Played.

11: "Justin, Stop."

We made ourselves comfortable in the diner, sitting at one of the old-fashioned booths with plushy red sofas, Marcus and I on one side, Justin on the other.

"Are you ready to order?" A waitress, with short blonde hair and a red lipstick smile, asked.

Justin looked at her, I noticed his hard face soften the slightest bit, his eyes widening a little. He took in her appearance; her eyes, her smile, her hair, her uniform. Within a split second, he turned away from her. His face hardened again, his eyes becoming narrow and his jaw tightening. His jaw rippled, as it does when a boy gets angry, annoyed, frustrated.

I sat back in my seat and wondered, what could have made his mood switch so suddenly? There was nothing here that could have caused that in the slightest. Maybe it was the waitress. Had she done something? Did he know her?

"Maddie?"

I snapped out of my thoughts to realize Marcus had been calling my name.

"Sorry." I shook the confusion of my thoughts off my face.

"Are you ready to order?" He laughed.

                                                                ****

The food was wonderful, now it was time for dessert. I took hold of one side of the menu that I was sharing with Marcus, while he held the other.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies, Apple Crumble, Banana Cream Pie, Oreo Cheesecake, the list went on. It all sounded so appetizing to me, I just couldn't choose.

"I'm going to pop to the bathroom real quick." Marcus said as he shuffled his way out of the booth, leaving Justin and I, alone.

I could feel the awkward tension as we remained in silence, opposite each other. There was noise around the whole diner, but somehow, I was only focused on the silence between us, it was uncomfortable. I felt like something needed to be said, here goes.

"What are you having?" The silence broke under my voice.

"What?" He looked up, his mesmerizing eyes linking with mine.

"I said, what are you having?"

"Why are you talking to me?"

"What?" I was taken aback.

"I said," He mocked my voice. "Why are you talking to me?"

"I was just asking, God."

"Well, don't."

"Listen, I don't want to be here with you just as much as you don't want to be here with me. I'm only here for Marcus, okay?"

"Then why are you still insisting on talking to me?"

"Because I -."

I thought, why was I even still talking to him? I sighed, rolling my eyes and looking back down at the menu.

"Maddison Court? Is that you?"

My head jolted to the side, my eyes falling upon Jessica Raymonde, a petite girl in my grade with bouncing, highlighted, honey-blonde hair and almost transparent green eyes. We were friends, but not the closest.

"Yeah, hey, Jessica. What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question, until I saw your hot date over here." She winked and did a miniature point to Justin.

I felt physically sick, whether it was the amount of food I'd ate or the fact that she refered to Justin as my date, I don't know. She thought he was my date. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, I simply replied, "Oh no, he's -."

I was cut across by Justin. "I'm not her date."

"I don't need you to talk for me, I'm a big girl." I glared at him.

"Oh, just friends then?" Jessica continued.

"I'd hardly say that." I said in a hushed tone.

"If you're not on a date, what are you both doing here, together?" She tilted her head.

From across the table, a sudden burst of anger streamed out of Justin.

"Can you just leave?" He growled, taking his focus away from the menu and slapping it down on the table.

"Don't talk to her like that, Justin." I retaliated.

"Why not? She has no reason to be here, she's just being nosey."

"Justin, stop."

"No, it's fine. I'll go." Jessica whispered, hurt coating her voice, almost like she wanted to cry.

"Jessica, no, wait." I called, standing up from the seat. "Fuck you, Justin." I spat.

"I bet you'd love to." A vile smirk crossed his lips.

Right there and then, I wanted to slap him, again. Hard.

"You make me sick." I walked out of the booth and in the direction Jessica ran.

"Jessica, wait!"