airports // 5sos au

xi.

(luke)

She likes my laugh. I almost stopped driving for a second, which would've been bad. I decided that I would embarrass her at some point soon, partly to get her back from embarrassing me and partly to just see what she does.

I pull into the parking lot of Auntie's Kitchen, a restaurant my Mom used to take me to all the time when I was younger. It's a small place, it has a cozy feel to it, and the food is great. I figure Emily will like it, so that's why I'm taking her here.

"How'd you know that this was my favorite restaurant?" Emily asks with a small gasp.

"I didn't, this is my favorite place, too," I stammer as I park.

Emily nods and we get out of my truck.

"Oh, and Emily?" I turn to face her just as she jumps onto the curb.

"Yeah?" She looks up at me with an innocent smile on her face.

"I've taken French for the past three years and I think you have a nice laugh, too," I smirk.

Her mouth parts the tiniest bit and she immediately looks down at her feet. I place my lip ring in between my teeth to keep myself from chuckling.

"Oh my god," She whispers. I can practically hear her cheeks reddening.

"Let's go inside?" I laugh softly.

"Is there a way to not have gotten out of bed this morning?" She bites the inside of her bottom lip.

"It's okay, we're learning about each other," I hold her wrist and pull her forward.

"What am I learning from this, Hemmings?" She glares up at me.

"You just learned that I've taken French for three years," I grin.

She rolls her eyes and walks past me to the door of the restaurant. I follow her inside and stand behind her as we wait for the hostess to seat us. There's really nobody in the restaurant, so the hostess lets us pick our own table. Emily and I simultaneously point to the corner table surrounded by big open windows. The hostess nods and gives us our menus once we sit down.

"My name is Jenny and I'll be serving you today," A redheaded waitress approaches our table and smiles, "Can I get some drinks for you?"

"I'll have orange juice," I say.

"I'll have chocolate milk," Emily smiles and thanks Jenny as she walks to the kitchen.

"So, Luke, why do you like orange juice?" Emily asks.

"Is there something wrong with liking orange juice?" I stammer, confused at her question.

"No, not at all, I was just learning about you," She smiles softly.

"Well the acidic citrus wakes me up," I shrug, "It's really not too interesting."

"It makes sense, though."

"Why do you like chocolate milk?"

"It's like drinking a chocolate milkshake for breakfast," Her eyes light up.

I chuckle and nod, "Understandable."

Jenny brings our drinks to our table fairly quickly and Emily smiles as she sips on her chocolate milk.

"Can I get you two something to eat?" Jenny asks, holding up her small notepad and her pen. Looking over our menus, I ask for waffles and chocolate-covered strawberries and Emily orders chocolate chip pancakes.

"So, since we're learning about each other, is it okay to just ask random questions throughout the day?" Emily slightly scrunches her eyebrows together in concentration.

"Sure," I nod.

"Then, what's your favorite weather? I prefer colder weather."

"I like warm weather, like not hot but not cold, you know?"

She nods and I take a sip of my orange juice. I see plenty of cars on the highway speeding past the restaurant. Surprisingly, there's a fairly large amount of cars driving about on a Sunday morning. I keep staring at the cars and thinking to myself until Emily sneezes. It's a small sneeze but it catches my attention and I quickly turn to face her. She notices my gaze and slowly smiles.

The contrast between the cars and her smile baffles me. The cars go so fast, eager to arrive at their destination, and Emily's smile looks like cherishing the journey. Looking at her bright eyes, I decide that studying their green and blue mixture is practically a journey in itself.

"What?" She asks softly.

"Hmm?" I hum as I'm brought back to reality.

"Why were you staring at me like that?" She has a sparkle in her eye, so I know that she's not upset by it, but rather she finds it humorous.

"Sorry, I just got lost in thought," I apologize sheepishly.

"It's okay, that happens to me all the time," She laughs. I smile, thankful that she doesn't find my habit weird. Emily opens her mouth to say something else, but Jenny appears with our food in hand. She sets the plates down on the table and asks us if we need anything else. Once we say that we're alright, she leaves with a thumbs-up.

I take a bite of my waffles first, and I grin because they're so delicious. I can hear Emily hum as she eats a bite of her pancakes and I chuckle.

"Want one?" I offer her a chocolate covered strawberry.

"No, thank you," She politely declines.

"Are you allergic?" I ask as I take another bite of my waffles.

"No, I'm just not a big fan of strawberries," She shrugs. I nod as she takes a sip of her chocolate milk.

"So, I now know that you like The 1975, cold days, chocolate milk, chocolate pancakes, this restaurant, and you take French," I recap with a grin.

"Should we keep a list of this?" Emily giggles.

"Absolutely," I laugh.

"Then add to your list that I like making lists, because I do."

I nod and I take the Auntie's Kitchen pen on the table and write a list of what I've just said to her and add her love of listing to the napkin. I hand her the pen and she writes down a list titled 'Luke' on her own napkin.

"You like The 1975, warm weather, making money from tutoring, Auntie's Kitchen, thinking, orange juice, waffles, strawberries, and you've taken three years of French," She says as she writes the list down.

"Now, Luke, I have an important question," She says with a serious face.

"Go for it," I shrug.

"Can I add that you like to look at me to the list?" She smirks.

"You wish," I throw a sugar packet at her nose, causing her to throw one back at me, nailing me in the middle of my forehead.