| 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒 | 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫 | 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 12 - Late Night Diner

"You know this isn't my house, right?" I spoke as we stopped in front of a small building, windows on every part of the wall, making tables, chairs, bar stools, and booths all apparent in the well lit room. "I know." Dallas laughed, causing me slight annoyance. "Then... what are we doing here?" I questioned, looking up to him with furrowed eyebrows. He looked down to me with a smile as he hitched his thumbs on his belt loops.

"We're gonna eat stupid." He answered in a mocking way. "I don't want food, Dallas, and I've already had enough of you." I crossed my arms. "Come on, I know you're hungry. Plus, we both know you love me." He turned towards me, a smirk plastered wide across his face. "First, I'm really not hungry. Second, I hate you and I expect you to know that." I turned to him.

"Guess you'll starve then. Come on." He turned away and began walking towards the entrance of the diner. "Dallas! I don't wanna eat!" I stood in place, unwilling to move. He merely ignored me by starting to enter the diner without a response.

The night encapsulated me like a bottle, the cold even more noticeable than before. I looked around, the dark almost creeping upon me. "Wait for me!" I shouted as I ran to the door. He held it open for me as I went through first, him following quickly behind with a smile.

"Told you." He stated with pride as he led me to an empty booth, both of us sliding in and sitting down across from each other. "Don't get cocky, I just didn't want to be alone." I traced the table edge with my forefinger. He laughed. "And here I thought you were fine by yourself, or at least that's what you claimed." He sat his elbows upon the plastic table, leaning towards me boastfully. I rolled my eyes as I felt irritated by his haughtiness. "Shut it. Will ya?" I demanded.

He only laughed at my words as a waitress came over with a handful of menus and a notebook. "Here." She placed down two laminated menus on the table in front of us. The older woman, looking to be in her late thirties, had coarse blonde hair along with her hazel eyes and pale skin that had been spotted with freckles. She looked worn out, dark eye bags hung below her eyes and the frown upon her face showed minimal enjoyment of the night shift at the diner.

"Thank you ma'am." I picked up the menu, scanning over everything written on it. "You're welcome dear." She smiled a bit, making me feel partially more proud of myself. "'Dear'." Dallas laughed, using hand quotations to quietly mock the woman as she left the table. I merely rolled my eyes and glared at him before turning my focus back to the menu.

"Whatcha gonna eat?" He asked with a grin. "Still figuring it out Dallas." I sat still, skimming over each and every section of the menu. "Take your time." He sat back, pulling a cigarette from the box in his pocket and lighting upon his necklace. After a moment of silence, I spoke, "Why'd you bring me here?" I set down the menu, now crossing my arms over the table and leaning in curiously.

He shrugged before pulling the blunt from his lips. "Just wanted to, and I wanted food for myself. Figured I'd bring you along so I could have some company." He put the cigarette back to his mouth. "Seriously? Company?" I laughed a little. "What'd you do with the real Dallas Winston? Is he back in New York?" I joked. "Alright smart ass, calm down. I just want to catch up with you, it's been awhile." He put his hands up defensively as the cigarette hung from his mouth. "Fine, fine, I guess I'll make an exception." I looked back to the menu as I pulled my elbows from the table.

"You're real annoying kid." He laughed at his own words. I rolled my eyes while also smiling at the name he pulled from his mouth. "Then do something about it." I smirked, him quickly laughing before returning the gesture. "Kid." I chuckled. "I thought I told you not to call me that awhile ago." I looked up to him, him beaming at my reaction. "Whatever kid." He propped his feet upon the end of the table, causing me to scoff and look back down at my menu.

"What can I get for you two?" The waitress came back to the table, looking to both of us for an answer as she held her pen against her notebook. "I'll have a cola, a burger, and fries." Dallas almost immediately spoke. She wrote the order down then turned to me. I skimmed the menu one last time before answering, "I'll have the same thing as him." I pointed to Dallas. She nodded then quickly wrote down my order. "I'll have that back to you shortly." She grabbed the menus and left.

"How's Tulsa going for ya?" He brought the cigarette back to his mouth. I shrugged as I brought my attention to him. "Shitty, especially since I've seen you here." I laughed. He stuck out his tongue mockingly at my words, causing a smile to delight my face. "You'll get used to it." He sighed before it went silent for a few moments.

"Why are you here anyways?" He looked to me with question. "My dad." I merely chuckled at the thought of him. "Can you believe that he's sober for once in his life and he wanted to see me again?" I spoke with sarcasm. "Not really." He laughed slightly. "How's Judd?" He asked with furrowed brows. My heart sank at the thought of Judd, for it killed me when anyone brought him up. I looked down to his steel ring that had been wrapped loosely around my right ring finger.

"He's gone." I answered as I gently touched the shiny exterior of the ring. "Gone where? College?" He sat confused. I hesitated then spoke, "Yeah." I sighed. "College." I sat with regret and grief but managed to hold a smile as I nervously tapped my knuckles against the table. "Really? He doesn't seem the type." He took a drag. "That's what I thought." I let out a fake laugh. "How'd you guys afford it?" He leaned on the table, his elbows holding his weight. "My mom saved up for awhile, secretly." I gave out another lie. He nodded before the waitress came to the table ready with our food.

Dallas sat back in seat as the waitress put down the meals in front of us. "Anything else?" She smiled. "We're good, thank you ma'am." I returned the gesture. "Of course, I hope you two enjoy your dinner." She walked away before both me and Dallas began scarfing up our food.