Reality

Meet Louis & Mikaela

a/n: pretty much obsessed with the new cover & i can't stop looking at it haha

Louis

I grab two slices of bread, placing them on the counter separately. Opening the containers for each item, I pull out slices of meat, cheese, and tomatoes, topping one of the bread pieces before I add the specified fresh veggies. I place the second slice of bread on top of the now prepared sandwich and hold it together with a toothpick.

All my movements are quick, having done this so many times every day. I'm an expert sandwich maker now, that's for sure.

Picking up a plate from the stack to my right, I put the sandwich in the center, scatter some potato chips around the sides, and set it at the window.

"Order up!"

"Looks good, Louis," my manager calls from the other side of the window, giving me a nod of his head.

I smile in response as I feel a hand grasp my shoulder. As I turn my head, I see the smiling face of my best friend and roommate. Her friendly and comforting smile always makes me feel good. I don't really know why. Maybe it's because I used to have the biggest crush on her, and I still do have some attraction towards her.

Nothing ever happened between us; I'm too awkward for that. It's a mystery we ended up being roommates. Although, it could be that we've become such great friends that I'm pretty much a brother to her. Kicked into the friend-zone once again, for about the billionth time.

I'm over it, sort of.

She has a boyfriend, anyway, so it's not like we're going to date any time soon.

"Dang, Louis! You whip those sandwiches out in, like, ten seconds flat. You seriously have to teach me how you do it," she laughs, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"It's really not that difficult to make a sandwich, El."

"Maybe not for you," she turns back to the counter in front of her, attempting to make a sandwich. "You pop those things out as fast as that Joey Chestnut guy eats those hot dogs."

"That's quite the exaggeration there."

"You know what I mean."

I laugh to myself as I get back to making more sandwiches for the line of customers in the deli. Eleanor's and my shift never feels as long as it actually is. We work the same five hour shift together almost everyday, and with all the jokes and small talk, it goes by really quick. But really, anything I do with Eleanor makes time go by quickly.

Alright, so I'm not completely over my attraction towards her.

I need to find a way to move on because nothing will ever happen between us.

At the end of our shift, we hang up our aprons and clock out before stepping out into the typical rainy Seattle weather. I hate this city. It's so depressing and always so gloomy outside. I honestly don't know how I've survived out here for so long. It rains basically everyday, and it's a miracle if we ever see the sun.

"Hey, so what're your plans this summer? Going anywhere fun?" Eleanor asks me as we hop on a city bus.

I shrug my shoulders and sit down into the first set of empty seats. I haven't really given much thought into what I'm going to do. I mean, I never do anything crazy anyways. Out of my twenty-three years of living, I've never really gone anywhere for summer break. My family couldn't afford any big vacations, and I wasn't popular amongst a lot of school people to be invited anywhere. I'm still not very popular; I only have about two real friends, one of them being El.