Teen Idols And Happy Meals

Burgers and Fairytales

Nikki’s POV

I’d thought that a few days away from Jacen would do me some good . . . But holy hell was I wrong. By Friday, I was just about ready to snap. With him gone, everything had sunk back into its old rhythm, and it was smothering me. The normalcy of it all threatened to blot Jacen out; make him seem like a fantasy I had dreamed up. The longer he stayed away, the more I began to doubt I’d ever even met him in the first place. After all, who could I confide in to reassure me? I hadn’t told anybody about our relationship.

The only reprieve I had from my uncertainties was when his name lit up my phone. And then, relief would spread over me like a tidal wave; I wasn’t crazy. But of course, I was . . . Wasn’t I? I had to be crazy for being so torn up over the possibility that Jacen wasn’t real, right? I mean, we’d only been on two dates, but I had already fallen for him. And I hadn’t thought to put my hands out to break my fall either. I’d hit the ground hard.

 A grating buzzing sound aroused my attention from the calculus book I was attempting to read. My tired eyes snapped to my cell phone, where it lay on the counter – vibrating wildly and flashing a name on the screen. Jacen. Immediately I snatched it up.

Alright I’ll t2ul. Getting on the plane

 I pursed my lips; experiencing an emotional stalemate. On the one hand, I was happy, because he was finally coming home. But on the other hand, I was disappointed. He’d told me yesterday that he was leaving today. But he’d never specified if his flight was in the morning or in the evening. I’d hoped morning, but I’d never gotten the chance to ask. Today had been too hectic. But it looked as if I’d gotten my answer. It was already nine o’clock ; by the time he got home it would be midnight.

I sighed. It looked as if I’d have to wait another day. It wasn’t too big a deal. But for the entirety of my shift, I’d been waiting for him to walk in and surprise me. But now I was just about ready to clock out, and still no Jacen.

I glanced up at the sound of the door opening; it was a reflex. I was only moderately surprised by who I saw entering. There was Carter, his arm around none other than Demi Lovick. The Burnout Queen herself was sporting a stained hoodie and bloodshot eyes, while Carter rocked his signature wife beater and trucker cap. Together, they looked like Bonnie and Clyde on minimum wage.

“Hey Nicks!” Carter called loudly, waving at me enthusiastically as if there was a chance I hadn’t seen him. I gave him a smile, even though I wasn’t particularly happy about seeing him here. I loved Carter, don’t get me wrong, but there was a reason I’d banned him from coming here during my shifts.

“Carter, love,” I said sweetly as he dragged a clearly stoned Demi with him to the counter, “What in the fuck are you doing here?”

“Aint it obvious?” he drawled loudly, “I’m getting my lady a burger.” I slid my gaze over to his ‘lady.’ Demi’s unfocused eyes stared out from beyond the fringe of her uneven bangs. She was leaning heavily against Carter and I supposed that was the only thing keeping her from taking a face plant into the linoleum.

“Well you should be getting her a brain scan,” I scolded, “I mean, look at her Carter! She’s half dead.” Of course, to be fair, she looked that way a majority of the time. But still.

“Nah,” he disagreed with a flippant wave of his meaty hand, “She’s fiiine!” He jostled her by giving her a little shake by the shoulders, causing her to bump lightly into his side. The gesture only served to disorientate her further. “Aint that right baby girl?” he asked of her, but she didn’t answer. Her glossy eyes were roving all about, never fixating on anything.