dramatic bow to open the door for the other two. The warm smell filled the air and welcomed the three as they made their way in further, this time, all walking to the counter to order.

They had about an hour to spare before class started, and the coffee shop was pretty close to the campus so they let themselves take their time.

A woman was behind the counter talking to someone in the backroom. She had frizzy orange hair pulled back into a low ponytail, a somewhat tattered blue striped sweatshirt, and dazzling green eyes that screamed "I could murder you in your sleep".

She felt vaguely familiar to Etho, but he couldn't put his finger on why.

"Back room or counter today, Scar?"

"Scar? I know that name."

"Behind the counter greeting the wonderful customers as usual, Cleo!" A man said cheerily, drawing out "wonderful" extravagantly. He rolled out his wheelchair through the doorway, which was a bit of tight fit but it seemed like he had practice.

"Oh Cleo! Me and that barista guy talked about her. And Scar, the cat guy!" His sleep deprived mind figured out. He knew he probably needed caffeine to think any more clearly than that.

Scar had a velvet red top hat with a yellow flower and a green ribbon, giving him an extra foot of height. It tied perfectly with the red suit that screamed "capitalism!" with green accents and gold buttons, and for a moment Etho assumed he had entered the wrong store, about to be sold vacuums and cleaning products instead of coffee.

"Hey guys, is it weird that I hope Scar has a cat with him right now?" Etho asked, accidentally interrupting whatever conversation between Doc and Beef that he had spaced out for.

Beef chuckled, "He sometimes brings Jellie to work if that's what you're asking. She's pretty well behaved." Beef looked at Etho more closely and sighed. "Let's get you some caffeine E." He said with a half smile.

Etho nodded and followed Doc and Beef to the counter.

"I still don't see why you had to bring the cane today." Cleo said with a scoff. "You don't even need it."

"Oh come on, it ties the whole look together!" Scar laughed and twirled it just to show off.

"I think I preferred the grape wizard." Cleo chuckled. "Even if you tried to sell each customer those "potions"." She did air quotes as she said it.

"It was not a grape." Was the last thing Scar said, before the three had walked up to the counter and made their appearance.

"Well hello valued customers! What do you like to order in this magical mystical coffee shop?"

"See, stuff that like worked better with the wizard." Cleo said, slightly shaking her head.

"Whatever it is, put sedatives in Etho's." Doc said, elbowing said man next to him. "Or one of those sleeping potions you advertised last time I was here this early."

"Ha ha Doc." Etho punched Doc's arm lightheartedly. His organic arm of course, because punching the robotic one would hurt Etho way more than anything.

"Etho? That you?" Cleo squinted and tilted her head. He nodded once with a low chuckle.

"You look surprisingly similar. You got the hair in check I see." She smirked. It was true, his hair was a mess in high school, because highschool in general mixed with not enough washing it equaled just a mess. Now, he actually knew how to take care of it, and even though he got no sleep and the rest of him looked like shit, his hair still shone.

"And you ditched the flower crown I see."

"Inconvenient for work, I wear one with stabilized wither roses on the weekends." She did finger guns. They hadn't talked too much in highschool, but they both trusted each other in subtle ways. Etho relaxed a little, smiling under the mask with the knowledge that they were able to fall back into the same banter as before.

"Been a while Etho, we haven't seen you since highschool!" Scar commented with a bright smile. "So what can we get all of you?"

"Black coffee, plus 2 shots of espresso." Etho said. (guys I have no idea how strong extra shots of espresso are, nor do I plan to find out anytime soon)

"Would you like whip-cream with that?" Scar asked.

"whipped cream- coffee?" Etho asked, humorously confused, "Actually yeah, I'll take that." He decided before Scar said anything else. It honestly sounded pretty good.

"Ok! And you two?"

"Cold brew for me," Doc said.

"A muffin and a caramel latte!" Beef said, pulling out a credit card. Etho was spacing out again too much to notice and Doc tried to intervene, but Beef scanned it before Doc could stop him.

"Dude chill, you pay most of the time anyway." Beef chuckled quietly.

"I'll get those right up!" Cleo chirped, sliding to the other counter to make them.

"Hey Scar, Beef said you bring Jellie sometimes, didn't you do that in highschool too?" Etho asked, his half lidded eyes weighing down more as he talked.

"Oh please don't tell me you brought her today." Doc stiffened.

"Aww she's a good kitty Doc! She won't scratch you..... Again."

Doc's mouth creased into a line but he didn't speak.

"And yes I brought her to highschool; She got so lonely at home by herself!"

"Scar you are not bringing Jellie here again on work days!" Cleo called out.

"But Cleo-"

"Not after last time! We lost too many good mugs that day and the glass almost popped your wheels!"

Scar grumbled something incoherent and dropped it.

"Two shots of espresso, Etho?" Cleo looked at the order as she was about to make his

"Yep."

She raised an eyebrow but continued anyway.

"He decided to pull an all-nighter-" Doc butted in, "-on the second day of classes."

"Ohh, rough," Cleo said.

She slid over the drinks.

"Here you guys go! Enjoy your sleep deprived day Etho! And Beef and Doc, visit us in the morning sometimes!

"Alright Cleo, good to see ya again. You too Scar," Beef said, grabbing his latte and muffin and taking a bite of the second.

Doc nodded. "Thanks, good to see you."

"Bye guys," Etho waved with one hand and spun on his heel.

He took a sip of his drink and expected the rush of burning hot coffee on his tongue, but was met with something fluffier instead.

"Oh right, there's whipped cream."

---

Scar smiled when the 3 had left. "It was nice to see them again. Glad to know Etho's still alive too since he never came with Doc or Beef over the summer."

"He didn't look too alive. I hope the coffee's helping." Cleo mentioned.

"Well that's the name of the place isn't it? Cleo's Cafe, from undead to awake!" Scar recited like he had a thousand times with the regular customers. He dropped the sales person aura with friends, but he still liked being the happy go lucky barista at the counter.

Cleo chuckled and contently folded her arms over her chest.

"I'm assuming you like that he remembered your reputation as the cat guy?" Cleo asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes! I'm a legend Cleo!"

They both laughed together and let it die slowly. The coffee shop was empty this early, so they could say or do whatever until customers came in. It was a nice peaceful time of day.

There was a comfortable silence between the two.

Until Scar broke it.

"wAIT IS ETHO THE GUY BDUBS WAS TALKING ABOUT YESTERDAY?" Scar exclaimed out of nowhere when the realization dawned on him.

Cleo furrowed her eyebrows and counted over what Bdubs had told them on discord last night.

"White haired guy, really cool vibe and a scar on his face, a red eye sorta like Doc's, but not robotic I guess, awesome to talk to and he said he knew you guys from highschool or something. Scar the cat guy as he put it."

"Oh my god it is." Cleo said quietly, a small smirk creeping up her face as her eyes went wider. "And it wasn't just me right?" She asked, looking at Scar. "You noticed he was gushing about this "white haired guy" more than normal?"

"Well Bdubs just said he was a super cool guy to talk to. That's pretty normal." Scar shrugged.

"Yeah, but when has Etho ever been a social or talkative person?" Cleo countered. "Even just now after seeing us after years he was pretty chill and quiet."

"Well Doc said he pulled an all-nighter, so maybe that's why and he's gotten better at talking to people since highschool?"

"If he fixed that hair I wouldn't put it past him." Cleo said, "But Bdubs was still pretty enthusiastic about him."

"Eh, Bdubs is an enthusiastic guy, you're overthinking it-"

The bell on the doorway interrupted him.

"Welcome valued customers!" Scar said, greeting the new people that came in. One was in a dark red and black cloak with red tipped horns and glowing white eyes, while the other was in a casual blue hoodie with fluffy black hair, completely contrasting him in every way. Scar kept up his grin as they walked forwards.

"Welcome to Cleo's Cafe! From undead to awake. What can I get you?"

Cleo rolled her eyes and walked back over to the counter, ready to make whatever they wanted.

"Can I get two muffins?" The tall one said enthusiastically. His voice was bright and cheery, completely different from his aura.

"And a latte, and a medium black coffee?" The blue one added.

"Coming right up!" Scar said, typing it up on the pad and turning it to show them the price.

"Bdubs was totally gushing about Etho." Cleo mumbled under her breath. She looked at the pad and got to making them.

Back to work for now though.

---------

(3292 words above the line)

So this is posted a week later than I wanted but nearly twice as long, so sorry and you're welcome. I can estimate two chapters until things heat up and we bring in the rivals part of this book too! 

Should I post this story on my tumblr? Also if you didn't know I now have a tumblr!

(Here it is! maybe look at my art and follow?: https://thatonewatercat.tumblr.com )

Thank you for reading as always!