Bus Stops

"Oh fucking hell." Alex groaned as he put his feet down on the floor, realising that he had put his shoes on the wrong feet. He was already late for work and this was the last thing he needed, he'd been through too much this morning and it was barely 8am. First his coffee machine broke, then he spilt milk on his new shirt, and his dog threw up on his shoes, so to say he was pissed would be an understatement - a really big understatement. He ruffled his hair in frustration, trying to keep himself calm, before he toed his shoes off and pulled them onto the right feet this time.

He grabbed his keys and a jacket from the rail by the door and shot out of the house - hoping that maybe today he might catch the bus on time instead of missing it like he had every single day this week.

There was a coffee shop right behind the bus shelter that his bus stopped at - as he ran up to the shelter, he couldn't see his bus anywhere so he decided to step into the cosy little shop and order himself a macchiato to keep him awake for the rest of the day. He pulled his wallet out of his blazer pocket and paid the lady behind the counter as she pushed the drink towards him with a polite smile on her face. People like that were always his favourite - the people who smiled at you even though they had no idea who you were, what your name was or what you did for a living. He found it warm and welcoming.

He smiled back and took the drink - telling her to keep the change while he jogged out of the shop, hoping that he hadn't missed his bus.

Tough luck.

His bus was already starting to drive away as he made it to the shelter and he didn't want to run down the road in fear of spilling the coffee all over himself and sending himself to hospital with third degree burns. That and he'd probably look like a bit of a madman.
"Shit!" He cursed as he watched the bus round the corner. He was already 20 minutes late to work and the next bus wasn't due for another 10 minutes, he could always call in sick for the day but he really needed the money if he was going to stay on top of this months bills. He'd just have to come up with a good excuse to tell his boss while he sat at the bus shelter waiting.

~~

By the time his bus had stopped in front of Alex; he had 3 excuses, 2 he doesn't think he'd be able to tell his boss with a straight face, so he opted for the third one. His least favourite one. Telling the truth.
His boss would just curse at him and send him away with a disappointed look on his face if Alex told him all about his hectic morning which was the main reason for him being so hesitant about it.

He grumbled as he stepped onto the bus, quickly flashing his ticket at the driver and looking down the aisle to see that there wasn't even a single seat available for him. Oh, this day just keeps getting better.
He hung his head and walked over to one of the poles in the middle of the bus, grabbing onto it with one of his hands to keep him stable while he stood up on the moving vehicle.

"Oh, uh, sorry" Alex squeaked when he realised that he hadn't took hold of the pole; instead he had put his hand over another strangers,
"Hey, don't sweat it dude, no need to look so worried." The man with slightly messy blond and brunet hair laughed at him and Alex let a small smile out, removing his hand and resisting the urge to tell the stranger all about his morning and how his boss was going to kill him when he got into work - hence the worry.
"Sorry, again." Alex said as he moved his hand down the pole and grabbed onto a different part.
"Not a problem, cutie." The man winked at Alex, causing his cheeks to heat up while the man just gave him a smile in return for no reason.

People like that were always his favourite.