Hidden Flames

Chapter 5

[Pinball Pizza]

To say the air was thick within the walls of Pinball Pizza would be an understatement. You could cut the tension between Noa and Juliette with a knife. Juliette had walked into the restaurant like she has done many times before but this time it was different. She wasn't with all her friends, it was just her and Noa.

Juliette shook off her nerves as Benny, her new boss, walked over, "Juliette, welcome. Obviously you know Noa, so she's gonna train you today" Noa and Juliette shared a look, "Okay, get started" He said before walking away

Juliette walked over to Noa, "Hey," Juliette said, "So...you're training me, huh?"

Noa shifted her weight awkwardly, crossing her arms as she glanced away, "Yeah. Guess so" There's an award pause of silence, "Okay. So, first things first, you need to know how to work the register. It's pretty straightforward, but I'll show you how to input orders" Noa said breaking the silence

Juliette nodded, stepping up beside Noa at the counter, their arms briefly brushing against each other. As Noa explained the system, pointing out the different buttons and how to navigate through the orders, Juliette tried to focus, but her mind kept drifting. Six months. Six months since they'd confessed their feelings, and now they were back to pretending like it hadn't happened, like they weren't more than friends.

"Did you get all that?" Noa asked, glancing at Juliette expectantly

"Huh?" Juliette blinked, realizing she'd spaced out, "Uh, yeah. Sorry. Just...a lot to take in"

Noa gave her a small nod, "Right. Well, you'll get the hang of it"

Another awkward silence fell over them. Noa stepped back, looking around as if searching for something else to do. Juliette could feel the weight of all the things they weren't saying pressing down on her, but she didn't know how to start. How could she, when Noa seemed so intent on avoiding everything?

"Look, Noa" Juliette started hesitantly, "We can't keep pretending like this doesn't feel weird"

Noa stiffened, her gaze flicking briefly to Juliette before she quickly turned back to the register, "What do you mean?"

Juliette let out a frustrated sigh, "I mean, we haven't talked, just the two of us, in months. We've been avoiding this, avoiding us. And now...we're just supposed to pretend like everything's normal?"

Noa's jaw clenched as she pressed a few buttons on the register, "I'm not avoiding anything, Juliette. We're fine. Let's just get through this shift, okay?"

"Fine?" Juliette scoffed, "You really think this is fine? Pretending like nothing happened when clearly things have changed?"

Noa stopped what she was doing, turning to finally meet Juliette's gaze, "Nothing's changed, Jules. We're still friends"

Juliette's chest tightened at the word. Friends. That was all they were now, all they could be, even though it was so much less than what she wanted, "Right" She murmured, forcing a tight smile, "Friends"

Before Noa could respond, Benny's voice rang out from the back of the restaurant, calling for Noa to help with a delivery. Noa took a step back, her expression unreadable again, "I'll be back" Noa said quickly, turning on her heel and walking away before Juliette could say another word

[Rocky's Diner]

The girls walked in to see Imogen serving people coffee, "Table for five?" Tabby asked to Imogen's shock

Imogen sat them at a booth, grabbing them some drinks and food before pulling up a chair for herself, "What are you guys doing here?" She asked them

"Um. Look, we know you're bummed that we're not all in the same section at school, so we thought we'd surprise you" Tabby said