The restaurant was bustling, as expected since it was almost dinner time, around 5 o'Clock. The crowded tables were full with families carrying small children and toddlers with them, as well as teenagers in small groups (them being the loudest).
Maka was a waitress, bouncing back and forth between tables and the kitchen, getting a new request from a table she had served almost every time she walked by. Her face was flushed with a soft pink, managing to avoid her coworkers who gave her dirty looks whenever she accidentally bumped their shoulders. It wasn't her fault that they kept standing in the middle of the aisles.
Sighing, she tightened the apron strings behind her back to keep them from getting loose again, and making her already bad day even worse. She held menus against her body under her arm, with silverware in the other hand, silently thanking god she had a break, even if it was only for a couple of minutes.
"Maka! Can you get these 2 a table?," Her coworker's voice came from the front of the restaurant. Maka sighed once more before making her way towards the entrance, taking the menus out from under her arm. She rounded the corner, and momentarily froze at what she saw.
Soul was standing there, talking to the waiter, with a girl on his left side who held his hand. She was . . . pretty, to say the least. Her dark brown hair was in waves, and her petite figure and tan skin was a sharp contrast next to Soul's toned and pale body. Even though her blood pressure spiked, Maka put on a forced smile and walked towards them, Soul looking up at her and smiling a sharp toothed grin. "Oh, hey, Maka. I didn't know you worked here. Long time no see."
"Yeah, even though I told you like three times." His smile dropped, and the girl kept staring at her. "Anyways, follow me. I'll show you to your table."
They maneuvered through the restaurant before landing on a table in the corner, one with a chair on each side facing each other. Soul and the nameless girl sat down, Maka handing them their menus. "My name is Maka and I'll be your server tonight-" Soul scoffed and she glanced at him through narrowed eyes, "-can I start you off with some drinks?"
They ordered and she began to turn away when Soul called her name, making her stop in her tracks and turn back around, cracking the forced smile. "Yes?"
"I wanted to introduce you to my date," he smirked, the word date dripping off his tongue sarcastically, as he gestured towards the girl sitting across from him, "her name's Maddy. You might remember her from school, yeah?"
She turned to Maddy, the girl looking up at her with large brown doe eyes, lips turned up in a small smile.
"Sorry. Doesn't ring a bell," Maka said, lip twitching, "I'll get those drinks for you."
Without another glance, she stalked off towards the kitchen, muttering curse words under her breath. She already knew what Soul was going to order; it took her a couple of nights out with their group to figure out that everything was consistent: First, he would order Diet Coke (to which she heavily disliked), then he would get some form of pasta with extra parmesan. It depended on the restaurant.
Her hand gripped the notepad tighter, fingertips and knuckles turning white. She'd always had a sort of crush on Soul, them being partners for every school project and practically joined at the hip for 4 years straight. But now ever since high school ended, they'd parted ways, even though going to the same University. She'd confided in him for every problem, and he always scolded her about getting into stupid fights due to her anger issues. Soul had told her all of his secrets, and loathed her dad almost as much as she did.
To see him with someone else- someone much, much prettier than herself was a stab at not only her self confidence, but her trust, too. Of course, it was pure jealousy and envy that caused her to feel this way, but being friends with someone you'd had a crush on for years and then suddenly seeing them dating another person would make anyone feel like this.
Trying to push the thoughts away, Maka tucked her blonde hair behind her ears and grabbed the cups handed to her from one of the other waiters. Once more maneuvering throughout the restaurant, the couple was mid-laugh as she placed them down on the table.
"Are you ready to order now?," she asked in a monotone voice, whipping out her notepad and pen.
Soul raised an eyebrow before ordering exactly what she had expected, already writing down the "extra parmesan" before he could say it.
"And I'll have a salad. I'm vegetarian, so no chicken, please." Maddy said softly, closing the menu and handing it to her. Maka resisted the urge to roll her eyes. If there was anything that Soul hated, it was a girl who ate less than she really wanted to impress a guy. The restaurant had way more filling-and surprisingly cheaper-vegetarian options.
She snatched the menu from Maddy's hand, causing the small girl to flinch. Soul raised an eyebrow again as he timidly handed her the menu, afraid she would take his hand with it. "Okay. I'll be right back with those."
Maka got the most petty idea. She knew it wasn't her place to interfere with their date, but her mind was already clouded with anger and the only thing she could think of was "sabotage her order."
Scratching out the salad on the notepad, she wrote down the chicken platter instead, which came with two large chicken breasts'. A smirk came upon her face. It was a perfect idea in her eyes, and even though Soul would most likely be able to see through it, she couldn't resist.
Her foot tapped impatiently while she waited for the food, the restaurant buzz finally dying down and the waiters and waitresses getting a break. Maka's head snapped up when the two plates finally slid along the countertop, her legs almost intertwining at the rate she turned around.
Fake smiled plastered on her face, Maka carried a plate in one hand each while heading towards Soul's table. She reached it, and set down Soul's pasta, then Maddy's chicken plate.
"Please let me know if you-"
"What is this? I didn't order this." Maddy's face was starting to look green as she glanced between the chicken and Maka.
Maka put on a confused expression as she pulled out her notepad. "Really? I could've sworn you ordered chicken."
"W-well I did . . .didn't." Her body shot up from the chair and she hurled herself towards the restrooms, covering her mouth and nose. Maka tried not to smile as she stared at the tan girl's receding figure.
"Maka, what the hell? That was so uncool," Soul exclaimed, sharp teeth obvious as he looked up at her with wide red eyes. Oh how she missed seeing those wide red eyes.
She shook her head. "It was a genuine mistake. I didn't realize the plates were different."
His lip curled. "She told you she's a vegetarian. How didn't you realize it?" Soul glanced at the notepad she was holding, grabbing it from her. "Let me see that."
Curse words were swimming through her brain, mouth hanging slightly agape as he read what she wrote down.
"You did this on purpose," was all he said. "I can see you clearly crossed out her actual order. Why? Were you jealous or something?"
"As if," she scoffed, rolling her green eyes. "It's not a big deal anyway. I'll just get her a new plate."
"No, Maka, it is a big deal. To me. We haven't seen each other in a year, and the first thing you do is sabotage my date's order all because of stupid jealousy. I know you better than that."
Maka was silent while he pulled out some cash, dropping it on the table, and getting up. "I'm getting Maddy and we're leaving. Nice seeing you." He shook his head as if he was ashamed of her while walking away.
Tears pricked her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. It was his fault he hadn't texted. His fault they never hung out, despite being on the same campus. His fault for not telling her he had a girlfriend. Her sadness turned to guilt, then back to anger. It wasn't like this would matter in a couple more years.
The restaurant soon closed, and it was her turn to lock up. Maka stayed in the dim-lit entrance alone, wiping down the counter and podiums.
Suddenly, the door opened, bell ringing, yet she still continued dragging the dirty rag cross the wood. "We're closed, sorry."
"What, even for me?"
Her motions paused, slowly turning around at the voice. Soul stood in front of her, rubbing the back of his neck, avoiding eye contact.
Arms crossed, Maka leaned against the counter. "Why are you here, Soul?"
"I- uh, wanted to apologize . . .?," he shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
She was shocked, to say the least. "Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who fucked up your girlfriend's order on purpose."
His red eyes widened at the sound of her using a real cuss word. "Girlfriend?," he chuckled, "we're not dating, Maka. Plus, I felt bad for the way I acted. We haven't seen each other in a year and I totally blew you off. And . . .that was kinda funny. Didn't know you had it in you."
Leave it to Soul to make everything a joke, even his date's order which made her throw up.
"Anyway, I ditched Maddy. She was too quiet and sweet. I'm not used to that, ya know? I'm used to loud and screeching Maka always hitting me with books when I was being annoying."
A smile made it's way onto Maka's face, cheeks heating up. "You could've called me in the last year.I thought you were dead, or something."
Soul threw his head back, laughing loudly, Maka almost bursting into tears at not hearing that laugh in so long. "Come on! You know me. If I died, you would be the first to hear, even if we hadn't talked in so long."
His mood dropped again. "But, uh, I'd like to change that. The whole not talking thing."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying do you wanna, like, hang out tomorrow? At lunch? Or whatever."
The pale, cold face she was so used to finally reached the state of a soft pink, cheeks the same color as hers.
"Yes, Soul. I would love that."
He grinned, showing off the sharp teeth that most found menacing, but Maka found inviting.
"Alright. Cool."