the diner - harry styles (short story)

1

it was hot, 
it was always hot. the crickets were endlessly chirping and the sun seemed to always beat down upon the pavement, causing soft ripples across riley's line of vision as she stared out into the empty car park. she leant against the bench of the old diner and sighed as she peered up at the aged clock on the wall in front of her, two hours, she had two excruciatingly painful hours left of her shift before she was free. until tomorrow morning, that is.

her eyes began to sting slightly from the bright fluorescent lights shining down harshly on her, she was bored, so bored. it was a tuesday afternoon, 1 pm, no one was coming in, she questioned the point of her even being there, john could genuinely hold this whole place up with one finger. riley looked up to him, he was an old guy, his husband and he bought up this place from the ground 30 years ago and it continued to be a successful business venture. as much as riley was sick of the food here, it was good, really good. they were known for their bacon hamburgers, impecable fries and beautifully thick milkshakes, the best in town some might say. 

a soft ache started to run though the bottom of riley's feet as she straightened her back up again and looked around for something to consume herself with, she had wiped down the tables three times, washed utensils and swept the floors until they were almost sparkling. she sighed in exasperation,
"you know, if you're really that bored you can go home," john's voice carried from the kitchen making her jump slightly. her heart seemed to skip a beat as her face beamed with joy,
"really?" she spun around, grinning widely at him, his face faltered,

"no," he stated, her smile dropped, "i need company," riley stood on her tip-toes and looked over the half wall to see him sitting at the metal table with receipts and papers surrounding him, he looked up at her with pleading eyes, wrinkles creasing his forehead, "and help," riley shook her head in disgust, "please help me," he pleaded,

"no way hozay," she denied him immediately, "you bought this onto yourself," he sighed deeply, his breath fanning out the light reciepts everywhere, he quickly scavenged them back up and placed them back in order, 
"i'll make you a milkshake," he smiled up at her and she raised her eyebrows up at him, "spearmint," she raised her eyebrows again, "double shot," riley grinned and nodded quickly and came around into the kitchen and sat down across from him. it was almost silent whilst she began putting the receipts in order of date, the music playing out in the diner was muffled and the soft voices seemed to carry through. after a few minutes john placed an extravagantly green milkshake in front of her, and her eyes lit up. she was quick to take large sips of the drink and the minty goodness filled her mouth. she leant back into the chair and sighed with glee, 
"have i mentioned how much i love working for you?" she smiled at him, he looked down at her and lifted one of his eyebrows, 
"only the last 30 times i've given you a milkshake." the two of them sat in a comfortable silence as they worked through bills and loose sheets of paper, john sighed in frustration as he tried to make an order to the mess, "i wish michael wouldn't just shove these in a drawer, he should be the one doing this not me, i should be at home," 
"where is he anyway?" she asked out of curiosity, 
"out of town, his mum's sick," he replied, she nodded and gave him a sympatheic look, 
"sorry," she mumbled as they fell back into a silence and continued shuffling papers around, that was until the bell above the door rang and loud footsteps echoed throughout the diner.