Then There Were Four

Chapter 11

After a few minutes we arrive at Nando's and the heavenly smell of roasted chicken wafts over us as Niall opens the door. He slides his arm off of me and glances over at the girl behind the counter. She looks about seventeen and she's wearing dark clothes, heavy makeup and has black hair with purple highlights. Niall pulls me toward the back corner of the restaurant where it's darker.

He tightens his hoody and adjusts his sunglasses. "Okay, so here's the plan: you're going to place the order and I'm going to stand just behind you so that the waitress doesn't recognise me. Then when it comes to paying, you're going to step aside and let me handle that. Then we're going to come back here and wait until they call our order number. Alright?"

"Alright." I nod. I thank the heavens for the invention of sunglasses as I am able to think rationally with the dark shield between his eyes and mine.

He relays the order to me and I recognise some of the meal as my - I mean, his - usual order at Nando's. So the tabloids aren't all wrong, I think.

We stand in the short queue up to the counter and when we get to the front I see a defensive look flash over the girl's face as she watches the shifty-looking Niall behind me. It must mimic the look I gave Zayn when I first saw him at The Star.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the girl says, her eyes still shifting between me and Niall. She still looks suspicious but her face slowly slips back into the bored expression I suspect has been on her face through the entire day. Niall takes a step to his right so that he is behind me. He is so close to me that I feel his body heat through my jumper.

"Hi, can I get two full chickens of medium spice with 2 large peri chips, 4 large mild chips, 6 medium corn on the cobs, 20 hot chicken wings and 3 bottles of coke?" I rattle off the order Niall just recited to me.

The girl stabs the screen in front of her a few times then looks me up and down. "Is that all for you?"

"Yeah, I'm a growing girl." I flash her an innocent smile. I hear the sound of Niall holding in a laugh.

The girl's face remains unchanged.

"No, it's not just for me." I roll my eyes.

She continues to poke the screen. "Will that be all?" She raises an eyebrow at me, daring me to make her job harder by ordering more.

"Yes, that's all." I give her a sickly-sweet smile.

"Great." It's her turn to roll her eyes. She points at the total cost on the blue screen in front of me. I can't supress the shocked look that crosses my face. "Will you be paying by cash or card?" This time she fake-grins at me.

Niall steps around me, ducks his head and places the money on the counter.

She looks down at the money then at Niall then at me. "Cash?"

"Cash," I verify, still trying to get over my shock. How could one meal be that expensive?

She taps the screen a few more times, takes the money and places his change on the counter. "It's been a pleasure doing business with you." These kind words could not have been said in a more monotonous way.

"Thank you," I reply.

Niall collects the change, I take the receipt the girl hands me and we stroll back to the corner of the store, trying not to draw attention to ourselves, and sit wordlessly in our dark booth.

I can't stop thinking about the money but I don't want to bring it up so we sit in silence for a few minutes. I can't tell whether it is a comfortable one or not. I'm looking down at my hands as they fold, unfold and refold the receipt repeatedly. I can feel his eyes on me but I daren't make eye contact. My heart races.