Life use to be like bread and butter for Caden. He use to be the type of person who enjoyed living day to day with the people around him. His adopted family worked hard and he had always tried his best to please them, even getting up in the morning to prepare their breakfasts before they hit the road. But that all quickly changed when he found out their secret... well, he supposed it wasn't much of a secret now, but he felt like his world had collapsed around him. The outgoing easy personality he once had completely took an opposite turn and his normal routines came to a complete hault. The only one he kept was going to the cafe. But his parents quickly foundout about his antics and banned him from going outside until he became more of a 'man' so he hadn't been able to go for around a month.<br/><br/>Mel always knew what to do. The cafe was like a family on its own. Being within its walls and the presents of the employees always made him feel more relaxed and hopeful about his future. It was the only thing he had that was real. But he knew he couldn't say that out loud. He wasn't surprised if Mel was still pissed about him going with him employees behind his back, but he'd tried to be as polite as possible about it and only went out of working hours. Sure he joked and teased everyone, but who knew what he'd be like now...<br/><br/>A month of training and manner classes had been a complete pain in the ass. He felt more like a shell of his former self than his usual bubbily personalty and he knew the others who knew him would notice the change, drastic or small. But now he was finally allowed out, he only had one place in mind. The Blackbird Cafe. To be honest, he felt really nervous about seeing everyone again. He was sure they'd have a lot of quesrions, but they'd be questions he couldn't answer... not yet anyway.<br/><br/>His parents had even started picking out his clothes for him. His dark skinny jeans had been replaced with looser ones that felt horrible against his skin and he'd been given 'smart' button up blouses to wear to hold the company image whenever he was outside. But the shirts creased too easily and he was forever tucking it back into his trousers. What the hell would the others think? he thought crossing the road as he tried to sort himself out.<br/><br/>But he'd arrived and could see Chris polishing something behind the counter. Seeing him just made his stomach knot... He'd been with the male a few times in the past, but he didn't think he'd feel this overwhelmed about seeing his 'family' again. It paralized him for a good few seconds before he forced himself forward. Would the guys even recognise him? He skimmed the customers and counted four quickly before his hand set on the handle and pushed the door open. The happy sounding chime alerted the staff that a new customer had came into the Cafe and his eyes quickly set on Chris. The smell of the fresh bakes greeted his nose and instantly relaxed some of his anxiety.<br/><br/>Again there was the fear that the male would start screaming at him for being careless, rude or unempathetic for not saying goodbye or giving a warning, but he could only brace himself for such a thing. He stepped into the cafe and averted his eyes a little timidly as he ran a hand through his still messy unkept hair. "Hey... It's been awhile" was all he said as he made his way over towards the counter. What could he say? Everything would be a puzzle piece and the more he gave out, the more Chris or any of the others would know. So he just opted for a casual greeting and hoped nobody would ask any questions.<br/><br/>"Do you mind if I ask for a strong coffee? I could really use one" It was normally Mel that served him out front, but from what he remembered, Chris made amazing Late's too. They went down way too easily and half the time they were on the house, but Caden always slipped some money into the 'staff' jar. It wasn't like he was stuck for cash and he knew everyone knew it. Spoilt to the core... Or that's what people use to think unless they knew him. This was his sanctuary like a bookworm in a book store. He had his Blackbird Cafe. He had everyone's shifts memorized too... weird for someone who didn't work there. "Mel is in today right?" in all honesty, Caden had a big spot for the owner. He loved speaking to him whether it was in or outside of work. Right now he really needed some Mel time and just hoped the guy hadn't changed his shifts around.