After Dark

Twenty-one

Paige walks over with a soft smile. Her bag is on her back and her hair is braided. On mornings that her mom isn't rushed, the woman takes time to braid her hair.

"Hey." Paige comes to a stop at the locker next to his.

"Hey." Liam smiles. "Ember doesn't want to go to the library so apparently we're going to a diner or something? Where do you want to go?"

"I'm good with anything." Paige shrugs.

Ember comes bounding over. Her dark hair bounces as she walks. "We should go to the coffee shop."

"The one Paige works at?" Liam asks.

"Yeah." Ember grins. "It's a really nice place and Paige will get the employee discount."

"Normal employees don't get the discount, only the manager and assistant manager do." Paige corrects.

"Oh." Ember says flatly. "Well, it's still a nice place and they have good coffee. I need coffee if I'm going to be studying."

The three make their way to the exit. They all walk out to Liam's car. Ember slides into the backseat without any complaints this time.

"We should do this more often. Maybe I'll get higher than a C in some of my classes." Ember hums in the backseat.

"Maybe." Paige hums too.

"I don't know, you're pretty hopeless." Liam's grinning in the driver's seat. Ember's mouth drops in surprise.

"What the fuck? No I'm not." She folds her arms across her chest and pouts. About three seconds later the pout drops and she just glares. "Okay, maybe I am. That doesn't mean you have to point it out."

Liam laughs softly. "I was kidding."

Ember smiles and just like that it's comfortable again. The rest of the drive is spent without conversation. It's not awkward though, with them it never is.

"We're here." Ember grins excitedly as they pull into a parking spot. She's out of the car before Liam has even turned it off.

"She's excited." Liam comments while getting out.

"She loves the coffee here." Paige rolls her eyes. She's smiling fondly though.

"Come on! Come on!" Ember waves from the door and it reminds Liam of a child.

They enter the little coffee shop and Liam has to smile. The place is homey. It's got wood floors and dark tables set up around. The countertop is green and there's a boy working behind it. He smiles at their entrance.

"Paige!" The three approach the counter and Paige smiles at her coworker.

"Hey Peter." Paige smiles. "We're here to study."

"Oh, okay. The usual for you?" He looks away to grab a coffee cup after Paige nods.

"I want a Frappuccino." Ember grins.

"Liam here will have a French vanilla cappuccino."

"Got it." The boy grins. "Go ahead and sit down. I'll bring them by when I'm done."

Paige lead the group to a dark table and they all sat in the metal seats with green cushions. Ember was the first to pull a book out of her bag. It was her red mathematics book.

"I'm getting the good help while I can. Liam, you're good with numbers, help me!" Ember flips open the book and in the middle is a worksheet for class. Liam chuckles and takes it to look over. Meanwhile Piage pulls out her own mathematics notebook and her school chromebook.