Crush Inserts (Gender Neutral!)

small town diner

in this piece, you and your crush work at the same diner after school!

You had just gotten into your car after school, and pulled out your phone to check your schedule before heading into work. You always made sure you knew when you were going in each day, but you weren't looking for times: you were looking for names.

Delighted, you knew it was going to be a good shift when you saw (c/n)'s name was on the schedule. You loved working with them, and you weren't sure whether it was because you both seemed to know exactly what the other was going to do, or because of the butterflies that tickled when they smiled at you.

Nonetheless, you were already giddy when you clocked in, and were smiling while putting your things in your locker.

"Good afternoon, (y/n)!" You heard behind you, and you looked back to see (c/n) passing by with a bucket of hot sanitizer water and a rag.

"Afternoon!" You called as they disappeared around a corner, smile growing ever wider.

You found the manager on duty and said hello, then put on your apron and grabbed a notepad and a pencil.

You started waiting on the few people who had been sat at the booths in your section. Really, your section was just the back corner of the diner. You and the other two waiters only had 5 tables each, which was plenty enough to stay busy. And on a Friday afternoon, it was about to get a whole lot busier.

True to form, your friends came in for a milkshake and fries every Friday after school, and always requested to be sat with you. You gave them a wink as you passed by with a tray of waffles for another table, then circled back to say hello.

"Hey (y/n)!" They sang together as you settled in front of the booth.

"Hey y'all! The usual?" You said, ready to write their order on a ticket. After so long, you didn't bother giving them menus anymore since they never looked at them.

They both nodded, and gave you a second to write it down for them; a strawberry milkshake for (y/b/n) and a peanut butter shake for (y/f/n), with a chili fries to share.

"So," (y/b/n) started with a glint in their eye, and you knew what was coming next, "Is (c/n) working?"

You looked around and smiled before nodding. "Yes! They're somewhere in the back."

(y/f/n)'s shoulders    slumped. "Of course they are. Come on, when can we meet them?"

"Yes! We're starting to think you made them up." (y/b/n) said. You knew they were joking, but they had a point.

"No way I could make up someone so amazing!" You laughed and spared a glance at another one of your tables. You saw they were getting low on coffee, so you said a quick goodbye to your friends.

You walked briskly to the back to clip your friend's ticket to the line cook's shelf, and went for the coffee pot. On your way, you passed by (c/n) again.

"Well this is embarrassing, one of us is gonna have to change." They said with a grin, gesturing to your shirt.

It took you a short moment to register the joke, but then you snorted. "It's not gonna be me, I look fantastic."

You turned away to make the last few steps to the brewing station, thankful to hide your smile. Now more than ever, you wished you went to school with (c/n). Unfortunately, you went to Eastside High School, and they went to Central High. They were forever bragging that Central had a better football team, but they always quieted when you brought up all of Eastside's marching band trophies.

As you refilled your table's coffee cups, you saw another group of kids around your age being seated at your last empty table. Quickly putting your coffee pot back, you went back to greet them with some menus.

"Hey y'all, I'm (y/n), can I get you started with some drinks?"

Both of them sat a little straighter at the mention of your name, but you pushed it out of your mind.

"Hi, (y/n)," The first one said, drawing out your name. You ignored the tingle up your neck. You never liked when people used your name, but they seemed nice enough. "Can I get a chocolate shake?"

"Of course! And for you?" You quickly wrote down the shake and turned to the other.

"I know I want a shake, but I'm not not sure which one. What do you recommend?"

The first one seemed to jump in their seat, and the other one whispered an 'ouch!'. Presumably, they had been kicked.

You looked at the two of them for a moment before continuing, "Well, the banana shake is my personal favorite." It wasn't entirely a lie, you did like banana, but your default was to suggest the flavor of the month.

"Then I'll have that."

"Cool! Do you need a minute to look at the food?"

"Nah, we're okay." The first said, then glanced at the kitchen and added, "Can you tell (c/n) that we're here? We're friends of theirs."

Now it was you who straightened a bit at their name. The two looked at each other for a moment and smiled, then directed all their attention to you.

"Sure! Can I have your names?" You said, looking down to grab the menus and wipe the smile off your face.

"Where are our manners? I'm (c/b/n)." The first one said.

"And I'm (c/f/n)." The other one said, reaching out for a handshake. (c/b/n) shook slightly again, and (c/f/n) winced again.

Hesitantly, you shook their hand. "Nice to meet you. I'll go tell them you're here right now."

"Absolutely!" (c/f/n) said cheerfully, and got kicked again.

You pitied their shins and wondered why they were getting assaulted, but that was the least of your worries. You had heard about (c/n)'s friends, but meeting them was surreal. Almost like your little workplace crush was a little more solidified.

Once you were behind the safety of the counter, you pushed your way into the kitchen and over to the griddles. When you didn't find them there, you went to the dish pit, and there they were. You were tempted to stop a moment and admire them hard at work.

Their forearms looked strong as they lifted a heavy pot out of the dishwasher and onto the shelf. They turned and caught your eye as they placed it on a drying shelf.

"Hey (y/n)!" They said, wiping their hands on their apron.

You never got sick of the way your name sounded when they said it. "Hey, your friends wanted me to tell you they're here. (c/b/n) and (c/f/n)?"

The way their eyes lit up was quite endearing. "Really? Are they sitting at one of their tables?"

"Yeah, they are."

"Fun! Let me know if they give you any trouble, and I'll beat them up for you." They said with a twinkle in their eye and finger guns.

"Noted." You smirked, turning to go back to tend your tables.

Just before you rounded the corner, you looked back. Startled, you found (c/n) still looking at you. They gave a small smile and held eye contact for a long second before looking away to continue washing dishes.

Heart pounding, you rushed back to the dining room before the kitchen staff could tease you like they normally did.