Then There Was You

At The Hop

"Chocolate malt."

It was Vivian's favorite treat. At least once a week after classes ended, the gang–mainly consisting of Cliff, Johnny and Vivian's best friend, Cherry–would all go over to Betty's Diner and have a soda. Viv always chose to have a malt instead. Ice cream was a bit of a weakness for her. Especially as the long days grew warmer in the south, it was nice to end a school day with a cool treat.

Sat at a booth with her friends, Vivian occupied the end seat with Johnny slid in beside her and had Cherry sitting across. The dark haired girl quietly sipped on a Dr. Pepper and shared a serving of french fries with Cliff. A few days had passed since Vivian's date with Niall, not having told a soul that it even happened. She had decided to keep the lovely little evening all to herself but Cherry was a perceptive, and quite deviant, girl and she knew by the glow in Vivian's eyes and the unmarked smile on her lips, that something interesting had happened that past weekend. She just had to get it out of her. "So, Viv," the inquisitive young woman began, snatching a fry from the red basket and taking a nibble on the end, "what'd ya get up to on Saturday night?"

Her question caught Vivian off guard, mainly because she had already asked her the same question the day before and Vivian had politely answered that she had stayed home to study. Cherry knew she was lying. She knew her best friend all too well. Clearing her throat, she shot Cherry a tight lipped grin and glanced over at Cliff, who was engaged in some meaningless debate with Johnny. "Nothin'," Viv told her, lifting a shoulder, "remember I told ya I stayed home?"

"Yeah, to 'study'," Cherry exasperated with a roll of her eyes, "I heard by a little birdie that you–"

"Cherry!"

"Oh, shit," Cliff pelted out mid sentence, the outburst causing the attention of both girls to snap to him. "What's that son of a bitch doin' here?"

Twisting her head to look over her shoulder just as the tiny bell on the door rang out, Vivian's heart nearly ceased when she saw Niall walk into the diner. His gaze caught hers for a mere moment as he peered around the place and he flashed her a smirk before sauntering over to an empty booth on the other side of the diner. Vivian pulled in a shaky breath, trying her best to collect herself before slowly turning back around to her friends. Cherry's eyes went big, noticing the heavy flush that was quickly invading her friend's cheeks as she struggled to catch her breath. Holding her green eyes steady down at the malt glass sitting before her, Viv leaned in to take a distracting sip.

Cliff nodded his head in Niall's direction, the Irishman facing towards them in his booth and talking to the waitress that had just walked up to take his order. "Guess I should go say hello, huh?"

"Yeah!" Johnny piped in.

Vivian whipped her stare up. "Cliff, no," she said, the stern tone of her voice causing him to peer over at her, "leave him alone. He's done nothin' to ya."

He furrowed his brow. "So?"

"So, don't cause a scene!" she went on, shaking her head with raised brows. "It's not necessary and you know what my father would say."

The table fell quiet and Cliff slid his stare away from Vivian's, slumping back into the booth. "Fine," he grumbled, picking up his soda to take a sip, "but I don't like him bein' here...this is our turf."

With her brown eyes still stuck to her friend, Cherry bit the smirk off her red lips before speaking up. "Hey, Viv, goin' to the ladies room, wanna come with?"

Vivian sighed before nodding her head. "Yeah, sure."

Both girls slipped from the booth, leaving the boys to chat on their own. Cherry hooked her arm around Vivian's as they began to walk towards the restrooms and Viv was quick to realize that the facilities were clear on the other side of the diner and they had to pass right by Niall to get there. There was a mischievous gleam in Cherry's eyes as the girls shuffled past him, and she closely took note of the reaction of both Vivian and Niall. A nervous share of smiles upon unbroken eye contact, a faint giggle befalling her best friend when he winked at her and the second she yanked Viv into that tiny restroom, Cherry was already clawing for details.