The Leader Gave Me Hope: The First Book of the Freeformers Series

• Working •

Harvey Roberts ran his thumb beneath the apron strap around his neck, adjusting the thin strap of fabric back onto his cotton tee shirt as he flipped the burger on the grill and glanced at the fryer full of French fries. He grunted to himself, silently cursing the irritating sting of chafed skin. The shrill sound of the service bell at the front counter made him grumble quietly.

"Be out in a sec," He shouted, determined to finish making at least one meal before he had to cover for the waitress who still hadn'tshowed up for her night shift.

More annoying rings from outside the kitchen.

"I said, hang on!"

He huffed in frustration, wondering where Faline was.

She was never late.

Never.

An equally annoyed voice found its way to Harvey's ears from the counter. "Yo, buddy! Not gettin' any younger out here!"

The cook threw the patty onto a bun, turning the grill offand plodding out into the open, pointing his spatula accusingly at the complaining customer.

"Listen pal, you try workin' alone in a diner during rushhour, and tell me how thrilled you are to get a punk like you ringin' the friggin bell like—"

"Harvey!"

Harvey's head snapped to the door, where a blonde, slim, and abnormally cheerful-looking girl had just entered. Her gaze flicked to the increasingly angered customer, then back to her employer. She rushed over, coaxing Harvey back through the kitchen door and hurrying back out to deal with the growing line in front of the register.

Harvey grumbled incoherently, half listening to the bustling voices dying down as he went back to his grilling.

Faline eventually walked back through the door.

"Man, Harvey, you sure know how to stir people up."

"That's why I stay in the kitchen," He countered, dark eyes flicking to his waitress as she donned her apron, "Where've you been? Ya know how late you are?"

"I know, and I'm sorry. I got caught up talking with a friend of mine," She explained nonchalantly, beginning to pile her hair up onthe top of her head.

"Friend?" The cook looked up at Faline incredulously.

She glanced up, mumbling around the bobby pins she was holding between her lips, "Yeah. Sheesh, don't sound so surprised."

"Derrickson, you've told me what you think about friends," He justified,"You've told me how much you avoid people, 'cause you don't think they'll understand ya. You said, and I quote – 'why tie myself down with people to care about, when I'm leavin' all this behind anyway?' " Harvey snorted in slight amusement, "You've just never wanted friends, kiddo, no matter how much I pestered ya to find some."

"Well, this friend's different," She insisted, smiling softly once the last hairpin was in place, "He's not like other people. I'm not some kind of charity case to him."

"Him?"

Harvey Roberts had no children. His diner was his one and only pride and joy. He'd never bothered with relationships, much less wasted time fantasizing about family life. And yet, once he'd discovered Faline – the closest thing to family he would ever get – was actually socializing, and with a... a boy. His paternal extinct (which, upuntil this point, had been nonexistent) sprang forth to show plainly on hisface.

"Who is he? I swear if that little twerp breaks your heart, I'll break his face."

"No, no! Not at all like that, Harvey. Just a friend," Faline giggled lightly. 

With astart, he realized he'd never heard her laugh so genuinely. 

"...His name's Leo," She continued, a new bit of caution edging into her tone.

"Leo? Hmph," The cook muttered, turning to pull the fries out of the fryer, "Is he a good kid?"

"Yes," She assured with a grin, "He's totally responsible.Levelheaded, too."

"Uh huh," Harvey made a grab for his shelf of condiments,"Good family?"

"Great family. Honestly, Harvey, he's harmless."

"That ain't stoppin' me from askin'," He bantered, "What's this kid do for a livin'?"

"He's a ninj...," Faline stopped short abruptly, freezing in place for a moment. Harvey narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"A ninj...utsu. Teacher. Ninjustu teacher. At a martial arts dojo," She amended, flashing an innocent smile at the cook. He raised a brow quizzically.

Silence. He waited for her to say more, though it seemed like Faline was holding her breath for his reply.

"...Oookay," He finally said.

Her form relaxed, and she strode up to Harvey's side,helping him arrange the dishes she would soon serve.

"Just... be careful. You know how some guys are. There're real weirdos out there."

"I'm in no danger," She maintained, "You don't have to worry."

"I know, I know. Just get worried about ya, that's all. Soon you're not gonna even be around for me to nag."

Faline gazed over at her employer.

"...When I said I was going to leave all of this behind," She started, "I never said I was going to forget about you."

"Derrickson,don't be getting all mushy on me now," He warned.

"I mean it. If It wasn't for you, traveling the world wouldn't be more than a pipe dream forme," She said with a tiny grin, "With your help, I'll be able to get a plane ticket out of here in just about a year."

"A year?"

"Yeah, paying for all my living expenses has put me a bit behind," She admitted, her smile turning sadder by the instant.

Harvey paused, the gears in his head beginning to turn slowly. Faline deserved more than this – she deserved to get what she'd always dreamed about. She was a good person, who'd gotten a load of crap to deal with in her life, and still, she never lost sight of her one goal: to see the world.

The cook stopped his burger preparation to push out of the kitchen door. He jabbed a few buttons on the cash register, opened the drawer of bills, and yanked out a considerable amount of those bills. He entered back into the kitchen and thrust the money into Faline's hands.

"Here," He mumbled, "That should just about do it."

Her eyes widened, and then began to fill with tears.

"Harvey, I can't  accept—"

"'Course you can," He interrupted, "Call it a little going-away present from the boss."

Before he could say another word, Faline tackled her employer into a hug. He grunted in surprise, glancing down at the fair-haired girl and awkwardly returning the embrace.She eventually broke away, wiping away her euphoric tears and beaming gratefully.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it, Faline," Harvey smiled softly. His gruff demeanor returned a moment later, when he placed two heaping plates into her hands along with the money. "Now go serve these meals. We've got customers waitin'."

"On it, Boss,"She nodded, stopping before she exited to deposit the impressive sum into her bag, and crying out over her shoulder, "And just Fae will do."

Harvey Roberts watched her go, the remnants of his smile still trying to fight their way to the surface. His eyes found the orders still waiting to be filled, and as he returned to his cooking, he hoped Fae would make more friends like this Leo character. Perhaps her days living in lonely solitude were finally at an end.