Under the Radar

Surprise! Not Really.

Saturdays. Gotta love 'em. It's the weekend! No responsibilities, everyone can sleep until noon, you can do what you want! That's what I do, I sleep until 12:00, sometimes later if I'm that tired.

But you get the point! I was trying to sleep in, and my phone rang at 7:30 this morning! I didn't care enough to check caller I.D. I just answered and groaned a "what?". Who ever it was asked my some sort of question, I gave them an answer. I was actually too tired to really pay attention to what the question or my answer was. Yeah, that's right, I was that tired; too tired to even pay attention to what I was saying.

Anyways, after the call, I went back to sleep. I got another good six hours sleep before waking up again, this time because of my mother. I fell out of bed, literally, and trudged my way to the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, I was clean and wrapped in a towel. I was going to go to my room but the door bell rang. From down the hall, my dog Lilli barked. I knew she was running to the door because of the clanking of her nails on the wooden floor. "Mom! Can you answer the door please?" I shouted, still standing in the bathroom doorway. There was no answer. "Mama, I'm kinda not exactly..." The bell kept ringing and ringing. Whoever it was was impatient. I snuck down the hall, searching for my mother.

She was no where in sight. I made my way to the kitchen and noticed a note on the fridge. As the bell continued to ring, I read it.

'Mia,

Sorry, but I was called into the clinic. They needed extra help, we just got some dogs that were in the fights. So I won't be back until tonight.

Love you, mom

P.s. There's groceries in the fridge and I left money on your dresser.'

I sighed, getting annoyed with the doorbell, and marched over. When I opened the door, I gasped, coming face to chest with Daniel. "Daniel? What are you doing here? Wait, how do you know where I even live?"

He raised an eyebrow confused. "Um, I called this morning and asked for your address." He looked down and smirked, "I came early to make sure you're prepared for what we're doing, but I honestly think what you're wearing now is better."

I looked down and gasped, realizing I was still in just a towel. I blushed furiously under his amused gaze. "I...um... I'm gonna go get changed." He nodded and followed me inside the house. He went into the living room and sat on the couch as I headed up to my room. "What did you mean 'prepared'?" I shouted from my closet.

"Wear something comfortable, like jeans or whatever!" He called back.

I on some jeans and a black sweatshirt that said "Cool Story Bro". After I dried my hair, I put it in a ponytail with a bow. Don't ask why, I just like bows.

I hopped down the stairs, trying to put my sneakers on at the same time. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, they were on my feet, and I walked into the kitchen. I glanced at the clock, it said 1:57. "Daniel?"

"Yeah!" He shouted over the tv.

"Where are we going?"

The tv turned off and a few seconds later, he walked into the kitchen. "Well first we are going for lunch and then I'm taking you somewhere else." He smiled.

I stared at his face for a while. He looked good when he smiled. His face just lit up like a child's on Christmas, and his brown eyes twinkled with amusement. I was snapped out of my staring fit when he coughed to get my attention, a smirk now playing on his lips. I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Uh, how much money do I need to bring?" He looked at me, shocked. Daniel's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion while he chewed on his bottom lip, lost in thought. "What?" I asked.

He smiled at me and laughed, "Nothing, I'm just trying to figure you out. C'mon, let's go." He waited for me while I grabbed my keys and draw-string bag.

When we pulled up at the diner, I was full of adrenaline. We had taken Daniel's motorcycle; he thought I was going to be afraid. But instead, I hopped right on and patted the seat in front for him to sit.

As soon as I jumped off, Daniel grabbed my arm and stopped me from walking to the diner. "When we get in there, do me a favor?" I nodded. "Ignore anything that Jenny or Margaret have to say. Anything that comes out of their mouths, ignore it." I nodded again.

Instead of letting go, he just slid his hand down to my own and held it. I was shocked, I was confused. I don't know why, but I didn't move my hand either. We walked over to a booth and sat on opposite sides.

"Hello, welcome to Marty's. What can I - Oh my god! Danny I haven't seen you in years!" The older woman with a country twang said. "How are you, honey? How's grandma doin'? Oh my god you've grown up so much! You're so big now, and so handsome! Oh, how rude of me, what's your name sweetie?"

As I opened my mouth, Daniel answered for me. "This is Mia. Mia, this is Jenny." I stuck my hand out to shake hers and she gladly took it. "Hey Jenny, can we get my old usual please? Also one, Pepsi and one Coke." He smiled at her. She wrote it down with a smile, and winked before she left. "I'll be back, I'm gonna go to the bathroom." He told me.

I sat at the table waiting. Jenny soon came back with the drinks. "Thanks, Ms. Jenny."

"Oh honey, none of that 'Ms.' crap. We're all friends here! Just Jenny is fine." She smiled at me, which I returned. "So what's goin' on with you and Danny? The only other woman he's ever brought here was his grand-"

"Hey Jenny, thanks for the drinks." He slid back into the booth. With that, she said 'no problem' and left.

I cleared my throat. "So what exactly is your 'old usual'?"

He laughed. "It's nothing bad. It's actually a cheeseburger with fries. But they make the best burgers, I haven't had one in forever!" I laughed at his excitement. "So what did Jenny say?"

"Well she just told me to call her Jenny not Ms. Jenny and asked what was going on between you and I. But you got back before I awkwardly made a fool of myself for not giving an answer." I laughed. I honestly didn't know what to say to her question before.

He smiled as the food arrived. He was right, BEST burger ever! We talked and told stories, we spent at least an hour in the diner. I actually had fun!

Just as we were walking out, someone grabbed onto Daniel's arm. "Danny?" Daniel and I turned to face a blonde waitress, who looked more than shocked at Daniel's presence.

"Margaret. How are you?" He dead-panned. He sounded bored, like he wanted to be anywhere but talking to her.

She laughed and fluttered her eyes. "Still the gentleman, I see. Im good! I'm great now though. What are you doing here, Danny?"

Daniel's hand reached for mine and pulled me to him. "I'm here with Mia, actually." Margaret's eyes turned to meet mine. They were filled with outrage, anger, and jealousy.

"What is she, like, your cousin or something?" She sneered. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"No. Goodbye, Margaret." He started to pull me out the door before someone latched onto my other hand.

"Stay away from Daniel. He's mine. He's been mine since before you met. He's to good for you anyways. He'll probably just use you, and dump you once he's finished." Margaret dug her nails into my skin.

I just yanked my hand away and looked into her eyes. "Me and Daniel aren't together. We are only friends. Great job, at making a fool of your self." I walked out of the diner to Daniel's motorcycle. I looked down at my hand, where Margaret was digging her nails in. I was bleeding, but didn't really care. I had a high tolerance to pain. When Daniel saw though, he got upset.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know she would take things that far. She's never done that."

I shrugged. "It's fine. I put her in her place." He looked at me shocked. "I didn't hit her, if that's what you're thinking." He visibly relaxed. "That was fun though, I had a good time. Thanks."

He smiled and got on the bike. "The fun's not over yet, Sweetheart."