"I don't know about this, guys. Maybe we should just head back to your apartment and-"

"Peggy, relax." John chuckles, placing his hand on the teen's shoulder. "You've got this."

Peggy takes a deep breath and looks into the cafe. "Okay, you're right, I got this."

She starts walking towards the door and then stops, turning back to us. "But what if the rainbow pin doesn't actually mean that? I'd be making a complete fool out of myself and-"

"Peggy, just go. You wouldn't wanna regret this, would you?" I ask.

She bites her lip and then rushes into the cafe, getting in line. John and I walk in after her and stand in line behind her, trying to seem like we were in a separate party. Eventually, Peggy gets up to the front and I see a young girl with blonde hair and green eyes standing behind the register. I look to her lanyard and see a small pin with a cute little rainbow that was smiling on it, and determine that this was the girl Peggy was talking about.

The girl smiles at Peggy. "Hi, how can I help you today?"

Peggy was blushing gently and stammering. "Uh, um, Margarita." She blurts out.

The girl giggles softly and tilts her head. "We don't actually sell alcohol here, ma'am."

Peggy blushes even more and shakes her head. "No, no that's not what I meant. My name is- I'm not even old enough to drink, I'm only sixteen, that's just my name but I really prefer Peggy, so if you wanna call me that you can."

The girl giggles some more and nods. "Well, Peggy, sixteen," She pauses and smiles at her. "I'm Victoria, also sixteen. What can I get for you today?"

Peggy laughs nervously and nods. "One caramel frappuccino, please." She clears her throat. "And uh, if you're not already freaked out enough, your number, maybe?"

It was now Victoria's turn to blush, but she wasn't as nervous as Peggy was. She simply nods and writes her order on the cup, as well as a phone number. "Your order will be ready over there." She says, pointing to the pick up station.

Peggy nods and smiles brightly. "Alright, thank you! Have a wonderful day!" She says, walking over to where Victoria pointed.

"I can help whoever's next." She says.

"One black coffee and one of your super chocolatey drinks, please." I say, handing her the money.

Once we had finished getting our drinks, we walked down the streets of New Jersey, Peggy in between John and I. "You know, there was something familiar about that girl. I feel like I've met her before, I just can't put a finger on it." John admits.

I nod slowly. "I get what you mean. We've probably just seen her at that cafe before, though, and we're just now paying attention."

Peggy shrugs. "I don't care how you know her or if you know her, I got her number!" She squeals, staring at her phone.

"You're not texting her right now, are you?" John asks, looking down at her.

She shrugs. "So what if I am?"

"Peggy, you gotta give it a couple days, leave her wondering if you're going to text her so she gets extra excited when you do."

I frown up at John and shake my head. "If you did that shit to me, I would not text you back." I tell him.

"What? It always worked for me!" John defends. "I just couldn't really do that to you, since we already texted each other beforehand."

Peggy shakes her head. "The fact that you have a boyfriend is a miracle, John." She says, before looking up at me. "Blink twice if you need help, Alex."

I blink twice and chuckle softly as John scoffs. "Oh, whatever. Fine, text her right away, then. Since apparently my advice isn't good enough."

"It's not, dear." I tease and look down at Peggy. "Just text her 'Hey, it's Peggy, text me when you're off of work.' Being polite without seeming desperate."

Peggy nods and starts typing out on her phone and John shakes his head. "That's ridiculous, who gets excited over texts like that?"

"I would, dear." I roll my eyes. "What is the longest amount of time you have left a girl waiting for you to text them?"

John thinks about it. "Um.. Two weeks. She was a real sweetheart, super clingy, though." I raise my eyebrow, unimpressed with his antics. "What? Obviously I'm not into her now."

"John, love, dear, my well-meaning-but-dumb boyfriend, don't ever talk about your exes like that in front of your current partner." I say and he sighs.

"I didn't mean it in that way, though!" He defends.

"I'm aware, but still. I don't want to hear you call one of your exes a 'sweetheart.' First off, I don't know this girl, second off, that's the most southern nickname there could be." I chuckle.

"Oh, bless your heart." John replies, rolling his eyes softly. I gasp loudly.

"Johnathon! How dare you!" I exaggerate.

"Oh, what's the matter, sugar? Don't like when I bless you?" He asks, laughing gently.

I shake my head, cringing at the nickname. "I know what that actually means, I'm not an idiot. And don't call me sugar."

"Hmm.. Okay, darlin'."

"I swear to God, John."

"Oh, what about dumplin'?" He asks, smiling at me.

"No, no more. We are not in South Carolina, we are in New Jersey." I state.

"Whatever you say, pumpkin." He chuckles.

I shake my head and look back at Peggy. "What's the sign? Blink twice?"

Peggy nods. "Yes, I've already come up with about four ways we can ditch John." She whispers, loud enough so John can hear.

"Oh, please. They're not that bad!" John sighs.

"Yes, yes they are." I nod at him.

John goes to argue back, but Peggy smacks his arm, shutting him up. "Shh! She texted back!" She squeals, staring at her phone.

"Really? Even though you texted her rather quickly?" John asks, trying to read over her shoulder.

"Well, what did she say?" I ask.

"She said, 'I'm off in an hour as long as my boss doesn't make me stay longer. Maybe then we can set up a time to hang out?'" Peggy smiles brightly up at me. "Your advice was so much better than John's!"

John rolls his eyes. "You know, I feel very attacked right now. First with the advice, then the nicknames, now the advice again?"

Peggy turns to him and raises an eyebrow. "John, when you're done being such a baby, you can help. But not with that fuckboy advice, with good advice." She says before turning back to me.

I laugh and look up at John, who was a bit shocked. "Well, okay then."

"You've known her longer, you should expect something like this." I tease him, chuckling some more.

He shakes his head. "She's unpredictable, I never know what to expect."

"Shut up John, I'm texting her back." Peggy says, staring down at her phone and typing away.

I smile as John playfully rolls his eyes. At first I wasn't a fan of Peggy staying with us, but now that she's been here longer, I see why John calls her his little sister. She's a lot of fun to be around.

We go back to our apartment and relax on the couch. I was cuddling with John, and Peggy was texting with a big smile on her face. It was a nice moment. I haven't felt this at home in a while, but it felt so good. Home was a funny thought, considering I never really had one once my mom died. But I have one now, and that's really all that mattered.

1297 Words

Just a cute little filler chapter to bring us back to the story :)

Thanks for staying after that much needed break, but I'm back to finish this thing off. Let's do this!