Chapter Seven: Welcome to the Milkshake Group
"someone like me can be a real nightmare,
completely aware. but I'd rather be a real
nightmare, than die unaware."
~ halsey
┉
M O N I C A
My eyes rolled for what felt like the twentieth time today when I cocked my head down, reading the text message I received from Sophie.
Well, I wasn't even sure it should be labelled a text message. All she'd been doing since I woke up this morning—at noon, but whatever—was spam me with purple emojis.
"Jesus," I mumbled under my breath, but a small chuckle couldn't help but bubble out of me when another wave of emojis arrived.
You are so fucking annoying, I typed up quickly. I've literally been gone an hour.
Well, then I'm gonna be here for the next hour texting you :), she replied instantly, making me groan.
"Everything okay?" A voice asked next to me, and I looked up, meeting Xavier's dark but curious eyes.
I nodded once, rolling my eyes again. "Sophie's just... annoying."
He smirked, arching a brow while still staring at me with interest. "You'd think she'd be tired of you by now," he scoffed with humour. "You've been at her place since..."
"Wednesday," I added, taking a deep breath. "So yeah, two days now."
After Chris' performance at the diner a few days ago, Sophie offered that I stay with her. She asked way too much questions about our situation, being too curious as always. It wasn't long before she attempted to give up searching for answers—from me, at least. Xavier was also unaware of the reason why I've been sleeping on her couch, but I knew he was dying to know, too.
"Mon," he sighed, leaning against his desk. I was currently at the police station, since he'd asked me to visit him. I denied at first, but then he offered getting coffee and I...
I couldn't resist some iced coffee.
"Mhm?" I mumbled, raising my eyebrows as I crossed my arms over my chest. I was wearing a baby blue babydoll dress and my espresso brown hair was down in waves. My bangs were displaced loosely on my forehead as usual and I wore a thin layer of makeup so my blemishes wouldn't be made public to the outside world.
I got clothes from my room by easily slipping through my bedroom window. It was that moment I was grateful living in a bungalow.
"Why aren't you home? With Chris," he added, smiling sadly as he nudged my arm.
Before answering, I leaned against his desk on his left side, looking around the spacious police station to avoid his gaze. "Just had a disagreement," I told him with ease, keeping my expression blank. "And he annoyed me."
That made him laugh. "So him annoying you means that you're gonna move out?"
"No," I scoffed, finally looking into his eyes. He was completely focused on me, and I couldn't help but admire how he looked in his uniform before meeting his gaze again. "I'm not moving out. I wouldn't last a week, living with Sophie. But I am taking time away from him."
He nodded slowly, but still wore a pout. "Well, you should head home soon. He's your family, and he probably misses you."
"Ha!" I let out abruptly. "He probably just misses me cleaning up after his mess. And bugging me about a coffee table."
He looked at me with confusion, but before he could say anything else, a low whistle from behind us caught my attention.
Slowly, I turned, my expression sober as I met the eyes of a man who was smirking condescendingly. "Yes?" I drawled, eyeing his appearance.
The man, just a few feet from me looked like he belonged by the beach rather than in a police station, wearing the same uniform as Xavier. He had sandy blond hair that was long enough to be in a low bun, ending by the nape of his neck. His smile was extremely bright, and since he was clean shaven, it was easy to spot his prominent dimples on either side of his cheeks.
His hazel eyes were shining with mischief when I finally lifted my gaze. "Hello," he smirked, walking slowly in my direction while eyeing my appearance indiscreetly. "I've never seen you here before," he mumbled, staring at my breasts an extra second before looking back to my face.
When he was standing across from me, I raised my brows. "You have to check your eye prescription then," I tightly smiled as I cocked my head to the side. "I had a good optometrist before I got lasik, I can give you their information."
He frowned. "Sucks you don't wear glasses anymore," he mumbled, not caring about my little kick about his eye sight while moving to stand closer. I noticed him biting back his smile. "You could totally pull off the sexy teacher look."
My brows raised. "Thanks," I said blankly. "And you can totally pull off the pedophile look."
His eyes immediately widened before he scoffed out a laugh. "God, no," he said through his chuckles before glancing to Xavier, who's brows were drawn together, listening to our conversation. "Sup, partner?"
"You're so messed up," Xavier replied, shaking his head slowly while keeping his eyes on him.
"Determined," he corrected him with a grin before looking back to me. My eyes widened when he suddenly grabbed my hand, lifting it to his mouth to give it a chaste kiss. "Name's Ronen," he winked when I snatched my hand out of his hold.
"Congratulations, you have a name," I spoke, looking at him with a slight amount of interest. "Carry on."
"You can congratulate me on other things," he smirked, confidence literally spilling out of his pores. "My oral skills are out of this—"
"Ron," Xavier said, stopping him from finishing his sentence. "Fuck off, please."
Taking no offence, Ronen kept his grin as he eyed his partner. "By the way, did you find anything about Rutherford? After we busted those guys with the coke in town, I tried getting info from them by they said squat shit."
Xavier suddenly glared at him, slapping his upper arm. "Shut up about that," he hissed, watching me in the corner of his eye.
He must have saw me stiffening because he sighed with defeat a moment later. "What?"
"Just ignore him," Xavier mumbled next to me, turning so his body was angled in my direction. "He doesn't know how to keep his mouth—"
"It's okay," I cleared my throat as I pushed my body off the desk. I eyed both of the guys before tightly smiling. "I actually have to get some groceries for tonight," I said, not bothering to explain further as I took a few steps away.
"See you," I waved awkwardly, eyeing Xavier another second before walking out the door. I should have felt bad for abruptly leaving, but I didn't have it in me to do so.
The thought of drugs still being traded, especially here, got me shivering. From what, I wasn't sure. Because I wasn't scared. I could have laughed at the idea.
But I was completely sober. And while walking deeper into town, all I could think about who would be selling drugs here.
The only time my thoughts seemed to take a break was when I looked up and saw the local grocery store just a few feet from me. So without faltering my steps, I strode through the heat before entering the cool store.
I quickly put the things Sophie texted me to get into my shopping cart, and when I finally stood in the three person line, I found myself downloading an episode of The 100 on Netflix.
While waiting for it to fully download, I felt movement behind me. "Hi," a familiar voice breathed out next to my ear, making me gasp out a breath before spinning around.
"You scared me," I breathed out, dropping my hand onto my chest where my heart was currently beating like crazy.
When I met Liam's bright eyes, his lip twitched, just the slightest, to show his amusement. "I wouldn't have thought."
"Alright, alright," I rolled my eyes with an automatic smile before glancing to my phone to check if the episode was finished.
"What are you doing?" Liam asked, bringing my attention back to him. Just as I was going to respond that I was doing what anyone would be doing in a grocery store—buying groceries—I noticed him staring at my phone.
I tightly smiled while lifting my phone. "Downloading an episode of a show," I explained. He now stared at me with interest.
Standing closer to me, I couldn't help but tilt my head up—our height difference had never been so obvious until this moment. "What show?" He mumbled, not looking away from my eyes as he hung his head lower.
"The 100," I replied easily, surprised by how low my tone was.
"Why that show?" He asked.
Feeling a tingle run up my arms as he looked over my face, I cleared my throat and took a step back. "Because I'm gonna walk home and I need something to listen to."
He shook his head slowly, his baseball hat still fully supported on his head. "But why watch that show?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow.
A choked laugh left me as I itched my upper arm, looking away from his gaze. "Because I like it?" I laughed forcefully. "I don't know. It's a show I like."
His blue eyes stared me down intensely, clearly not satisfied with my answer. "It's intense," I found myself mumbling without thought. "It shows how even the people you trust can hurt you, how everyone is capable of horrible things."
Neither of us looked away from the other, and I watched him swallow. "You should watch happier shows," he spoke deeply, making my thighs clench automatically.
"For me to watch happier shows, I think I need to find an inner... happy place," I tightly smiled, surprised by my honesty. But not wanting to talk more about myself, I turned around and pushed my cart closer to the register. The second person in the line was now finishing paying.
I felt Liam move behind me. I could feel his arm slightly graze my back before he leaned against the long metal check-out table. "Why aren't you happy, Bangs?" I heard him mumble.
My body reacted by stiffening and sucking in a breath of air. Slowly, I turned, meeting his waiting eyes. His muscular arm seemed flex as his grip on his basket tightened. "I have nothing to be happy about," I shrugged, putting on a smile to make myself feel better.
He frowned, but before he could say anything, someone cleared their throat behind me, causing me to turn. "Are you ready?" The woman behind the register asked, giving me a chance to notice that I was next in line.
"Sorry," I mumbled, quickly putting the products in front of her. Liam didn't end up saying anything while I watched my things get scanned, so I rocked back on my heels to distract myself.
"It's going to be $36.21," the woman—who's name tag had Chelsea written on it—said.
I nodded, pulling out my debit. But before I could tap it on the machine, a hand reached out, stopping me.
My brows furrowed instantly as I looked to my left, seeing Liam surprising me with a soft smile. "My treat. As a thank you for what happened on Fourth of July."
"I don't really think—"
"Please," he said, his eyes softening. "I honestly have no other fucking idea on how to repay you," he chuckled awkwardly. "Plus, it could be something that makes you happy. For today, at least."
It took a few moments before I managed to nod. He grinned with victory and once again, I was blown away by his smile.
For the next few moments, everything moved rather quickly. Liam tapped his credit card, the cashier eyed us with suspicion while bagging my things and I helped. By the time I was finished up, I watched as Chelsea bagged Liam's three items.
"Where you heading now?" He asked when he looked back to me, raising an eyebrow.
I shrugged, looking out the window for a moment. "I'm just gonna drop this off at a friends, then head to work at three."
"A friends?"
"Yeah," I cringed. He didn't respond at first, waiting until he finished paying before walking toward me.
"What happened to living with your brother?" He asked before smiling slyly. "And the unwanted guest...?"
I scoffed out a laugh as we both began to walk out of the grocery store next to each other. "I've been shamelessly avoiding them," I said dramatically while he chuckled under his breath. "But if I end up staying at Sophie's for a week, I'll probably become homeless."
He looked at me with interest as he pushed the door open, allowing me to step through first into the July heat. "You're staying with Sophie?"
My nose scrunched up before nodding. "Yeah. You know her? I mean, you come to the diner but she doesn't really work the back."
He tensed next to me before stopping his steps in front of a pick up truck. "She used to, a few years back," he admitted, looking pained for a second before putting on a friendly smile. "Do you want me to drop you off? I wouldn't mind," he explained pointing his thumb to the car.
I glanced at the shiny black vehicle before slowly nodding. "Sure," I replied, taking a step closer while he rounded the car to the passenger side.
"After you," he chuckled softly, making my heart soar at the sound before stepping into the car.
He closed the door next to me, and while he was heading to his seat, I placed the two bags on the floor next to my feet. "So, where am I leading you to, Bangs?" He asked once he sat down, turning on the ignition.
While he drove, we exchanged stories about our experiences with customers. Somehow along the way, we got to talking about what he does for a living. "It's not my favourite thing to do, but it pays bills, you know?" He admitted.
"Does it make you happy?" I asked, looking at him with a small smirk.
He narrowed his eyes on me. "You're a smart ass, aren't you?" He commented, and I surprised myself when a loud laugh left me. He responded first by simply staring at me before shaking his head. "That answers my question."
When he parked in front of Sophie's building, his eyes lingered on mine, and I couldn't help but stare into his bright, ocean blue eyes as well. "Well, thanks for the ride," I mumbled, needing to break the silence. But as I looked to my lap, I chuckled awkwardly. "And, well, for paying for my groceries."
"It's no problem," he replied.
I forced my eyes up so I could quirk an eyebrow in his direction. "I'll see you tonight, Triple?"
"Triple?" He let out a single laugh.
I grinned widely. "Well, considering how you always order the triple chocolate milkshake, it's only suitable that a part of it be formed into your nickname."
He nodded once. "You have a point," he smirked. "Alright, Bangs. I'll see you tonight."
Taking that as an exit to leave, I used the handle to open the car door, realizing in that exact moment that I actually didn't... want to leave.
Huh, that was new. Considering that I kinda had a fight or flight response with every social interaction—cancel the fight, and then... that just left flight.
"Bye," I forced myself to say, shoving back my urges.
Once I stepped out of the car, I didn't wait for his reply before jogging to the buildings entrance, sighing a breath of relief once I was inside.
┉
"Have a good evening," I told my customer with the same smile I used, watching as they stood up from their booth. I tried to avoid the fact that my favourite co-worker was drilling holes in the back of my head with her eyes.
"Thank you!" A little girl, around six or years-years-old squealed with a grin. Since I handed her a milkshake ten minutes ago, she'd been extremely happy, which, to some extent, brought an amused smile on my lips.
As they left the diner, I walked behind the counter, returning the credit machine back to its original place. As I was looking over all my tables, seeing them all chatting, I sighed and took a quick drink from my water bottle.
"You can't avoid me forever," an annoying voice said, just a few feet from me.
Slowly, I turned my head to the side, seeing Sophie standing with her hands on her wide hips. She tried looking intimidating with her glare, but being in the piss yellow uniform didn't help her.
She threw her box braids over her shoulder before crossing her arms when she saw I was unaffected by her glare. "You're killing me," she deadpanned. "You can't just say you saw Liam outside of work and not tell me anything else."
Ah, yes. She was still hung up on what I told her when I entered the apartment.
She'd called Xavier, and after learning that I wasn't with him, she bombarded me with questions when I got back to her apartment, asking where I'd been. So, when I explained I bumped into Liam, not clarifying anything else before suggesting we get to work... to say she wasn't happy would be an understatement.
The few hours we'd been working, she tried to get answers from me, but at this point, keeping her in the dark was just humorous.
"What's the big deal?" I asked. I wasn't blind—I knew there was a story about him, one of the reasons why I couldn't hold back my curiosity where he was concerned. "Liam's been my customer for weeks, I've seen him around town."
By the lake, his mom's florist shop, the craft shop, and now the grocery store.
She shook her head quick, her forest green eyes now widened. "This is different. He's different. He..."
I arched a brow, looking at her with suspicion while crossing my arms. "He... what? What about him, Soph?"
Suddenly, her expression changed, making her appear... nervous, by the looks of it. "It's not something I should tell," she said slowly before swallowing. Noticing how I was still staring at her expectedly, she sighed. "I believe in karma, okay? I don't want to talk about someone else's problems because it's not something I should tell."
I shrugged. "I'm not gonna push you to tell me," I told her. Normally, I didn't have it in me to care about others, anymore, at least. But seeing Liam, I wanted to know more, but I wasn't planning on getting the information from her. I'd rather get it from him instead. "But you can't push me to tell you things."
She looked ready to cry. "But, Mon!"
"You're so strange," I frowned, staring at her with confusion. "You don't like gossiping about other people, but you want to hear the gossip."
Her lips stretched into a tight smile. "I just don't like talking shit about other people. Karma's a real thing, you know?"
I wish I could relate, but bad stuff happened to me, usually for no reason.
Before I could prepare a response, I looked over her shoulder and instantly froze. "Oh, my God," I blurted out without caution.
"What?" Sophie's eyes flashed with worry and a hint of interest.
Without thinking, I walked through the door next to me that led into the kitchen. I watched Joe and a few others moving around, but I didn't stop moving until I opened the next door, leading me outside to the back of the diner.
I breathed out slowly, needing to calm myself down. So, leaning against the brick wall, I rubbed my hands up and down my arms while looking to my feet.
"Monica?" I heard Sophie say softly. She must have followed me out. "Are you okay?"
Suddenly, her hand dropped to my shoulder, rubbing it up and down. When I looked up, I instantly met her worried gaze, with her being just two feet away from me. "What's wrong?"
"My mom," I surprised myself by disclosing. "She's... she was in the diner."
Her eyes darkened as she looked to the side. "I didn't know she was back," she whispered, making my body react by shivering. I hated how my mind and body constantly fought, because I was angry, I shouldn't fucking shiver. I wasn't scared of seeing her again, not even close.
"Can you please cover my tables? At least until she leaves," I asked pleadingly. "I can't see her," I explained, swallowing as I looked to my feet. I didn't want to ask for help, but not wanting to see mom overrode that urge.
Sophie nodded with determination before meeting my gaze once more. She stared at me with clarity, as if she connected the dots in her mind. "Is she the person you... you know, have been avoiding at home?"
"Yeah," I mumbled, clenching my fists.
"Is she the reason you're..."
My brows raised. "I'm?"
"Closed off," she blurted out. "Virgos don't easily forgive and forget, but you're completely closed off. You don't let anyone in, as if you don't trust others with you."
She paused, looking so deep into my eyes that I inhaled sharply. I didn't dare look away, meeting her gaze head on. "Or you don't trust yourself with others. Because you're scared you'll get too close with them."
I didn't say anything. Neither of us did, actually.
But I kept my expression blank, making sure she couldn't read through me anymore, like she always did. "You're determined, I'll give you that," I spoke soberly, making her look at me confused. "Trying to figure out what my problem is. But I don't have a problem," I shrugged through the lie.
Continuing to stare at me, she smiled sadly. "Listen. I didn't know Mr. Kelly personally, but he sounded great, from the stories my dad shared," she admitted. I hated how my heart reacted to that. "But I'm sure he'd agree with me that... whatever your mom did, it isn't worth completely avoiding relationships."
"It wasn't just my mom," I blurted, fuelling myself with anger. "It was several people who fucked me over, so can we stop talking about this?" I moved around her so I could look through the crack of the door leading back into the diner.
Slowly stepping into the kitchen, I walked through the kitchen and cussed when I saw one of my tables looking around. Mom was out of sight so I looked over my shoulder, tightly smiling. "Better get back to work."
I didn't wait for her answer before fully stepping into the diner, heading to my tables. Sophie could use whatever witchy powers she thought she had to analyze me, but either way, it wouldn't change the truth.
┉
I slammed my small notepad on the bar table when my last table finally left, leaving me sigh with relief. I didn't waste another moment as I plopped on the small stool in front of the counter, crossing my arms on the cool surface before dropping my head.
"Finally," I groaned under my breath while pressing my shoulders back. "Sleeping sounds so beautiful right now."
I heard Sophie laugh a few feet from me. After our tense conversation outside, she dropped the topic and spent the rest of our shift trying to talk to me about the meal she'd be making us at her apartment tonight. "Food first, then sleep," she said, making me lie my head on the side.
I watched as she cut off the ends of the roses she had put in a vase on the other side of the counter. She'd brought them in yesterday, exclaiming the diner needed good luck.
"Sounds good," I yawned, hearing a door open somewhere in the diner.
Within seconds, a tired looking Darius stepped out of the hall in the back of the diner. His eyes roamed around the restaurant before settling his eyes on me. "Hi, Monnie," he greeted, stepping closer to me. Soon, he was standing next to the table, dropping his hand on the counter while keeping his eyes on me. "I saw your mom today. You didn't tell me she was... back."
Of course he saw her. He was best friends with her husband. My dad.
"Well," I took a deep breath as I sat up, dropping my arms onto my lap. "I thought in this town, people would have already learned."
He shook his head, smiling tightly while moving to sit on the bar stool next to me. "Nah, Fiona has been staying home the last few days," he explained, waving off the idea. "She doesn't want trouble to stir. Some people weren't her greatest fans after..." He looked pained before saying his next words. "After Sean passed."
I wanted to respond with, "can you blame them?" But I decided to go against that.
"That's true," I cleared my throat. "So, she came here to visit you?"
Darius stared at me, confused, before shaking his head. "No. She wanted to see you at work, but since you were on your break, she dropped by my office to say hi."
So, she didn't tell him anything about our situation. Not that it was completely surprising. I'm sure if Darius found out what she did, he wouldn't forgive her.
His chuckle got me out of my thoughts as I watched him shake his head with a grin. "Your mom has the same haircut she had in college," he rolled his eyes with amusement. "Says she's trying to remember the good old days, but I know she wants to avoid that we're all getting older."
My shoulders moved back as I stiffened almost everywhere. As I dropped my eyes to my lap, I noticed how my hands were already clenched. "Yeah," I mumbled, trying to relax my muscles. "The good old days." When she wasn't a terrible human being.
Darius let out a soft sigh, as if he was reminiscing the past. "Alright," he said, making me look up to see him standing from his seat while clapping his hands once. "Soph, I'm heading home before your mother castrates me."
"Hope she doesn't!" She chirped. "Cleaning the remains wouldn't be fun."
I eyed her like she was an alien. "You worry me," I commented out of the blue.
"I worry a lot of people," she smirked, moving her braids away, behind her shoulder. "It's a talent I excel at. Well, that and reading people," and to prove her point, she narrowed her eyes on me.
Slowly, I nodded. "Enjoying reading my, 'I don't give a fuck' attitude," I replied just as the door opened, followed by the bell ringing.
I turned automatically and my lip quirked right away, seeing Liam enter the diner with his damn baseball hat, while Darius stepped out.
When he met my gaze, something flashed behind his eyes before walking to his table. Still looking at me, I raised my eyebrows, which only made his lip twitch before looking away.
Deciding to skip pleasantries, I walked behind the counter and made my way to the machine we often used to make the milkshakes. For the next few minutes, I prepared his regular order, shaking my head with a sigh when it was done.
His eyes snapped in my direction when I walked out from behind the counter, walking to his table. "Hey, Triple," I greeted, sliding his drink toward him.
"Hey, Bangs," he muttered, staring at me with amusement while straightening his back against the seat. "Anything worth being happy about today?"
My lower lip curled as I looked to the distance. To dramatize my expression, I rubbed my chin, pretending to think. "Huh, not sure yet," I mumbled before meeting his gaze a moment later. "I guess this guy paying for my food earlier today and giving me a ride back is a worthy contestant in making my day."
He looked down, shaking his head as he chuckled under his breath. "Glad to hear it," he said deeply, looking up enough so I could stare into his ocean eyes.
I smiled while crossing my arms around my waist, but before I could let out another word, the front door to the diner opened, making my head instantly tilt to the side. I watched as Aliana jogged inside breathlessly. "Sorry, girls."
Sophie and I gave her a small smile, replying quickly.
When I turned back to Liam, I noticed that his eyes were still on me. "Ali can help you with your bill," I told him, reaching behind me to untie the small apron around my waist. "Hope you enjoy the drink, Trip."
Before I could step away, he spoke up. "A nickname for the nickname?" He questioned with a small smirk, but just as I was about to reply, Liam tilted his head to the other side of the booth. "Come sit with me, Bangs."
My brows shot up at his offer, surprise filling my thoughts instantly. "Please?" He continued. "I promise I won't bite."
That thought made me laugh. "I'd kick you if you did," I commented, though I wasn't sure if that was true.
Instead of dwelling on it, I eyed him with suspicion before slowly sitting across from him. Looking down, I made sure the apron I took off was secure on the spot next to me before looking up to meet his waiting eyes.
He took his time taking a sip of his milkshake through the straw, keeping his intense eyes on me. Feeling it as a challenge, I bit back a smile to keep my expression sober.
I raised my brows after a few seconds passed, making his lip quirk the slightest bit. "Would you like a picture? It can keep you from staring."
"That'd be nice," he replied smoothly, leaning against the table. "I like your eyes," he mumbled, his expression completely sober as he continued to stare.
The compliment made my heart pound. "Thanks," I replied, my voice light as I brushed my bangs slightly. "It takes a lot of practice, making my eyes look like this."
He seemed to be in his own world for a moment, but when he pushed himself away from the table between us, I knew that whatever he was thinking no longer occupied his mind. "I wish I could like your hair," I said, sighing dramatically as I leaned back against the seat. "Though, I do fear that it probably smells under that hat."
His eyes narrowed, almost playfully before he reached for the visor part of his baseball cap. When he finally moved it away from the top of his head, I found myself sucking in a breath, slightly stunned by the colour of his hair.
It was a brown, almost golden. In it was natural, lighter shades of brown that were blended with majority of his hair colour. It was styled with several layers, slightly shorter on the sides. The top of his head carried longer hair, bringing out a messy tousled look.
Panties were melted away at this point.
When I looked down slightly, I made sure to control my breathing when I met his eyes. "I like your hair," I said coyly, making his lip twitch once more. "Don't get why you hide it though."
"I'm not hiding my hair," his lips widened into a smirk. "I'm hiding myself, Bangs. I don't want people to talk to me."
That made me let out a breathless laugh. "Shit," I nodded, impressed. "I need to rip a page from your book then. Does it work?"
"Works with everyone but you, obviously," he replied blankly, pretending to look annoyed.
My lips pursed, ignoring his comment. "Huh, I need to get a hat now," I mumbled to myself, but loud enough for him to hear.
"I guess I could potentially let you borrow one of mine..." He offered, but I didn't miss how he slowly sipped his milkshake.
"I'm guessing there's a price?" I asked, crossing my arms.
His lip twitched again. "Shouldn't your brother have a hat for you to wear? Or are you still avoiding him?"
"Define avoiding again," I asked, leaning back against the seat while straightening my back.
"Not seeing him purposely," he replied before frowning. "Are you guys having serious problems?"
I sighed, rubbing my temples a moment later. "No, it's just that... he's annoying. Older brothers are annoying."
"I wouldn't know," he said, scoffing under his breath before shaking his head. "Probably because I am one, actually. I have a younger sister."
That made me smile. "Yeah, your mom mentioned her," I said softly. "Teenager?"
"Yeah," he mumbled, looking at his drink with a small, almost unnoticeable frown. "Kat. She's sixteen."
Noticing how talking about his family got him upset—and knowing how that feels—I cleared my throat. "So, you didn't tell me: how's the milkshake? It takes a lot of blood, sweat and tears to make that."
He looked up, smirking just enough to be observable. "No wonder it tasted salty."
"Rude. Completely rude. I make sure to cry away from the cup and your joking about my efforts to do so," I sighed, crossing my arms.
For a few moments, he stared at me with an unreadable expression. With his blue eyes locked on my green ones, I found myself holding in a breath.
"I believe in you, Bangs. Next time, just step back another inch and this'll be a solid drink," he commented, and I scoffed, instantly defending my milkshake skills.
For the next hour, we found ourselves both playfully arguing back and forth before Sophie called me, demanding I eat the food she made, now at one in the morning.
She was strange, but I guess, so was I. So a while later, I found myself eating fried chicken and corn.
┉
things are starting to kick off
—especially their friendship!
also ive been thinking: starting
February, I'll be posting twice a
week, instead of once.
I also really hope the long chapters
aren't too much for you!
anywho, im gonna go eat lunch
before diving into school work.
love you lovelies x