this shot is for @Aretmis and@lillianiskindakool who both requested a "mortals meet" au! i wrote this from the mortal's pov, which was really fun.
i also placed it in florida, in the small town i used to take dance classes in because it was funny. shoutout to all my florida peeps, lol.
words: 1377
. . .
I opened the door of McDonald's to clock in for my afternoon shift. The smell of rubbery meats and greasy fries greeted me, and I shouldered off my bag in the back room before tying my apron on. I made my way to the register to punch in my employee ID, and I was set.
"Ready for sitting around for nothing?" Cassie hopped up to sit on the counter next to my register, swinging her legs.
I shrugged. It wasn't strange that the restaurant was empty, seeing as it was 2 in the afternoon and the lunch rush had dwindled. "Always a fun shift."
Even though our manager was in the back room, we knew we wouldn't get in trouble for just hanging out and talking. After all, who would come into a McDonald's in Williston besides our regulars? They were used to our chilling.
"...brought a Whoopie cushion and you didn't even remember your wallet?" An unfamiliar voice grew louder as a girl entered the tabled area before me. She wound a hand in her loose french braid, fidgeting with irritation at the person with her.
Cassie slid off the counter quickly, returning to her station in the kitchen. With my customer service smile plastered onto my face, I turned to greet the girl and the guy with her. "Hello, welcome to McDonald's. How can I help you?"
The guy was much taller than her, and he clearly used it to his advantage. When they stopped in front of my register, he rested his forearms on her left shoulder and peered at the menu overhead. "Uh, I'll take a..."
"Get off!" the girl hissed, shrugging him from her. She sent me an apologetic smile. "Sorry, it's been a long roadtrip."
I wondered why they'd gone on a roadtrip together since apparently he annoyed her. I nodded. "It's totally fine, order whenever you're ready."
After the girl ordered a six-piece nugget meal, I turned to the guy who'd supposedly forgotten his wallet. He grinned, and without hesitation asked for four separate entrees with two large fries.
The girl stomped her foot. "Gods, Travis! I'm not paying for all that."
Did she say gods, plural? I thought, figuring she'd slurred her words out of her frustration.
"I'm hungry!" The guy named Travis whined, and then winked at her. "Consider this our first date."
She scoffed and rolled her eyes, but faced me and relented. "Whatever. That'll be all for us, thanks."
"Wait, I want ice cream, too."
"Are you a literal child?"
I cringed. "Our machine's broken, I'm so sorry!"
Travis pouted, but the girl smiled. "Good. He doesn't need any sugar."
"Only sugar I need is yours." He leaned in as if to kiss her cheek, and she hurled away from him with a huff.
I didn't know what to think of the pair of roadtrippers. Their relationship had the energy of single-way annoyance, so I figured he pined after her often. I gave them their total, and the girl dug out her wallet. She sent him a glare as she paid in cash and told me to keep the change.
"You seriously don't think I'm paying for the entire trip, right?" the girl asked him as they stepped to the side and waited for their food.
"You know you like me too much to just leave me to starve, Katie-kat."
"Don't think I wouldn't, Stoll."
I tried to make myself look busy by wiping off the counter, but in reality I hung around the front to listen to the two. They intrigued me, with their whole dynamic and attitudes toward each other. And to be fair, nothing exciting ever happened in Williston. I may as well have found entertainment in rolling a quarter on the counter. The couple silently bickered back and forth about stupid things - whether Travis would save some of his ginormous order of food, or if she'd scheduled the hotel for the right safety precautions, whatever those were.
Sometimes, he would throw a cheeky comment Katie's way. She didn't ever respond well, but he wasn't taking the hint. The guy didn't seem to be taking his harassment too far, though, and she always had a slight smile on her face when he said anything flirtatious. I guessed that she did like him, that much was obvious.
"So, where are you guys headed?" I usually made conversation with the customers while they waited for their orders, and since the order they'd made was a decently-sized one, I knew it would be a little bit before it was completed.
The girl (I assumed her name was just Katie) glanced at the boy with an irritated expression as he entertained himself by wrapping her braid around his finger. She shook him away before putting on a pleasant face for me. "We're going to Dunnellon."
Weird place to roadtrip to, I thought. "Cool. What for?"
She shuffled her feet, and Travis answered for her. "Honeymoon."
He snickered when she elbowed him in the stomach much harder than what should've been a playful action. I was surprised he didn't double over in pain by the sheer velocity she hit him with.
"Don't listen to him, he's an idiot."
"I wouldn't have believed him anyway," I said with a laugh, although he had sounded extremely convincing. "Dunnellon's not exactly what you'd call 'honeymoon material'."
She smiled and looked at him, motioning at me. "I like her, she doesn't believe you."
Travis smirked. "And I like you. You don't believe me, either."
She scrunched up her nose, and though she tried to make it look like an act of annoyance, it really looked like a cute result of feeling butterflies.
Maybe they are together. The way she blushed after he bent his head to look her in the eyes as he spoke was kinda cute, considering their arguing before. I watched as they talked in hushed voices, and I didn't catch any of what they were saying, but every little bit Travis would jokingly tug at her braid or rub his hand up her arm. She would slap him away, but reluctantly so. I had no idea what they were doing on a trip together, but I was willing to bet that neither of them really minded.
"Where are y'all from?" I continued the conversation because there was nothing better to do. I heard Cassie bumping around the kitchen, gathering the order for the two.
"New York," Katie said flippantly.
"Awful long trip to come to the least exciting area in the state," I thought aloud. "The only thing around here's cattle and run-down houses. Why not St. Augustine or Orlando? You know, the main attractions?"
Travis shrugged. "We're not big fans of beaches and theme parks."
It was stupid of them to come to Florida, then.
I returned to swiping down the counters, but once in a while I looked up to see the two waiting. It seemed like every time I looked at them, one was looking away while the other stared longingly at them. The second they'd look back, the other would snap their eyes somewhere else.
True heart eyes.
I turned back when Cassie came up with their food in two bags. Travis made a goofy stumble over to the counter, and Katie elbowed his gut again. I swore I would've been bruised for months if she did that to me as often as she apparently did it to him.
"Stop acting like a little kid."
"At least I'm having fun, Katie-kat."
They were pretty cute together, I decided.
As Cassie passed Katie the food, we both smiled. She said, "Have a good day!"
I added, "Have fun in Dunnellon."
Travis snorted and shot back, "We'll try not to die."
Katie squinted at him. "Sorry, he's just dramatic." She emphasized her last word, then faced us to send a grateful look. "Thank you, guys."
On their way out, they fought over who was going to hold the food and who was going to drive. As they closed the door, I heard Katie say something about being quiet about their quest.
Quest? That was an odd word to use for a roadtrip.
"Welp, they definitely had chemistry," Cassie declared, resuming her position sitting on the counter.
I nodded, recalling the way he looked at her. "Do you think they were actually together?"
She giggled. "Nah, but they should be."
"Totally."