Cut!

Take 26 - Stand Up - Part 6

A/N: Please comment as you read. It makes my day. 

The waiter arrived with our drinks and a menu. Without thinking, I grabbed it and ducked behind it. Of course, it didn’t actually matter because I’d already been spotted, but it gave me a false sense of security that I really needed right now.

“I’m not ready for this,” I muttered.

Harry looked around. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. We’ll just—“

“Ludmilla, babe!” Peyton interrupted as he arrived next to our table. “Fancy running into you here. Didn’t think you’d be able to get into a place like this with all those rumors circling. But hey, good for you.”

I could feel a deep hatred starting to burn me from inside. Grinding my teeth, I ignored him in the hopes it would make him take a hint.

Harry, however, didn’t believe in the power of ignoring people—he was the kind to confront them directly. He cleared his throat, and with and ice cold voice, he said, “Excuse me, but we’re having a private time over here. Could you please butt the fuck out?”

Ludmilla’s blonde ex turned his head and smiled lazily at Harry. “My apologies. Where are my manners?” he asked. “I’m Peyton. Peyton Moon—you might have heard about me from literally anywhere.”

Harry shook his head. “Nope, sorry. Doesn’t ring a bell at all. Now please, leave us alone.”

Peyton laughed. “Is that so? Oh well. I thought for sure that Ludmilla here would have told you about me,” he said. “We share a very passionate history.” He held out his hand to Harry. “Pleasure to meet you.”

Harry looked at the hand with disgust, refusing to take it. “I don’t think you heard me: we’d like to be left alone.”

I just wanted to disappear. This was so incredibly uncomfortable.

“Honey,” Peyton’s date said with a nasal voice. “Can we sit down now? I’m bored.”

Harry jerked up as he heard her voice, widening his eyes at her.

“Oh, hi Harry,” she greeted. “Long time no see. Guess you’ve found a new toy, huh?”

Oh. My. Freaking. God. I leaned into the laminated menu. Kill me. Kill me now.

“Hi Isabelle,” Harry said through gritted teeth.

I wanted to ask how he knew her, but from her words, I already had a pretty reliable idea. My stomach churned, and I could have kissed the waiter when he finally came back with the drinks.

“Are we ready to order?” he asked.

“Thank god, yes,” Harry muttered. Clearing his throat, he looked over the menu.

Peyton laughed. “You should try the sea-food, Ludmilla. It’s divine here.” To Harry, he grinned. “She’ll go completely wild after just a couple of oysters. I guess it’s true what they say about those slimy bastards: it’s an aphrodisiac alright.” He laughed.

I ignored him, only feeling more and more nauseous. If I completely overlooked the fact that I was allergic to seafood, I also felt physically sick from the vivid images in my mind of Ludmilla with Peyton. The only slimy bastard here was Peyton.

I reached for the wine, swallowing quickly. The bitterness helped slightly on the nausea, and I closed the menu. “I’ll have the roast-beef,” I said. “Thank you.”

“I’ll have the same,” Harry said and poured more wine up for both of us.

I sent him a thankful smile, and he sent me a look that said we both needed it. He reached over and took my hand, squeezing it lightly.

Peyton and Isabelle finally seemed to lose interest in us, and they walked to their table and sat down. Unfortunately, they might as well have been sitting at our table. I could hear them talk, just as they would hear everything we said.

“It’s going to be okay,” Harry said. “We’ll just eat out dinner, and then we’re off. Okay? Don’t let that tool ruin our date.”

I nodded. He was right. Peyton Moon shouldn’t be allowed to spoil anything for me—or my sister—ever again. What pained me the most, though, was how worried Harry looked. If I looked just a tenth of how rattled I felt, he could think I wasn’t over Peyton.

It wasn’t his fault that he didn’t know the truth. I wasn’t worried about Peyton because I had feelings for him. Just by thinking that, I think I gagged a little. I was worried because Peyton—without knowing so—had the power to ruin everything. And if he got a wind of that fact, I didn’t think he would hesitate to use it against me.

Despite the somber mood, the food looked absolutely delicious, and it tasted even better. I’d had a lot of roast beef in my life, but this was in a whole other class. I tried hard not to, but a small moan did escape me at one point.

Unfortunately, that prompted Peyton to comment. “Oh yeah, that’s a sound I would recognize in the dark.”

Harry clenched his fist on the table, and I reached over and took it. “Ignore it,” I said. “He’s not worth it.”

He smiled at me and returned to his food. We toasted and tried to hold a light conversation. To lighten the mood, Harry took two asparaguses and placed them below his upper lip to imitate vampire fangs.

“I vill sock your bluud,” he said.

I laughed. “That’s so horrible,” I said.

“I used to do it to my younger siblings when they didn’t want to eat their vegetables.” He grinned and took them out. “It worked. One of them is a vegetarian now.”

“I like that,” I said. “I wish I had an awesome skill like that.”

“You do,” Peyton said. “Don’t you remember how you told me you used to make your sister dress up as a guy in all of your plays when you were little? That must have taken some mad skills.”

It felt as if the time stopped, and for a moment, all I could hear was my own blood pumping. I looked over at Harry, who was frowning.

Everything moved in slow motion for me as I tried to find a way to react.

But was I supposed to react to something like that?

A/N: FREAKING TENTH UPDATE, AND I HAVE 50 MINUTES TO SPARE. BOO-YAH! I did it. Thank you to all of you who's been cheering me on all day. I love you. 

I'm going to continue writing now, so if you're as cool as I think you are, you'll go back and check that you've voted on all ten updates. If everybody votes, I might actually continue to grow on the Fanfic list, which would be SUCH an honor to me. Also. Spam the comments with what you think right now. I am so excited to hear what you think will happen next. Eeep. 

Anyway, give this a vote, maybe?