Princess Charming

Thirty One||Diners and City Lights

a/n: comment down below how much you hate me on a scale of 1-10 :))

this chapter was hell to write and you can see my writing deteriorate with every paragraph but it's fine i'm trying to get back on track.

if you have it in you, do leave a vote ❤️

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTION OF SUICIDE SO PLEASE TREAD CAREFULLY. I'LL MARK OFF THE BIT FROM WHERE IT BEGINS WITH '!!!!!!!!!!'

C h a p t e r   T h i r t y   O n e

Diners & City Lights

♔ L u c y ♔ 

 "I think we should get four fries and three onion rings."

"We should get four onion rings, instead." Jason retorts.

"Why are you like this?"

"Just get four of each." Matt sighs, "you're both fighting over nothing."

"Shut up, Parks!" They both scold at once before going back to bickering.

They've been this way the entire car ride here, bantering about the most trivial of things.

Matt sighs, leaning back beside me in the booth. He watches them for a moment without interest before turning to me. A smile appears on his face then, soft, mellow.

"Is something bothering you?" he asks in a mutter.

The sentence takes me aback, and I sit up straight on instinct.

"Uh, kind of." I admit. There's really no reason to be dishonest about it. The problem at hand won't disappear if I don't acknowledge its existence.

Matt regards my answer for a second before nodding. I appreciate that he doesn't push the matter any further than that, and only begins playing with my sleeve; folding and unfolding.

"Let's go somewhere after eating." He proposes to me. His cheek is resting on his forearm in the table, facing me. "I'll drop you home afterwards."

I shrug. "Sure."

A waitress appears then, pale yellow uniform adorning her curvy body, dark skin practically void of any spots or blemishes. She's absolutely gorgeous and probably washes her face with Jesus' tears.

"You guys decide what you want?" She asks with a bright smile.

"Your skincare routine," I think to myself as Jason dictates everyone's orders. We're at a diner Nathan recommended. It has quite a retro vibe to it, and seems to be popular enough to have a decent amount of customers. 80's music is playing in the background, the melody dancing around the chatter of the customers.

After Jason and Nathan haphazardly list all our orders, the waitress repeats it and we nod in unison to confirm. With that, she leaves.

Jason types something into his phone, face holding a smile. He looks at me after locking the device. "Mom's leaving again. Something about the marketing team in New York."

The piece of information makes my heart settle just the slightest in happiness, miniscule smile forming on my lips. Whenever Barbara goes out, she doesn't return very soon, and that in itself is something worth considering a blessing. The house is quiet, her bathroom doesn't smell of vomit (she's notorious for getting drunk often), and there's no one to randomly wake me up in the middle of the night be it due to hunger or anger relief.

"Cool, Matt and I are staying over." Nathan pipes, grinning. He's playing with a napkin by trying to make, I'm assuming, a boat.

From my peripheral vision I can see Matt's eyes shifting between Jason and I, and the former seems to be considering something. Then, Jason sighs.

"I know what you're thinking, Matt, and I'll have you know that I trust you." my brother smirks.

What.

I turn my head to gaze quizzically at Matt, who, for some reason, has his cheeks dusted with pink. I then look at Nathan, who's waggling his brows at me with a Cheshire grin, fingers waving around a terrible swan made out of paper napkins.

Am I missing something?

"Whats wrong?" I ask the three of them, and my brother and best friend just smirk, looking over at Matt who shuffles in his position.

"They're just, you know, implying things." Matt murmurs almost inaudibly.

Oh.

"But you're gonna sleep in Jason's room. What's there to imply? Besides, even if you aren't, it's not like you haven't slept on the same room as me before."

As soon as I say it, my eyes go wide. Did I really just say that out loud? In front of my brother?

Speaking of which...
 
Jason looks likes he just tried to swallow a boulder, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"What?"

Matt peers at me, eyes saying why would you do this to me?

I send him an apologetic look in return.

"Prom night? You practically forced her to let him sleep in her room." Nathan says coolly, and I feel all the atoms in my body buzz with gratitude. When Jason isn't looking, Nathan sends Matt a nod, followed by a wink.

"Oh. Well, yeah. Just chill out."  Jason shrugs, snatching the terrible piece of origami from Nathan and unfolding it. He then refolds the edges, only neater than Nathan.

"You could not choose a worse time to mention our endeavors, Princess." Matt mumbles into my ear, evoking a shiver to run down my spine. His voice sounds so warm and sultry and so... Matt-like.