Lake woke up to a call from Caspian, trudging to the bathroom to splash some water on his face.
"Did I wake you up?" Caspian panicked on the other end while he tried to shake off the last vestiges of sleep.
"I’m so sorry... I’m usually not awake till later... so I didn’t think..."
"Caspian," Lake interrupted his rambling, his voice hoarse from sleep. "It’s fine. I was the one who asked you to call whenever."
"Did something happen?" Lake asked when he could no longer see shapes and colors in his vision.
"Yeah, I’m going to Moonstone right now with Asher."
Lake was completely awake at that, " Should I be worried?"
"No," Caspian sighed, "He just wants this over as soon as possible and so do I."
"Oh," Lake murmured, he could see why they would both want that.
If anything, Mafia King Asher was being particularly law-abiding, and that said a lot about how important Caspian was to him.
"I’ve got to go now though, we’re about to leave right now."
Lake straightened up from the bathroom counter, "Call me when you get there," He said in a rush, hearing Caspian’s surroundings get increasingly loud.
He dropped his phone on the counter with a soft thud when the call dropped, staring at himself in the mirror.
His hair was plastered across his face, fingerprints on his pale skin.
Lake had slept early the night before, spending his day eating takeout and watching shows.
The only upside of his day was when he got to talk to Caspian.
So he was surprised that he had slept well until eight AM considering that he had gone to bed early and he was used to waking up early.
He hoped he wasn’t coming down with something because he felt a little woozy that morning.
That might also have something to do with how long he slept.
Maybe he should pick up a hobby, or sign up for the gym. Something to keep him occupied and moving.
After years of being active daily, his body wasn’t taking kindly to the sudden change of being almost completely sedentary.
Maybe he should have pushed harder for Caspian to let him tag along with them to Moonstone.
But that was a terrible idea on several levels; he wasn’t that close a friend to Caspian, and this was a private matter.
Caspian choosing to tell him about it was already more than Lake expected.
He splashed some water on his face and brushed his teeth, still not feeling like himself when he walked out of the bathroom.
Lake wanted to just go right back to sleep but he knew that wasn’t going to help the groggy feeling he had.
He had no interest in hobbies, and he wasn’t going to spend money on the gym when going on a walk would achieve the same effect he wanted.
Call him a cheapskate but it wasn’t like he was looking to lose weight or build muscle, he just wanted to stay fit.
Lake ignored the temptation of his bed, choosing to take a shower instead, hoping that it would clear his head - it didn’t do much.
He found himself spacing out while he made coffee, spending far longer on it than he should have.
It gave him more of a reason to step out of the apartment, spending all this time alone indoors wasn’t healthy physically and mentally.
There had to be a park nearby, he could walk to it, have a little picnic a then walk back.
He didn’t necessarily have to make conversation with strangers, but some sunlight on his skin would be nice.
Besides it was morning on a weekday, he doubted that the park would be crowded enough for that to be a problem.
So Lake got busy making a picnic brunch, some sandwiches, a bowl of cut-up fruits, some iced tea...
He considered stopping at the bakery to get dessert, he would essentially be walking to it so it didn’t count as takeout.
Lake was really tempted to wear some of the clothes Caspian got from him.
It didn’t help that he was practically completely out of clean clothes, as he was supposed to be doing the laundry instead of his impromptu trip to the park.
So when it was time to leave, he was standing in front of the part of the closet where the clothes were, a place he hadn’t looked in since he put the clothes in there.
There had to be something simple in there that he could wear, something that didn’t look like he was going to a party for the elite.
He eventually found something simple enough, it was a loose striped t-shirt. The bottom half tapered into ropes to be tied around his waist.
He pulled on a loose pair of black slacks that Caspian had made him get, and he had to admit, it was a better option than jeans to go picnicking in.
He didn’t exactly have a fancy basket to put his food in, so he just packed it up in a spacious bag and he was ready to go.
Lake made sure to stop at the bakery, buying himself chocolate muffins because the cashier recommended it.
There would be enough reasons to regret that later, he just got the muffins and hurried out of the bakery before she convinced him to buy more chocolate-flavored things.
The trip to the parking was nicer than he thought it would be, it helped that he didn’t have to go through major roads to get to it.
And the streets he went through were lined with trees, it almost made him forget that he was right in the middle of a bustling city.
The trip was missing something though, and that was music, but other than just playing his songs out loud, he was stuck with the silence.
It made him make a mental note to buy a pair of earphones on his way back home.
The park was just as deserted as he had been expecting, and he did feel a lot less groggy after walking for a little under an hour in the warmth of the morning sun.