𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐑. b.e

one

theà's job at the 24/7 diner was not a good one—she worked the night shift, starting at 10:30pm and ending at 6am. it payed half decent wages and her boss wasn't the nicest, but beggars can't be choosers, as they say. she put up with it, telling herself that it'll all get better in the future. 

maybe it won't, but a girl can hope.

so that's why she was sitting behind the counter in a deserted diner at 11:47pm on a friday night, when most people her age would be out at bars or hooking up with a random college classmate. 

but theà doesn't go to college, and she doesn't tend to visit bars, as much as she might like to. money is tight, and theà knows better than anyone that when she's drunk, she spends far too much.

so she was here, sitting on a wooden stool behind the counter, alone. the last customer had left forty five minutes ago, and the car park outside the diner and the few other shops nearby was deserted except for her car and a sleek black car in the back corner park furthest from the diner. that car has been there for the past two hours, and no one's stepped out of it, so theà assumed it's staying the night. there was another car parked on the street near the diner, but theà assumed that was just a worker from another shop.

she'd learnt not to question these things. this was a sketchy part of LA, even if highland park was one of the better areas. rich areas have their secrets too, and this diner was one of them.

another ten minutes passed by, the only sounds in the diner being theà's breathing, the tapping of her foot, and the sound of the ticking clock echoing around in her brain. even the seconds seemed to be passing slower than they should be, the night crawling along as she realised that what she thought had been twenty minutes had actually only been seven. she sighed.

she pulled out her headphones, they were low in charge and she'd forgotten her charger, so on a normal night she would have waited until at least 1:30 in the morning to play any music, but she could feel her eyes drooping from boredom. she opened spotify—she and her friends had bought the family subscription together—and pressed play on one of her many playlists, not checking the title. she was only half taking in the lyrics to the songs, her brain too tired to keep up.

the next half an hour passed faster with her music, and before she knew it, the bell above the door had made its little jingling sound, signaling to her that she had a customer. she looked up, glancing towards the door. the customer didn't make eye contact with her, simply going to a booth away from the window and sitting down after glancing around nervously. it was now thirty five minutes past midnight, and the only reason anyone would enter a diner at this time is that they're going through... something.

theà took in the woman's appearance, her trail of thoughts cutting off when she noticed the red roots and the blue eyes. oh my god. what the fuck is billie eilish doing here, i'm going to faint. she shook her head at herself, pulling herself together before grabbing a menu and walking over to the table where she was sitting.

she smiled at her and placed the menu on the table in front of her, "hi, here's a menu. feel free to call me over when you know what you want to order."

billie looked up, a look of surprise flashing over her eyes before they returned to normal. what she was surprised about, theà didn't know, maybe it was the fact that theà had spoken to her like a normal human, or maybe it was something else.

"thank you." there was something else hidden behind her eyes, a more complicated emotion, but theà stopped herself before she started to psychoanalyse the expression. it's none of your business, stop being a psychology nerd for one second, jesus christ. let the poor girl exist for one second.

theà smiled again, and with that, she walked back to the counter. she's a normal person, if she wants a milkshake at midnight on a random thursday, who am i to judge?

billie didn't call theà over for a while, but after about eight minutes, her voice called out once again. "excuse me?" there was some sort of fragility in her voice, that theà hadn't noticed in the videos she'd seen of her online. she sounded scared, maybe nervous. why she was nervous, theà was unsure—stop it, theà, it's none of your business.

theà made her way over to billie's table once again, a soft smile on her lips. "yeah? what can i get for you?"

billie glanced down at the menu again, even though she had clearly spent the last eight minutes deciding. "uh, could i just have a hot chocolate. with oat milk, please?"

theà hummed softly, writing this down on her notepad even though she knew there was no need, considering it was the only order she'd gotten in over two hours. "anything else i can get you, or is that it?"

"also a small bowl of fries, please."

theà could tell that billie isn't hungry, she had that look in her eyes. she didn't want to eat, she wasn't here to eat. it was clear to her that she just felt bad about coming in and just ordering a drink, but theà wasn't complaining. she had to sit there until 6am anyway, she might as well be doing some work.

"lovely, i'll have that ready for you soon."

she headed back behind the counter to get the order ready, putting her headphones in again. everything she did, she did better with music. she made the fries and started cooking them, and while they were cooking she started on the hot chocolate. ten minutes later, everything was ready, and she walked back out to her table. "here you go, let me know if there's anything else you need."

billie nodded, smiling slightly. "thank you." there was a short pause before she speaks again, her eyes watching theà curiously. "are you the only person working here tonight?"

theà is surprised at the question, wondering why on earth billie eilish of all people wanted to have a conversation with her, but she responded in a level tone. "i am, yeah. i'm the only one who ever works the night shift."

billie hums curiously, taking a sip of her drink. "i guess you don't really need many employees at this time, do you? how many customers do you normally get?"

theà shrugged, laughing softly. "barely any, most of them are drunk old men or teenagers who've snuck out."

billie chuckled, "yeah, that adds up."

with that, the conversation died down, and theà headed over to some other tables to clean up. as she wiped the tables, she thought about how strange it was that an a-list celebrity was sitting inside the shitty diner she works at.

ten minutes later, she turned around to do her routine 'hey, how are you enjoying your meal?' that she'd drilled into herself after working at the diner for so long, but billie was nowhere to be found. she'd neatly stacked the dishes in a pile and there's a $50 note on the table next to it.

"what the hell..." theà muttered, looking at the money with disbelief. that meal—if you can even call it that—should've cost $12, not $50. she hummed softly, taking the dishes and putting the cash in the register. she glances out the window into the carpark, and her car is the only one to be seen.

she hums softly, shrugging her shoulders and sitting back down behind the counter, pressing play on her music again. if billie wanted to disappear and pay over double what she's meant to, she can do that. she could do whatever the hell she wanted, it wasn't like theà was ever going to see her again.

god, this city is weird. 

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surpriseee!!

what do you think so farrr (ik it's early on but stilll)