Inhuman - Chapter One

Instructions

Friday, September 1st Ben's alarm clock went off. He let it beep for a few minutes before rolling over and turning it off, grumbling. His whole body ached, and his joints popped and crackled when he stretched. "Here we go again," He muttered to himself as he threw on some clothes and stumbled into the bathroom. He dragged a comb through his dark, curly hair and put on a generous amount of deodorant. His hair was still a mess, and he still smelled faintly of dog, but it was an improvement and he didn't expect much from himself the day after the full moon. He stared at his reflection. His eyes didn't look all the way human yet, as they're both the first and last parts of him to turn back, but it'd probably be fine. No one was going to look very closely at them, let alone notice that there were flecks of amber hiding in the brown. It was warm for September, not that Ben minded. The feeling of the sun on his coffee-colored skin was nicer than the dull pain in his everything, so he tried to focus more on that as he walked to work. As per the routine, he walked into the conveniently located Star Mugs on the way. Upon entering, he noticed there was a new barista there. It wasn't unusual for the people working there to come and go, but this one felt different somehow. He was small, and pale, with perfectly white hair despite looking to be in his early twenties. "Hi, what would you like?" He asked. The smile on his face was forced, uncomfortable. The smile everyone in the service industry has. "You," Ben blurted out. Oh God why did I say that, he immediately thought to himself. "I-I'm afraid I'm not a drink, sir," Barista Boy laughed, the corners of his eyes scrunching up the way they do when the smile's real. "Yeah, I guess not, uh..." Ben had been getting the same thing nearly every morning for the past three months but he somehow couldn't remember what it was called this time. "I want... Coffee..." "Just coffee?" "Put, like..." Are you stupid? "Latte. Gimme a latte, please." "Okay." After a few moments he glanced back over his shoulder as he was pouring Ben's drink. "I'm Chris, by the way. I mean, I have a name tag, but..." "Ben." Their fingers touched as Chris handed Ben his coffee, and for that brief moment he could've sworn the pain had been dulled. As Ben sipped his coffee while he walked, he noticed that Chris had written his phone number on the cup. He added it to his contacts so he wouldn't forget. Later that day, Ben's mind wandered as he scanned groceries. He could hardly believe what happened earlier. You don't even know him, he thought to himself. He's pretty cute, though. Your heart is unreasonably fluttery. He's cute! Chill.