FAME│s.m

five

The next day, I woke up at a decent time. The sun shone through my curtains, warning me of the day's beginning. A smile was still stuck to my face, and I believed it would stay like that for as long as time allowed it.

Before doing anything else, as usual, I sat at my bay window and overlooked the city. The neon glow of the signs were unknown as of now. But it was still beautiful how the colors of the palette in the sky ran a gradient painting over the canvas that was the floor of the town below.

Not long after I had zoned in on admiring the colors scattered along the roadside, my eyes fall onto something else. He was walking toward the diner, but he made a quick glance to the house I was currently sat in.

As his eyes trailed up, my heart picked up speed. Then his gorgeous pair of blue eyes fell into mine. We stared at each other for awhile before he waved. I waved back, waiting for him to turn around so I could book it to my closet.

••several minutes later••

"Morning, Amari!" Calissa cheers, smiling from ear to ear. I step behind the counter, grabbing an apron from under the cash register.

"Morning, Cal," I politely respond as I tie the item of clothing around my waist. I place a notepad and a pen in the pocket, then tie my hair up in a loose pony tail.

"What's got you in a rush?" she giggles, sorting the cash register.

"Oh, uh-" I stop my frantic preparation, realizing how fast I had been settling everything. "Sorry," I chuckle, stroking a piece of stray hair behind my ear with my pointer finger.

"I saved him for you," she whispers as she passes me, stepping into the kitchen. I give her a confused look, knowing she wouldn't see it anyhow.

Then I turn my head, our eyes meeting once again. I smile awkwardly, mentally skipping and physically speed walking over to his table.

"I'm so sorry nobody's asked for your order yet-"

"No, don't be. I asked for you to take my order." I gulp down my nerves, only for more to flutter up my throat.

"That so?" I choke out, my cheeks flushing a shade similar to a fire truck.

"Mhm," he hums, doing a double take of the menu. "Since it's breakfast, I'll just have whatever you suggest."

"Well, what do you like?" I giggle, flicking my loose hair out of my face anxiously. He raises his eyebrows at me, hinting that I should know what he wants. "Oh!" I shriek as I remember our long talk last night. "Pancakes and bacon or Eggs Benedict are the two best," I wink.

"A set of fluffy pancakes sounds delightful," he elegantly replies, handing me his menu. I reach for it, our fingers touching. Neither of us move, afraid that we'll have to let go of the warmth we were feeling on the tips of our tingling hands.

Eventually, he cleared his throat, removing his eyes quickly from our gaze and setting his hands in his lap.

"Please and thank you," he lowly adds.

"C-coming right up," I weakly reply, scrambling to the kitchen. I run in, letting my back fall against the wall beside the door, my eyes shut to hold back from letting my internal screaming become external.

When I open them, Calissa is standing in front of me with a wide spread smile, her eyes filled with an intense emotion I couldn't focus on.

"I saw that," she mutters. "And I've never been so happy," she adds.

"You scared me, Cal," I laugh, pushing her back so I could set my previous order on the empty clothesline for the cook.

When I turn back around, Calissa is just staring at me with the same creepy smile.

"Cal, I think you need some fresh air," I suggest, pulling her out of the diner.

"You guys had a fucking connection!" she half shouts, half whispers once we're outside, the door not even closed yet.

"Shush!" I scold, reminding her that he was just inside.

"It was so electrifying, too!" she whips around to face me. "I felt as if I watched lightning strike the both of you!"

"Please stop," I whimper.

"I can't! That was better than any scene in any romantic movie!" she exclaims.

"That's a bit of an exaggeration," I chuckle.

"But it wasn't! I would love to watch that over and over again!" she states.

"It was really awkward," I say with a forced smile, scratching the back of my neck out of embarrassment.

"I think I'm witnessing love at first sight..." she mumbles to herself, though I could hear her.

"You're going insane!" I tease, stepping back into the building.

"Hey, Amari?" I hear Simon call from where he's sat. I follow his voice with a bright smile on my face. "Can I get a refill?" he asks as he shakes his cup of melting ice.

"Of course," I reply, taking it. Our hands didn't touch that time, and I felt a wave of disappointment wash over me. I don't know what I expected, I got lucky enough the first time.

As I fill his glass with orange juice, I glance up to hopefully meet with his eyes once more. But I don't. Instead, I'm greeted by his side profile. He looks at his phone with anger and distaste, as if he was about to hack a spit ball on the uncracked screen.

When I arrive back at his table, I don't even receive a thank you for my doing. Once I've set his glass down, he stands quickly to his feet with his phone pressed to his ear and his legs carrying him to the corner of the diner.

I don't know what was happening with him, but I suddenly felt distraught just looking at his facial expression and hearing a mere shout of anger every now and then. My smile had dropped into a straight line with a slight down curve, and I felt out of place.