happy birthday, sweetheart

the food, part one

[along with being your christmas present, this is also your late birthday gift (bc i suck)! i really hope you enjoy. i saw this prompt on tumblr and thought wOW SHE MIGHT LIKE THIS so here you go. also (this won't make sense until you start reading but), this is sort of like an au for you because you're probably not allergic to this much]

[btw this has nothing to do with the previous short story thanks]

[this is so long i have to split it into two parts sorry ):]

PART ONE OF THE FOOD [clever title amiright]

eleanna never thought she'd go to her friend's christmas party this year--didn't really want to, for that matter--, but her boss decided to be gracious for once and let her off early. this resulted in a stressed out girl who only wanted to curl up in front of her cheap tv on her cheap couch eating great value cookies with her kitten. being twenty-years old without a college degree sucks in the world of careers, but she was pretty content. it wasn't her fault she got so sick in sophomore year that she missed most of her classes. deciding to take a break because of many failed courses was quite a grand idea, in her opinion. she doesn't mind living in a rinky-dink apartment working a minimum wage job.

if only she had a festive dress to wear to this party that she's been dragged back into.

it wasn't like her being let off early made her want to give up some cuddly time with her cat halsey. no, she was going to continue acting as if she was at work, slaving away as her friend pitied her while having the time of their life. if only said friend didn't call her while scouring the noisy streets for a taxi.

"ellie! hey, girl!"

eleanna flinched from the loud greeting. "jade, hi."

"i thought you were at work? i didn't expect you to answer." jade laughed a bit, obviously catching on.

looking around frantically, eleanna smothered the mic with her sleeves to block the outside chaos. "what do you mean? i am at work. i'm taking a break."

"uh-huh. ellie, if you didn't want to come, you could've just told me, y'know? i'm fine with that." the whimpering sound of jade's voice didn't make it seem like it was fine, though.

eleanna sighed very heavily, putting a hand on her forehead as she searched for a yellow car. "no, no, my boss let me off early. i was... actually going to surprise you by showing up."

a squeal came out of the receiver. "oh, really? that's great, ellie! i'll see you there! i know you said this wasn't your thing, but i swear you'll have the time of your life!"

eleanna honestly doubted it as she climbed into a taxi. it was a christmas party--on the twentieth, five actual days before the holiday--, so there wasn't much fun to be had. especially since she didn't know most of the people jade invited.

so, home she went, feeding halsey sadly before making her way to her room. she looked through her closet multiple times before deciding on the black dress she's only worn once (and that was to a funeral). it was pretty, she supposed, but definitely not christmas-worthy. oh well, she huffed, zipping it up before grabbing a jacket and some low heels to go with it. she knew jade wouldn't allow her to show up to the girl's party wearing flats or a sweater--she just didn't throw those kinds of shindigs.

eleanna made it to jade's house without much trouble. really, the only problem was the taxi driver eyeing her through the rear-view mirror the whole time. she decided a lot of men were pigs as she paid and hopped out. the dress wasn't even revealing. how low can people get?

"ellie!" jade exclaimed, pulling the girl into a hug. "you're right on time! all the food was just set out. c'mon!"

as her friend dragged her into the house, eleanna only thought of how lucky it was that she loved food enough to dismiss the odd people milling about. food was jade's savior when it came to avoiding being questioned by eleanna. only food.

but then they arrived at the buffet table. eleanna sighed, frowning down at her rumbling tummy. she couldn't eat any of this--every bit of the edibles were something she was allergic to.

"jade, i'm allergic to all of this," she informed her friend.

"oh, gosh," jade groaned, looking at eleanna sadly. "you told me you weren't coming so i made all the good stuff you can't eat because, well, it's good. i'm so sorry, ellie. i really--oh, hey sam!"

eleanna rolled her eyes as her friend, who used to be quite a good friend until this year, sauntered off with a boy. this whole party sucked to her. sure, the decorations were cool, and it was packed, and the lights outside--geez, they were something to marvel at. the food was supposed to make it all, though, so this whole thing absolutely reeked of suckiness. that was the verdict she came to as someone stood beside her to look at the buffet.

"would you do me a favor? can you try the peanut cheese dip for me? i'd like to know if it's as good as i think it is."

eleanna raised her brows at the stranger next to her. she was wondering why he couldn't try it himself like a normal person when she also started wondering how someone on earth could be so handsome. his hair was lying just past his shoulders--man, she never thought she'd think guys with long hair was hot--, and on top of his head was a very festive hat. his clothes were nice enough to make him OK for this party, but still casual and adorable. only he could find a vest with many versions of santa claus printed all over the material.

not to mention his face. but, we won't mention his face now. it would take too long.

"uh," she smiled apologetically, chuckling lightly, "i can't. i'm kind of allergic to everything here. sorry."

the guy's expression contorted into surprise, but pleasant surprise. "really? that's why i couldn't try the dip myself. funny. two people at the same party are both allergic to everything on the buffet table." he looked around before bending to whisper in her ear. she accidentally caught a whiff of his amazing-to-smell cologne. "someone needs better hosting skills, but don't tell anyone i said that."

eleanna couldn't stop herself; she let out an embarrassing laugh, partly because he was gossiping about the host to the host's friend, but mostly because it was so true.

this made handsome guy laugh, too, though, so she didn't care. especially since they found themselves unable to stop laughing, which made her want to cry, but in the nicest way possible. it went like that for awhile before they sobered up after noticing the stares of everyone else.

"so, since we can't eat anything here and it's well past eating time, would you like to have dinner with me?" the guy asked, his grin still intact from the laughing. she thought he had a really nice smile.

eleanna, her grin still there, as well, took a once-over of the party. jade wouldn't notice, and even if she did, who cared. she obviously wasn't going to stay if there was no food for her. "that sounds great, actually."

the guy never stopped grinning as he held out his arm for her to take, leading her all the way to his vehicle. "my name's wil, by the way. thought you should know before getting into a stranger's car."

"ah, how smart," eleanna smirked, her lips stretching more at the sound of wil's chuckle. "my name's eleanna."

he immediately blasted the heating once they were both in, ordering her to put on a seat belt before he pulled out. "where to, miss i'm-allergic-to-everything?"

"wherever, mister i'm-allergic-to-everything."

"so we're married now, huh?"

eleanna smiled at her lap. "yep."

END OF PART ONE

[ewww i just wrote "food" so much and now i'm thinking about it too much and ohmGOSHG IT'S SO WEIRD. SAY IT OUT LOUD A LOT & LOOK AT IT LONG AND HARD AHH]

[i'm working on the second part don't fret]