vagabond ; mc

seven ;

Dahlia and Michael spent the rest of the afternoon customizing the clothes he had bought at the thrift store. Dahlia had managed to talk Michael out of buying used underwear and socks as if it were some kind of miracle. And on the way home, they stopped by the mall and Dahlia used her own money to buy Michael two packs of underwear and two packs of socks, despite Michael's pleas to use his own money.

But she felt bad, making him spend more money on new when he wanted to spend less on used clothes. It only made sense that she'd pay for them.

And when they got home, Michael asked for a pair of scissors. Dahlia pulled open a drawer, handing over a pair of scissors and keeping one or herself. They had sat down in front of the sofa, Say Yes to the Dress on the television again as they started to rip and shred Michael's clothes.

They laid out the shirts on the floor, cutting holes around the color and smaller holes dotting the body. Michael even went as far as cutting the hems off completely, leaving the edges frayed with loose strings. Dahlia actually enjoyed destroying the clothes they bought.

Like Michael had said, it made them unique and personalized to how they liked it. She thought about doing it to some of her clothes, but not going as far as ripping holes in the fabric and tearing the collar apart.

Once they had gone through the whole bag of clothes Michael had bought (except for the socks and underwear, Dahlia wouldn't let him touch them,) he leaned back against the sofa, sighing. Dahlia shot him a curious look, watching as he spread his legs out in front of him.

"I don't know about you," Michael said, his hands coming up to rub his stomach. "But I worked up quite the appetite," he grinned slyly.

Dahlia rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you say that when you're not the one paying for dinner," she quirked an eyebrow at him. But she was only teasing. She had no problem with paying for dinner.

"Hey!" Michael said, his eyes going wide. "I won that game fair and square. You knew the wager."

Dahlia chuckled with a grin, "Yeah, I did. Now stop being such a potato and get up. We have a dinner to get to."

Michael took Dahlia's proffered hand and steadied himself once he was standing. Dahlia grabbed her essentials (Michael grabbing his own backpack) before they both headed out the door to go eat. Dahlia didn't tell Michael where they were headed, but all he knew was that they weren't going back to the diner he knew quite well.

They had passed by it, Dahlia peeking inside to see who was working as they walked by, but she didn't linger long. She kept walking, showing Michael the way to one of her favorite restaurants.

"So remember my uncle at the boardwalk?" Dahlia asked, as they got close. Michael nodded. "Well, his wife owns this place," Dahlia pointed. Michael followed the direction she was pointing in to find a home-style restaurant. It was a sit down place, but every one still loved going there.

"Do you have any other relatives that own things around here?" Michael asked, looking at her incredulous, holding open the door for her to enter first.

Dahlia laughed. "That's just one side of my family, Michael. On my dad's side, his sister owns the town Laundromat," she bit her lip as they approached the hostess stand.

"Just two?" The hostess started, but stopped herself. "Oh, hey, Dahlia. Usual table?" She asked. Dahlia grinned and nodded. The hostess grabbed two menus before leading them towards the back of the restaurant.

"My cousin, Rebecca," Dahlia explained as they followed her. Michael shook his head, slightly rolling his eyes in amusement. Rebecca sat them at Dahlia's usual table, which was in the back corner near the bathrooms. The building had been a bar before this, turning where the alcohol was served into an ice cream bar instead. And right by the bathrooms was a billiards table.

Once seated and their drink orders taken, they finally settled. "I usually come here with Ashton and my friends. We would come here every day after school and study and eat. It was our usual hang out if we weren't at the diner," Dahlia explained, flipping open her menu.

"So I take it you're good at pool then?" He asked, glancing to the table that no one was occupying at the moment.

"Actually, no," Dahlia laughed. "I suck at it. Ashton has tried to teach me some tips, but nothing ever worked," she shrugged. "What about you?"

"I'm pretty okay at it," Michael said. "I played a lot in Germany. Spent a lot of time in bars there," he explained with a small wink. Dahlia laughed, rolling her eyes, but she mentally added Germany to the list of places Michael had been in his lifetime.

"Maybe you could show me," Dahlia said. "After we place our orders."

Michael stared at her for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, okay," he agreed.

Rebecca returned shortly after with their drinks in clear glasses. This time, Michael didn't order off of the children's menu per Dahlia's request. He had ordered a small steak with asparagus on the side and Dahlia had ordered a grilled chicken Caesar salad.

"You still up for pool?" Michael asked with an arched brow. Dahlia nodded.

They both slid from the booth, walking the short distance to the pool table. They each picked their cue stick, Dahlia choosing a smaller, shorter one and Michael the opposite – longer and skinnier. He set the rack, making sure the balls were in the right order for the break.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Michael asked, gesturing to the triangle of object balls sitting on the table. Dahlia hesitated, but nodded. She grabbed the chalk, circling it on the end of her cue stick until she was satisfied.

She positioned herself on the opposite side of the table, leaning over the cloth surface and aiming with the cue. She closed her eye for good measure. The cue stick moved easily between her fingers and then she snapped back, hitting the cue ball hard and breaking the triangle with a sharp crack.

The colored object balls broke away from each other quickly, some of them bouncing off the sides, but one of them finally sinking into the corner pocket. "I have stripes," Dahlia said. "You have solids."

"That wasn't a bad break," Michael said, impressed. Dahlia aimed again, pocketing two more balls before she missed a shot. "I thought you said you were bad at this," Michael said, leaning against his cue stick.

Dahlia shrugged. "I guess I'm not doing so bad this time around. Wanna make a bet?" She asked, coming to stand next to him.

Michael looked at her skeptically. "Didn't you learn your lesson last night? It's kinda the reason we're here right now," he said. Dahlia shrugged. Michael chuckled slightly, but agreed. "Okay, name your terms."

"If I win, you have to tell me a story about your travels. And if you win, you can ask me anything you want, sound fair?" She asked, mirroring his position, but her stick was too short to lean against.

Michael thought for a moment before speaking. "Why not make it even and you tell me a story about you too?" He asked. Dahlia nodded, holding her hand out. Michael slipped his hand into hers, shaking it with a firm grasp before he took his turn on the table.

He scoped out his shot, hitting the cue square on, but only bumping the object ball he was going for. He clucked his tongue out of annoyance. "Not doing so well, huh?" Dahlia asked, coming around to the side of the table the cue ball had rolled to.

Michael rolled his eyes. "Someone's a little confident for saying she sucked earlier," Michael gave her a pointed look.

Dahlia simply grinned. "Who said I was telling the truth?"