Hearing that Mel had been waiting for him came as a surprise. "Waiting? I've been gone for a month" he said keeping his attention on Chris. Had Mel really been waiting that long for him to return? He'd pointed out the obvious, but he seemed to even cause trouble while he was away. Mel had enough on his plate. He didn't mean to add worry to the stress he probably had of running the Cafe. "Damn... well if you need a hand I'm free for the day. I owe you guys one" it was the least he could do.<br/><br/>But his attention shifted when Mel came through the door which lead to the staff department. Just seeing the male made a small smile set on his face, but it wasn't his usual. Normally he'd have opened his arms to embrace Chris, or ran over to greet Mel like an excited child. He always had bags of energy, but today a smile was all he could manage. But it was nice to see Mel hadn't changed. He looked pretty good.<br/><br/>The look Chris pulled when he was asked to go eat made Caden bite his lower lip slightly to hold back a small chuckle. But Chis looked good too. It didn't look like much had changed since he'd last seen everyone, so it made the visit a little easier. "Thanks Mel..." he said watching Chris leave. A small sigh escaped him as his muscles started to relax further. It was amazing what seeing a friendly person could do to your anxiety.<br/><br/>He returned his gaze to Mel and took in every little detail about him. Walled eyed, long hair, everything down to his freckles. He just found him... cute. "It has... I actually came to apologise for my absence... honestly, I wasn't sure if you guys would be fussing or just carrying on like normal" he admitted averting his eyes for a second. 'I was beginning to worry something had happened to you. Nothing did, right? You look fine but...if you need to talk we can head to the break room when Chris comes back' There it was... He cared more about him than his step parents. They only cared about the stupid company image. Not once did they ever ask if he was okay when he came home from being out with someone. Anything could've happened, yet Mel always asked. It seemed weird... but in a nice way. He could feel his chest becoming heavy as he thought about the agonising month he'd been put through, but he kept himself collected and shook his head. "Nothing like that... I haven't done anything for awhile. In a way, I guess you could say I was banned from going outside for a month..." he said quietly as he accepted the coffee. He knew Mel wasn't going to charge him, so he pulled out a ten from his pocket and slipped it into the jar beside the till. "I don't know what to say about it Mel... I'm not good with voicing problems" he managed just as Chris came back.<br/><br/>Caden turned his head to look at him and gave him a polite nod to welcome him back. "Oh..." he'd forgotten to tell Mel he was free and turned his attention back to him again. "I can help too... I know how to make a coffee or two and my parents wouldn't mind" in fact, they'd probably be all for it.<br/><br/>He watched Mel make himself a cup of tea and took a sip from his own coffee and instantly melted. Mel was magic when it came to making coffee's. There was nothing better. The taste was just sweet enough and went down his throat smoothly. He could feel the warmth slide right down to his stomach where it settled for a few seconds before it slowly faided away "Hmm" he hummed happily to himself. "I've missed your coffee..." he said following Mel towards the kitchen. He felt bad for dragging Mel away from his work, but the worry and reassuring smile helped urge him forward. "Thanks..." he said as he passed through the door that Mel held open for him. He paused beside the wall to wait and slowly followed on behind. He had no idea where he was going when it came to behind the scenes.<br/><br/>But there was a nagging sansation that wouldn't leave him alone. He knew the truth would come out eventually, but how much could he tell Mel? What if his view of him changed? It felt like he was walking a tight rope. It felt like an interview in a way. He knew Mel was just worried, but Caden was only human. Talking wasn't a problem. The trouble was the starting point.