Dons Diner was a hole in the wall kind of place. If you didn't know it was there, chances are you'd walk right past it. But it was the go-to place if you wanted a great pizza or burger. Plus the poutine was amazing. I went there at least once a week with someone from the team, whether it was Liam or Brody or Harmony whenever she was free.
Because I left so early I was the first one at the diner, and I was greeted by Emily. A strawberry blonde that kind of looked like Betty from Riverdale. Which was funny because the whole Diner had the Pop's Diner vibe going on. It had blue and white checkered floods 50's car pictures, and pinup girls hanging on the walls, that were painted in a light blue and red. The booths were plastic with blood colouring and red edged tables.
It was comfortable. And it also happened to be the place I took Harmony for on our first date. She loved it, from the large milkshakes to the greasy burgers and fries. That whole night she had a big smile on her face and laughed more times then I could count.
I think that night was the night I realized that I wanted to be something with her. She was beautiful, smart, funny. And always seemed to know what to say when to say it. And here I was a dumb jock with a goofiness to me that I couldn't shake, but she didn't seem to mind. At least back then she didn't.
"Hey, Matty! Troy was listening to the game on the radio! Congratulations, I'm going to assume you're the first of many to come." Emily said, her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail with a bow tie holding it back. She wore little make-up on her face, only on her eyelashes, and her dress was a pink 50's waitress dress with white sneakers.
"Yeah" I laughed. "I say Troy should start the grill now."
Emily laughed along with me ushering me to a table, not bothering with the menu before going into the back to help Troy and who every else was out there.
Not five minutes later the rest of the team started to come being the loud and rowdy teenagers they were, and before long the place was packed with teammates, their girlfriends, and friends. We made the diner our home for a good hour and a half before I decided to go to the bathroom, before packing up to leave.
Just as I walked to the bathroom the door swung open, I couldn't even react and stop it or see who was behind it before it hit me in the face and I doubled over, holding my nose as warm liquid started to pour from it. In m state of shock, all I could hear was the sound of a gasp before something was hauling me into the bathroom and pressing a cold cloth to my face telling me to hold still and pinch my nose.
"Matt, could you just look at me so I can make sure it's not broken?"
Slowly my mind came to and I blinked a few time, my vision clearing up as Henry stood in front of me, his face hard to read as his eyes pinched together.
He was way to close, but my face hurt too much to move away as he took the paper towel away from my face, throwing it into the trash, his hands full of blood as he grabbed my chin and held my face still. His glasses low on his nose in his normal fashion. "Well." He said slowly, letting go of my face and going to the sink. "It's not broken. But you should get ice on it." He grabbed another paper towel after cleaning the blood on his hands and soaked it in the sink and turning back to me, putting it on my nose again. But instead of him holding it there I finally got the strength to reach for it. My hand bushing his when he pulled away.
"Thanks," I mumbled looking at myself in the mirror. No, the nose wasn't broken, but it was going to bruise.
"Well, considering I hit you with the door it's the least I could do." And just like that, Henry was smiling, but it wasn't his fake one. It was real. Small, but real. "I should get going. Tara is waiting for me. And Matt, don't forget your worksheet for tomorrow." He gave me a small, maybe even a little playful smile, before he ducked past, going out the door again, leaving me standing with a bloody paper pressed to my face. The dress shirt I was wearing completely ruined with my own blood.
But for some reason, instead of worrying about that. All I could think about was one stupid question.
Who was Tara?