Ruby stood at the counter of the empty diner. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, too late for lunch and too early for dinner. She hunched over the counter, resting her elbows on it as she painted her nails their typical fire-engine red. And as she painted, Ruby thought. She was tired. Tired of this town, tired of this life. Everything was known, old news. Ruby needed something new.

Just then, the diner bell rang as Archie stepped through the door, startling Ruby and making her steady hand slip and paint polish across her skin. She sighed and grabbed a napkin, doing her best at damage control.

"Sorry, did I do that?" asked Archie, apologetic as ever. She sighed and threw down the napkin,

"Not really. What can I get you?"

"Cup of peppermint tea, if that's alright." He said. Ruby nodded and walked over, throwing the tea bag in a mug and pouring the already hot water over it. She brought it back to him,

"Thanks." Said Archie, taking a drink. Ruby nodded absently, tongue poking out of her mouth just a bit as she concentrated on painting her right hand. He watched for a bit, fascinated as she tried and failed to cleanly paint her nails. After she had finished the first coat and started the second on her left hand, he said,

"Do you want help with that?"

"Sorry?" said Ruby, looking up.

"I couldn't help but notice you seem to be struggling with painting your right hand, being right handed and all. Would you like some help?" he explained. Ruby flashed him a grin,

"That'd be great. Let me finish this and I'll hand it over." She quickly completed the last few strokes on her left hand and gave the brush to Archie. "Just try slow, steady sweeps. Make sure you dab off some of the polish in the bottle though. Otherwise there's too much and it'll run all over and make a mess." She instructed. Archie nodded and began. Considering it was his first time, he painted nails surprisingly well.

"So no offense, but if you've been painting your nails for years, how come you still have trouble with this?" he asked. Ruby glanced up at his face, then back down at her hands,

"I suppose I got distracted." She said, not quite meeting his eye as she spoke. Archie smiled just a bit.

"You distract me too." He said quietly. He looked up at her. Ruby smiled back. He went back to painting her nails.