Early Morning

[Elliot Vaccari]

Elliot, by no means, was a morning person. For as long as he could remember, he preferred the sunset over the sunrise, the dark of the night over the dawn of the morning, and the silence that came when most people were still asleep. Part of it was his job; as a bartender, he was forced to work late nights almost every weekend and then would go out with his own friends afterwards. It was a lifestyle he'd led for years now. Even with the move, things hadn't changed. He still worked late at one of the local clubs in town, only, Elliot would go back to his apartment afterwards. His inner clock hadn't changed, though, and so he found it hard to go back to sleep at a semi-decent time.

So, he found himself in the forests on the outskirts of town. Walking. The cool air was refreshing against the exposed skin of his face. One hand was tucked away in the pocket of his jacket, the other wrapped around a cup of coffee. He was beginning to feel a little tired and hoped that the combination of the breeze and caffeine would be enough to keep him awake a bit longer. So he could finish the walk.

It had been a quiet morning so far. Truthfully, Elliot hardly expected to see anyone else out at this time. His gaze landed on someone else some distance away, walking towards him. Approaching one another. Minutes passed and the figure was close enough to see clearly now. A younger woman, if he had to guess. She appeared friendly enough; hopefully not opposed to a conversation at early dawn.

"Kind of early to be out, don't you think?" He asked, with a smile, stopping in his tracks. 

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina loved being up in the early hours of the morning when the world was dark and quiet, and for just a moment, seemingly all was at peace. It was rare that she was able to be up this early however, as she often stayed up late doing school work for Bellefonte and so needed as much rest as her body could get. Selina breathed in the cool morning air with a smile on her face and a laugh, it was good that she could still take joy from life’s simple pleasures.


    She rarely ever saw anyone out this early in the morning, and usually if she did, the most she gave was a friendly nod, but the man walking her way seemed to be interested in an actual conversation. Selina smiled warmly at him, actually happy to have someone to talk to this time. She often sought out solace in her time alone, but she was feeling somewhat talkative. She’d been missing human company as of late, since with finals she was pretty busy studying, “Or late, depending on how recently you’ve slept,” she replied with a grin.


    “And I could easily ask you the same thing,” she teased. She saw his coffee and felt a brief stab of envy, but ignored it. It was her own fault for not fixing herself something to bring with her. She’d definitely make sure to do that next time though.
"I'm out here to clear my head," she then offered. "I've been studying so much lately, that the words were starting to blur together."

[Elliot Vaccari]

The edges of the night sky against the skyline of the trees was truly a sight to see. Rarely did Elliot go outside of the city streets, where buildings blocked out most of the scenery above. He had to admit, moving to Montana was a nice change of pace; maybe these early morning walks would become a regular habit. The silent air was a little unnerving, until the other woman came into sight.

The corner of his lip curled up into a smile. "It's been about twenty four hours since I've last slept." Elliot admitted with a chuckle, holding up the cup of coffee. The only thing that kept him functioning at this point was the caffeine rushing through. "You a night owl as well?"

She did bring up a fair point; afterall, if he was asking her, then what was he doing out at the same time. "Fair enough. Both of us are out early." She then brought up studying. It had been awhile since Elliot last picked up a textbook for the purposes of studying. Much too long, actually. "It's always hard to sit down for a long period of time and just read. Gotta take a break every so often." He agreed with a nod. "What are you studying for?"

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina grinned at his response, “Well, I can’t exactly say I’ve done much better. 20 hours or so is my tally at this point, I think,” she offered as she studied him with interest. Selina had had her morning cup of tea, so she was tired but also hoping the air would clear her head so she could study a bit more before the test. The only thing she was worried about at this point was falling asleep in the middle of it. She nodded in response to the idea of taking a break with a smile.


    Selina sighed as she thought about her classes when he asked what the studying was for, “For the finals at university. I have Chemistry up next, and though I enjoyed the class, it won’t be an easy exam.” The course was required to graduate, so she’d decided to get it over with quickly. It wasn’t that she didn’t like science, it was merely that she wanted to get all the required classes out of the way before she got to the courses for her major... which she still hadn’t decided on.


    So maybe it was a form of procrastination, but either way Selina had an exam later today that she finally felt somewhat prepared for. Any more studying she did would merely be reviewing what she already knew, but Selina was a perfectionist in these types of things. She glanced at the man and held out her hand to shake, “I’m Selina, by the way,” she offered as she realized that she didn’t yet know his name.

[Elliot Vaccari]

A short laugh escaped from Elliot's lips. "You think?" He repeated, eyes crinkling from the smile that took over his expression. "It's probably not a good sign if you've lost track." Who knows, she could have been awake for over thirty hours at this point. Since she was a university student during finals time, he wouldn't have been surprised.

Chemistry. He wrinkled his nose at the thought of all the formulas and chemical reactions. He hadn't taken a chemistry class since high school, which was arguably, a while ago. Although he was still somewhat young at twenty six, Elliot did find it harder and harder to relate to the early twenties as time progressed. "No kidding. Exams are always the hardest part of the class. It's like the profs design them to be impossible." Especially when someone like Elliot never went to class in the first place.

"Oh, right." He answered, looking up to meet the girl's expression. The girl who had a name now; Selina. "Nice to meet you, Selina." He offered, extending his hand to meet hers with a firm shake. "Elliot."

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina chuckled and nodded, “I’m pretty sure,” she offered while hiding a slight yawn. “You’re probably right, but I’m hoping to remain up until I finish the test and then crash afterwards,” she admitted with a half-smile.


    Selina nodded in agreement, “Although, this shouldn’t be too bad… I hope,” she added with a smirk. Science had always held interest for her, even if it wasn’t her typical focus.

Elliot. Nice name. “Pleasure,” she responded easily. Selina paused after shaking his hand as she studied the man in front of her, “And though I’ve been talking plenty about myself, the only thing I’ve learned about you is that you’ve been up for the last 24 hours,” she teased. She wouldn’t pry if he was the type to like privacy, but Selina felt like he was probably even less interested in her upcoming test than she was.


    Besides, she liked getting to know people. Selina gave him her most charming smile, “So what keeps you up until dawn?” she asked warmly. Selina wasn’t usually this kind with strangers, but then most strangers weren’t this polite.