NOAH

Ch. 5

Chapter 5

A bell dings above me as I push open to the door to the small fast food joint. The scent of fried potatoes fills my nostrils as the sounds of bubbling grease enters my ears. A man argues with a teenage cashier as I walk up to the counter, waiting for an employee.

"Can I help you?" A male cashier, twice my size, asks me.

I ask if they're hiring and he sits me in a booth near the bathroom until the manger is available. The smell of burgers is overpowered by the smell of digested meals, causing me to turn my head away from the flushing sounds.

A man sitting with his wife catches my eye. He holds her hand, smiling as he wipes ice cream from her nose. He picks up the cup, smashing it against her face.

I can't help but wonder if it's real love or just for show. Does this actually exist? DO people actually care for each other like this? Bond with each other like this? I wonder if my parents loved each other like this. I wonder what happened to them.

I wonder if I'll ev- No, I won't even fill my head with that.

She continues to wipe the iced treat from her face and he moves closer to her, licking the rest from around her mouth. I frown. It's too much now. Way too much to be real.

I'm broken from my trance when a short, plump, woman speaks to me. "We're not hiring."

Truth be told, I'm no longer interested.

***

"Freddy."

"Nicole! More smokes?"

I smile, stepping out of a mans way as he rushes in to the store. "No, not today. I have a question."

He waves me over to the counter, his cologne filling my nostrils with his familiar scent. A smile crosses his face as he turns to me, wiping the counter. "What's up?"

I rub my hands together, hoping for the right answer to my question. "Are you hiring?"

A sad tone takes to his smile. "I'm sorry, Nic. Business is slow and I can barely afford to pay the people who do work here."

"I thought you had a rush after Romeo and his friends showed up."

He sighs, leaning against the counter. "It died down after a couple days and now I have one more mouth to feed with Joey back in my house."

I nod, understanding his financial situation. It was one thing to be struggling, but another to be struggling and taking care of your junkie son. Still, it sucked that the one place I thought would hire me couldn't take on anymore salaries.

Sensing the defeat in my expression, Freddy perks up. "How about I let you take some junk for free?"

I smile, backing away to the candy aisle. "Thanks, Fred."

My hands instinctively fly to the sour gummy bears, them being my favorite. I debate on grabbing one more pack of the sugary goodness, but decide not to be greedy and be grateful for what I have.

"You're beautiful," I hear behind me.

I spin around, coming face to face with the guy who rushed past me earlier. His eyes trail up my body, head tilting to get a better look. My hands tighten around the bears as I analyze my surroundings. No weapon coming to view. If push comes to shove, I'll pour sugar in his eyes and run out the door.

He smiles, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm not perving, just admiring."

I make a small tear in the package, ready to strike. "Is that so?"

He nods, probably thinking I've let my guard down and goes back to admiring. I turn around, saying bye to Freddy as I rush out of the store. My hands tremble when my eyes land on the creep who's still behind me.  I tear open the package as I round a corner. But, before I can turn around, I'm knocked backwards with a thud. A dainty hand reaches out and holds onto me so I don't hit the ground.

I look up into Hana's onyx eyes, a slight relief pouring over me when I see the boys beside her. "Sorry."

Noah's eyes glance at something behind me and I turn around satisfied when I see the man is walking in the other direction. He probably found a much better candidate to harass.

When I turn back around, Noah is smiling at me. "Hey, Raine."

I plop a sour bear into my mouth, savoring the tart flavor. "Hi."

Hana smiles at me. "What are you doing out here?"

"Sightseeing."

Blake chuckles, glancing around the run down area. "What a sight."

Hana elbows him, earning a glare in her direction. "You should come hang out with us some time."

Noah steals a gummy bear from my bag. "Yeah, you should come with us."

"Don't touch my gummy bears."

He holds his hands up, a mischievous smile in place. "I would never."

Hana shakes her head before turning to me. "Seriously, anytime you want."

I nod, walking backwards past them. "I'll call you."

They nod, Noah waving bye as they walk off in the other direction. I laugh to myself, chewing on a sticky bear.

If only I had your number.

A/N:

Just a tiny reminder to point out any typos you see. I sometimes miss them because I just translate the words to be correct in my head, so it would really help if you see any that I've missed. :)

Happy reading!