Gone.

Chapter Five - Pizza and Psychopaths

I'm sorry, I know, it's not the greatest. I'm not even sure why I'm putting it up. Zavier is met in this chappie, but I promise there'll be more interaction in the next one, if it exists. YAH :) Thanks for reading!

Matt’s shoulders started to shake with laughter as I shook my head rapidly, a grin on my face.

“Oh, no,” he said in to the phone with mock seriousness. “I’m sorry, make that one family-sized Hawaiian without the pineapple or cheese. Yeah. No cheese. Yes, I’m lactose intolerant.” I let out a small snort, clamping a hand over my mouth. Matt sent me a cheeky smirk, crossing his ankles as he listened to the person on the other side of the phone.

Within the five minutes I’d known him, Matt had somehow relieved a bit of my stress and had me acting like I’d known him for ages. We’d hardly talked, but anything that had been mentioned was light-hearted and uncomplicated. I knew that Zavier was just a few rooms away from me, but somehow I was able to push that knowledge away. The panicked feeling was still there, but it was like a woollen blanket had smothered it, a blanket Matt had provided me with.

“Oh, really?” Matt raised his eyebrows, leaning a shoulder against the wall. A small hall table was separating the two of us, cluttered with cords, letters and two pairs of sunglasses. “Well, I think that’s ridiculous. Discriminating against people with uncontrollable allergies or illnesses is a completely unreasonable act of prejudice.”

I bit my bottom lip to keep in the laughter as I took in Matt’s accusing expression. He didn’t even look as if he knew he was doing it, examining the picture of a waterfall on the other side of the corridor instead. He made an unimpressed sound at the back of his throat as the person on the other end of the line continued to babble.

“Yes, I know lactose-free mozzarella is more expensive,” he retorted. “But your company should still offer the choice. In fact, you know what? Fish and chips sound nice. And they wont hold my lactose intolerance against me. I think I’ll just buy something from there. Thanks anyway.” He pulled the phone away from his ear and pressed a button decisively, not with a second of hesitation.

“I can’t believe you just did that,” I laughed incredulously. “You wasted so much of their time!”

Matt just grinned widely, his teeth contrasting to the tanned colour of his face. “Even better, I think the girl I was talking to was new. She kept stuttering.”

“Aw, you meanie!” I stuck my tongue out between my teeth, something Sam had always teased me for. It was just a thing I did - a sort of cross between poking out my tongue, smiling and laughing. Matt just smirked, looking back down at the phone and dialling a different number. It started to ring.

“You actually gonna order this time?” I asked teasingly, folding my arms and leaning my back against the wall. Matt pouted, pretending to think about it.

“Mmm, depends,” he finally said.

“On what?” I laughed, but a voice answered on the other end before he could reply.

“Yeah, hi,” he said. “I’d like to order three family deals, please. Two Hawaiian, two vegetarian and two meatlovers. Yep. Oh, and would you make one of the cokes diet?” He paused and then laughed suddenly, as if the other person had told a joke. “Something like that, I guess I just have a lot of friends. Yeah, alright. Thanks,” he hung up.

“Why’d you order so much?”

He placed the phone back on its charger, shrugging. “We eat a lot. You, Charlie and Tessa, Charlie’s sister, are the only girls here at the moment.”

“Oh. How many guys are there?” I cracked my knuckles loudly, shaking out my hand afterwards. Max just sent me a reassuring smile, starting to walk back the way we’d come, prompting me to do so as well, much as I didn’t want to.