{"sf1_id":null,"sf2_id":"1O5rzpkm","title":"Dragon In The Collapse.","author":"InsanityRot","words":4950,"posted_at":"2026-05-16T00:17:12.000Z","tags":["Alcohol","Clean","Dragon","Dragoness","Drama","Fantasy","Feral","First Person","Human","Interspecies","M/F","Modern","Non-Anthro","Romance","Sad","Slice Of Life","Straight"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1O5rzpkm-dragon-in-the-collapse","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/1O5rzpkm","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/2a/c6/2ac666c8-b715-4ccc-88b6-3a72a73ad5e4","description":"Chapter 7 of Dragon In The Kitchen:  \n Next - Soon  \n Previous - [https://sofurry.com/s/nZ7dLrR1](https://sofurry.com/s/nZ7dLrR1)  \n  \n James melts into a puddle on his friend's sofa.  \n  \n Slow chapter, but necessary for James to realise he's being a miserable shit. Should be the bleakest one for a while, as it's been wallowing, somewhat. Next is finally cuteness.","content":"## **Chapter 7**\n\n**13:11, Thursday, the 26th of April, 2028.**\n\n**-----**\n\nI’d gotten good (passable) at cooking solely through necessity.\n\nIt wasn’t that my sister was incapable of cooking. She could. It was the far worse fact that she was just so bad at it, to the point I thought she was doing it on purpose.\n\nShe wasn't. I'd seen how she ate when I wasn't around.\n\n“Can you do pancakes?”\n\n“No.” I pressed the omelette down, relishing the tang of fresh onions and ham. “You always put too much sugar on them…” Then the flip and a small dollop of butter. “It’s bad for your teeth.”\n\nSarah whined, head slumping on the coffee table and long, dark hair spilling out.\n\n“Your hair’s greasy, too,” I noted, to which she sat up at, squinting at me. “Go shower.”\n\n“Food’s gonna be done soon,” she said. “I’m not getting in now.”\n\nThe omelette was slid onto a clean paper plate and placed before her. “Eat and then shower, obviously.”\n\n“Should've specified.”\n\n“Should’ve used your brain.” I cracked open two eggs for mine, mixed them in the plastic cup we kept for just that and added the diced onions and turkey ham. Seasonings came after in our flat. “Make sure you use conditioner.”\n\n“I know how to shower!” She laughed, half baulking. Naturally, I didn’t answer – I focused on food, on realising that I’d not bought enough groceries for the week again, too worried about the cost.\n\nI forgot that humans, especially lazy ones, ate whenever they wanted, and that included burgers and microwave meals that should have been lunch.\n\nEggs were low, too. Same with the milk I’d only bought 4 pints of instead of the larger one.\n\nMoney. Always.\n\nI had savings, of course, but nothing that was free to spend. That was ‘totally for uni’ and any emergencies.\n\nTonight was the only time I'd let myself splurge a little.\n\nOmelette flip.\n\nSalt, pepper, rosemary and Italian herbs, so it felt more like proper food. As it cooked, I took my phone out.\n\nAn email from work and a notification about my bank updating its terms of service. Nothing fun. As I had a second, I scrolled higher and found more than a dozen pings from Facebook, of all things.\n\nAn app I had barely used since I wasn’t quite that old just yet.\n\nFriend requests from Rhys Coslett, Alys Coslett and… Neirin Unben. Nothing from Samys, but I expec- well, I didn’t expect it, but I wasn’t exactly surprised either. I was about Neirin’s. I couldn’t even remember if she’d heard my name.\n\nI hit accept on all three and swiped over to the rest. A couple likes on the post, some comments from relatives and even a heart emoji from Alys as a reply.\n\nAnd a message from Brie. Sent thirty minutes ago.\n\n**Brie Bednarz.**\n\n**\\\u003e Is that Alys?**\n\n**\\\u003e Tall lol. Didn’t know you were a photographer.**\n\nNot wanting it to be as awkward as Tuesday, I replied immediately.\n\n**James Morris.**\n\n**\\\u003e Hah. Yeah she is. Like seven foot lmao.**\n\n**\\\u003e And ya, they-**\n\nA quick, easy lie. A white one, one to ease because I didn’t even know why I’d done it and didn’t want any sort of… issue.\n\n**\\\u003e Asked me to do it.**\n\n**\\\u003e ✋**\n\n**\\\u003e I got hands.**\n\n**\\\u003e Hbu. What you doing?**\n\n“James, food.”\n\nI dumped the burnt omelette onto the kitchen counter, hastily grabbed a plate from the cupboard and slid it from the side onto it. Classy. “Christ.” I chucked my phone onto the sofa and groaned when it bounced onto the floor.\n\nThere’d been another message, too, but Brie was a priority. “Too busy on your phone?” Sarah said, mouth full. “You and Will gooning over Judy Hopps again?”\n\n“One time,” I muttered, leaning over to pick my phone up, knees cracking audibly. “Like a year ago.” I sat back, leg crossed over the other. “And nah, it’s Brie. She’s asking about the pics I posted Tuesday.”\n\n“I saw!” She chirped, making me flinch. “It looked so cute. W-Why didn’t you invite me? I would’ve gone.” She finished off another mouthful. “The blue one your work-wife?”\n\nA light joke, but it still made me grit my teeth.\n\nIf Alys were a guy, nobody would've made it weird.\n\n“Yeah, the one that looks like she’s about to vomit in… picture…” I couldn’t remember which one. “The one that’s just her.” I cut my burnt omelette into pieces, added some more salt and started on it. “Didn’t think I was allowed to invite you.”\n\n“Rude.”\n\n“Mhm.”\n\nI checked the other messages.\n\n**Alys Coslett.**\n\n**\\\u003e Hello.**\n\n**\\\u003e Me and my brother Rhys are going to town tomorrow in the morning.**\n\n**\\\u003e Would you like to come?**\n\nI finished off my lemonade. So official sounding, I thought, placing the empty glass back on the coaster.\n\n**James Morris.**\n\n**\\\u003e Yeah I’m free tomorrow.**\n\n**\\\u003e What time? I work 12**\n\nAnd then I looked to Sarah, who still needed a shower, fresh air and people.\n\n“Sarah, you want to go on a town trip tomorrow? Alys and her brother asked me to come.” Her eyes widened and her mouth opened like she were about to continue, but I cut in. “Shower first and then I’ll ask if it’s cool.\"\n\nWith the one dented crutch leaning against the arm of the sofa, she got to her feet.\n\n“Thank you, James-Mummy. I’ll remember.”\n\n“Kill yourself,” I shouted after her, just before the door slammed shut.\n\n**Alys Coslett.**\n\n**\\\u003e 9.**\n\nI sent her a thumbs up and swiped over to the group chat, immediately forgetting to ask about Sarah.\n\n**Jame Doe.**\n\n**\\\u003e Dealing with sis. On way. Have drink.**\n\n**William Afton.**\n\n**\\\u003e Me when I’m dealing with my sister and am on my way with drink. (edited)**\n\n**Jack (tardmaxed)**\n\n**\\\u003e me when im dealing with my sister and am on my way with drink (but i’m getting touched.)**\n\n**Jame Doe.**\n\n**\\\u003e Me when I’m genuinely autistic.**\n\n**William Afton.**\n\n**\\\u003e Real.**\n\nIt was as good as I was going to get with those two while on Discord, I realised, closing the app.\n\nBut I needed it. After how shitty the past month had been, I needed a reminder I was a real person. Alys and Rhys were cool, but there was still this…\n\n_Co-worker feeling._\n\nLike you couldn’t fully be yourself.\n\nLike I had to poke and prod at them both to see how far they’d bend.\n\nAlys was… I reached up to itch at the stubble on the underside of my chin, remembering how our talk had gone. She’d seemed a bit more lively than I thought, a bit more confident.\n\nIt made me wonder how she’d be when I next saw her.\n\nAnd, speaking of-\n\n**Alys Coslett.**\n\n**\\\u003e Sorry about Samys.**\n\n**\\\u003e And Neirin.**\n\n**\\\u003e I did not expect them both to be causes of concern.**\n\n**\\\u003e Sorry.**\n\nI sat up.\n\n**James Morris.**\n\n**\\\u003e Lol.**\n\n**\\\u003e It's cool. Was just awkward. I've been through worse.**\n\n**\\\u003e How've you been?**\n\n**\\\u003e Work is horrible.**\n\nI laughed.\n\n**\\\u003e And Jarys is still hard to feed. I don't understand why he eats like a human.**\n\n**\\\u003e Did you know chicken strips aren't strips of fresh chicken?**\n\n**\\\u003e I did lmao.**\n\n**\\\u003e It's breaded, right?**\n\n**\\\u003e It's Sarah's main source of protein since she's so spastic.**\n\n**\\\u003e Spastic?**\n\n**\\\u003e Ye.**\n\n**\\\u003eHalf joking. Just means she's an idiot.**\n\n**\\\u003e 🤔**\n\n**\\\u003e Look.**\n\n**\\\u003e I'm thinking.**\n\n**\\\u003e Hah. Check it.**\n\n**\\\u003e 🎩**\n\n**\\\u003e 😭**\n\n**\\\u003e 👔**\n\n**\\\u003e 🙏**\n\n**\\\u003e 👖**\n\n**\\\u003e 👞👞**\n\n**\\\u003e Sad businessman.**\n\n**\\\u003e 😹**\n\n**\\\u003e Look. Samys.**\n\n**\\\u003e 😡**\n\nWe went back and forth like that, trading emojis. I even got the honour of introducing gifs to her.\n\nBut halfway through sending a crying dog, something bounced off my scalp, jarring me awake.\n\nSarah, because who else, staring down at me, her long hair tied up in a hand towel. The rest of her lanky, pale self was swallowed by a loose-fitting shirt and sweatpants. “I've been shouting you. I had to get clean clothes myself.” Her scowl wavered. “What are you giggling at?”\n\n“So?” I swapped which leg covered the other, dodging the question. “Was it really that hard to leave the bathroom and walk five feet to your room? There were towels there.”\n\nShe ran a hand down her face, and in the moment, without any makeup, clean and pale, I caught just how much she looked like Dad. “There weren't any. I had to sneak out, naked and wet like Gollum.\" But then, some of that irritation faded, eyes falling on my phone. “Who’re you talking to anyway?”\n\n“Alys,” I said, flipping my phone around so she could see. “Look at my sad businessman. He's beautiful.”\n\nNo glasses meant she had to lean down and squint.\n\n“I'm not spastic,” she muttered so quietly I almost missed it. “Very nice businessman.” She stepped back, ruffled the hair beneath her wrap and said, “Time is it, anyway?”\n\n“Quarter to two. I’m heading out in a minute.”\n\nShe swiped up, sending a surge of nerves through me. “Oh, wow. She does have big wings. I thought you were just being green about it.” Another swipe. “Birthday soon, too. Probably why she's so 'friendly~'”\n\nI snatched my phone back. “I swear to god you said not to mention her wings.”\n\n“I said _you_ can't talk about them. I'm a girl.”\n\nGetting to my feet, I zipped my coat up. “Then tell her that when you see her if you're allowed. I'm sure that'll go great.”\n\nShe, eyes rolling, left the living room to finish dressing, while I, still on my feet, picked my phone back up. Brie, I found, still hadn't messaged, so I thumbed back over to Alys.\n\n**James Morris.**\n\n**\\\u003e Heading to friends now. I’ll ttyl.**\n\n**Alys Coslett.**\n\n**\\\u003e Goodbye. 🫡\u0026nbsp;**\n\nAfter a while, Sarah finally finished getting dressed, slipping into a green creeper hoodie I didn’t recognise – an actually clean one, for once. “Where’d you get that?” I asked, double-checking I had my wallet and keys.\n\nShe shuffled forward, crutches clacking against the linoleum. “Waterstones trip,” my sister said. “Same day you and Will bought those miniatures.”\n\n“Oh, my Plague Marines,” I recalled. “Shit, yeah, I still need to paint them. That Rhys works at Dead Ink. Wonder if I can sneak a discount in without poor-begging.”\n\n“Ris? Sam's son?” She ruffled the towel around her hair again, long, dark locks falling out of place. “You leaving now?”\n\n“Nah. Alys' brother.” I got up, untied and retied my laces, and headed to the door. “I’ll be back soon. Will has work, so I shouldn't be too long. I’ll order something when I get back.”\n\n“Can I order now?”\n\nI unlocked the door. “Uh.” And thought about what was in her account. “Yeah. Actually, use my account; I have that Just Eat Plus free trial thing. See you.”\n\nI got a goodbye back, and with it I was gone; the taxi and elevator already called.\n\nA woman with a pram and a little boy were already in the lift when I stepped into it.\n\nThe cheap vodka mixers and pop in my bag rattled faintly in the lift.\n\nI kept my eyes on the metal doors instead of her or the side-eye she was giving me.\n\nBy the time I got outside, I was already checking whether Brie had replied.\n\nShe hadn’t.\n\nThe taxi pulled up, and I hopped into it quickly, giving the address and sitting back, winding down the grimy window to avoid the smell I didn’t even want to try analyse.\n\nWill lived in a nicer area, with his parents, but they were out constantly and never seemed to mind what he was up to as long as he didn’t make a mess and kept working, which he did almost every day of the week.\n\nThe taxi rocked.\n\nIT for local police.\n\nWorking with Dad.\n\nThe cracked pavement and artistically poor graffiti faded, traded for black iron fences and light bricks, for cars that were actually worth stealing and university degrees. Not quite affluent, just decent.\n\nThe car stopped too hard. I paid and climbed out, bag rattling again, the sound almost pleasing. I’d packed whatever the corner shop’s meagre drinks cabinet could give me, and I could already see the tension in Will’s face, the amusement in Jack's and the 'go for it, lil buddy' in Tan, even if he was too busy to join.\n\nI hopped up the white stone steps and banged loudly on the front door.\n\nJack answered, his smile bright and mess of bleach-blonde hair ruffled from where he’d probably brushed it back into place too harshly. His shallow cheeks were flushed already, and his breath had a tang of something sharp and orange – a screwball already; perfect.\n\nNo words. I hurried in, sauntered past him into the living room, where I found Will laid back, hands around a 360 controller and Halo Reach blaring on the TV. I slung the backpack next to him, the bottles yelling at the mistreatment. “Jesus, James,” he grunted, eyes flicking down to the pack and then over at me.\n\nHe paused the game, placed the controller on the coffee table and opened up the bag, slowly examining the contents.\n\nBuzzball the size of a watermelon. A second Buzzball just as large. Russian standard I’d had forever and a small collection of pre-mixed. Luckily, he already had soft drinks.\n\nJack joined us, rubbing at his eyes.\n\n“Where did you even get this?” He picked the bottle up. “2016? Damn.” And immediately opened it up, topping off the screwball he’d been nursing. “Why’d you bring so much, anyway? We’re just doing Reach.”\n\nIgnoring him for a moment, I took my nice glass from my bag and poured in about a half of sour apple vodka. Added Red Bull and slumped back onto the sofa, just barely managing to snatch up a free controller. “I'm giving you an edge,” I fibbed, taking a long sip.\n\n“Is work _really_ that bad?” Will asked, letting me join the lobby. “I figured you were just crying on Discord.”\n\n“Oh, dude, I totally am.” Another sip. Hurt my nose. “But it actually has been that tragic recently. There's this dragon that-”\n\n“Dragon?” Jack cut in.\n\n\"A dragon started at work. Awkward as hell. Wears a mask cause she's got all these scars.” I bit my lip. “I, uh, went to her brother's birthday because I had fuck all to do and Brie threw actually threw fit over it.”\n\nIt went quiet for a fraction of a second before Jack snorted. “_Brie_ threw a fit? Why?”\n\nMission select. First level. I threw a grenade at Jack's feet before we continued.\n\n“Literally no clue. We've not talked since I made dinner at her place, so I sent her a picture of the party cause I thought she'd think it was cool, and she got all weird about it.” I tried to remember exactly what she'd said, but all I found was vague irritation. “Like, she just- she was just so weird. _Who's that? Do you talk to her a lot? Oh, I didn't know about her._ Like I'm not allowed- Jack, no!”\n\nHe ran me over with the warthog while Will actually tried to eliminate the enemies.\n\nI stuck a plasma grenade to the car and stole it when he died.\n\n“Skill issue.”\n\nNo clue who said it. One of us.\n\n“L-Like I'm not allowed to have female friends.”\n\n“She messaged you?” Will asked.\n\n“At the party, yeah, after I sent her the picture.”\n\nWe reached a checkpoint, and I used the moment to take my phone out.\n\n**James Morris.**\n\n**\\\u003e Check it.**\n\n**\\\u003e Dragon bday party.**\n\n**Brie Bednarz.**\n\n**\\\u003e What?**\n\n**\\\u003e Dragon bday party. Friend of mine’s lil bro.**\n\n**\\\u003e You have a dragon friend?**\n\n**\\\u003e Yeah she's really cool. Bad at mopping tho lmao.**\n\n**\\\u003e Didn’t know that. You never said anything about her.**\n\n**\\\u003e Ohh yeah. Called Alys. Reads Beserk.**\n\n**\\\u003e She sounds cool.**\n\n**\\\u003e How come you never mentioned her?**\n\n**\\\u003e You two hang out a lot together? (edited)**\n\n**\\\u003e Nah, not really.**\n\n**\\\u003e Asked me last week at work and me and her bro went to Dead Ink ages back.**\n\n**\\\u003eWe just talk at work sometimes when it’s slow.**\n\n**\\\u003e Ahh.**\n\n**\\\u003e Sounds like you’re close.**\n\n**\\\u003e What’s she like?**\n\n**\\\u003e Chill. Kinda quiet.**\n\n**\\\u003e Wears a mask and has some really bad scars.**\n\n**\\\u003e Fucking loves eggs tho lol.**\n\n**\\\u003e K.**\n\n**\\\u003e You never talk about your coworkers.**\n\n**\\\u003e I’m glad you’re close with someone.**\n\n**\\\u003e Can’t remember the last time that happened.**\n\nJack got up from the armchair to check in on the gossip, and for a moment I felt myself cringing at immediately bringing up drama, but I figured she'd shown her own friends, so what the hell. “Why'd she ask like ten times why you never mentioned her?”\n\n“Right??”\n\nWill read, lips pursed. “I think she's jealous, man.” And sat back.\n\nI glanced at him, phone still raised. “What? Why.” And then I remembered. “Oh, oh. Also, Alys' family- I asked if they wanted me to take pics cause ten is really big for dragons.” I moved over to Facebook.\n\n“Ignition bladder,” Will supplied, not losing a step. “I saw the photos, too. Cute.”\n\n“Right. And Brie messaged, asking if the blue dragon was Alys and if I was a photographer. I messaged like five minutes-” Thirty. “-After and she's still not replied.”\n\nJack chuffed, rubbed at his face and very wisely said, “You should send her to Ukraine. Yes.”\n\nI turned my focus to the game, feeling those irritated flickers bubbling. “Nah, she's too busy sleeping. Twelve hours a day. Narcolepsy. It's bleak.”\n\nJack laughed, I laughed, and I hated that Will looked like he was thinking whether or not it was okay to.\n\n“Jealous you have a dragon wife,” Jack said, taking another drink as he waited to respawn, only to nearly spill it when the game behaved and brought him back quick. I was safe behind cover, so downed half mine before running back into the fray.\n\nElites died. We died. We were playing _terribly._\n\nMe and Jack were, at least. Will had work so he barely touched anything.\n\nTime froze as something gross slithered into my mind.\n\nA mixture of frustration, alcohol and the buzz of being with friends forced out words I’d never normally say. “Maybe she’s jealous the giant dragon lady is somehow an upgrade over someone who spends all day wiping spit off special-ed kids.”\n\nJack coughed, laughing, and that made me wheeze at my own joke.\n\nWill made this odd scoffing gasp.\n\nLike he'd realised I actually meant it.\n\nI took another drink, as did Jack as we continued playing, like I’d said nothing at all.\n\n“What if… the dragon eats her?” Will of all people said. “Easy fix, and you can spend more time in VC or here.”\n\n“That's true,” Jack cooed. “Actually true, though.”\n\n“Alys is genuinely huge.” I reached for a drink that was empty. “Like seven foot, I think. Keeps bumping into me when I'm trying to sort orders.” So I waited until we were safe before making another, allowing the haze to settle over me and dull the constant flow of thoughts. “Nah, but she's actually cool. Easy to talk to.”\n\nWill hummed through a mouthful of biscuits. “Yeah, we've got an Archon intern down at the precinct too. Called Carwen – huge nerd. Asked me if I wanted to do Baldur's Gate.” He tried to laugh but ended up choking on the digestives in his mouth, having to raise a fist to bat at his chest. “Doing it next week.”\n\n“Damn, can't believe you didn't invite me,” I joked. “After I basically came out to your mum for you. Betrayal.” I crunched down more crisps, expended my needler and… realised how quiet it had got.\n\nJack looked surprised, at least a little.\n\nAnd Will… Will looked horrified, wide-eyed, mouth open a fraction.\n\nIt didn't click.\n\nI was killed in game.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt clicked.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nHe hadn't told Jack. Only me. Because he trusted me.\n\n“O-Oh, sorry. Will, seriously. I didn't know he'd not-” Awkward pause. “-Been told…”\n\n“Will's gay?” Jack asked. Asked me, not Will. Me. Because I'd said it, I realised, chest seizing. “Damn, that's crazy.” And that was it. His interest faded and he seemed infinitely more fascinated by his vape, which he lifted up and groaned at. “I’m out. Pause the game for us.”\n\nI forced a smile into my voice, stilled the slight shake to my knees. “Are you seriously dipping to buy more fruity vape juice?”\n\n“Yeah, I need more dip, too. We’re out of sour cream and chives and the rest taste like cancer.\" He took his ratty old wallet from his trouser pocket and skimmed the notes. “What do you twats want?”\n\n“I’m good,” I said, sitting back, trying not to look at Will, who nonchalantly asked for a Monster.\n\nJack put on his jacket and trainers and left, closing the door too hard like he always did.\n\nThe game remained paused.\n\nDrinks were left to warm.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n…\n\n“...Sorry.”\n\nWill put his chin into his palm, elbow on the side of the sofa, and groaned loudly. He then looked over, slugged me hard enough in the arm to numb it. “I can’t believe you did that.”\n\n“I know, I know.”\n\n“Uhhhh huh. Yeah. Yeah, you _know_.”\n\n“I know...\" I sank lower into the sofa.\n\n“I’m going to tell Sarah you just did that.” He leaned back, eyes closed, face tight. “I’ve still not told Dad, either.”\n\n“Really?”\n\nHis eyes remained closed. He didn’t respond immediately. “Yeah… He’s good to me, obviously, but… old school Nigerian, so… yeah… Not a chance I’m telling my aunties or uncles.”\n\nA beat.\n\nAll I could say, mixer slowly clouding me, was, “Is it weird to say I sometimes forget you're black?”\n\nHis eyes opened and crinkled in appalled amusement. “Jesus fucking christ.” He sat up and sighed, hands fiddling with his controller. “I think you need to ease up on the drinking.”\n\n“It helps me think!” I rambled, grinning.\n\nHis own smile flickered. “Is it weird to say I kind of had a crush on you in high school? If we’re being stupid?\"\n\nCold spread from my heart outwards, and I hated that it took me a couple of seconds to recover. “Only a little. I sort of guessed.”\n\nHis caramel eyes rolled. “Sure. You're totally not the densest guy on the planet. 1000 IQ.”\n\n“Hey, I got A’s on all my exams,\" I huffed playfully, crossing my arms. “I am 1000 IQ.\"\n\n“Aaaand now you work at McDonald's.”\n\nThat stung more than he probably knew, but I didn't let it show.\n\nTried to, at least.\n\n\"The discount's worth it.”\n\n“Mhm.”\n\nI made a second drink to go with my main one.\n\nDLC.\n\nOr something.\n\nEither way, as Will thought about things worth thinking about, I finished off both.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nJack was taking forever, I realised after enough time had passed.\n\nProbably on his phone outside the shops.\n\n“...Hey, you… you were just messing around, right? About Brie?”\n\nBrie. A kind of cheese. I'd teased her about that in school.\n\nSchool. I'd fucking hated school, so why did everyone bring it up so much, like-\n\nWill had said something. “Sorry, what?”\n\n“Did you mean what you said about Brie?“ He repeated. “All that negative stuff?”\n\n“Probably.” Where was my third- fourth? Pre-order or- “She doesn't talk to me all day, so I don't talk to her and- Jesus, we're having dinner next week.” Found it. “Can't wait to hear her talk about uni for the fiftieth time in a row and how amazing highschool was because she peaked when she was sixteen. Fantastic.”\n\nHe flinched.\n\n“Why are you even with her?”\n\n“Because _why not~_” I mumbled, too weak to put any real bite into my words with the walls moving the way they were. \"Might as well see this to the end.”\n\nHe shifted slightly. “How do you think she feels?”\n\nMy stomach rolled, and I could feel my lip curl.\n\nBut-\n\nHow _did_ she feel?\n\n“Not a clue. Probably doesn't even care. She's got uni and all her cool friends and mum and dad and a happy career in the future.” Through my bleary eyes, I could see Will's irritation fade into something almost pained. “...She probably only messages when she's bored or sees me talking to people.”\n\nI stopped talking, not because I didn't have anything to say, but because my throat suddenly closed up and I just could not talk.\n\nWill stared at me for a second too long.\n\nNot judging.\n\nPitying.\n\nI _hated_ pity.\n\n“James,” he said quietly, like he was disarming a bomb. “I seriously don't think she talks to you because she's bored.”\n\nI laughed at that. Actually laughed. Took another drink to kill how tight my throat suddenly felt.\n\n“Dude, everybody gets bored eventually.”\n\nSilence.\n\nController hum.\n\nThe paused Halo music looping faintly through the room.\n\nAnd the worst part was that I almost believed him. For maybe half a second, I almost believed Brie cared in the way he meant.\n\nThen I pictured her at university again.\n\nFriends and classes.\n\nPeople with actual futures.\n\nPeople she didn't have to drag along behind her like a dead battery.\n\n“Whatever,” I muttered, reaching for the vodka again. “It's really not that deep, dude. I’ll just chill with Alys tomorrow and forget about it. Just a rough week.”\n\nWill looked like he wanted to argue.\n\nThankfully, the front door slammed open before he could.\n\n“Gentlemen,” Jack announced dramatically, one plastic bag looped around his wrist. “I have returned with nicotine and sour cream.”\n\nThe tension evaporated almost instantly. Not fully, not really, but enough to let me breathe again.\n\nJack tossed Will his Monster, dropped back into the armchair, and immediately frowned at me. “Why do you look divorced?”\n\n\"Because he is,” Will muttered.\n\n“Real.”\n\nJack dug around in the bag for a second before pausing. “Oh, by the way, Brie’s at some house party.”\n\nI blinked at him.\n\n“She posted on Snapchat.” He shrugged. “Think that's why she didn't reply.”\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n“Oh.”\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nThat was it.\n\nNot ignoring me.\n\nJust busy.\n\nThe guilt should've faded harder than it did.\n\nInstead, I just drank more.\n\n**#**\n\nThe rest of the night blurred after that.\n\nHalo.\n\nMusic from somebody's phone playing on bluetooth speakers.\n\nJack attempting to balance a tortilla chip on his nose and somehow succeeding.\n\nSnorting salt and squeezing lemon juice in his eyes.\n\nWill leaving halfway through a match because apparently adults with jobs had to do things like arrive on time.\n\nThen suddenly I was in the back of a taxi with my forehead against cold glass, stomach sloshing violently every time the car hit a pothole, the poor driver looking back every five minutes or so to make sure I hadn’t died.\n\nLeeds at mid-day bled together in streaks of grey and wet pavement.\n\nMy phone buzzed once.\n\nI didn't check it.\n\nThe tower block looked worse at night.\n\nGrey concrete. Dead windows. Damp stains beneath balconies.\n\nI climbed out of the taxi on shaky legs, nearly forgot to close the door behind me and stumbled through the lobby, smelling like vodka, energy drinks and smoke from when I’d snuck out for a cig.\n\nThe lift took forever.\n\nBy the time I got upstairs, my keys barely worked in the lock.\n\nSarah was cross-legged on the sofa when I finally shoved the door open, a pizza box balanced on one knee and some awful anime playing quietly on the television.\n\nShe looked up once.\n\nPaused.\n\n“Jesus Christ,” she said flatly. “You’re an actual mess. It's barely four pm.”\n\n“Mhm.”\n\nI kept walking.\n\n“Did you really drink all that junk you bought?”\n\n“Mhm.”\n\n“You smell radioactive.”\n\n“Mhm.”\n\nMy room was dark besides the glow leaking in from the living room.\n\nSmall. Cramped. Dark.\n\nSafe.\n\nOld computer parts sat stacked beneath the desk beside tangled wires and empty cans. Notebooks covered half the floor; pages filled with bad RPG ideas, enemy stats, dialogue trees, unfinished JavaScript notes and lists of things I’d once promised myself I’d learn properly.\n\nThe air smelled faintly of dust and overheating plastic.\n\nI collapsed face-first onto the small bed without even taking my shoes off.\n\nMy stomach rolled.\n\nPhone.\n\n_Where was my phone?_\n\nFound it beneath me.\n\nThe brightness stabbed my eyes instantly.\n\nDiscord.\n\nMissed notifications.\n\nJack sending something truly incomprehensible into the server.\n\nBrie still hadn’t replied.\n\nBut there, still there at the top.\n\n_Alys Coslett._\n\nThree hours ago.\n\nI stared at it blearily for a moment before fumbling my thumb across the screen and opening Facebook instead.\n\nThe birthday post loaded slowly.\n\nPictures from earlier filled the screen one after another.\n\nJarys grinning around cake.\n\nRhys just the same.\n\nAlys borderline glaring at the camera.\n\nAlys.\n\nI opened up the list of people who had liked the post, squinting hard so my eyes could adjust. I skimmed and found someone who had hearted it.\n\nDragon. Brown scales, blue eyes, but that was probably just the lighting making Alys look all funny, I told myself. Poor lighting.\u0026nbsp; Brain good.\n\nSquint.\n\nDeep thoughts.\n\nBad with people. I was bad with people. Brie. Yes.\n\nSo maybe… maybe I should try be good, starting with Alys.\n\n**James Morris.**\n\n**\\\u003e you so cool**\n\n**\\\u003e will be dope seeing you again**\n\nSatisfied with myself, I let the phone slip from my hand and passed out almost instantly.","series":{"name":"Dragon In The Kitchen","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/nZ7dLrR1-dragon-in-the-photo.json"}}