Monday morning I walked all the way to the restaurant thinking about Summer's birthday party tomorrow. I still had no idea what I was going to get her as a gift, and I needed to think of something really soon because I was running out of time.
I tried asking Isabella and Xander yesterday if they had any kind of gift ideas, but that was absolutely pointless because neither of them were of any help. Isabella kept naming off ridiculous and extravagant things that I would never buy, and Xander couldn't think of anything besides lingerie. And don't get me wrong, I love those two to death, but sometimes they can be the worst people to talk to.
As I approached the restaurant, I saw someone standing by the door. They weren't facing me but I knew exactly who it was. I had to admit that I was a little surprised they were there because I really wasn't expecting them at all. The bill of their baseball cap was somewhat covering their face as they turned their head to the side, immediately seeing me.
"Hey, Niall."
"Hey!" He greeted, shifting his weight between his feet as he stood in front of the door. As he glanced back and forth between my clothing attire and his own, he nervously looked up at me. "Am I dressed for this? I didn't know what to wear, so I just grabbed some sneakers and-"
"You're fine," I laughed, unlocking the door and letting him inside. "We're just cleaning. There's no dress code. I mean, just wear whatever clothes you don't mind getting dirty."
"Okay cool. So what do we do first?"
I pulled out my phone and walked over to the sound system, "First we put on music so it's not quiet."
He started talking and asking me about what music I liked and what I usually played. I didn't realize how much he was into music, and most of it we had the same taste. We talked for quite some time about The Eagles and The Rolling Stones and Coldplay and a bunch of other artists we were both into.
Niall was telling me about all these concerts he had been to and which artists are the best live performers. The second I had mentioned that I've only ever been to one concert, his eyes bugged out of his head as he started going on and on about how it was crazy I hadn't been to more and that some day soon he was going to bring me to another one. I had to laugh at how easily excited he got about some things because it was actually kind of funny.
When we finally stopped talking about music, I started showing him around the place to familiarize him where certain things were. I told him what exactly needed to be done before 10AM and how to work everything in the kitchen and how to set up the dining area and how to fold the utensils into the napkins. I thought it was going to take him a really long time to grasp all the information I was throwing at him, but to my surprise, he understood it all without asking questions.
Soon enough the two of us were getting to work cleaning the kitchen and humming or singing along to the music being played through the speakers. It was really entertaining having a second person in here with me. I always thought it would be nice to have someone else in here, and even though I did sometimes like doing this all on my own, it was just a lot more fun having company.
Niall cleaned all the kitchen appliances and counters as I mopped the floors and wiped down the tables. A few times we'd catch each other getting really into the same song, so we'd temporarily stop cleaning and start dancing and singing like absolute idiots.
It was this weird comforting feeling I had around Niall, as if we had been good friends for years. We weren't awkwardly shy around each other for only having met about a week ago. I mean, I don't even do any of this dancing and singing stuff with Xander, and I've known him since we were about twelve. So Niall should consider himself special.
I was sweeping the stairs as Niall sat down at one of the tables, wrapping the utensils in the napkins. He wasn't paying any attention to me as he was carefully wrapping each set and putting them in the empty bin. I was watching him every once in a while as he would start singing to the song, closing his eyes for certain lyrics and getting really into air drumming with the sets that were already wrapped.
This guy was so entertaining and extremely goofy, I'd never peg him as one of those rich kids. Not to be super stereotypical or anything, but when I think of rich kids, I think of them being snobby and proper and flaunting their money everywhere and serious and snooty and whatever else along those lines. But as I was getting to know him, as well as Summer, I was beginning to realize that they're not all like that. And I could've just been thinking that because every wealthy person I've encountered in the past has been a dick.
"Is there anything else to do?" Niall asked as he brought the bin of folded napkins to the back room.
I walked down the stairs and over towards him as I put away the broom, "Well we've got to unload the last of the dishes, and then I think we're done."
"Alright, cool," Niall skipped over to the dishwashers and scoffed. "This isn't as bad as you were making it sound. I'd say it's been pretty fun so far."
"Yeah, well I guess the 'fun' changes depending on how many people are here and if you're singing and dancing the whole time."
He chuckled as he pointed a dish at me, "True. Singing and dancing make everything better."
The two of us continued to unload the dishwasher and put all the dishes and glasses away, and soon enough, we were finished with everything. I knew that having two people in to clean the place wouldn't take as much time as doing it myself, but I didn't realize just how much faster it was. We finished cleaning the whole place in about two hours, compared to the four it would take me on my own. It was a bit surprising since most of the time it felt like we were just singing rather than cleaning, but the place looked just as good as it usually did.
We had come in to start cleaning around 8AM rather than 6AM, so by the time we had finished up, everyone else was supposed to be arriving for their shifts pretty soon. I decided to stick around until someone had gotten here, just in case it wasn't Filomena or Isabella because they wouldn't have a key to the restaurant. Niall decided to hang out with me, claiming that he didn't have anything better to do, so as the two of us waited there for someone to show up, we started dancing around and singing again.
I was laughing as Niall was trying to show me his air guitar and air drumming skills, which I had to admit was pretty awesome. He could pick up a beat from a song so easily, as if he was born for music.
Pretty soon we were trying to show each other these dance moves, and Niall was trying to show me what he learned in ballroom dancing classes. I had to laugh and tease him for that. Who takes lessons on ballroom dancing? Who even goes to a place where there would be ballroom dancing?
"What the hell are you doing?"
Isabella's voice echoed through the small restaurant as she stood at the door, staring at Niall and me with the most confused expression. I didn't even hear the door open when she walked in, so I quickly stepped away from Niall and went to turn off the music.
"Who are you?" She directed the question at Niall, and I could see him nervously watching her every move.
"This is Niall," I spoke up, looking back and forth between the two. "Niall, Isabella. He's a friend of Summer's."
"Okay, but what is he doing here?"
"He's helping me with the cleaning. I already talked to your mom yesterday about him helping out."
She rolled her eyes at me before smiling at him, "Well then nice to meet you."
I leaned over and whispered in Niall's ear, still loud enough for Isabella to hear, "Be careful, she likes to pinch asses."
Niall looked from her to me as he shrugged his shoulders, "She can pinch my ass any time she wants. She's hot."
"I like this guy," Isabella laughed as she was somewhat caught off guard by Niall's comment. She slung her arm around his shoulders and started walking him towards her hostess stand as she was saying things to him.
I followed the two of them just as Filomena entered the restaurant. At first she didn't notice Niall, only waving to and greeting Isabella and me, but quickly she realized there was a third person.
"Oh! Now you must be Neil!" She smiled brightly, walking over to us.
"Mom, it's Niall," Isabella rolled her eyes before she started in search of the hostess book.
Filomena looked slightly embarrassed as she looked over at Niall, "Oh, I'm so sorry! Niall, my bad. I'm Filomena."
"Nice to meet you," he smiled, reaching out to shake her hand.
She instead pulled him in for a hug, which he was not exactly ready for. He quietly grunted as he bumped into her body and was squeezed tightly. As she let go, he awkwardly laughed before she had turned her attention to me, "Harry, I'm so glad you found someone else who could help you with all the cleaning. I know you've insisted on doing it all by yourself, but it's good now that you have a helper."
"Yes, he is a very good helper," I laughed, looking over at Niall.
"You should see them dancing," Isabella scoffed before I pinched her in the arm.
Filomena picked up her purse and waved at us, "Well, Niall, it was nice to meet you. I've got a few things to get done in the office, so I will hopefully see you boys later! Oh and if you ever need a little extra money, you can always catch a shift waitering."
"Waitering?" Niall questioned as she was out of earshot.
"Yeah being a waiter," I laughed at his confused facial features. "I've done it a few times, it's not that bad. Summer did it once, too."
"She did?"
"Oh yeah," Isabella butted in. "And she was fucking awesome at it. Could've easily taken Harry's spot."
"Hey now," I defended myself. "Let's not get too carried away."
A couple other guys on the shift walked into the restaurant, and I figured it was probably time to leave. I said my goodbyes to Isabella and a couple of the guys before Niall and I walked out the doors. I had no idea where he was going or what direction he lived in, but he continued to just walk down the street with me.
"So," I started, trying to make small talk. "Have you gotten Summer a gift for her birthday?"
"Oh yeah 'course I have. I'm bringing it over to her place in the morning," he nodded his head and smiled.
"What'd you get her?"
"One of those seats from the Mets stadium. Got it signed by the whole team and everything," he looked really proud of himself as he talked about his gift. "She made a joke one time at a game about wanting to get a stadium seat, so I thought I'd actually get one for her."
"That's actually pretty cool," I admitted. Really, that would be awesome to have a baseball stadium seat of my own. I know I'm not even into the sport, but seriously who can say they own one of those?
As we continued to walk down the street together, not even knowing where we were going, I kept trying to think of some kind of gift idea. I was terrible at this. I could go out and buy her a piece of jewelry, but I had no idea where I'd be able to get something of good quality and still be able to afford it. I tried thinking of something that we had done that I could get her in a joking but meaningful way. Like maybe a pair of flats like the ones we had bought on our first dinner date, but that just seemed like a stupid idea.
I didn't know what I was going to get, but I needed to come up with something by the end of the day. And it had to be something good.
(Super long and semi important) A/N: Hi! So I just wanted to say something about this story since I've seen a few comments on another one of my stories. This isn't going to have a bunch of drama in it because for one, I hate unnecessary drama or just too much drama in general. So for some of you that really love that stuff, this will probably be a really boring story for you to read. This is soley a (not too dramatic) love story. Literally it's just going to be about Harry's and Summer's relationship, and the things they go through to deal with their differences in lifestyles and whatever else comes across their paths. I am trying to make this as realistic as possible with all these different characters. Anyways, just wanted to let you guys know, just in case you've been waiting for a bunch of drama to happen or something...
So yeah, thanks for reading & voting & commenting on this so far! I really appreciate it <3 (btw if you have honestly voted on every chapter, please let me know!)