e d i t

chapter ten

ihop
(yn)
ten-thirty-four, Friday November twenty-fourth, twenty-sixteen.

The night shifts were starting to grow on me, if I must say so. I guess I kinda liked getting paid for rolling cutlery and standing around, I didn't have to wait hardly any tables, because people don't usually come in for breakfast on a weeknight, and if there's no tables to wait there's no tables to clean and no food to run. I didn't overly feel like I was missing out so much with Eli any more. I can't tell you why that is.

(Can I?)

And Callie had become one of my best friends. What people don't see about her is her sarcastic side, which is 98% of the time, she's a real jokester, and though she's younger than me by three years, she was still and very quickly becoming my closest friend.

Max's voice became audible through the empty restaurant as he opened the door, smiling I slipped of the stool I was seated at and walked around the corner, waiting for him and the guy-

girl.

Him and the girl.

in she came, bounding next to him, taller than me but not quite reaching as high as him, smiling away, looking up at him, blond hair cascading over her shoulders and in she came. He was smiling down at her, she was smiling up at him.

I don't know exactly what happened but I walked back to Callie before he could see me.
"Can you seat the next table?" I grumbled,

"Yeah sure, hey- is that your red-head?" She said, peeking into the doorway. I nodded, an eyebrow raised. She craned her neck to get a good view and after a couple seconds I heard a soft "oh". I could feel her searching me with her eyes but mine rested on the wall to my left, my teeth digging into my lip.

"I'll be back," She said, in the terminators voice, attempting at getting me to laugh, the best she got was a weak smile, and she disappeared around the corner. I heard her greeting them.

"Hi there, for two?"

"Yeah," Replied Max, "Hey, Callie is (y/n) working?" 

"She is,"

"Can we sit in her section?"

"She isn't taking any tables right now."

"Aw okay," He said. It wasn't hard to hear them, since it was only the four of us (+Ty) In the whole restaurant. After grabbing them their drinks, she returned back to me.

"You good?" She asked,

"Just fine," I replied hotly.

"Look, I understand if you're upset-"

"I'm not."

"Your bitter remarks would say otherwise," she teased, however her face went serious after my lack of happiness. "Look I understand it's hard to see him with anoth-"

"Eli, Cal."

"Okay, real talk." She started, I rolled my eyes as she put down her cutlery and began looking at me intently. "I know, (y/n). You know too okay I can see it."

"I don't" She didn't respond, all she did was set her facial expression and raise an eyebrow.

"Okay, Cal. I think he's cute. Is that all you want?" I snapped, I felt immediate regret for being on edge, I just wasn't having any of it, I was grateful however that she was understanding and sympathetic because her face softened.

"Look, If you're doubting your feelings for Eli, you should tell him."

"But what If I'm not doubting my feelings for him? I know I love him, Callie. I know that, he makes me feel like I'm home, like he and I are meant to be together."

"You wouldn't be thinking about your red-head over there if that was the case." I bit my lip, and uttered out a small squeak.

"But he- he makes me feel like I'm home."

"Home is where the heart is, (y/n), that's what you always tell me." She paused, raising an eyebrow. "So where is your heart?"

"Not with Max,"

"But not with Eli, either."

"I can't break up with him."

"And why not?"

"Because I love him."

She sighed, "I can't win with you can I?"

a slight smile flickered on my face, "no."

Callie got up and returned after delivering them more drinks and taking their orders and we then rolled cutlery sending each other snarky remarks back and forth, joking and laughing. She made me feel a bit better, I guess.

"Okay girl," She said after a while. "How about you help me run their food?" I gave her a look that quite obviously meant no.

"Well too bad, you're going to. Come on." She technically grabbed me by the hand and pulled me to the kitchen, where Ty handed us a couple plates and off we scurried, to Max's table. I didn't want to look at her, I didn't want to see her sitting where I was sitting just a few days ago, and I didn't want to look at him, I didn't want to like him. Everything in my whole body was telling me not to like him.

But as we neared their table, in flooded the butterflies, and up jumped my nerves at the sight of him.
And as we neared the table even more, I heard something that took the edge off of me.

"Emily why the fuck are you so hyper."

"I drank four coffees at work today Just after lunch."

"That's unhealthy. Would you QUIT shaking your leg? Gah I can't stand you!"

"You love me, Max. I'm your best co-worker."

and as we neared closer and closer out came the words that made me physically sigh with relief.

"No I actually hate you." He replied jokingly,

"You're right, Peter would hate me, did I tell you about the date he took me on the other day?"

"I don't care,"

Callie looked at me over her shoulder just as she heard it, and it was totally wrong to say I felt happy about this. Totally wrong. Totally wrong and I was enjoying every second of it. He turned his head and his annoyed facial expression turned to happy as soon as he saw me, or the food, or me bearing the food, and I couldn't help but smile at him, he was so cute.

Callie was right,

Callie was always right.