Action (DNF)

Chapter 14: Maniac

Clay POV.

The restaurant was surprisingly full for a Monday lunchtime, but there were still a lot of tables empty. A female employee standing near the front door smiled at us, “welcome to the Bluefin restaurant,” she greeted. “Can I get you two a table?” Although she tried to seem genuine it was clear she was questioning why I was wearing a beanie and some sunglasses inside.

“Yes please,” I responded as George nodded alongside me. She smiled at us before grabbing a couple of menus and motioning for us to follow her.
“Do you two have anyone else who is joining you?” She questioned, and we informed her that we didn’t. With a nod she began leading us to a table for two.

Our table was in the middle of the restaurant, and I decided to get George’s chair for him, with him smiling and thanking me as he sat down before I pushed his chair in. The hostess smiled adoringly at us as I moved to my own seat. “You two are such a cute couple. Now, here are your menus and I’ll go get you some water. Feel free to ask about the specials when I get back.”

Both of us moved to look at our menus and I heard George grumbling. “Why does everyone assume we are a couple?” He asked, his face gaining a soft red hue as he attempted to read through what was on the menu. “It’s getting kind of creepy.”
“That’s the kind of thing that happens to celebrity couples,” I explained with a shrug.

“But we’re not a celebrity couple!” The brunette objected, perhaps a little too loudly. “We aren’t even a couple and I’m not a celebrity.”
“It doesn’t matter if we are or we aren’t, it’s about what the media and public think.”

“That’s so stupid,” he complained. “Why would the public know more about our relationship than us?” I chuckled while shrugging at him, not wanting to go on a long explanation about how a lot of people were stupid with the ways that they fantasise over two people being in a relationship. I would also need to explain all the fanfictions and edits about us that will definitely be made.

Around this time was when the waitress returned, setting down a glass bottle of chilled water and two glasses. “Are you two wanting any drinks?” She asked, looking at both of us in turn.
I glanced over at George who didn’t seem interested as he was already pouring himself a water, so I just answered. “We are fine with water, thanks.”

“Alright, and are you two ready to order?” Once again I looked over to George who was taking one final glance at his menu before he nodded.
“I’m ready, are you Clay?” He glanced back over at me and I gave him a nod before ordering.

When we were done she repeated them back to us to make sure she had them right before walking off, telling us it was roughly a fifteen minute wait time. The moment she was out of earshot George looked me in the eyes with an ambitious expression, almost as if he was trying to see what I was thinking about.

“What?” I asked, raising my eyebrow at him. “Is something wrong?”
“I’m just trying to figure out why you are wearing the beanie and sunglasses inside?: He responded, his eyebrows remaining furrowed and fixated on my expression as he did.

“Because if I don't, people will recognise me. Then they’ll be coming up for photos every five minutes, or asking me to appear in their instagram pics or whatever.”
“What’s instagram?” George responded, tilting his head in curiosity. It was now that I remembered that this was George who I was talking to, who had no idea about social media.

I began explaining the concept of the app and it seemed that George understood what I was talking about as he nodded in understanding every once in a while. By the time I had finished explaining thoroughly enough for the brunette, our food was being brought over for us, and the waitress gave us both a smile as she set the food down.

“Here you both are, I hope that you enjoy your meals.” She said happily before leaving, and I noticed the way she looked at my hat and sunglasses again as she turned to leave, but I didn’t say anything. George also seemed to have noticed though, but he didn’t say anything either as he just grabbed a knife and fork and began eating.

“This is a nicer experience than last night was.” He hummed. “It’s quieter and slightly more my style.” I watched silently as he talked, it was as if he was just saying his thoughts out loud. “Your friends were nice, and dinner was nice, but it was just so public. And you didn’t even warn me!”
“I apologised for that though,” I reminded him.

“Yeah, I know you did, but I can still be petty about it.” The brunette said in such a blatant way that I couldn’t help but chuckle, getting the attention of a couple of the other people trying to enjoy their meal.

They looked over at me like I was insane, which is admittedly how I probably looked. Dressed in a hoodie, jeans, a beanie, and sunglasses in the middle of a restaurant laughing like a maniac. I strangely did have to admit that these moments when I wasn’t seen as an actor and just as some rando did feel nice though.

George and I continued to chat away, making each other laugh. “Do you have work this evening?” I asked at one point, it was near the end of the meal and we were scraping the remaining bits of lettuce leaves from our salad, or dollops of sauce.
“I do,” he nodded. “I start at 8:30, then I work until 4am.”

I nearly spat out my drink at that. “4am?” I repeated, raising my eyebrows in surprise.
He nodded in response before continuing. “Well the bar closes at 4am, and that’s when I’m meant to finish, but it all depends on how quickly me and Wilbur close up.”

“So it might be later than that?” I continued, feeling even more sorry for this poor, poor man who had talked often about his love of sleep. To have to stay awake until 4am would be the death of him. I attempted to hide my smirking at the thought, listening to George as he explained what ‘closing up’ entailed.

When he was done and we finished eating I asked if he wanted desert but the brunette shook his head as a no. So I paid and we left, heading back out into the warmer air of the mall feeling relaxed after that nice meal.

“What would you like to do now?” I asked, turning to look George in the eyes and he thought for a moment before I asked what the time was in response.
“It’s 1:43pm,” I responded once I’d glanced at my phone. “Why are you asking?”

“I’d like to be home by 4pm so I can have a sleep before work.” He explained. “But since we’ve got over two hours until then how about we just wander? See if anything catches our attention?” I liked that suggestion and so I nodded, responding with a ‘sounds nice’ as I took his hand in mine so that we could walk together.

We hadn’t even gone five steps before I heard a chilling voice. “Hello Clay,” a venomous feminine voice greeted. “It’s been a while since I’ve gotten to see you, hasn’t it?”
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1287 words