"Fiona, table four!" Ana shouted over her shoulder as she quickly placed a plate of toast in front of a customer. It was a Saturday morning, a day where she usually had off, and the breakfast rush was running the girl wild. And of course, Beth had to call off. It had been three days since Michael had been in the restaurant, and Ana decided she most likely would never seem him again.
She wouldn't admit it to herself, or Fiona for that matter, but the idea of not seeing his bright smile disappointed her somewhat. But, she didn't have time for distractions. She already had too much to do, too much to take care of. Helena had kept her up most of the morning, her loud retching keeping her from a decent rest.
"You got it dude!" Fiona called across the room, making her way over to table four.
Ana breathed deeply, looking around the room for any unhappy looking customers. "Hey, Ana, more coffee!" She turned to see Terry at his usual spot, his loud grunt filling the room.
"Anything for you, Terry." She half smiled. She busied herself as she went to make a new pot, telling the man they were fresh out and it would take a few minutes. Her feet were killing her, and she could never understand why their boss always made them were such uncomfortable shoes. They were white with a small heel, and Ana wanted nothing more than to throw them in the trash.
"Hello, Ana."
The girl whirled around, seeing the bright boy sitting in the same spot he had just a few days ago. He was wearing the same jean jacket, while a black t-shirt laid underneath. And of course, his signature smile plastered on his lips.
"Michael." She smiled, stepping closer. "I didn't expect to see you again."
His smile dropped slightly. "You...you wanted to right?"
"Of course!" She nodded her head, placing her hands on the bar. "Of course, I'm happy to see you!" She cringed slightly at the sight of more customers coming in.
Michael took in her disheveled appearance. Her face was slightly reddened while she tried to catch her breath, her hair laid in a braid down the spine of her back. And her uniform had coffee stains all over it. Despite the mess, she looked beautiful. He smiled at her words, happy that she was pleased.
"Ana, my coffee!"
"Just a second, Terry!" Ana smiled at him, clenching her fist.
She turned back to Michael with a huff. "It's just...a terrible time right now."
His smile dropped, making her frown. "But, I get off at two o'clock today! How about we hang out after work?" She had never "hung out" with a boy before, and she hadn't even really registered what it was that she said. She just didn't want him to be upset.
"Really?" He asked.
She nodded. "It's still a few hours from now, do you have a phone? I can call you once I'm finished."
He looked confused, watching her with narrowed eyes. "Can I just wait here?" He peered up to her with blue eyes.
And while she wondered why he would rather wait in a crowded diner for two hours, she really didn't have the time to question it. Smiling, she reached behind her to grab a piece of peach pie and placed it in front of him.
"Sounds fine to me." She patted his jean covered arm with her hand. "If you need anything just yell for Jasper." She pointed through the open gap in the wall that lead to the kitchen.
Michael nodded, watching her as she poured coffee for the rude man. He was grumbling, and while Ana simply smiled at him, Michael was irritated at the man's unkindly actions. He looked down to his pie, and then to the the arm she had touched. It had felt good, the physical contact. It made him feel...warm inside. A feeling he didn't really know how to process.
He had wanted to see her sooner, but he had a difficult time getting away from Ms. Mead. She was starting to crack down on him, frustrated that he was having such a hard time finding his path. He knew it wasn't a good idea to be hanging around Ana, but he also knew he didn't want to stop seeing her. He didn't know her hardly at all, but he couldn't help the way he felt. Simply, the girl interested him. He wanted to know her more.
So, for the remainder of Ana's workload, she busied herself by taking order after order. She would catch herself on occasion peeking at Michael. He was seventeen, grown. He could take care of himself. But his innocence told her otherwise. Sometimes the customers could get rough, and she just wanted to look out for him. She was cringing at the way she had touched his arm. She felt like she had been too straightforward, like she was, in fact, "acting like a whore". At least, that's the way her mother had put it.
But the touch had made her feel giddy, like a silly schoolgirl. She felt herself blush as she remembered it, hiding the smirk behind her lips as she hurriedly wrote down orders. She felt his eyes on her every once in a while, and it always made her straighten herself, not wanting to seem clumsy in front of him.
And when two o'clock finally came, Ana signaled her finger towards him as she ran into the back, grabbing her bag and heading into the employee bathroom. She felt ridiculous as she stood in the mirror criticizing her features. She changed into a pair of dark jeans, wearing a soft white sweater and a pair of old converse. She sniffed under arm, thanking the heavens she didn't smell. But for good measure, she took the bottle of febreze that sat on top of the toilet and lightly sprayed herself.
She exited the break room, eyes gleaming as they settled on Michael. "Hey, you ready?" She asked, standing beside his seat.
He stood up abruptly, towering over her. His eyes were slightly bugged out of the sockets as he took in her appearance. He was staring intently at her, making Ana shift her weight nervously. "Yeah." He nodded, smiling.
Ana nodded back.
Exiting the restaurant, the two began making their way down Palm Street. "So...what do you wanna do?" Ana asked nervously.
Michael looked at her. "I don't know. I've never done this before."
The girl narrowed her eyes as she watched the people go by them. "You mean you've never hung out with anyone before?"
Michael looked down embarrassed. "No. I've never...I've never had a friend before."
Ana looked up to him that time, feeling sorry for the boy. She didn't pity him though, or assure him with kind words, if anything, she related to him. She understood it, not being able to live life with friends.
"Well," She gained his attention, knocking her shoulder into his. "You've got one now."
Michael stopped, causing her to do the same. "Really?" He smiled, causing Ana to do the same.
"Really." She assured.
They began walking again, Michael happily processing the fact that he now had a friend. "What do friends do?" He asked curiously.
Ana kicked a rock with her foot as she mulled over his words. "Well...friends look out for each other. They take care of one another. Treat them like family." She really wasn't that knowledgeable when it came to friendship. Really, she was just pulling the information out of her ass. She didn't spend enough time with anyone to really know what friends did. She just said what her heart told her to.
Michael was quiet as he processed her words.
"Do you have a family?" He finally questioned.
Ana felt herself grow embarrassed. The family card was always a difficult one to explain. "Well, I wouldn't really call it that but...yeah." She chucked as she looked at him.
He blushed at her laughter. "What do you mean?"
Ana pointed her finger to a playground, changing their direction as she tugged on his arm. "I mean...let's just say my mother won't be winning any number one mom awards." She rolled her eyes.
Michael looked down when she let go of his arm. "Is she a bad person?"
Boy, did he ask a lot of questions. "No." She defended wholeheartedly. "No, she's not a bad person. She just...she misses my dad." She frowned.
"What happened to him?" Michael couldn't help the questions he was asking, he was so intrigued to know more about the girl.
They paused at a crossing as cars drove past them. Looking up to him, she shrugged her shoulders. "Cancer."
"I miss him, but...I've gotten over it. Mom never has. And to be honest with you, I don't think she ever will." Michael could detect a small ounce of sadness in her voice, but she masked it well. One thing he knew about his new friend was that she was very strong.
Before he could ask anymore questions, Ana beat him to it. "What about you?"
The two began walking across the highway when the light turned green. Ana smirked to herself when she noticed Michael eyeing the cars skeptically. "My grandma died. So, now I live with Miriam. But she's more of a mother to me than my real one was. She tried to kill me."
Ana's mouth gaped open as they continued walking. She looked up to the boy in shock. "Oh, my God...I'm so sorry." She perplexed. Her reaction had been on the dramatic side, but when told that sort of information, how else is one expected to react?
"And to think I had it bad." She chuckled humorlessly, cringing as she clamped her mouth shut.
"It's like what you said." He turned to her and smiled. "I've gotten over it."
Ana wanted to press more on the subject, but she realized it wasn't any of her business. Taking a deep breath, she took his arm and dragged him towards the playground, smiling at the small children that inhabited the area.
"I remember this place." Michael said amazed as he observed the area. "My grandma used to bring me here.
"So, did my parents." Ana remembered, taking a seat at the swing.
Michael copied her movements, smiling as he slowly swung back and forth.
Ana rotated her ankle in front of her, wincing at the blisters she felt forming on the bottom of her heel.
"Why do you work there?" Michael questioned over to her, watching the pain etch across her face.
Ana gripped the metal chains of the swing, turning towards him. "Well...to put it simply," She playfully pushed his swing with her foot. "If I don't make money...we get kicked out of our apartment."
Michael furrowed his brows, watching as she pushed him again. "But you're a kid? Shouldn't the adult do that?"
Ana stilled, watching him with a fascinated eye. Her mind kept going back and forth on him. He seemed so innocent at times, and then so mature, wise. "You would think that wouldn't you." Ana smirked. "Like I said, she just misses dad."
Tired of the depressing conversation, she stood up and began climbing the rock wall. Michael made his way towards her, watching her movements in confusing.
"This was always my favorite as a kid." She looked at him over her shoulder. "Well don't just stand there Langdon, come on."
Slowly, he matched her moments, gripping the wall extra tight as he climbed nervously. Ana watched him amused. "See? Not to difficult, huh?"
The two sat at the top, watching as the children played. Ana wanted to turn and stare at him, the sun was shining in his hair, making it seem golden. And his eyes sparkled, his skin looked to be made of marble.
And Michael wanted to do the same. He could see her curly hair try to unmake itself in her braid, tiny baby hairs flying about. Her eyes were a pale blue that sparkled in the light and her skin was snow white.
"When do you work again?" Michael built up the nerve to ask. They had been sitting in silence for several minutes.
Ana turned to him with a relieved smile, happy the awkwardness was gone. "Monday. Four to Ten."
"Can I come visit you again?" He asked.
Ana nodded. "Yeah. If you want...you can take my lunch break with me." She bit her lip nervously, cringing deep inside.
Michael looked to her lips and smiled. "Okay."
He hopped down to the ground, causing Ana to widen her eyes. He peered up to her and waved. "I have go now, Ana. I'm glad we're friends."
And with that, the boy turned and walked away, a spring in his step.
"Bye!" Ana shouted with a wave. The girl laughed to herself, bringing her finger up to her lips.
It was ridiculous, gawking over a boy she hardly knew. Frankly, she didn't have the time for it. She should have been home right now doing the dishes and folding the laundry. God knows Helena wasn't going to. But as she watched him vanish down the road, Ana felt no guilt. She deserved a friend, she deserved this happiness that stirred inside her chest.
She would just have to be careful, she couldn't let him disrupt things. Ana had too much to do.