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In the quiet of the hospital room, Lita lay beside her younger brother, his head nestled against her chest. Her father, worn out from the day's trials, was finally finding sleep on the hospital's meager mattress intended for restless nights.

Despite the hushed atmosphere, sleep eluded Lita. Gently extricating herself from Mateo's side, she ensured the blanket cocooned him before venturing into the dimly lit hospital corridors. The chilly air prompted her to pull her cardigan closer, a futile shield against the pervasive cold.

As Lita meandered through the stillness, her thoughts churned like a turbulent storm. The weight of her family's struggles bore down on her, stealing her breath. In the deep silence, an impulse led her to the hospital's entrance, guiding her steps toward her car.

Slipping into the driver's seat, Lita allowed the familiar hum of the engine to envelop her. The city lights painted the streets in a multitude of hues as she drove aimlessly. Her eyes caught a beacon of light: a sign aglow with the words "McDonald's" and the promise of being open twenty-four-seven.

Parking her car, Lita adjusted her glasses in an attempt to hide the dark circles beneath her eyes. The moment she stepped inside, a wave of warmth embraced her. The fast-food joint was sparsely populated, filled with weary faces of night-shift workers and the laughter of a few teenagers.

Approaching the self-service kiosk, she selected her meal, swiped her card, and received a table number. Her eyes fell upon an empty table nestled in the corner, offering a secluded sanctuary amidst the bustling surroundings.

Lita continued scrolling through her phone, glancing at the photos of her school friends enjoying their weekend at the beach. She had never been the type to make time for socializing outside of school, so it didn't particularly bother her to see them having fun without her.

While focusing on her meal, a loud group suddenly occupied the table beside her. She tried her best not to stare but couldn't help catching a glimpse of the table filled with males, their voices animated and laughter filling the air.

The rest of the group seemed to get up, most likely to go order their food, leaving one boy at the table, guarding it from other groups.

"Hey," the boy said, noticing her stare.

"Hi..." she replied, side-eyeing him cautiously.

"Sorry for the noise; they're just hyper because it's past their bedtime," he said, his tone light, making Lita chuckle.

"It's alright," she said, mustering a smile. Lita had to admit to herself; he was rather attractive.

"You here alone?" he questioned, making her nod. "Well, I'm Paul," he introduced himself, extending his hand.

She shook it, returning the smile. "I'm Lita."

"Pretty name. Mind if I join you?"

"What about your friends...?" Lita asked, her eyes scanning the area for them.

"They'll be fine," he assured her.

"Well... if you want to," she replied, giving a nonchalant shrug, trying to conceal her surprise at this unexpected encounter.

Paul smiled, taking a seat across from her. "Thanks, I appreciate it," he said, his eyes warm and inviting.

"Are you from here?" she questioned, noting his lack of accent.

"Nah, just here on a school trip," Paul replied. Lita nodded, now understanding why so many younger teens had entered the McDonald's.

"What about you?" Lita asked.

"I moved here from Mexico when I was like, six, I think," Lita said, trying her best to remember.

"Wow, that's a big change," Paul commented.

"I mean, it was hard at first, but I didn't have much of a choice," she replied. "It was definitely a lot easier for my little brother... he doesn't really remember Mexico."

"So you've got a younger brother?" he asked, trying to find out more about Lita and her family.

She nodded. "His name is Mateo; he's eleven, turning twelve." Lita suddenly paused, realizing what she had just said. Would Mateo make it to twelve? This dark thought was dropped as Paul interrupted her inner turmoil.

"Hey, are you alright?"

"I—yes, sorry about that."

"Don't apologize. You did nothing wrong," he said, slightly confused but understanding.

Their attention was diverted as the table Paul had once sat at had now become occupied by some random people.

"Whoops..." Paul whispered to himself.

"Paul!" A voice called out.

"You were supposed to not let someone take our table!" a long-haired boy called from across the McDonald's, his meal in hand.

"I'm eating your chips, just for that."

"What, why!?"

"Oh uhm, who's this with you?" one of the much younger boys asked, finally noticing Lita.

"It doesn't matter! Give me my chips!" he said, snatching the bag from the long-haired boy's hands.

"Lita," she said with a smile, causing the younger boy to blush.

"Well... scootch over, Paul, introduce us." Lita took off her glasses as the rest of the group joined them, Lita felt surprisingly at ease despite the large number of strangers surrounding her

"So, Lita... you got a boyfriend?" One of the boys confidently asked.

"Shut up, Quil!" Paul said, smacking the younger boy on the back of the head.

"Sorry," Quil quickly apologized.

Lita let out a loud cackle. "It's all good. But no, I don't," she said, making Paul's grin widen, which he tried to hide by looking out the window towards the car park.

"You hungry?" a boy asked, gesturing to her burger that was still in its box.

Lita shook her head. "Go ahead." Her eyes widened as the boy scarfed down the burger in just a few bites.

"Oh my lord..." Paul whispered to himself, looking extremely embarrassed, making the long-haired boy laugh.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Lita. I'm Jake," he said, sending her a smile. "And the pig who just ate your burger is Jared," he said, gesturing to the boy who sent her a goofy smile.

One of the quieter boys who had occupied the seat beside her then whispered in her ear, "I'd watch the rest of your food if I were you."

Lita's eyes wandered back to Jared, who was now eyeing her half-empty chip box, his hand slowly creeping across the table.

"Don't even think about it," Paul said, moving Jared's hand away.

"But I'm so hungry!" he whined, looking at the boy who had whispered in her ear. "Embry, please, just one chicken nugget."

"No, dude!" Embry said, laughing in disbelief.

"Well, y'all better have some money to pay for my funeral 'cause I'm gonna starve to death. No thanks to all of you," he said, sending them glares.

The group burst out laughing. In the midst of their laughter, Jared took the opportunity to snatch a chip from Embry's box.

"What the fuck?" Embry exclaimed.

"You get what you give," Jared said with a shrug.

"What? That doesn't even make sense," he said, shaking his head.

Lita smiled as her hands traced the edge of her phone before it dinged, and the screen lit up.

"Oh, shoot. I've got to go," Lita said, noticing a worried text from her dad. The boys' chair screeched loudly as she pushed it back, standing up before realizing Paul had also stood up.

"Do you have a ride?" he asked.

Lita nodded, pointing towards her car in the parking lot. "Yep."

"Well, the least I could do is walk you, if you'd like," he said, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly as his friends tried to contain their laughter.

"I'd appreciate it," she said with a soft smile.

As the two exited McDonald's together, the loud sound of laughter rang out into the parking lot, disappearing as they walked closer to her car. She stopped as they reached the side of her door.

"Hey, Paul... I really appreciate you talking to me. I had a good night."

Paul's blush was barely visible thanks to the time of night. "Me too... you're a really cool girl."

"I, uh... could I get your number?" Lita asked with a hopeful smile. Paul looked surprised. Had nobody ever asked him that before?

"Yeah, yeah, of course," he said, almost dropping his phone as he pulled it out of his pocket, making her smile.

Lita swapped phones with him, making sure to give herself a nickname, "Cool girl," giggling slightly as she did so.

Handing him back his phone with a smile, she glanced down at the number before looking back up to see his gaze on her.

"I hope we hang out again," he said with a smile.

Lita opened her car door slightly. "We will," she said, smiling before hopping in leaving him alone in that dimly lit parking lot.