Just Me - [S. Barber]

Awkward Tension

"You fucked Stanley Barber?! You fucked Stanley Barber!" Dina shouts for practically the whole finer diner to hear as Liam and Lia sit a few seats down.

Lia looks back at the two, sighing and rolling her eyes. "Y-You don't have to keep repeating it. Liam and Lia are right there." Sydney says awkwardly as she glances at her siblings.

"Don't bother, we can hear everything." Lia responds. Dina lets out a laugh. "Sorry. I'm just processing."

Sydney chuckles. "So, how was it?" Dina inquires. "It was.... great." Sydney lies. "Yeah, right." Lia mutters under her breath, catching Liam's attention.

"What are they talking about?" He asks curiously. "Nothing, Bud." Lia smiles, ruffling his orange curls.

Dina practically chokes on her drink. "Really?" She asks in disbelief. "Really. I mean...so good at going down on me, I was like, 'whoa!'" She adds. Lia chokes on her drink, attempting not to laugh.

Sydney, who notices this, glares at her sister from across the room. "So you wanna hook up again?" Dina questions. Sydney nervously smiles for a moment, before speaking up.

"One hundred percent." She laughs. As Dina checks her phone, Sydney motions her hand at Lia, forcing her to turn around and quit eavesdropping.

"Going down on what?" Liam asks. "Uh... going down on...the FBI's most wanted. Yeah, Stan's done some crazy shit." Lia responds, taking a sip from her milkshake.

"Syd?" Liam speaks up as the three of them make their way home from the diner. "Yeah?" She asks.

"Where did Stan go?"

Lia's eyes widen as she lets out an agressive cough. "What do you mean?" Sydney questions in confusion. "You said that Stan was going down somewhere." He responds.

A rush of panic crosses the girl. "No! No, I didn't." She shakes her head. "Yeah, you did." He argues. "Dude, She didn't." Lia speaks up.

"You said it yourself. He's on the FBI's most wanted list or something. I just don't believe you." The young boy argues. Lia places her hand on her heart, scoffing. "I'm hurt."

"Syd, you told Dina that Stan was going down somewhere. And that he was really good at it." He continues. "Good going, Syd." Lia rolls her eyes. "Would you shut up?" The eldest sibling says through gritted teeth.

"Yup. Um, he's, um... he's going down south to Mexico, and he's, Uh, really good at it 'cause he's such a great, Uh... traveler. He's a very efficient packer." Sydney says nervously. "Yeah! Totally. And being the traveler that he is, he went to a place that no one has ever been to." Lia crosses her arms, raising her eyebrows at Sydney.

"Maybe another country wanted him to travel to it instead of going to south Mexico, huh?" Sydney responds, causing Lia to go silent. "South Mexico isn't dumb." Sydney adds.

"Uh... that's cool." Liam cuts off their argument. "There he is now." He points out. "Oh, yeah, huh." Sydney says emotionless. "Fuck." Lia mutters, keeping her gaze on the ground.

Stanley pulls up, beginning to slowly roll his window down, letting a creaking sound come from it. "What's he doing?" Liam questions. "Just wait." Both girls respond.

"Hey." Stanley says. "Hey." Sydney smiles anxiously. Lia attempts to look away, but catches his eye for a moment. "Hey. Hey, Stan." She purses her lips.

"Hi." Liam adds. "Hi." Stan smiles, then looks at Sydney. "So, it's good to see you again."

"Yeah." She giggles. "Yeah, you too."

"So, do you wanna... do you wanna, like, so somethin' later tonight or somethin'?" He suggests. Sydney opens her mouth to speak, yet nothing comes out.

"You know, I would, but Dina, Lia, and I are going to Ricky Berry's party." Sydney says. "We are?" Lia asks, causing Sydney's hand to quickly cover the girl's mouth.

"Not shit? I'll be there too." Stanley grins. "Oh, you will?" Sydney's smile drops. "Yeah." He nods.

"Ah. Okay, right." Sydney chuckles. "So, I guess we'll see you there." Lia cuts in, attempting to break the tension. "And we gotta go." Sydney adds. "Right now." She grabs her sister's forearm, forcefully pulling her away.

"Okay? It's— it's—bye" She salutes him before running off.

"Bye, Stanley!" Lia calls out. "Bye, Lee." He sighs.