Aimed At You

Chapter 22

Nathan exited his room with disheveled hair and tired eyes. Lexie realized in the past month they've been living together that he loves napping. He would usually take at least 2 naps a day; one at around 3pm and another by 6pm or so. He's been to work at the diner more often now that he's not the champion anymore. They usually only spend time together in the morning. They would eat breakfast together and watch movies, then hide themselves in their own room.

Lexie decided that today she'll stay out of her room. She's inside her little nest almost all the time, and she needed to spend time away from her room. Nathan went to the kitchen without so much as a glance to Lexie. She was sat on the couch - a blanket over her legs, and her laptop on her lap. She watched Nathan search for food behind her reading glasses. He definitely looked like he just woke up. 

"What're you doing?" He asked, filling a bottle with water. It was around 6:30pm, and he had to go to work in the next 30 minutes. Aside from his bed hair and tired, red eyes, he appeared ready to leave with his long-sleeved navy blue shirt and black ripped jeans. 

"Just looking for a job."

Nathan's brow raised, like it always did. He turned to Lexie and noticed her comfortable state. He stared at her for a second, admiring the way her glasses perfectly framed her face. He sat down in front of her and pressed his hands together, "What are your skills?"

"Uhh, I don't know," she shrugged. "I can shoot, calculate, listen to people, cook, memorize things, uhh... be nice?"

He chuckled, "Definitely." He stood up and went to the mirror near the front door to fix his messy hair. Lexie found herself wanting to fix it for him, so she shook her head and returned her focus to her laptop. 

"I gotta go, I'll be back in an hour."

"An hour?"

"Yep," he said, popping the 'p'.

"You're going to work for only an hour?"

"Uhh, yeah. I've been working long hours for the past week, so Aiden let me have the weekend off."

"I assume Aiden is the boss?"

"Yep."

"Well, he's a very nice boss."

He laughed inwardly, "Yeah, he's kind of like a father to me now. Maybe you could meet him the next time you go to the diner."

"Okay," she paused. "Wait. You don't have to go to work, so where are you going?" 

"The diner, I just want to eat-" he stopped and pointed to her. "You wanna come?"

Lexie stared at her laptop for a second, then stood up. "Sure."

***

The diner wasn't as busy as it usually was. Lexie hasn't been here in almost a month. She stared at the corner booth where she usually sat, and remembered the last time she was here - holding a suitcase full of her belongings, and her eyes pooling with tears that were threatening to spill. She sat on the booth near the entrance, instead.

"I'll be back," Nathan said as he went straight to the kitchen. She looked around the diner and saw Clark on the corner of her eye, approaching her. 

"Lexie!" He exclaimed with a bright smile on his face. "I haven't seen you in a while. How've you been?"

"I've been good, yeah. How about you?"

"Oh," he looked down. "I've been good too." He turned his head to the counter. There were two people there; a girl with blonde hair, and a girl with short black hair. He glanced at the woman with long, blonde hair that Lexie's never seen before. She watched Clark's eyes sparkle the moment he saw the girl. She was reading a book, completely focused. She raised her head and made direct eye contact with Clark. They shared a moment, staring into each other's eyes. She smiled at him, and Clark returned his focus to his customer. He was blushing.

"Ahh," Lexie said, sitting back. "Someone's in love." 

Clark's eyes widened and recovered within a second, "Who? You?"

"I-" she stuttered. "Hey, you're the one who's blushing like there's no tomorrow." Like she said, he blushed again.

"Anyway, what can I get you?"

Lexie chuckled. She's been here too many times that she doesn't even need a menu anymore. "I would like a chocolate frappe and a large plate of cheese fries and nachos."

"And for Nathan?"

"What?"

"Didn't you come here with Nathan?"

"Uh yeah, he'll order for himself."

Clark nodded and wrote down everything on his notepad. He went to the kitchen, and she saw Nathan walk out. He glanced at her for a second and smiled, then leaned on the counter. "Sup, Kei." He greeted the girl with the short, black hair and turned to the one with blonde hair, "Sup, Emma."

"Nathan," Kei acknowledged him. "Leo's not with you?"

"No. Your boyfriend doesn't go with me everywhere, ya know?"

"I didn't say so."

"Okay," he said, raising both hands up in surrender. "he said he's picking you up tonight and that you're not answering his texts."

"Oh, shit," she frantically searched inside her pocket for her phone and groaned when she found it. "Yeah, my phone broke earlier today. Tell him he doesn't have to."

"As if Leo would let you walk home alone. Plus, I think he planned a date or something. Don't tell him I told you that." He walked away and made his way to Lexie. 

He sat across her and smiled, not uttering a single word. Lexie furrowed her brows, "What?"

"Come with me," he stood up and went back to the kitchen. Lexie followed him, still confused. She entered the kitchen and saw several counters, pans, ovens, ingredients, and more. It smelled like heaven in there. There were 4 people there; Nathan,  a tall guy with a buzz cut chopping onions, another tall guy with chin length hair washing plates, and an older guy that's cooking something by the stove. 

"Am I allowed to be here?" She whispered.

"Of course," he reassured. "Alright everyone, this is Lexie. Lexie, this is Chase-" he pointed to the guy washing the dishes. "This is Noel-" he pointed to the guy with a buzz cut. "And that is Aiden, the boss." Aiden waved at her, smiling. The other two appeared not older than 27, whereas Aiden looked like he was around 50-something. 

"Ah, the infamous Lexie!" Aiden exclaimed, raising his hands dramatically.

"Nice to meet all of you," she smiled. 

"Right, come here," Nathan wrapped his hand around her wrist and dragged her to the stove near Aiden. Lexie's pulse quickened, and she thought that Nathan could feel it. "Can you cook something from the menu?"

"What?"

"Cook something."

"Uhh..." she stared at the stove.

"C'mon. You can add your own spin to whatever you want to cook."

She closed her eyes and searched her brain for the diner's menu - thinking of something to cook. Aiden was looking at her expectantly, so she started to grab pots, pans, ingredients, and other utensils. The two watched her move. Nathan has never seen Lexie cook anything, and he was quite amused. 15 minutes later, she served her creation on a plate. It was some sort of chicken, covered in sauce, garlic, and whatever else she added.

"What is it?" Nathan asked, grabbing a fork to taste her food.

"Garlic butter chicken bites," she watched him eat. "Or fancy nuggets." Aiden grabbed a fork too and began to eat. She saw Nathan close his eyes in delight, and she smirked. The other two started to eat too. 

"Do you have to be better than me at everything?" Nathan joked, making Lexie chuckle timidly. 

"Well, Lexie," Aiden turned to her after glancing at Nathan. "You're hired."