Love & Reason Keep Little Company (Freen x Becky)

Chapter 1

Half an hour before closing on a Friday night and Pak Nam's was like a ghost town.

The Austin's Western diner was a throwback to a bygone era of soda fountains and twenty-five cent hamburgers. With its best western's foods, chequered floor, red vinyl booths, and ancient jukebox, the old diner had changed little since it had been built back in 1952.

Back in its day, The Austin's had been the beating heart one of the Pak Nam, small town in Bangkok. It's a rallying point for some local teens on a Friday night. Now, the diner's early bird special was the one thing keeping the lights on and the business afloat.

Becky Armstrong had worked there in one fashion or another since she was fourteen. She'd started busing tables after school to make money and had worked her way up to waitressing. The diner had been busier back then.

Now, at seventeen, she acted as both waitress and cook. Half the time she had to wear both hats at once, especially on quieter nights when Mr. Austin, the owner, and full-time cook, asked her to lockup for him.

Becky didn't mind. The diner was quiet enough for her to cope. They closed at eleven and she rarely had any food orders after nine.

As it was, there were only two other people in the diner at that moment. They were high school seniors and semi-regulars at the diner.

Becky paid them little attention as she wiped the counter, but the place was so small, only a single line of booths on the back wall and the stools at the counter. It was impossible not to overhear their conversation.

"Seng's pissing me off." Said Freen, letting out a heavy sigh as she ran her fingers through her long dark hair.

Her eyes, an intense brown the colour of the chocolate, narrowed on the phone sitting in front of her as it beeped with yet another message from her ex-boyfriend.

"We broke up two months ago and he still thinks we'll get back together!"

"Meung... you broke up with him because he was so pig with mushroom-headed. What do you expect?" Nam, her best friend, rolled her eyes at her. "He's a controlling jerk and we both know he's not all there."

She tapped her head conspiratorially. Nam had never been a fan of Seng and had no problem sharing her honest opinion of the other boy with Freen.

"He's not that bad.." Freen huffed, defending him out of instinct, just like she had done for the last year.

"Please! The boy is scumbag with a capital S! Psycho!"

Becky did her best to mind her own business as she moved from behind the counter to sweep the floor. Neither of the other two teenagers paid her much attention.

Freen nursed her mug of hot chocolate with a frown as another message came through on her phone.

It was early October and the weather was turning as cold made its presence known. It always raining early in the morning and midnight too.

Freen had broken things off with Seng at the second week of August after her birthday. That seemed like a lifetime ago now.

"You need to make it clear you two are over." Said Nam.

"I have! I can't make it any clearer!" Freen glared at her friend like she was the source of all her irritation. "Sorry..." She added sheepishly.

Catching Becky's gaze, she dropped her own to the table.

"I know, meung.." Nam reached across the table and patted her hand. "What I meant was you need to move on. Find someone new."

"P'Nam, I just got out of a shitty relationship. I'm not looking to get in another one!" She slumped forward, crossing her arms on the table and resting her chin on top of them.