european // ONEYNG

five

   The next evening was much more exciting. Arin had a sudden change of plans, and decided we would all go to Outback Steakhouse, stating that Ross said something about Australian cuisine that lead to an argument.

   I hadn't been to an Outback Steakhouse in years, last time I was there, I was 12. I never went back, because I got food poisoning and also started not eating food that wasn't good. I gave it another shot, since it was a group of friends, and surely, they couldn't fuck up a salad.

   I told Todd I was going, and he left to go to the movies with Paul. I got a call from the movers that they would be by the next day, and I couldn't have been happier.

   Arin, Suzy, Ross, and Holly picked me up from the apartment complex. Suzy and Arin's car was surprisingly tidy, and I assumed that was Suzy's work, not his. He was a slob, Suzy was quite tidy. It seemed to work that way in most relationships.

   When we got there, Arin seemed somewhat surprised, stating, "they should be here by now, we'll get the table anyway." When he was asked how many people there would be, Arin responded, "eight, I believe."

   Eight. Holy fuck, I thought, eight people is a banquet!

   I was thrilled, a room full of friends all back together again, that being said, I didn't know half of them. It was less than 10 minutes later, that Chris showed up with 2 new people. A lanky blond, and a chubby brunet. They seemed like polar opposites.

   "Hey guys!" Suzy cheered, the blond sat next to Ross, the brunet next to the blond, and Chris sat at the last open seat. Next to the brunet, and on the other side, me. "What took ya' so long?"

   "Ryan was being a bitch!" The blond insulted falsely, "he was jerking off in the shower, and he came in his own eye!"

   The brunet, who I learned to be Ryan, laughed and protested, "no! I was trying to find something that wasn't basketball shorts! My clothes are gross!"

   Everyone seemed to laugh, I chuckled along too, though, I was just nervous Chris was sitting next to me. I hated it, I was never like this with anyone else. It prompted me to only stare at Chris, as he looked to Matt and Ryan, and wonder where I went wrong.

I had taken my phone out and saw a text from Todd. I told him to leave me alone for about an hour, unless it were an emergency. I waited for his reply to that, but was interrupted by Chris.

"You look different," he noted. I looked up to him, seeing as he was a foot taller than me, and blinked.

"Makeup, probably," I suggested, "I'm also not sleep deprived."

I watched as Chris nodded, "makes sense. Planes do that to you."

Small talk was better than no talk, and I was happy to be talking to him at all. I wanted him to do some voice acting for me on the next cartoon I was creating, so I had to get in good with him.

"Yeah, overseas flights are the worst though," I shook my head and put my phone back in my pocket, "7 hours of that garbage."

"It's the worst," he admitted, "the last time I flew back to Ireland, there was this asshole kicking my seat, and some dickhead fidgeting next to me. I can't stand it."

I chuckled, "I rather like the Dublin airport, I always make sure that when I go to France, that's my crossover."

   Chris shot me a smile, "yeah, I fly in there-"

   "Y'all ready 'da order?" The waitress chimed in, a thick southern accent that filled the air. I always enjoyed accents, but not when they reminded me of high school horror stories. Almost everyone looked to me, as did she, and followed up with, "Chloe?"

   So it was her.

   "Yeah," I exhaled softly, and watched her face light up, "that's me."

   "Well I'll be!" Belle exclaimed and put a hand on her hip, "haven't seen mucha' you since we was in high school! Man, oh, man, you hadn't grown an inch! Well, I'd say, you're no bigger than a minnow in a fishin' pond."

   "You two know each other?" Arin asked, seemingly more intrusive by the moment. He wanted to embarrass me, as a friend, as friends do.

   "Chloe only used to throw the biggest parties in LA!" Belle enthused, which was odd for her, since all she did in high school was spread rumours about me and my friends. "I only got to go to one, since my parents were stricter than a ruler." No, it was because you were a cunt and my friends would kick you and your posse out.

   "Really?" Ross quizzed enthusiastically, it seemed like all eyes on me, and for something I wasn't particularly proud of. "Any embarrassing stories?"

   I saw a spark in her eye, a smirk spread across her face, and I put my head down on the table. I rested my head on my arms, and braced to be embarrassed.

   "Well..." she began coldly, "when we were 15, we were taking the bus to school and when we arrived, she fell off the bus. Like, completely just fell down the stairs off the bus. Then, she walked into a pole, because we had this weird awning over the main entrance. She probably has head damage from that day."

   The table laughed, and my face heated up. I texted Todd to call me to prevent her from bringing up other things. He called virtually in an instant, so I excused myself, "pardon, I have to take this."

   "Come on, sweetheart, you know I'm just playing," she chimed soothingly, yet I only shook my head, accepted the call, and walked off. I only caught a glance of Chris' face on the way out, seeing as he was the only, one besides me, not smiling.