Friends With Benefits | Dylan O'brien

05: Stay Healthy, Take Your Shots

"You good?" A voice jumps me out of my flashback of the dream I'd had yesterday. My heart beat fast—in not one but two places.

Fuck. I'm scolding myself once again for the way my mind keeps going back to the odd dream and playing it over and over again. It's torturous and freaking me out because—one; I have a boyfriend and two; it's Dylan, my childhood best friend and dreams always somehow feel so weird because of how real and connected it makes you feel towards someone.

I turn to Jo, my coworker and nod with a distracted smile. I know she doesn't buy it but she lets it go anyway because a few more people line up outside.

Lunch rush has finally come to a slow, only two more customers in line and I couldn't be more glad because my feet are killing me. I finish up the first customer as Jo takes care of the last one and then I begin to count tips, splitting them evenly between her and I. Thirteen dollars each. Thirteen more dollars to my savings.

"Sorry, I'm new here" Jo says with an innocent giggle to the customer after accidentally dropping the cooked hot dog on the ground and I suppress a laugh because she's in fact not new here. She's been working here for 2 years but she tells the customers this any time she does something wrong.

"Ew, I hate men." Jo grimaces when the older man has left the concession stand. I laugh and then grimace as well looking out after the man, watching him rub at his big gut. I was feeling bad that she had to pity laugh at his horribly unfunny dad jokes as an obvious attempt to get her to swoon. It didn't work.

I look away from him to all the scattered people in the swimming pool. The weather is getting hotter every day as May approaches but thankfully we have AC in here.

I catch myself with a looming smile as I lean against the counter. This is the best job you could have. Working concession stand, an easy job for ten dollars an hour and free access to the pool.

"It's so obvious how desperate they are for your attention. They're whores, it's disgusting. Honestly normalize slut shaming men," she continues on and I'm laughing because she sounds so serious about the matter.

"You remind me of Niyah," I say with a smile. And it's true because Niyah's always expressing her disgust towards boys, despite talking about how they're only good for sex and most of the time not even that.

"Niyah, the twin best friend, right?"

I nod. "Except she's a bit more feisty."

"Someone feistier than me? I'm offended," she replies with mock shock.

I chuckle, wiping down the counter. "I want you to meet her sometime."

I met Jo working here last summer and we've always said we needed to hang out but never actually made the effort to make the plans. I've learned she is a senior who goes to the next school over, which is Logan High, one of our many rival schools in sports.

"What's her sign?"

I gape at her and let out an unbelievable laugh. Of course.

"Yeah, you have to meet her. She's into that stuff too."

She chuckles at this, throwing her dark hair up into another fixed pony tail and then fixing her crooked nose ring.