Only One

why we fight

*A/n: I'm sorry these have been so depressing lately lol. If you hadn't already guessed, ya girl's going through it*

A high-pitched bell rings above my head as I push the familiar door open. Normally I hate that sound. Normally it makes me want to jump up, rip the bell right off the ridge of the door and throw it in the Hudson where nobody will ever find it. But not today. Today, the bell sounds like second chances, and new beginnings.

"Good morning!" I call out cheerily as I make my way behind the diner's counter.

"You're in a good mood." Nat replies, tossing me my apron. "You're supposed to hate this job, remember?"

Nat had already been working at Scott's Diner by the time I got here. Scott, the asshole of a manger who forces us into the tight-fitted pink button down dresses he likes to call a uniform, had told me I didn't have enough experience when I first applied. Nat had vouched for me, assuring him that I was up to the task even though we'd never met before. We'd worked here together ever since.

"Just got a good night's sleep is all." I smile, tying the tiny white apron over my waist.

I head over to my register and start counting the change. If the amount we started with doesn't line up with our receipts at the end of the night, Scott would not be pleased. Nat's head turns to watch me as I walk past her.

"I've worked with you for five years (Y/n), and not once have you smiled before nine o'clock." She says skeptically. "Much less wished anyone a good morning."

I feel her eyes on me as I begin counting the quarters in the tin. She takes in my appearance for a moment, following me over to my register.

"You did your hair." She states, not as a question but as a fact.

"I just curled it a little." I shrug, non-chalantly, moving onto the dimes. Each one lands into its compartment with a clink as I do the math in my head.

Nat's quiet for a moment, then she takes a finger and rubs at the corner of my mouth.

"Hey!" I jump, whacking her arm away. "What was that for?"

"A-ha!" She grins proudly, looking at her finger and then sticking it out for me to see. "You're wearing lipstick."

"Nice solve Sherlock." I roll my eyes. "Don't know how the hell you cracked that one."

She's still smirking at me, like we're both in on some sort of secret.

"What?" I ask her, finishing up with the dimes and moving onto the nickels.

"Sooo?" She prompts me, excitedly.

"Sooo what?" I repeat, moving around the pennies in their compartment with just my finger since there were only a few.

She slaps me on the arm.

"Ow!" I grumble, my previously good mood staarting to wear down a little. "What the hell is up with you today?"

"Stop playing dumb!" She retorts. "You're all dolled up. Someone's obviously taking you out on a date tonight, so spill. Who is it?"

"I'm not going on a date." I chuckle, reaching for a sticky note to jot down the coin total.

"Bullshit!" She declares, persistently. "Who is it? Is it that firefighter guy that came in here the other night? It is isn't?"

I pick up the stack of cash from the back of the bin then turn around to face her as I flip through them.

"Nobody asked me out Nat, but I promise if someone had you'd be the first to know."

She looks at me, eyebrows scrunched, like she's trying to figure out whether or not she believes me.