We enter the dark, crowded restaurant/bar.
"Hello, welcome to Anne's, booth or table?" The waitress at the front desk says.
"Booth." Steph answers.
I look over at Harry, who's looking down at the floor.
"You ok?" I ask.
"I'm fucking fine." He clenches his jaw.
I brush off his rudeness and sit down next to Steph at the booth, Harry across from us.
"Hi, I will be your waitress tonight, what would you like to drink?" She smiles.
"Coke, tea, cold beer." We answer as she walks off.
"So, why did you leave the foster home?" I ask Harry, trying to make conversation.
"Don't call it that." He coldly looks past me at the game that's on the tv.
"Sorry, but why'd you leave?"
"Why the hell wouldn't I?" He says as the waitress hands us our drinks and straws.
He clenches the glass bottle, his metal rings clinking against the glass.
"So, why?" I continue to ask.
"Why do you bug me so much?"
"I'm not, look I took you to lunch and now you're acting rude, now please answer my question." I remark.
"No! Stop asking me shit! I left because I fucking hate that hell hole! It's a foster home, not a real home! I hate it there ok!" He yells, taking a sip of his beer after.
"Oh." I look off.
"Yea, exactly. Oh." He clenches his jaw again, looking back at the game.
"Well." Steph breaks the silence.
"What are you guys getting to eat?"
"Not hungry." Harry answers.
"I don't know." I say, looking at the menu.
The waitress approaches our table again.
"Have we decided what we want to eat?" She smiles.
"I'll have the grilled chicken sandwich." I say, folding the menu back up.
"I'll have the 6 piece buffalo wings." Steph says, handing her the menus.
"I'm good." Harry says, then looks back at the game.
"All righty then, I'll have that out in a bit." She cheerfully says and walks away.
"Why is she so god damn happy? She serves greedy people who drink too much, causing her job to be even worse, people yelling at her when it's the cooks fault they messed up their meal, and stone cold assholes like me who don't want anything but a beer and to watch the game." He takes a sip from the brown glass, his rings glistening in the light of the bar.
"Why do you wear those rings?" I ask, him not looking like the jewelry-warring type.
"Because I want to. It's a free country right?" He remarks.
"Haha, funny." I sarcastically say as our food arrives.
"Mmm, I'm starving." Steph says as she begins to eat the wings.
I take the tomatoes off my sandwich and take a bite. It's delicious.
"You sure you don't want anything?" Steph reassures.
"Pretty sure."
...
After paying the bill, we all walk outside. By the time we got to the restaurant, it was 3:00, and we left around 5:00. Harry had to stay to finish his beer..
Because of the weather, by 5:00, it looks like 10:00. The snow is falling pretty hard tonight.
We all walk outside, in front of stores. Steph to my left, Harry to my right.
"It's so cold out tonight." I shiver.
"You get used to it." Harry says.
"What do you mean?" Steph asks.
"You get used to walking around town at night in the freezing cold weather with no actual warm clothes to wear." He says, the wind blowing through his soft curly hair.
"Oh, damn." She says, shivering.
"Exactly."
We finally reach our car and get in.
Steph immediately blares the heat, warming up her hands.
"That feels so good." She sighs in relieve.
"Should we take you back to the f- to Mallord?" I correct myself.
"No, just drop me off at the corner of Woodward. I can find a place to crash, maybe with one of the greasy sleaze bags that beg people for their money to buy drugs." He harshly slurs.
"No, just stay at my house tonight. My parents went to a friends house and won't be back till tomorrow. Both of you can stay." I offer.
"Yea Harry. It's fine." She reassures.
"Fine." He lets out a deep breath.
"Just because you're being nice to me doesn't mean I'm going to be nice to you." He says to me.
"Whatever." I roll my eyes.
I hope this goes well.
...
