Mitchell stared into the dark glass of his window - there wasn't a mirror in the joint - scrutinizing every detail of his face: the darkening circles under his eyes, the dull hair hanging over his brow, the gaunt look he was starting to acquire. Still, it was nothing new - though he knew he'd have to do something about it soon. By the way he judged it, he only had a few days at best before his condition would start to become... Unmanageable.

New cities were always a bitch for that. 

Sighing, Mitchell fetched his laptop and set himself up at the large desk against the window in the middle of the open-concept dining room. Sinking back into his leather desk chair, he pulled out a notepad and started half-assedly checking his stocks, recording new share values on the pad to later be drafted into his ledger. 

Minutes passed and turned into hours as Mitchell tried desperately to find something, anything to occupy himself with. He checked stocks, he read news, he dusted and cleaned his cat's dishes (again), but nothing could keep his mind off his cravings for very long. [i]Get a hold of yourself,[/i] he scolded himself, [i]you've had more than enough time to learn how to deal with this, tonight should be no different.[/i] 

It really was strange, normally he had perfectly fine control over himself this many days out, what had changed now? He would chalk it up to the stress of the move, but he couldn't convince himself of that. What, then, was driving him so crazy?

A high-pitched squeal from outside his window caught his attention, and he turned with unsettling speed toward the source of the noise. The culprit, a steel wire shining in the light from his kitchen, stirred something odd inside him. It was the wire to the window washer's cart, and he found himself hoping he'd see the same face as the first time. 

He gave himself only a moment to hope before scolding himself for his foolishness. Not only was it ridiculous to pine after a man he'd seen exactly one time through his window, but he'd resolved to give up on dating long ago. 

And yet, just before the cart reached his window, Mitchell made sure to arrange himself at his desk in such a way that he could discreetly check the window while still looking busy.