[Monroe Montgomery]

let's fast forward ► to 300 take out coffees later ◄

The thing about having insomnia was that it could get lonely and even Monroe, who was fairly reserved, got lonely sometimes. The nice thing was that from time to time, Charlotte couldn’t sleep. Not nice in the way that he wished it upon her, but nice to have company. He didn’t know a lot about Charlotte’s insomnia, but it was probably different from his own. Monroe’s was from forcing it, which many wouldn’t understand. People loved to sleep, and Monroe used to, but his ‘gift’ kept him from enjoying sleep. The first few times he used it, he was wildly uncomfortable with the things he would see. It felt private. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he was a mind reader. At least with dreaming you could avoid sleep. Sometimes when he was laying awake at night and feeling especially morbid, he thought about how he was fairly sure that he wouldn’t be able to live with reading minds. He just couldn’t do it. The text had come in at roughly twelve a.m. A simple can’t sleep and like their usual patterns, one of them would make the trek to the other’s apartment. If it was Monroe’s, he’d make a pot of coffee and they’d talk. If it was Charlotte’s, random art projects were usually involved with the sounds of a new vinyl she was stuck on playing on her record player. It was his turn to go to her place this time and thankfully the walk wasn’t all that bad. They’d met from living in a similar area and Monroe did like to frequent the record shop she worked at. They were fast friends, or at least as fast of friends you could be with Monroe. Both college dropouts. Both insomniacs. He knocked on the door and could already here her dog scampering towards the door from inside. Charlotte Lewis //BOINK OF GS

[Charlotte Lewis]

tell me how you reach the moon — my thoughts err away tonight

❝

It appeared to have become Monroe and Charlotte's thing to text or hang out whenever they both couldn't sleep. If Charlotte hadn't ghosted her therapist, she probably would have told her that it wasn't a good idea to hang out, at night, with people she knew from the days she was a barely functioning drug addict, but Charlotte wasn't known for listening to therapists. She did whatever she wanted, and took control of her own life.

She had texted him that he couldn't sleep, and after a brief back and forth, they decided on hanging out at her place. The roommate situation had fallen through, so she surely wouldn't be bothering anyone by having company over at this time of night.
Charlotte was going through her vinyl collection with a cigarette hanging loosely in the corner of her mouth when she heard Jack walk towards the door, even before a knock was heard. The dog had sensed the presence of someone outside long before the person announced themselves. Once Monroe knocked, Charlotte walked over to the door, wearing a shirt that was way too big for her and some comfortable sweatpants, and opened it with a soft smile on her face. She took the cigarette out of her mouth and held it in her hand, while she gestured with the other for Monroe to come in.

"Mi casa es su casa", she said as she made way for him to come inside. Shoes off wasn't a hard rule but most people took them off anyway as they entered. Charlotte made her way over to the living room, through the archway in the wall, and dropped down on the sofa, and Jack immediately joined for some cuddles. "What do you wanna do tonight? Music, movie, booze, a joint", she said, bouncing her eyebrows. "Or we could just talk." She liked that she didn't have to pretend to be someone else around Monroe. He was also the only one who knew about her gift.

Monroe Montgomery

MADE BY MIZO

[Monroe Montgomery]

let's fast forward ► to 300 take out coffees later ◄

Monroe said hello to Jack first with a pat on his head and a few scratches behind his ears, then he kicked off his boots and followed Charlotte in. Jack was eager to follow her and immediately joined her on the sofa. Monroe smiled at it, still thinking about how he might adopt a pet of his own. It had been on his mind recently, between Jack and his conversation with Adaryn. “So many choices,” he remarked, plopping down on the sofa beside her. “Talking is always good, but I wouldn’t mind some background noise. A movie or music. You have any new records from the shop?” Charlotte worked at a record shop in town and it was one of Monroe’s favorite spots. It was so hard not to spend his tips on vinyls after work. While Monroe didn’t really drink or smoke, he wasn’t the kind of friend to get on Charlotte about it. Maybe he should be, but he tended to have a pretty hands off approach to his few friendships. Was it working? He wasn’t really sure. He had smoked a joint with Charlotte before, but it usually just made him so ridiculously sleepy. Alcohol did much of the same and while most would welcome the sleepiness and a help with insomnia, Monroe didn’t want to cure his insomnia. He wanted to stay awake and avoid invading dreams of strangers, or worse, people he knew. “Should I ask how you are? Or does the fact that you are still awake answer that?” He set down his messenger bag on the floor and grabbed his thermos which was full with fresh brewed coffee. Charlotte Lewis //BOINK OF GS