Orpheus

21

After the flashback, Riley decided she'd rather sleep; avoiding all contact with Owen seemed the most logical choice in her mind. The next day, she walked again like a specter towards the cafeteria in Sector 11; she was late compared to the previous day, so she'd assumed Owen would've finished his breakfast. She'd expected the cafeteria to be empty; what she didn't expect, was Owen eating a bowl of cereal. The moment she saw him, she froze.

'Why's he here? Ah, shit; he must have gone to the gym and come here now. Yesterday he was early 'cause he accompanied me.'

Riley stood as humanly still as possible, focusing on her breath.

'Does he want to talk about yesterday?'

Owen hadn't noticed her yet; he was munching away as he bopped his head to the tune playing on his earphones, the cherry red wires swinging slightly with the beat.

'Calm down Riley; he's just here to have some breakfast. Chill.'

Riley stood there for a while, contemplating what to do.

'There is no point in me just waiting here. Might as well just face him; it's not like I can avoid him forever.'

A small part of her screamed back. 'But I don't want too!'

At that moment, Owen realized Riley's presence. He smiled and waved at her, as if nothing had happened; as if everything were normal.

'Well, guess this ball's already rolling downhill...'

Riley smiled back, before going over to the food counter and getting herself a bowl of cereal too. As she approached the small circular table, she began preparing every atom in her to be open to any questions from Owen; after all, Riley felt that after the previous day's 'episode', he had every right to ask. Seeing Riley approach, Owen plopped out one of his earbuds, leaving the other one in. "Mornin' Riles!" he said with a smile.

"Morning" she nodded with a small smile in return.

She took the seat opposite to Owen, and took a spoon full of cereal, choosing to act as if everything were normal. She glanced up after a while and noticed Owen was acting indifferently as well; still munching down his Cheerios whilst bopping his head.

'Why isn't he asking me anything?'

They sat opposite in silence in a while. The silence seemed to taunt her; call her out and flare at her insecurities. It was as if the wire of her mind was drawn taut, and now she was waiting for something, anything, to happen.

The tension was killing her.

Finally, Riley spoke. "I mean, if you want to talk about yesterday..."

Owen looked up from his bowl and muttered something to himself; Riley wasn't sure, but she thought she heard something along the lines of "Here it comes..."

"Look Riles," he said that with a small smile on his face; his eyes had a twinge of sadness, yet glimmering with understanding. "The way I see it, whatever it is, that's painful memories for you. I don't want to pry and make shit uncomfortable. If you are truly comfortable to tell me, I trust you'll do so in your own time." He held a small pause there. "Right?" There was a shred of doubt in his voice.

Riley nodded slowly; she felt a huge load was lifting off of her. Up until that moment, she hadn't realized just how much the worry was crushing her, and was grateful Owen hadn't pried for more information.

Another silence descended over the room, but Riley didn't mind it; it gave her time to normalize, to subdue her inner emotions. Owen seemed to understand this; he was seemingly lost in thought.

Either in thought, or the music.

'Probably both.'

Finally, Riley decided to break the silence. "So... what are you listening to?"

Owen grinned a bit. "A really old composition; it's called Path. Basically an unholy mix of cellos and electric guitars. Don't ask me how it works, but it does."

"Sounds interesting." Riley asked, part in courtesy, part in genuine interest.

"Wanna listen?" Owen asked, passing one earbud across the table.

Riley thought about it for a second, before taking the earbud and fitting it into her ear. They both had to sit hunching forward so that the wire could make its way across the table. Before she could think anything, Owen pressed the 'Play' button on his phone; guitar and cello riffs began bombarding her ear as she looked at the table. Perplexed at first, the cacophony soon subsided; the seemingly disconnected riffs now began to sit in a pattern Riley hadn't noticed before. In a few moments, Riley was bopping her head along to the music. On the other side, she could almost feel Owen smile. She looked at him; she was right, a grin was plastered on his face. Soon, the two of them were nodding their heads in unison, almost in perfect sync. Once the song had reached its climactic conclusion, Riley looked over at Owen.

"Wicked, ain't it?" he asked, in clear excitement. Riley thought that his irises twinkled with enthusiasm.

"Yeah..." Riley replied; she really did like the song more than she thought she would. "Never heard anything like it before." She then glanced at the chord connecting their buds. "Why do you still have wired earbuds?" She asked, pointing at them. "Aren't they like, ancient at this point?"

"Maybe, but I don't care. Let's just say I'm a slow man to move on. Next song?"

Riley thought about it.

'Well, he's not prying for info. And it's not like I have much else to do.'

"Sure."

They spent the next hour or so listening to music, chatting away in between songs. By the end, Owen had scooted closer to Riley round the table, almost by her side. She brushed behind her ear a few strands of stray hair, and glanced out at the stars in space, enjoying the company of the music, of Owen. The stars seemed to shine brighter than they had before.

'I love this moment.'