THERE was a logical part of me that knew that Reese really couldn't have had anything to do with it, falling on my face was my own fault, gravity and such. I'd never been Angelina Ballerina before. But there was a vehement, gargantuan part that felt that it was most definitely all Reese's fault, clearly evidence of his Lucifer black magic, and that he was very much deserving of all the death glares I continued to burn into him during the car ride to the restaurant.
And well, that part was winning.
I sat in the backseat while holding an ice pack to my chin, the metallic taste of blood still seizing my taste buds, and glared. Catching Reese's eyes in the rear-view mirror, I narrowed my gaze even further. The telekinetic head-exploding trick still wasn't working, but that didn't stop me from trying.
"Oh, c'mon! You can't really think that this is my fault, do you?" he asked with a chuckle, eyebrows raised.
My expression didn't change. "Don't tell me how to think, Powers."
"You fell on your own! How could I have anything to do with that?"
"One, you're the antichrist. Two, you are actually Lucifer re-born. Three, you're the worst. Pick your favorite," I drawled, still staring daggers into Reese's face, and earning a giggle from Savannah next to me.
"Oh come on, guys, seriously? You all think I could possibly have anything to do with this?" His eyes darted between Savannah and Tyler for help.
The blonde shrugged and a chuckle reverberated in Tyler's throat as he gave a sheepish grin. "She makes a pretty convincing case, Reese. I don't know if I can choose."
"Thanks Tyler," I chirped, smiling faintly.
I was banking on this home-field advantage to get me through the night.
There was still a dull ache that was gripping tightly to my bruising chin, but I'd already accepted my blue-black fate. Shovelling expensive steak in my mouth might not have been a perfect cure-all, but it was a start, at least.
When we'd finally parked and clambered out of the car, a cool breeze invited us into the twilight. Goosebumps pricked on my arms and I shivered, jumping from foot-to-foot as I waited for Reese to finally climb out. Of course he'd take his sweet-ass time.
Savannah rubbed her arms next to me, and I rolled my eyes. "Before we're ninety would be nice, Reese. Savannah would probably like to keep all her extremities for now, and the temperature's dropping."
"I'm okay," she said softly, but I ignored her. It was beyond her at this point.
I tapped my foot impatiently. "Lips are turning blue, here!"
"I promise, the food is not going anywhere, you're going to live," Reese mockingly reassured me as his feet finally touched the gravel, and I shot him an unimpressed look. Before he could say another word, I turned on my heel and darted inside, uncaring if Reese followed or not.
Inside was decorated with no expense spared, all glittering chandeliers, luxurious dark wood, and perfectly ironed table cloths enveloped in a warm glow. Other than my brother's graduation and maybe a birthday here and there, my dine-out experiences usually consisted of the Taco Bell variety, maybe a Subway thrown in there for good measure. So to say that I was impressed was an understatement, and I was thankful that I wasn't underdressed.
"This is what we call a restaurant, my dear hobbit, please, don't get too excited," Reese mused next to me, a smirk carved into his face.
Immediately a sneer twisted on my mouth. "I officially have lowered the three-second rule to a two-second rule, try to look at Savannah for longer and I will choke you out with one of these tablecloths."
"What are you guys talking about?" Savannah asked as she stepped in, a cold gush of wind from the swinging door tousling the tips of her blonde hair.
"Just asking Stella if she's been here before," Reese grinned, betraying no trace of our conversation, all teeth and picturesque innocence.
"I think this is a first for both of us," Savannah said. "Have you been?"
I coughed, maybe a little too forcefully, interrupting Reese as he opened his mouth. "Tyler, what was the reservation under? Your name? Maybe you should go talk to the hostess, clear it all up, we'll follow you. Silently." I pointed the last bit towards Reese, who continued to scope the room with a faux-innocence.
Tyler took this as his cue and talked to the girl, looking quite bored at the hostess stand. She lead us through the restaurant to a quaint booth in the back, tucked behind a towering potted plant. I slid into the leather seat and beamed, a mixture of excitement and anxiety brewing within me.
While it might have been sad, this had been my first actual date. And it was a double-date. And Reese was there, but still. Crossing it off my memory check-list was undoubtedly a little exhilarating.
Glancing at the menu, my eyes widened as they rolled over the prices. I was definitely ordering a water.
A pout pushed out my bottom lip as Reese found his way right across from me. I shot him a confused look. He pretended he didn't see.
"This place is great, you guys will love it," Tyler said with a smile as he slid in next to Reese. "The steak here is amazing; you've got to try it."
"I'm actually a vegetarian," Savannah admitted, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear as her eyes glossed over the menu. "But it looks like they have some really great salads here, too. Maybe I'll have pasta."
"Really? So you're an animal-lover? Me too, actually," Reese beamed, leaning forward and cupping his chin in his hand, eyes sparkling.
I cocked my head, eyes curiously narrowing on him. "Oh yeah, Reese? You're just all about the animals today?"
He grinned. "Everyday, you know me. I love my cat more than anything. We're best friends."
Savannah placed her menu down, interest piqued. "I love cats, actually."
Reese's Chesire grin widened. "Oh yeah? You should come meet him sometime."
I felt my jaw clench, mouth pursing into a tight line as I counted way more than the agreed upon two-seconds I thought I had made quite clear. But I kept myself restrained, nodding my head as if it all made perfect sense. "Funny, I don't remember seeing this cat of yours. Tyler, have you seen this cat? This wonderful, very real cat?"
Tyler opened his mouth, but Reese was quicker, his unwavering stare trained on me in a challenge. "He's not too fond of strangers, actually. But I bet he'd love Savannah."
I bristled as a smirk dug into his cheek, and I could feel the flames of irritation begin to lick at my ribcage. Clearing my throat, I placed my menu down and pointed a carefully constructed smile in Reese's direction, too wide and saccharine to be genuine.
"Imaginary cats do have a tendency to go for blondes don't they?"
"Kind of like how your imagination tends to go for Ryans, doesn't it?" he countered, grinning just as wide.
My nostrils flared and instinctively I jabbed my foot in Reese's direction, narrowing my eyes at his pretentiously idiotic face. However, my direction must've gotten lost under the table as it was Tyler who yelped at the sudden impact, causing a flood of silence to wash over everyone.
For a moment I sat there, cheeks burning like molten lava and absolute mortification coursing through my veins. Tyler was protectively rubbing his shin, and no one was saying anything.
My first real date and I kicked him under the table. Because that was my life. And this was what rock bottom felt like.
"I think I saw a dog run by," I announced, maybe (definitely) a little louder than intended.
Correction: this was what rock bottom felt like.
Reese covered up a snort with a clearing of the throat, and then nodded his head, amusement written all over his face. "Yes," he hummed, "Those dogs in restaurants. They can get kind of nippy."
Then our waitress materialized at the end of the table, and I had never been so grateful for service in my entire life. There was my redheaded guardian angel, dressed in black and saving me from my own very real doom. My entire life savings were going toward her tip.
Not like I had any dignity left to give anyway.
"And were you guys ready to order food?" the young girl asked, blinking up at us with pen and notepad in hand.
"I was thinking about getting the California greens salad," Savannah piped up, eyes still rolling over the menu, and then looking to us. "Were you guys ready? I don't mean to rush."
"I'll also get the same thing. California greens." The pleased look that Reese emanated was almost palpable.
I made a face at him. Reese responded by inching his fingers across the table, closer to where Savannah's innocent hand was resting.
Breathing in deep, I reminded myself that if I jumped over and slammed his face into the table I might get charged with assault, considering our circumstances. And so instead, reluctantly, I swallowed and exhaled.
"I'll have the teriyaki steak." I smiled too-pleasantly, pushing my menu across the table and purposely hitting Reese's hand away in the process. "Thank you."
Reese threw me a look like he knew what game I was playing, but I turned my attention toward Savannah and Tyler instead, hoping that the less attention I paid to Reese the less he would appear. It was one of those last-ditch tactics like throwing yourself over a grenade or chewing your own arm off.
"So, Tyler," I hummed, smiling pleasantly and only realizing after I'd captured his attention that I had nothing to say. "... Did you do okay on that last Geography test?"
Mentally I cringed. Physically, I smiled harder. I knew small talk would be the death of me. Reese unsuccessfully tried to hide his chuckle underneath a clearly forced cough.
But Tyler's reply was an easy grin. "I did okay, but I definitely think I can do better. Did you want to study together next time?"
My eyes widened, sparkling with joy, mouth falling open in surprise. There was a beat of silence where I couldn't find the words, and so I just nodded, maybe a little too vigorously. "I- yes! That would be great!"
Tyler chuckled. "Awesome, sorry Reese I'll be stealing your physics tutor away, hope you don't mind too much."
Savannah cocked a brow but I just beamed back, too excited by future study dates with Tyler to care about that close brush with the truth.
Reese rested his chin in his palm, gaze averted. "No problem, just make sure you bring her back," he mumbled.
Tyler and I shared another grin across the table, and despite myself, there was a new hope sparked in my lungs. Maybe the night wouldn't be a disaster after all.
By the time food had come around, though, the hope was dwindling. It was small talk abound, and even though I tried to get a word in, Reese was relentless. He was pelting Savannah with question after question, consistently cutting off Tyler and I, to my annoyance. The conversation between him and Savannah continued to bounce back and forth, so quickly that my eyes were bobbing from person to person as if it were a tennis match. I'd given up trying to throw a word in, and so succumbed to shovelling steak in my mouth.
It was pretty classy. And also delicious, really, way above my pay-grade but probably the best thing I was ever going to eat.
As another laugh trickled down Savannah's tongue, I swallowed, finding that too-enthusiastically severing my steak with a knife was not giving me the satisfaction I needed. Too much energy continued to vibrate underneath my skin. There needed to be bone. Reese's cries of pain. Something that would get him to shut up.
This was my date with Tyler, not the peanut gallery to whatever Reese wrongfully thought this was.
"Anyway, Tyler, thanks for inviting us out, that was really nice of you," I hummed, smiling over at the boy. "It's a really nice place, so thanks."
Tyler waved this off easily. "No worries, really, I mean it was really all Re-"
"Savannah you look beautiful tonight," Reese blurted out, stopping Tyler mid-sentence with a warm-hearted smile in the blonde's direction. "I mean, you do everyday, but especially tonight."
I choked very lady-like as a oversized bit of steak lodged itself in my throat with the quick intake of breath I made. Tyler shot me a look of concern as I coughed it up, pounding my chest and fixing Reese with a very disturbed look, who was very much ignoring me. Instead while I was half-dying, they were sharing a very personable look over the table, with my imminent death merely a backdrop to their moment.
The blonde paused and the edge of her lip quirked upward, as she regarded Reese with a touched look of surprise. "Thanks Reese, that's really nice."
"Well, I'm not lying."
That was when I might've accidentally knocked over my water in his general direction.
I gasped with the psuedo-innocence that Reese had been employing all night. "Oops." I smiled too sweetly.
Reese immediately shot up as a puddle of ice-cold water drenched his crotch area, hopefully soaking through, and a rather low-brow curse hissed quite loudly through his teeth. I hoped that I didn't look too pleased at his pain, but really, it was hard not to.
"I'm so sorry," I continued, shrugging sheepishly. "That was a total accident."
Reese shot me a look that told me he knew that it was anything but.
Tyler allowed for Reese to waddle toward the bathroom with napkins over his crotch, which admittedly caused me to laugh a little at how ridiculous he looked. He was walking like a penguin. He looked so stupid. It was glorious.
"I'm just so clumsy today," I mused, taking a bite of my steak.
Savannah chuckled next to me, and Tyler continued talking about a movie he'd seen the other day. It seemed we were safe, that Tyler had lost his train of thought and our security had not been breached. I mostly thanked myself for taking the water measure.
But Reese's absence was not something that Tyler and Savannah had been delightedly ignoring like I was trying. I caught Savannah's eyes glancing over in the direction of the bathrooms, and Tyler was checking his watch.
"So anyway, I-"
"Reese really is taking a while," Tyler murmured, glancing down at his watch again. "Maybe I should go check on him? See if he's all right?"
"Wait!" I blurted out, just as Tyler was beginning to slide out of his seat. I plastered on a smile. "I'm going to the bathroom anyway, I'll probably see him, I'm sure he's fine, don't worry!"
I did not need Tyler leaving the table. Reese was probably going to come back all huffy and demand to pay and leave, and I still wanted to salvage the rest of the date. All I needed to do was make sure he wasn't dead, and then go back and reassure everyone of this, then continue the fabulous date.
Even when Reese was gone he was screwing things up, of course.
Tyler seemed appeased by this and I slid out of my seat, restraining an eye roll.
When I reached the end of the hallway, I hovered outside of the bathroom doors, but Reese was still very much not there, and my curiosity was getting the best of me. Just some sort of verbal confirmation he hadn't died, and then back to making Tyler fall in love with me.
I gave a tentative knock on the men's washroom door, with no response, and then slowly began to peek it open.
"Reese?" I called.
"What do you want?" he snapped, annoyance lacing through his words.
I pushed the door a little wider. "Are you alone in there?"
"Yes, I- what are you doing? This is the men's bathroom!"
I blinked up at him, Reese who was standing by the hand-dryers and positioning his crotch right in line with the hot air. He looked kind of ridiculous, and I couldn't swallow the chuckle that followed.
"We all thought you died. I was making sure you didn't die. You're welcome." I crossed my arms over my chest.
He fixed me with a deadpan look. "I'm drying my crotch because someone decided to pour water over me, and now it looks like I pissed myself. And now my balls are hot. So thank you."
I snorted. "You're sure you didn't piss yourself?"
His bushy brows communicated a disapproval of their own. "I think the fact that you hurled your water on me might have something to do with it," he said dryly.
I threw my hands up in innocence. "Diversion tactic, they were hot on our trail."
He scoffed. "I think I had that down."
My nose scrunched at his obvious attitude, and I rolled my eyes. I almost wished the entire school could be there to see him, awkwardly crouched over, looking absolutely ridiculous. It was kind of hilarious.
A man in his late twenties tried to step inside, but when I shot him a look of disapproval, he immediately turned his back and left. Good, this was an official business meeting, and I didn't want to see any stranger penises today, thank you very much.
I turned back to Reese. "What? With your disgusting attempt at flirting? Please. I think everyone at the table was trying to repress their gag reflex," I drawled, dismissing his irritation with a wave of my hand.
"I wasn't really even trying to- oh shit, Stella, what was the entire plan for tonight?"
I paused, blinking. "To make out with Tyler?"
Reese had abandoned any hopes of being dry and stalked over to me, eyes wide and apparently unimpressed with my answer. "Savannah and Tyler are out there. Alone."
I swallowed with realization as the point he was making dawned on me, and while I was quite fond of shifting all blame to Reese, this one might have been the smallest amount my fault. That I could admit.
Before I could even get a word out, Reese had spun me around by my shoulders and was pushing me out the door. For a second I felt suspended in space, as I stumbled out back into the restaurant, my body propelling me faster than my feet and all sense of gravity off-balanced.
Which was why when I opened my eyes to see a waiter brushing by, carrying a tray brimming with various food and drinks, I was absolutely helpless.
In one moment I was stumbling, in the next I was making body-to-body contact, and then my head was making connection with an adjacent table in a not-so-pleasant kind of way. More premanent brain damage than anything.
There was a blooming burst of pain in my temple, where the edge of the table had caught my skull, and then there was the distinct throbbing of an oncoming headache. When I finally blinked up into the world, my vision was a little blurry, but I couldn't tell if it was from smashing my head or the fact that I was definitely covered in a wine I assumed I could not pay for myself.
At least I was wearing red.
Rubbing my head, I looked over to see my victim, a twenty-something brunette guy who was covered in spaghetti sauce, and glaring quite viciously in my direction. He looked pretty unimpressed with my entire existence. There was a moment where his face looked a little too familiar, and then it clicked into place, and I gaped.
It was the waiter I had run into at Olive Garden during Eva's disaster date.
"Why are you everywhere!?"
He was also nursing a head wound, it seemed, as he cradled his forehead protectively. I didn't appear to be his favourite person in the moment, judging by his quite hateful glares stationed unwavering on me. "I just started working here a week ago!" he spat.
"Congratulations!" I yelled back, still frowning. "Also, I'm sorry!"
Reese had run up to me, hovering over my body with eyes wide and mouth parted in shock, something like concern melded in his eyes. Savannah and Tyler had also both jumped up from their seats, but Reese was closest, and he was immediately crouched next to me to get to my level, panicked eyes searching my face for something concrete to ease his questions.
"Christ, Stella, I didn't mean to do that, I'm sorry, are you okay? I didn't know that guy was there but- you hit your head, are you feeling all right? Can I get you anything? Do you have a concussion? Can you see staight?"
I paused as a river of concern kept pouring from Reese, taking a second to drink in the atmosphere of the moment, of the broken dishes and the spilled wine and the layer of silence that had blanketed the entire room. Everyone's eyes were glued to either the waiter or me, hushed whispers breaking the quiet. And somehow, I really couldn't find myself surprised.
"I really wish this wine was inside of me instead of on me."
***
Um, so this was long. And also it was supposed to be up yesterday but I'm moving, so please be nice. c:
Thanks to writingcrazed for the banner!
Also thinking I should just started calling this Shenanigans and Second-Hand Embarrassment because that's all this story is at this point. Like if you think that it won't go that bad, I hope by now you know that it can and will, ahaha. And um, guys, 100K? Whaaaat? I'm like, astounded. #10? You guys are seriously the best readers anyone can have, and I've been reading all the comments lately and they seriously make me so happy. I love knowing people's thoughts while they're reading. c:
HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOY! The next chapter is a sleepover and it's cute so tell me how excited you are ahaha.