(Sorry this took so long. I was really busy this weekend. But if that wasn't enough, I had to post this using my smartphone. And, due to stupid smartphone SNAFUs, I had to rewrite this post 3 times! Thank god it's all over! XD)

Dan awoke from a relatively peaceful slumber. As he trudged his way to the dorm bathroom, he realized that only his neck was soul crushingly sore this time around. [i]Huh... I guess my body's finally getting used to the changes...[/i] He thought. [i]Fuckin' finally.[/i] He brushed his teeth, fangs and all, took a warm shower to wipe off the cold sweat, changed into a normal shirt and jeans, grabbed his backpack and headed out of the dorm building. He didn't have any classes today so he decided to take advantage of his free schedule and get some fresh air and a coffee. Even if fresh air has been having an opposite effect lately.

The midday sun beat down on him hard as he hurried toward the campus gate. The sun gives him an unbearable, unshakable itch all over his body. It's enough to drive him crazy. But he's found one way to deal with that problem, he just needs to make it off campus. His pace increased as he headed for the campus gate, each second like pure torture. The moment he stepped past the campus gate, he stopped dead in his tracks, grabbed a pack of cigarettes out of his backpack, shoved one in his mouth and, with shaky hands, lit it with his Zippo lighter. He took a long desperate drag, feeling a mixture of relief and bliss as the smoke filled his lungs. He exhaled and took the cigarette out of his mouth, contemplating whether or not to toss it. "Dammit, smoking sucks." He said to himself with a sigh. He just shook his head and put the cigarette back in his mouth as he began walking down the street. Dan hates smoking, always has, but he's found that it's the only thing that makes walking in the open sun bearable.

Because of Dan's new habit, if he wanted a coffee or a place to just sit and think, he needed to do it in a smoke-friendly place, which are few and far between these days. Even in Miami. The only smoke friendly place nearby is this crappy coffee shop near the park. So he was heading there, taking a shortcut through the park.