Under The Moonlight

Chapter 18 (Part 2)

"Hi. What can I get you guys?" The perky voice of the waitress brought my grouchy self back to reality. I was exhausted, drifting off whenever and wherever I could and I was in desperate need of another glass of coffee. I stared at her bubblegum pink hair in fascination and Raven took it upon himself to order burgers and fries for the both of us. 

"Can you please stop glaring at the poor girl?"

"I was not glaring."  I huffed, finally focusing on the equally tired boy. He sunk into his seat after muttering something and I went back to admiring the girl's tattoo. Her pink hair was distracting everyone from the cat on her neck. 

"I want to get tattooed." 

"You'd look hot if you did get one, Seb."

And the blush was back. Raven smiled and playfully pressed his foot on mine making me jump and hit my knee against the edge of the table. This attracted a few curious looks and I sunk back in my seat, hating the feeling of having multiple eyes on me. 

He did it again as he took out his sketchbook, grinning at me when I pushed it off to have my foot press on his. Raven started to sketch soon after, completely immersed in his work and I took the time to cross out the places we had been to on the list I had made during breakfast.

We had been to nearly ten establishments and some of them did not meet our criteria and for some, we didn't meet theirs. We had a few more left before we needed to head out for the movie and I quickly mapped an efficient route to get by the places faster. 

We were currently at the cafe closest to home. It was small and homey and it smelt of vanilla, a delectable smell. It's location was also pretty decent, I noted when I saw people running on the tracks opposite to the cafe and since the cafe had multiple healthy options, there was bound to be a crowd. The only factor left to be understood was the taste and for that I had to wait a little while longer. 

There was no hiring sign posted anywhere so that ruled out the possibility of getting a job here. I pressed against Raven's foot when the food arrived, followed by the laughter of the pretty pink- haired girl. We thanked her and were about to dig in when a large man came barreling out of the kitchen. 

"Mia, did I or did I not ask you to put the sign?" 

The pink haired girl, whom I was assuming was Mia simply gave an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry Alex. I was going to and then first rush hour started."

"Well put it up now before the second one. It's hard to handle the crowd with just the three of us." Alex replied, huffing as he ran back to the kitchen. 

"Do you have an opening for a part-time job here?" Raven asked, beating me to it. 

"Oh! Yeah! We're looking for a waiter or waitress who can also handle the counter." 

His face lit up as he asked if he could apply for it and she nodded after informing us that it would be Alex's decision. We scarfed down our food, waiting for the bulky man to show up and when he did, Raven immediately greeted him with his famous sunshine smile that would have anyone under his spell within seconds. 

It clearly worked as well. Both Alex and Mia were enraptured by the time they finished interviewing him and from the warm smiles they were giving him, I knew that he got the job. I paid the bill in the meantime and texted my parents our whereabouts. 

Raven came bounding back to me like a puppy and I was in his arms before I knew it. He was jumping in joy, suffocating me in the process.

"I got the job!" 

"I know. Don't kill me." I patted his forearm and he released me, smile still in place. With one last smile to Mia and Alex, we set out for home so that we could dress up for the evening. Mom had clearly warned us not to wear shorts and a tee as we were going somewhere fancy for dinner and had to be dressed for it. 

Raven kept rambling about the job. He had to be at work at fifteen minutes past five every weekday and had to work till closing time which was eleven. He had Sundays as on off day and on Saturdays, he had to work from twelve in the afternoon to six in the evening. A dull ache spread over my body when I realized that today might be the last day of us having so much free time. 

Forgetting that I was outside, I reached for his hand wanting his touch to calm me. He flinched at first and then held my hand, thumb running in circles over the backside of my palm.

It would be okay. It had to be.