Chapter one
Antonio tapped his feet impatiently under the table. He had glanced
at his watch seven times in the last minute. Shifting in the silk
upholstered chair, he glanced around, distracting himself from the
door. His smile brightened as he saw two of his best friends walk
through the entrance.
"Ve! it's big brother Sp-" cried Feliciano before she was cut off with
and elbow in her side. "ouch, Lovino that hurt, ve!" she added,
rubbing her side.
"Were in public! Call him Antonio, you silly girl." Lovino's scolding
towards her younger sister subsided into a halfhearted one as she
patted her head.
"Feli! Lovi! I haven't seen you in forever!" Antonio smiled and swept
the two twins into a hug.
"Get off, bastard!" yelled Lovino, pushing Antonio aside and taking
her seat at the table.
"Lovino, your so rude! You should be kind to big brother Antonio!"
chided Feli, hugging Antonio back. They joined Lovino at the table,
with Antonio sitting right next to her and Feli sitting across.
"He's not even our brother! You just came up with that stupid nickname
because we hang out with him so much!" yelled Lovino, causing everyone
in the restaurant to fix their eyes on the trio.
"Silly Lovi, your making so much noise!" laughed Antonio as he ruffled
the Italian girl's hair.
"Dammit! Stop that!" snapped Lovino, swatting Antonio's hand away. She
promptly picked up the tall menu and buried herself in it. It hid her
face well, only revealing her dark brown eyes and the bridge of her
nose. She studied the menu intently and when she thought he wasn't
looking, she chanced a glance. He was staring at her, his intense
green eyes boring into her flesh and a silly grin plastered on his
face. It unnerved her and she started to fidget, casting her eyes
downward.
Luckily the silence was broken by the waiter who had approached
silently, startling Lovino.
"Hello, I am Ludwig, and I'll be your waiter for this evening. Are you
ready to order?" he asked, his voice thick with a German accent.
"Ve! I'll have a pasta please!" answered Feli. She smiled at the
waiter and he turned a shade of crimson. Lovino witnessed this and
quickly broke in "Gimme the pasta too" she ordered, tossing the menu
at Ludwig, who fumbled but caught it. Feliciano giggled and blushed.
"Erm, and what will you have, sir?" asked Ludwig, tearing his eyes
away from Feliciano and turning to address Antonio.
"um... I think I'll have the pizza. With extra tomato please!"
answered the spaniard, as he handed the menu to Ludwig.
The waiter bowed and walked off, glancing back at Feli.
"Ludwig is really cute, ve?" she giggled, blushing slightly.
"Si, mi amigo. You should give him your number" agreed Antonio, giving
her a wink.
"Stop it, bastard. He looks like some kind of creep" Lovino hissed,
giving Antonio a death glare.
After a good thirty minutes of small talk and akward conversations the
food arrived, carried by Ludwig. Who expertly balanced the dishes so
two were in his hands and one on his head. Feliciano giggled and he
gave her a sheepish grin. He set the two dishes in his hands down in
front of Antonio and Lovino. For Feli, he skillfully knelt and bowed
his head so that the dish was level with the table. Feli took it off
his head and he stood.
Lovino was giving him the deadliest glare in history but he ignored it
and bowed as Feli clapped. She bounced up and down in her seat as she
complimented Ludwig.
"Ve! That was wonderful! Maybe you could do the same with dessert!" she joked.
"I would love to" replied Ludwig giving her a charming smile. He took
her hand and raised it to his lips but Lovino cut in.
"um, excuse me! Were trying to eat here!" she shouted. Ludwig gave
Feli a sympathetic look and he scurried off, not wanting to evoke the
wrath of Lovino.
"finally, that losers goon, now I can eat in peace" commented Lovino,
as she shoveled a spoonful of pasta into her mouth.
The rest of the meal was silent as the two twins shoveled food into
their mouths. Antonio just idly waited, his pizza long finished. He
stared at the twins with his goofy grin, glancing at Feli, but
lingering on Lovino. She noticed after a while and flipped him the
bird. He just smiled and carried on staring.
Ludwig returned with the check and as Lovino sat back from her
cleaned plate she smiled, saying "My compliments to the chef, this was
delicious"
"thank you, it was very difficult to prepare this meal, we were almost
out of tomatoes so I had to take some off of the other dish-"
"woah, YOU made this?" questioned Lovino, her eyebrows raised with skepticism.
"Yes, I did and I-"
"it was horrible, I hated it" she said flatly, looking away. She stood
and walked off, Antonio jumped up and began to follow her
"Lovi! please wait up! hey, Feli, Can you handle the check? I'll pay you back"
"Sure Antonio!" she pulled out her checkbook and scribbled down the amount.
"well how rude, leaving a lady to pay for the dinner." commented
Ludwig, giving her a sympathetic smile.
"ve, it's fine, he always pays me back." she handed him the check book
but quickly withdrew "oops I forgot!" she giggled as she scribbled on
the receipt. Handing it back, she quickly turned and walked off.
"ve, I gotta get going Ludwig, Nice to meet you!" she yelled as she
jogged off after her companions. Ludwig sighed, he pocketed the
checkbook and began cleaning off the table. He was wiping it off with
a rag when he wondered 'what did she jot down at the last minute?' he
searched for the receipt and when he saw what was written he blushed.
In neat cursive letters, read and ten digit series of numbers.
"I believe, this is what Gilbert calls a "score" he said to himself as
he stowed the phone number in his back pocket.