Break a Leg

@Nameless
Original thread title is original
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Cabel had an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth. He didn't smoke. He was leaning against a gazebo in the courtyard and glancing down at his watch. Despite the weather, he was wearing only a thin jacket to brace himself from the cold, but Cabel didn't seem to mind.

He was practically humming with energy, but he was exhausted at the same time. Business started out slow this time of year but, it always did, what with everyone's new years resolutions to be healthy and shit like that. But eventually they were looking to shed the weight without the same effort, or stop the depression, or just to feel something, and that's where Cabel came in.

Tonight, he was selling his most popular drug. It was like ecstasy, but more intense, and with the most minimal side effects. His customer--another student, in his late teens-- came up to him.

Cabel liked discretion--that was the point of the cigarette, after all, to say he was carrying without actually carrying-- but it was the middle of the night on a frigid day. Who the hell was going to be out?

'Hey Cabel," the student, Paul, said. "Do you have my pills?"

Cabel should have hit him, but he didn't.

"Yeah, I've got them here. Two hundred dollars. No less. Cash only. You know the deal."

Paul frowned but opened his wallet and passed him the money. Cabel checked it, shined a pen light to it, and then stuck it into his pocket. He pulled a bottle of tylenol out and then passed it to Paul.

There was no way to pretend that what happened was anything other than a lowkey drug deal.

"Do you hear something?" Paul asked.

"Nope." Cabel said.

That was a mistake.

Cabel was so surprised that the cigarette fell out of his mouth.

He bent down to pick it up and tucked it into his breast pocket, trying to regain his cool. He managed to slide into the role very quickly, giving the person a friendly smile.

"Hello," he said. "We're just having a discussion. Thought we'd do it outside so as not to wake anyone up."

Cabel looked calm. He looked like he was telling the truth. He was blinking normally and his breathing was fine, although his palms were a little bit sweaty. He was trying to figure out what to do next. It wasn't going well.

Having a discussion.

Shit, what a bad lie.

"Can I help you with something?" he asked the woman. He didn't know who she was. Shit, he hoped she wasn't security. This was going to be bad. The guy he'd sold to was ruining it, too. He was shifting from foot to foot and glancing around like he was ready to run.

Cabel almost started to relax.

Almost.

Almost.

But then, just his luck, things went downhill fast. Paul was freaking the fuck out when the woman put her arm around him and Cabel felt his palms starting to sweat. Christ this was not good. If this lady was a cop or security or something, Cabel had to give her props--putting her arm around that guy to grab the pills was a really good move. if it wasn't happening to him right now, Cabel would have really appreciated it and offered her a high five.

"Oh well, I'm glad you could join us to pass the time," Cabel said. "Those are just--"

"They're not what they look like!" Paul blurted out. Cabel sighed. They looked like tylenol. If Paul hadn't said otherwise, no one would have known.

"Painkilers for headaches. You know how it is this time of year, finals and all that studying, brings the pain right to the head...right?"

Paul was squirming. He broke out of her grasp and started to run away.

Cabel looked at Aliasse and waited for her next move, but he was pretty sure he was going to have to start running, too.

"Yeah, what can I say? The boy is embarrassed about his headaches," Cabel said.

It was lame. So incredibly lame. There was no way Cabel was getting out of this one. he flashed her his best, most innocenet smile.

"Mmmm maybe it's best if i don't--LOOK AT THAT DRAGON HOLY SHIT HE IS GOING TO JUMP OFF THE ROOF," Cabel shouted and pointed behind her, flailing his arms and screaming dramatically. He made a noise like a falcon and then started sprinting.

God, Cabel hated to run.

It wasn't long before he felt his chest starting to seize up in that uncomfortable way so he did his best to fight through it. Cmon Cabel, you can do it, breath through your nose, out through your mouth, cmon, he told himself.

Cabel might have been a decent runner, but he was bad at directions. Any head start was blocked when he realized he was running towards the edge of the courtyard without the exit.

Shit!

he doubled back and ran right past her, still making the ridiculous hawk noise, while he tried to look for an exit.

He was going to make it!

Cabel could see sweet, sweet freedom, only a few more paces away. His lungs were burning and he was thinking breath, breath, breath.

He was so happy she'd looked for the dragon, though admittedly, Cabel was a little disappointed there hadn't actually been a dragon. He'd wanted to meet one!

He was sprinting now, ready to get out of here when something happened. of course, what happened was that she teleported in front of him and knocked him to the ground with her shoulder, but it was too fast for Cabel. All he knew was that something appeared before him and he was sent falling backwards onto the pavement, his head cracking off the ground, and he skidded back a few inches.

He tried to roll and he managed to do so, but she pinned him and he couldn't move.

"Hey!" he shouted at her. "Let me go!"

He needed to think of something else to escape, but the pain in his head was distracting him. It was very clear that he was going to try and run again at the first opportunity.