Chapter 1 • Episode 001

The sound of the wind rustling the trees and birds chirping was interrupted by a familiar ringtone.

He looked at the unknown number on his phone, pressed accept, and put the phone to his ear.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Oh, hello! Is this Mr. Blake Thomas speaking?"

"Yes, this is he."

"Hi, we're from the News and we would just like to ask a few quest-"

Click

He sighed, 'another reporter'.

He continued walking, 'When will this end?' Thinking to himself.

After a few minutes, he came to a stop when he saw the large sign, 'Vitale', written across a little cafe.

When he opened the door, a cheerful chime could be heard from the small bell at the top of where he was standing. The smell of caffeine and baked goods made him forget about the awful morning he just had.

He sat down on a stool as he waited for someone, tapping his hands on the wooden long table to the rhythm of the song playing softly in the background of the cafe.

Suddenly, the back doors to the kitchen swung open as a guy rolls over to Blake, "Damn it!" The man yelled and slammed his hand onto his thigh "when I said I want to meet a celebrity I didn't mean this dude, it's getting boring now."

Blake's hands were doing an up and down motion, as if to tell the man to quiet down, but a laugh can't help but escape from him. It had been a while since he'd let out a genuine laugh. He forgot how good it felt.

"Why are you so loud? The last thing I need is people recognizing me."

"Sorry, it's been a while since you've visited the place," He said as he filled a glass with coffee, "The usual?"

Blake nodded and he watched his friend grabbed a glazed doughnut and a few strawberries with a pair of plastic gloves and set it on a plate.

"Thanks, Isaac," Blake had known Isaac for almost half of his life. From a tutor-student relationship in high school, turned into life long friends in college. Now adults, they don't forget to keep up with each other's lives. Looking at the small plate and glass in front of him, he says, "You know me so well."

"I know you too well, that's for sure," Isaac says.

"Sorry I haven't been around, the reporters have been on my tail these past few days," he picks up a strawberry, "they never stop bugging me even though two whole weeks have passed since then."

"But it's gotten better, right?"

"No, worse actually. More reporters are camping outside my house. I'm getting twice more calls than before I changed my number. How did they even get my new number anyway?"

Blake wondered as he ripped a bag of sugar and poured it into his glass. 'Did someone leak it to the press?'

Isaac winces, "That sounds rough, I'm sorry buddy."

"Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong." He stopped his hands from reaching the doughnut, "Or did you?"

"Even if I did, why would I tell you," A smirk crossing his face. Blake let's out a snicker.

Isaac pauses before continuing, "I know you told me about everything that's going on, but how are you doing?"

He didn't realized, but Blake has been waiting for someone to ask him that.

Blake decided to be honest, he can't hide anything from Isaac anyway. Not to mention that he has the worst poker face. "Not so good."

"You wanna talk about it?"

"… Not now. But I'll let you know when I do."

Isaac nods, not pushing the topic any further.

At that moment, the door bursts open again. A woman