Bad Reputation | S.M.

Chapter 2

"What do you mean?" He furrowed his eyebrows as he questioned the words that came out of my mouth. 

"Sorry, personal question, never mind." I said, shaking my head. I began to walk away when he grabbed my arm, holding me back.

"Wait, sit down." He gestured to the empty seat in front of him, but I shook my head, shaking his hand off of my wrist. 

"I can't."

"I'm sure your boss won't mind." He said and I looked over to Mike who was picking out muck from his teeth with a tooth pick, making my face scrunch up in disgust. I took a deep breath in and sat down, placing the rag on the table. "What do you mean by story?" He asked. 

"Well, almost everyone who comes in here has a story, whether they are aspiring actors or they just had a bad day." I shrugged and he looked at me cluelessly. "I saw all of the scribbled napkins and you looked really concentrated, so I just figured I'd ask."

"I don't know what my story is, I guess." He fiddled with his hands as he furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Nicole! Get your ass up and get to work!" Mike yelled, making me quickly stand up.

"Think about it, I'm always here anyways." I shrugged and suddenly he stood up too, leaving money on the table.

"I will, thank you Nicole." He slightly smiled, gathering his things. "Sorry about the cup again."

"It's fine." I said and picked up the money, only to see it was a hundred dollars. "Hey! Your change!"

"Keep it." He smiled and with that he left. I slightly smiled to myself and put the money into the register. Once I got the change I kept the tip and began to gather my stuff so I could go home.

"Mike I'm clocking out!" I yelled and walked out of the diner. Once I walked out I saw that it was pouring and I quickly put my bag over my head. I ran to my car and quickly got in before I could get anymore wet. I put my key in the ignition and the car began to sputter. I tried a second time, nothing. A third time, nothing again. I rested my head on the steering wheel and quickly grabbed something to put over my head. I got out of the car and popped open the hood. A bunch of smoke started to spill out and I tried my best to see what the problem was. Rain was pouring down on me and suddenly something began to spark, making me close the hood as quickly as I could. I went back into my car and hit my head on the steering wheel.

"Fuck!" I yelled and suddenly someone knocked on my window making me jump. I rolled down my window to see Shawn standing with an umbrella in his hand.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked and I took a deep breath in. I felt the water run down my back and my clothes felt heavy from the amount of water.

"My car stopped working, but other than that I'm do just great." I sighed.

"Do you need any help or ride? I overheard you talking to your boss about getting home."

"No, its fine really, I can walk home or get a bus."

"It's pouring rain, let me give you a ride." He smiled and I debated on whether or not I should. I had bare.ly met him like ten minutes ago, he could be a serial killer or he can be just a really nice guy I shrugged to myself, hoping that it was option two. I grabbed my things and got out of the car, underneath his umbrella. We walked over to his grey Jeep and he opened the car door for me, holding the umbrella over my head. He closed the door once I was in, jogging over to the driver's side so he could get in. 

"Sorry I'm gonna get your car wet." I said and he just shook his head.

"No it's fine, so what's your address?" I gave him my address and we made our way to my apartment in silence. I looked out the window to see the street lights illuminating the empty streets. Finally, we got to my apartment and I stared out the window only to look at my dirty apartment building.

"You live here?" He furrowed his eyebrows and I nodded.

"Yeah, working in a diner doesn't exactly get you a mansion, but it's home." I shrugged and opened the door. "Goodnight Shawn, thank you so much for the ride."

"Goodnight Nicole, it was nice to meet you." He smiled and I slightly smiled back. I got out of the car and took a deep breath in before running into the apartment lobby. I walked over to the elevator, getting in and I could feel my eyes getting heavy, yet I still needed to stay awake to do my homework. When I finally made it to my apartment I opened the door to see my two brothers asleep on the couch watching a scary movie. I rolled my eyes and covered them with a blanket before going to my room. I took off my wet clothes and changed into some warm clothes. I threw my dirty clothes in the basket and sat down at my desk to begin my homework. I had almost all AP and Honor classes which made my work load a lot harder and I still had to deal with work, soccer, and my brothers.

I took in a deep breath and began writing until I finally finished all of my work at three in the morning.
-
Shawn

My story? Well where do I begin. I am a seventeen year old famous singer who, well, doesn't have a completely normal life. Yes I love my life and the people who surround me. I'm so grateful for everything I have in life, but something was missing. There was a hole in my life and I don't know what I needed to fill it with. I sat in my car outside of Nicole's apartment and I wondered how she could live here. The neighborhood was super shady and there were rarely any lights around. I wondered what her parents do for a living.

I shook my head and turned on my car, making my way over to my house. After a few minutes of driving and listening to music, I made it to my house and I quietly went up to my room, not wanting to wake up any of my family members. I threw my things on the floor and threw myself on my bed. I felt my eyes grow heavy, but I couldn't stop thinking about the green eyes I finally met with today, a girl who's curiosity is making me think.