Forgetting You Have No Name - II AU

Somehow I Keep Bumping Into You

The only difference is, well, she wasn’t. They were complete strangers.

Though, Lila seemed to believe they weren’t. She claimed they knew each other for a long time— from the show she never dropped the name of.

Maybe they both tricked themselves into thinking they knew each other?

“Good afternoon, may I take your orders?” Payton joked, walking up to the table with a chuckle.

Not looking up from the menu, Lila replied, “Yeah, I’ll have a, uhh,” trailing off and looking up after realizing who had spoken. “Woah, wait, Payton? Hey!”

Payton waved in response, smiling. They noticed the hand fan and vial immediately glancing up from their own menus, and greeted them as well.

The hand fan was the first to speak up, staring at Payton wide-eyed and exclaiming with surprise, “PAINT—”

He was cut off with a yelp of pain, followed by the sound of a thump under the table. Payton cast their gaze towards Lila, who looked daggers at the red fan. …Did she just kick him?!

Lila looked up at Payton and laughed it off, waving her hand dismissively, “Oh, don't mind him! The guy probably just mistakened you for someone he knew!”

“That makes two of you,” Payton smirked, their remark receiving a dramatic glare from the bulb, which made them chuckle.

The vial pat the hand fan's back in an attempt to comfort him, turning back to Payton after.

“Uh.. hello! I'm Tessa, and that's Dan.”

“Payton,” the brush gave a friendly smile in return.

“Oh, I knew that already.”

“...What? How?”

Tessa caught herself, stammering awkwardly, until Lila chimed in, “Oh, I told em’ about ya! It'd be weird if I didn't, hah, they're my roommates and best friends after all!”

“Ohh,” Payton nodded with understanding, “...actually, I've gotta admit, I kinda did the same thing with my friends.”

“Really? Who's these mystery friends of yours, huh?”

Payton gestured towards a booth across the room, where April and Marcy sat, discussing something.

They turned their attention back towards Lila and her friends, who stared at their own friends.

They almost seemed… pensive? But before Payton could comment on it, Lila spoke up once more.

“That apple and marsh, ey? How long have you known ‘em?”

“Oh, way back! Since elementary, actually.” Payton beamed.

Lila nodded, showing a clear interest in almost everything the brush had to say. In the corner of their eye, Payton noticed Dan and Tessa exchanging puzzled glances.

“Soo… how long have you three known each other?” Payton asked.

The three blurted out three overlapping answers.

“Since forever.”
“High school!”
“Like, three months?”

Payton stared at them in bewilderment, unsure how to respond.

“Oh, sorry, sorry! My memory ain't really what it used to be!” Lila chuckled sheepishly.

“How old even are you?” Payton asked, still confused by their previous answer.

“Like, 24.”

That wasn't even that old…

“Uh,” Payton rubbed the back of their neck, “Me too.”

“Woah, really? Hah, what a coincidence!” Lila grinned.

Despite still being thrown off by the three objects’ behavior, Payton couldn't help but chuckle. Lila's smile was just too contagious to resist.

“Yeah, I guess so, huh?” They side-eyed their table, noticing Marcy staring at them, “Uh, actually, maybe I should get back to my friends.”

“Aw, so soon? Well, hey! Maybe we could hang out sometime or somethin’?” Lila suggested as Payton turned away.

“Yeah, sounds good,” Payton nodded, not fully comprehending Lila's suggestion as they headed back to their table. They could faintly hear Tessa sigh, “I think we scared them off…”

“That was weird,” Payton muttered, slumping down in their seat.

“That's what happens when you go and talk to strangers,” Marcy remarked, which made the brush frown.

“Why are you being so weird about this, Marcy?” Payton asked, crossing their arms on the table and leaning forward.

“It's just…” Marcy trailed off, trying to find the right words, “It's very, uh, uncharacteristic of you to be so… friendly to someone so soon?”

“Are you saying I'm an unpleasant person?” Payton teased.

“Nono, I mean,” Marcy tapped her finger against the table, “You're acting… buddy-buddy with her, like you already knew her or something.”

Payton raised an eyebrow at that statement, surprised by how Marcy practically read their mind.

They noticed it themself— they felt strangely comfortable around Lila. Usually, it'd take time for them to warm up to someone, but they had no trouble doing so with her. Lila truly felt like some sort of long-time friend to them.

“Yeah, I guess that's sorta odd for me,” Payton mumbled, shrugging. They didn't appreciate how much Marcy was dwelling on this topic, but they couldn't really blame her for being suspicious.

Marcy noticed Payton's increasing discomfort and exhaled, her expression softening to a small smile, “...Sorry. It's not like it's a bad thing, anyway. You just made a new friend!”

“Yeah, I-”

Payton was cut off by a waiter placing a bowl of mac and cheese in front of April, who threw her hands in the air in triumph.

“YES! FINALLY!” She exclaimed excitedly.

“Jeez, that long for some mac and cheese?” Payton chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, let's go somewhere else next time,” Marcy joked, picking up her sandwich.

April giggled, nodding in agreement as she began listing other restaurants they could eat at.

As Marcy and April continued to chat, Payton wordlessly twirled their fork, encasing it within pasta noodles. Their gaze drifted towards the table across the room, where Lila sat, conversing with her own friends, until she noticed the brush staring at her.

She paused, then waved enthusiastically, a wide grin plastered on her face.

Payton waved back, a smile creeping up on their own.