THE AFTERMATH | BEING HUMAN (UK)

DINNER AND A MOVIE

It was a slow day at the cafe. Wonderful for someone who'd only been on the job a couple weeks. Still, she knew how to make lattes, how long to steep the tea, how to work the register, and all the other bells and whistles.

Finally the bell rang indicating someone walking in. Amanda perked up from her place leaning on the counter and straighten out her apron, looking at the newcomer with a smile. "Hi, what can I get you today?" She asked in the way that she rehearsed a thousand times.

A young man with blonde hair and a pretty smile approached the counter, pulling out his wallet. He hadn't looked up from it yet, but when he did, he paused for a moment, slightly slackjawed.

"Oh, uh, I can give you a minute to look over the menu if you need."

He cleared his throat and smiled again. "No need!" He said a bit too quickly and a bit too loudly, earning an odd look from the woman working on her laptop at one of the corner tables. "Um, sorry. Could I just get a cappuccino please? To go, if that's alright."

Amanda put on her customer service smile once again. "Of course, I'll have that ready for you soon. What's your name?"

He looked slightly startled. "My- my name?"

"So I can write it on the cup." She said. Though by the look of him, she wouldn't mind getting his name just go have in her mind.

"Oh, right. Of course." He laughed and shook his head. "It's Harry."

"Alright Harry, I'll have that cappuccino right out for you." Harry nodded, paid for the drink, then sat at a table, waiting for the drink.

As soon as Amanda turned around, she started blushing. After writing the name on the cup and making the drink, which wasn't admittedly her best work, she turned around and set it on the pickup counter. "Cappuccino for Harry!"

Harry smiled and got up, sipping the drink. "Thanks!"

"Of course."

There was an awkward silence between them until Harry began talking again. "I was, uh... I was actually wondering what you were doing after this?"

In truth, she was planning on going home, putting on the most comfortable and consequentially the most worn out clothes she owned, and writing until the sun came up.

"Oh nothing really. Why?"

This seemed to give Harry a boost of confidence. "Well I was wondering if you'd like to come to my flat for dinner and a movie?"

Amanda blushed again, and this time there was no way to hide it. "Well, I'd have to go home and freshen up first, but that sounds great!"

"Awesome!" Harry said. Suddenly, he started rapidly drinking the coffee.

Amanda laughed. "What the hell are you doing? Slow down!"

Finally, he'd finished the cappuccino, and took in a large breath of air. "Do you have a sharpie?" She playfully roll her eyes and handed him the sharpie from her apron pocket. He began to write on the cup, just under his name, then handed her both the sharpie and the empty cup. "There. Call me later and I'll give you the address."

Amanda laughed when she saw the phone number written on the cup. "Will do!"

Amanda walked into the house as if she was walking on clouds. Her smile was wide and she was barely keeping in the laughter. Nina was sitting on the couch, cradling her daughter in her arms when the girl came in. She raised an eyebrow. "What's up with you?"

The redhead placed the cup down with a grin. "I'm going out tonight. Well, out to another person's house, but still out!"

"Oh!" Nina said. "Lucky Harry. Should we expect you back tonight or..."

Amanda sat down. "Oh god, I don't know. It's been so long since I've been with anyone like that."

"Aren't you eighteen? How long is so long?" The blonde asked with a pointed look.

"Christ, you sound like my mum." Amanda said awkwardly. "Just about a year." Nina nodded slowly in reluctant approval. "Should we be having this conversation in front of the baby?"

Nina scoffed. "Oh it's fine." She smiled down at the infant. "Little Eve can't understand any of this yet."

"Oh. Good." Amanda said with a sighs "Well, I'm gonna go shower and get ready. What does one wear to dinner and a movie?"

The blonde shrugged. "You're asking the wrong person. I don't think George and I have gone on a proper date since our first dinner together."

"Huh... do you think Annie's home?"

"Oh don't worry, Annie's always home."

"Perfect."

Amanda stood by the apartment door, clutching her bag with such ferocity that her knuckles began to turn white. She was wearing slightly nicer jeans than the ones she'd put on for work, along with a nice silky sleeveless top. She'd managed to pull her unpredictably wavy hair into one braid, plus the long bangs that framed her face, and for some stupid reason, curled more than the rest of her hair.

Just a few seconds after she knocked, Harry opened the door. He was wearing jeans as well along with a nice green jumper that fit him perfectly and complemented his eyes. God, he had pretty eyes. They were a blue-ish green, the color the water front wished it was. 

"Hey!" He said. "Thanks for coming! Come on in!"

The redhead stepped into the apartment and smiled. "Thanks for inviting me." She followed Harry to the living room where a couple bottles of hard cider on the coffee table. She sat down and picked one up, examining the label. "Wow, haven't had this stuff since secondary school."

Harry laughed nervously and sat down next to her, picking up his own bottle. "It's all I've got, sorry. I'm a bit of a lightweight. But if you want we can go to the store right now- or I can just go if you don't feel like-"

"No! No, this is perfect. I like sweet drinks. And beer has always grossed me out." Amanda said, putting a hand on his knee to gently stop him from standing up and walking all the way to the liquor store. "So what are we watching?"

Harry picked up the remote. "Well, I thought we might just channel surf till we found something good."

"Sounds good to me." Amanda said, opening her bottle and leaning back on the couch. Harry did the same, not so subtly moving closer to her. The girl grinned and moved close enough for him to put his arm around her, which he did after an awkward five minutes of flipping through channels.

By the time they'd chosen a movie, she was snuggled into his side and they were both almost done with their drinks. By the time they were five minutes into the movie, Harry had kissed Amanda, apologized for doing so without a warning, then startled when Amanda kissed him back. And by the time they were halfway through the movie, they weren't exactly paying attention to it any more.

When the movie had finished, there was no one there to see. Amanda and Harry had both left the living room, migrating to Harry's bedroom.