She walked down the street in the rain with her hands shoved deep into her pockets. It had been so long, too long, since she had anything to eat and her stomach was voicing its disappointment. She knew she couldn't hold out too much longer, and who knows when the next time she would be able to scrounge up any money would be. With a heavy sigh she made her decision. She continued walking until she was standing outside of a small restaurant. It wasn't much but it wasn't like she cared. She made her way to around to the back of the restaurant and hefted herself up into the dumpster, looking for anything that could pass as edible.

"Hey!" she yelped when a large bag of trash came crashing down on her.

A man poked his head over the top of the dumpster and looked at her curiously. "Sorry," he apologized, "I didn't know anybody was in there... What are you doing in there anyway?"

"What's it look like? I'm eating, that's what." She stuffed some more food into her face then filled her pockets before she climbed out of the dumpster.

"None of that looked too appetizing." He observed. She shoved her hands back in to her pockets and shrugged. "I could get you something better if you want to come inside."

"No cash."

He pushed open the back door. "I offered. Come on." He smiled at her and she eyed him carefully before turning back and stepping inside. "You can have a seat there and I'll bring you something in a second." He gestured to a small table in the corner of the kitchen with only one chair and she sat down, brushing the rain from her clothes as he walked through a swinging door and into what she assumed was the dinning area.

After a few minutes he returned, wiping his hands on his apron. "So what do you want to eat?"

"I'm not picky." she admitted truthfully as he moved around the kitchen, grabbing little odds and ends before he made his way to the stove. "Do you own this place?" She was curious, that was all.

"Nope, but I'm the only one here tonight and I just closed up." He finished up what he was cooking on the stove and slid it from the pan onto a plate. He brought it over to her and sat it down on the table in front of her. "Pasta. It's probably not the best but it ain't too bad either." He pulled an empty milk crate over to the table and sat across from her. "So...?" She looked up from the plate of pasta she had been shoveling into her mouth and waited. "What's your name?"

She swallowed hard, clearing her mouth. "Jack."

He waited for a minute but she went back to eating. "I'm Todd." She nodded and continued eating. "You aren't very talkative."

"Nothing to talk about."

He waited until she was done eating before he began talking again. "You got a place to stay?"

"Wanna let me crash in that dumpster back there?"

His nose crinkled at the hint of laughter in her voice. "Don't you have parents or something?"

She shook her head no. "Last time I really had a place to stay was a while ago. It wasn't a big place but it was okay. The guy I was staying with..." She stopped as a frown crossed her features. "It's a long story."

"I have time. You probably do too since you don't have anywhere to go." He folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on top of them.

"He promised he'd be back." She said with a shrug, "That was a long time ago."

"Well," Todd stood up and untied his apron, then grabbed his coat from the hook on the back of the door. "I've got a couch you could crash on. Nothing fancy, but it beats that dumpster out there."

She stood up and looked him over. Something about the look he was giving her made her uneasy, but the promise of somewhere warm to sleep won out over her better judgment in the end.