Color

Hundred Four

Scott slid his notepad into his pocket, so he could carry the tray of drinks. 

One of his female coworkers was standing beside him, as she gave her ticket to the expeditor of the kitchen so he could pass it off to the people cooking. 

She glanced at Scott. "Need any help?"

He just shook his head, heading out the door of the kitchen. "I'm good."

Avi was laughing at something being said by his table of four, as he slid his notepad into the pocket of the short apron tied around his waist. "I'll get that appetizer right out for you guys, okay?"

The woman in front of him reached out to hold the hand of the man sitting at the table with her. "Did you want one too?"

"No thanks, bubba." He responded softly. 

Scott showed up at the table beside him, lowering the tray slightly to pass around the water glasses for his table. "Did y'all end up deciding on any other drinks?"

The woman at the table lowered her menu to look at him. "I'm kinda stuck between the two margaritas. Which is better?"

"The pineapple one, for sure." 

"Really? Better than the watermelon one?"

"Well I guess that depends on how much you like watermelon." He responded easily, sliding a glass of water to the fifth and final person at the table.

The brunette woman in front of him suddenly set the drink menu down. "Fuck it, I'll take one of each."

Scott just shrugged. "Yeah, no, that's exactly what I would've done."

Avi chuckled at the sound of the conversation, and walked away from his own table to collect another tables' order. 

Scott set his tray down, before kneeling on the ground to pull out his pen and pad again. "Anybody else want something? The pineapple thing is bitchin' honestly."

He ended up having to write down three more of the same thing, before sending the order off to the kitchen. 

Avi bumped his shoulder as he went by, leaning back to speak softly. "One more hour, dude."

"Yeah thank God." Scott stopped to whisper back at him. "Some lady just tucked a five dollar bill into my jeans and thanked me for coming to work."

*

Avi and Scott finally got home from work around 10:30, bringing home some Chinese food for everyone to share. 

As Scott moved to set all the boxes down in the kitchen, Avi walked into the living room having found Alex asleep on the couch. 

Avi walked around the couch, glancing at the television to see that Alex was watching a soccer game. 

He squatted down a little, setting a hand on Alex's shoulder firmly to wake him. "Hey, Lex."

Alex's eyes opened quickly in a panic, but then he relaxed and spoke softly. "Hi."

"Sorry to wake you, bubba. Brought home some food for you."

Alex started to sit up a little. "What did you just call me..?"

"Oh sorry, I heard someone say that today. Thought it was sweet, it reminded me of you."

Alex sat up fully, rubbing one of his eyes with his hand. "Aw."

Avi just shrugged, standing up from his squat. "I got that broccoli thing you like."

"Oh, you got Chinese food?"

"Yeah. Scott was hungry, but I didn't know if you ate anything, so we brought home some extra."

Alex blinked up at him, and gave him a smile. "Nice of you to do that."

Avi gently grabbed Alex's hands to help him stand. "Aw, did you fall asleep in your jersey?"

"I was comfy." Alex responded with a pout.

Scott finally stepped into the room. "Hey, you guys seen Mitch?"

Alex turned to face him, and Avi was quick to pull Alex's hips against his own, but Alex immediately pushed away. "He went out with Kirstie. He said he'd text you?"

"Yeah he didn't." Scott responded sharply, before he'd even pulled his phone out to check. 

Avi recognized the tone, and walked away from Alex to reassure him. "I'm sure everything's fine, Scott. Just text him to make sure."

Alex tried to add on. "He probably just forgot to hit send or something."

Scott shook his head. "Yeah, whatever. Let's just... Eat before it gets cold."

*

Avi had tried to keep conversation light, wanting to cheer Scott up. 

Scott decided not to sit at the table. Instead he sat on the ground in front of the couch to lean his back against it, one box of chicken chow mein in his hand. 

Avi frowned at him, and shook his head abruptly, before picking up two more boxes of various foods, only to march over and sit beside Scott. 

He set down one of the boxes, holding onto the other to eat. He grabbed the remote from off of the couch. "Let's watch that one scary movie you wanted to see. What was it called again?"

Scott crossed his legs at the ankles, not looking up from his food. "What if Alex wants to see the end of the game?"

Alex suddenly appeared in the room, sitting on the other side of Avi. "I'm pretty sure I know who's gonna win, it's cool." He reached across Avi to hand Scott a beer, having already opened it for him. 

Scott looked up at him with a pout. "You know me so well. Thank you."

Alex grinned at him, setting a sparkling water down in front of himself. "You're welcome. And hey... I'm sorry I didn't ask more questions when he left. I wish I could tell you where he was."

"Not your fault." Scott shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to relax himself. "I'm not his parent, y'know? He doesn't have to tell me where he is at all times."

Avi was scrolling through the movies on their streaming account. "Yeah, well... It's uncharacteristic of him, but not impossible, right? We all forget to do shit. He's got Kirstie, he'll be fine."

Scott leaned forward to look past Avi, at Alex. "Did she mention if Kyle was going?"

Alex looked sheepish. "I just assumed he'd be there... Why?"

"Just asking."

Avi suddenly spoke loudly, staring at the television. "Oh, I found it. It was this one, right? About the clown and those kids?"

**