The familiar smell of fresh bread washed over my face as I walked into The Eatery. I headed to the upstairs section. The sound of buzzing chatter greeted my ears as I walked in, generated by the hordes of people seated inside.

My eyes searched through the various waiters and waitresses until they found Aimee. Without a moment's hesitation, I headed straight to her and tapped her on the shoulder.

She looked back and smiled. "Hi, I'll be with you soon-"

I stuffed my hands in my pockets. "Think you can spare a moment?"

Her smile faltered. "I'll love to attend to you, sir, but I'm busy right now."

"So-"

"-if you don't mind waiting, I'll be with you as soon as I can."

It's best not to push her.

I nodded. "Very well. I'll be waiting."

Her eyes softened. "Thank you."

On that note, she went back to attending to the customers.

Dragging myself to one of the only free booths in the room, I slumped on it and let out a rather loud sigh.

. . .

It took three hours before Aimee finally came up to me. In that period, I had gouged down cheeseburgers and almost finished two cans of Pepsi. Once I'd eaten, I pulled out my phone. Thousands of messages, mostly from groups, began loading up as soon as I opened my messaging app.

I ignored the group chat brimming with messages and read the messages Andy had sent me.

Andy: Dude!

Andy: The fight!

Andy: There's already a video of it online!!!

My grip tightened over my phone. Don't people have anything better to do with their lives?

My hand hovered over my keyboard for a few seconds, then I left my messages. There's no point replying to Andy about it since I've handled the situation already.

Aimee cleared her throat, sliding into the seat across from me.

My shoulders sagged, then I glared at her. "When you told me to wait, I didn't think it would be for this long."

"What, did you expect me to abandon work? Also, it's nice to make you wait for a change."

"I won't forget this."

"Good! Anyways, why do you want to see me? Must be something important if you chose to wait this long."

My eyes narrowed. Does this mean that if I didn't wait, she wouldn't have listened to me if I decided to talk to later?

I said, "Don't get your hopes up, I'm not going to ask you out-"

Glancing at her wrist, Aimee frowned. "You know it's getting pretty late, I better start-"

"Fine, I'll get to the point!"

She smirked. "Well? I'm all ears."

I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it again. How am I supposed to say this in such a way that she won't think I had anything to do with it? Am I meant to tell her they were having an event at the- no, she won't have believed that. Maybe I should have texted her-

The sound of fingers snapping in front of my face released me from my thoughts. "Earth to Angelo, I'm-"

"Do you want to go to dinner with me on Friday?"

Aimee and I froze. Our eyes grew wide.

I face-palmed myself. "Shit, I wasn't supposed to say it like that."

"Angelo-"

"I'm not the one inviting-"

"Angelo-"

"-you, Annie is-"

"I'll be happy to come."

"-and honestly, I don't care if you do or- what?"

"I'll be happy to come. I'm not going because of you, but since Annie extended the invitation, I'll be happy to attend."

"Uh-well-" I cleared my throat. "That's...good."

"Mm. So, where is it?"

"It's-" I paused. "I don't know. I'll find out from Annie and text you the location."

She nodded. "Alright. I guess I have to unblock you."

"You blocked me?"

"No, I just like messing around with you."

A NSFW image flashed through my mind. I pinched my leg under the table. What the fuck?

Aimee reached into the fanny pack beside her and pulled out her phone. "It's almost closing time, and I've got to start cleaning up. See you tomorrow, Romeo."

I nodded.

Sighing, Aimee rolled her eyes before sliding out of the booth.

I smirked. She called me Romeo, not Angelo!

. . .

The rest of the week passed uneventfully. Prickleberry had suspended Dylan for three days, but Dylan didn't say anything to me when he came back. Aimee was a lot more work-oriented in our previous sessions, which left little room for my usual jabs at her. Inadvertently, I began looking forward to the dinner that was to take place on Friday.

Finally, the fateful day arrived. I asked Hans to host my party, then headed home after school.

Annie wasn't home when I arrived, so I decided to sleep. Although that was a success, when I woke, Annie still wasn't around. Even after I had a shower, she still hadn't arrived. I grabbed my phone as soon as I threw on some clothes and dialed her.

After a few rings, she answered. "Hello!"

I took a deep breath, then spoke. "Where are you? I thought we're going to have dinner."

"Oh, yeah! Sorry, I've been with a friend, and I lost track of time."

I frowned. "I guess I understand. See you in a bit?"

"Mm."

I hung up, then dragged myself into the living room and began playing video games.

Annie arrived thirty minutes later. The floorlength floral-patterned dress she wore swished as she walked in. Her face was covered in makeup. "Sorry I'm late."

I sighed. "Let's go."

"What?" She giggled. "Do you expect to go like this?"

I glanced down at the red hoodie and pair of gray sweatpants I was wearing. "What's wrong with what I have on?"

"Seriously?" Shaking her head, she sighed. "Angelo, La Palais is like the classiest place in town. You don't just walk in there looking like you came straight out of McDonald's!"

"I'm not going to a governor's ball, so I'm fine wearing this. I'm not going to wear a suit and tie!"

"You don't have to; a formal shirt would be nice!"

"No, I'm fine wearing this, and if anyone there doesn't like my dressing, fuck them."

"Angelo, language!"

I smiled. "Just showing you the level of my conviction. Are you ready to go?"

"Fine, let's go."

I switched off my console, standing up. Barely a moment after I'd done that, Annie cleared her throat. "Before we go, you should probably know that I invited someone else."

"Oh? Who?"

I froze after she answered my question. What the fuck?

Clenching my fists, I growled, "Of all people to invite, you invited him?"