I walked along the long narrow pathway of Santa Cruz
"no, I'm sure they can move the meeting to next week, I'm very busy right now, having to take Natalie around Santa Cruz" I heard from behind me
I rolled my eyes, Lance didn't have to take me anywhere, in fact he was unwanted company, my Grandmother suggested it, she kept saying how unsafe Santa Cruz was, and that Lance, who she believed should be my knight in shining armour, should make sure I stayed safe. But the fact was I couldn't stand Lance, he was like every guy I knew, every guy that lived where I did...stuck up, posh, and so predictable.
I looked back at him and he just continued to talk on the phone
"Yeah, she is" he replied
I rolled my eyes again and looked up at the shop fronts that I passed, I saw the sign for the subway sandwich shop, The beach City Grill, I knew this was the place I was looking for, the one Jeff had told me about, I headed inside and noticed two blondes behind the counter. Lance followed behind me and continued to talk on his phone
"Hey, can I help you?" the short haired blonde asked
I smiled
"Hey, yeah, I'm looking for a Jeff Kenline"
"Nat!" I heard from behind me
I turned around and smiled, Jeff had just walked in from the bathroom, I walked up to him and hugged him tightly, he picked me up and swung me around slightly
"errrr...Jeff?" The short haired blonde said
He let me go and took my hand
"Jen, Hun, this is Natalie, the friend I've been telling you about" he smiled
She looked at me and smiled
"Natalie. Well it's nice to finally meet you" she said softly
She held out her hand for me and I shook it
"This is Piper" she said introducing me to the other blonde.
Piper smiled and waved, I waved back.
"Hurry up Natalie, the sooner we leave the quicker we get back Home" Lance Shouted over his shoulder to me
I rolled my eyes
"you don't by any chance now of any cliffs I can push him off do you?" I whispered and smiled
Jeff laughed slightly
"let me guess, your grandma suggested a guide" Jeff Laughed
"more like a pain in the ass" I muttered
Jeff looked at Jen and raised his eyebrows, she smiled and looked at Piper, who then nodded, Jeff let go of my hand and Jen took it
"trust me" she whispered
She pointed to a door that was at the end of the narrow path behind the counter
"that's the stock room, your more then welcome to hide out in there" she smiled
I smiled and looked over my shoulder at Lance who was still on the phone, facing the other direction. She pushed on my shoulder and I knelt on the ground, I began to crawl along the floor towards the door, Piper moved to the side and let me pass, I looked up and smiled and mouth 'thanks' she smiled and carried plates round to a couple of tables. I continued to look over my shoulder as I began crawling towards the door again. I heard the door open then closed, and as I looked back towards the stock room door, a pair of legs stood in my way, I looked up and smiled at the figure overshadowing me, a tall green haired guy. He smiled back down
"Well Hello" he said in a deep rough voice
I pushed my hands off the ground, looked over the counter at Lance, who was still facing the other direction, then grabbed the guys top and pulled him down.
"Hey" he said
"this is no place for playing rough" he laughed
I held a finger to his lips, he looked crossed eyed at my finger and smiled again
"Sorry, just trying to get away from the posh boy on the phone, Jen said I could hide in the stock room" I whispered
He looked over my shoulder and nodded.
"OK then, lets get you out of this place" he whispered back against my finger.
He stood up and began to walk sideways, shielding me from any prying eyes, He opened the door and I slipped in. he ducked his head in the door
"Thanks" I whispered as I began to climb off the floor
he looked me up and down.
"No problem, nice tattoo by the way" he whispered before he closed the door, I picked up my wrist and smiled at my small tattoo.
I sat and waited for a while, peeking though a small window, watching Lance, Every so often the green haired Guy caught my eye, he wore three quarter length trousers and a t shirt that read 'your my problem!' he seemed so different from the guys I knew, the ones that lived where I did...and in a way that intrigued me.
I jumped as a door opened behind me, a thin tall greying haired man entered, he saw me and smiled, then double looked
"Do you work here?" he asked
I looked worried
"No" I replied
"Oh OK, was wondering if I hired someone and forgot" he smiled as he started to walk across the room
"Wait, so why are you hiding in my stock room?" He asked walking up to me and peering into the room with me.
I pointed to Lance
"Let's just call him unwanted company, Jen said I could hide away in here" I said
He smiled and tapped my shoulder
"well hide as long as you need to Angel" He smiled
"I'm Trucker by the way" He said, holding out a hand for me to shake
I took it softly
"Natalie" I smiled
"Nice to meet you Natalie, now if you don't mind, I'm afraid I need to join my staff" he said politely
I moved out the way and let him open the door and walk out side.
Suddenly Lance hang up his phone and turned around, a smile on his face, he looked around the room quickly and his face dropped
"Er...Hey you, did you see a brunette, brown eyes, slim around here?"
Jeff looked at Jen, Jen shrugged her shoulders
"Nope, Piper did you?" Jen asked
Piper looked at Jen and Shrugged her shoulders
"Fraid not, what about you Priestly?" She asked
The green haired guy turned and looked at Lance
"Yeah, I did" Priestly said
My heart sank, he was going to give me away
"Yeah, she left, went left...or was it right? Yeah, whatever way, but she's gone" Priestly said, lying for me
I smiled and suddenly the green haired guy named Priestly seemed even more intriguing. He was willing to lie for me. In fact all these strangers were
Lance looked at Priestly then at the door and hurried out, not before shouting
"Her Grandma is going to kill me"
I made sure he was definitely gone before I opened the door and stepped out
"Thanks" I said as I closed the door behind me
Priestly looked at me and smiled
"No Problem" he answered
"So, Natalie what brings you to Santa Cruz?" Trucker asked
"Jeff actually, we've known each other since Kindergarten, Thought I would come visit him, I needed to get away from Home and escape from it all, My grandma's trying desperately to set me up with Jerks like Lance " I smiled
"How you gonna get rid of phone boy?" Priestly asked
I shrugged my shoulders
"tell him I've run off with a greasy haired biker" I laughed
"How long you here for Nat?" Jeff asked
I smiled at him,
"if my grandmother had her way I would be leaving tonight, but I would prefer to stay here a while" I said
"Where you staying?" Piper asked
I looked at her and smiled
"The motel down the road, only problem is, Lance knows that, staying in the room next door, and as soon as I get there, he'll be dragging me back by the hair" I said
Jeff looked at Jen
"What if you stayed somewhere else, then led him on a dead trail?" Jeff smiled
"Sounds great, but the other motels are fully booked" I told them.
"I have a spare room you can take" Priestly offered
"I can't" I smiled
"Sure you can, you and Fuzzy can go get your things and take them back to my place" Priestly smiled as he dug in his pocket and chucked me the keys.
I was about to say something when Jeff interrupted
"Oh come on Nat, It'll be great, I haven't really seen you in years, so it's about time" he smiled
"I'll take you to the motel and keep look out for Lance" Jeff continued
I looked around the smiling faces and smiled back
"Sure, why not" I replied
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