By Any Other Name

C.14

I came out of my room later that night for food, and L saw me go into the kitchen and stood a few feet away as I stared into the fridge.

I soon closed the door with a sigh and turned, jumping when I saw L behind me.

"I'm sorry I'm childish sometimes." He looked at the ground, tracing a tile with his toe.

"It's alright. I'm sorry I threw your king at you. Did I hurt you?" I went over and began running my fingers through his hair and found a slight bump. "Sorry." I whispered.

"It's fine. I forgive you." He said and we stood there in silence a moment. "You hungry? We could go get something if you want." He offered and I perked up.

"Really? Who are you pinning on me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Um. Me. If, if you wouldn't mind." He stuttered a little, and I smiled, finding it adorable. Hell, he was adorable.

"Give me two seconds. And get some shoes on." I said and darted back into my room, wiping off the paint with a makeup remover wipe and put on my scarf, then slipped on some shoes and grabbed my bag and phone. I met him at the door way, and he actually put shoes on.

"Let's go! And don't judge me by what I eat." I said.

"I would never." L shook his head and I linked our arms as we walked through the streets. I lead us to a cheap McDonald's, and went up with him.

"Hi, can I get a BigMac with a large fry, ten piece McNugget, a lot of ranch sauce, um, five cookies, two large sodas, and a McFlurry, please?" I ordered as she typed it in, and read it back to me. I paid and got the reciept and we waited for our order to be called.

We sat at a back table together, and I told him to stay as I grabbed it and brought it to us. I sorted the food between us, giving him the cookies and the McFlurry, and me the actual food.

"That is so much..." he shook his head at me and I grinned.

"Another fact about me, I crave shitty, greasy, fatty foods. McDonald's is a fucking saviour to me." I said as I opened a ranch container and started dunking chicken McNuggets in it.

"The shittier the food, the better." I said and ate a nugget. "I've almost always said that when I get rich, if I ever do, I will spend all my time at McDonald's and Five Guys and just places with food like that." I smiled while shaking my head as I picked up my BigMac.

"Aren't you worried about your health?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes at the irony.

"Nope. I don't plan on living long anyway. I plan to die around forty or so." I shrugged.

"And if you don't die by then?" He stopped eating his ice cream for a moment to stare at me.

"Then I'll kill myself." I said with a shrug. "What?" I asked as he stared at me. "I don't wanna get old and shitty and with horrible health, so I'll just die before then. Forty's a good age to go. It's before doctors stop taking care of you and start saying 'well, that starts to happen around your age.'" I rolled my eyes.

"How would you do it?" He asked, resuming his eating, and I was a good way through my BigMac now.

"Shoot myself in the head. I'm not a pussy." I snickered. He went quiet and I finished up my BigMac and looked questioningly at him as I ate my nuggets with ranch, a few fries here and there.

"You don't like that idea. Of me dying, especially me committing suicide." I said.

"I care about you." He said simply.

"But you don't know me." I said.

"I knew you once, and I feel like I'm closer to knowing you again." His eyes bore into mine, then his eyes widened.

"Your face." He said and I suddenly realised I had lowered my scarf around him without him looking away.

"Oh..." I said and brought it back up around my nose, but he reached forward and lowered it for me, his eyes looking at the lower half of my face.

"You're... pretty." He hummed and I smiled, then chuckled as I bit off a piece of my last nugget. "Even prettier when you smile."

"Thanks. You still don't recognise me, do you?" I asked and he looked down and shook his head. "That's alright. It'll come to you sometime. And if it doesn't... then I guess you're just an asshole." I smiled and started on my fries as he finished up his food.

"How close were we, exactly?" He looked at me, and I stared down at my fries and ranch. "I'm sorry."

"It's been years..." I shook my head. "I don't blame you."

"But you're hurt." He noted and I didn't reply to that.