"You're back." She notes flatly.
"Still no food at home." He shrugs.
"Whatever. I'm getting you a blueberry muffin."
"Did you make it, cause the pie yesterday was incredible."
Jade's lip actually curls upward into the slightest hint of a smile. "I did." She admits, and with that admission, she walks off.
Robbie feels himself relax back into his seat. It was 11pm now. After school, he had spent hours contemplating whether he should drive back to the mystery diner where he had caught Jade in her apparent secret job. He doesn't know why he feels so drawn to the place. Perhaps it's because it feels so removed from his usual world which consisted of bright hallways and red wine stains, but regardless, he finds himself in the same booth as yesterday waiting for Jade to greet him.
Jade hadn't looked surprised when she saw him. On the contrary, she looked as if she was fighting off a knowing smirk when he entered. After their initial, brief interaction, she had predominantly ignored him for the first hour and stayed hidden in the kitchen area concealed from his view. When she did finally approach him again close to her break, Robbie could feel his breath hitch in nervous anticipation as she sauntered over, her high ponytail swishing behind her in rather alluring fashion.
"Here." She sighs, dropping his plate and coffee in front of him. Robbie grins as she once again sits herself down opposite him causing a sudden flash of Déjà Vu. Robbie notes that the same people from last night were also seated in their exact seats, with only the addition of a ragged looking middle-aged man to the strange crowd.
Jade catches his gaze and lulls, "That's Dave. He comes in every few weeks when his wife kicks him out. Dude's lost three jobs in five months."
"Wow." Robbie hums. "Do you know all these people?"
Jade just shrugs. "Well, you kind of learn their stories after five months of seeing them nearly every night. They're all kind of cool. They actually inspire a lot of my writing. I guess that's another reason why I work at this dump."
It's probably the most she's ever spoken to Robbie at one time without insulting him, and Robbie perks up in interest.
"That's really cool." He tells her. "But don't you get tired. I mean, you work from 10pm to 6am four days a week… and you have school. How are you coping?"
Jade looks at him curiously, taking a deliberately slow sip of her coffee. "You're here, aren't you?" She eventually states. "Aren't you tired?"
"Not really." Robbie shrugs. He doesn't really sleep well at home anyway. In fact, most nights he spent restlessly tossing back and forth in his bed. Truthfully, he'd never felt more awake. Still, Jade had revealed that she'd worked this job for nearly half a year. "I just find it surprising." He admits. "Is this why you drink so much coffee?"
"I don't want to sleep. I want to live." She tells him, and with those words, her break is over and she gets up to resume her work.
Robbie once again remains waiting in his booth until Jade's shift is over. She doesn't ask him this time if he wants coffee. She refills his cup on the hour like the previous night. Robbie watches her intently every time her back is turned.
Jade doesn't seem so scary away from the lively corridors of Hollywood Arts. She did seem to stick out like a sore thumb there, her dark clothes and personality creating an ominous aura in the school hallways. Here though, she didn't seem all that scary. In fact, in this small café of misfits, she seemed to be quite at home. It makes Robbie wonder if perhaps she's a little lost in this world too.
He feels bad for never trying to talk to her, especially after her breakup with Beck. Jade always seemed so confident and angry at everything. If someone had told him that he'd find her working at a 24hr diner as a waitress two days ago, he would have laughed in their faces. But here Jade was. Apron and all.
It was approaching 6am now and Robbie watches Jade prep to leave. She's wiping down a counter, but he notices that her eyes shift every so often to the young mother with her little child who are tucked away in the corner opposite him. He wonders if Jade will actually speak with her. Sure, she had admitted to knowing about the lives of her usual customers, but he still struggles to imagine Jade willingly having a conversation with someone.
Jade finally tears her gaze away from the women and instead glances at Robbie. He immediately straightens up, blushing at being caught staring at her. Jade just smirks and struts back over to him.
"I'm going now." She states, rolling her eyes as she pockets Robbie's way too generous and slightly inappropriate tip that he's left for her on the table. "You know, I'm not going to let you grope my tits or anything no matter how much money you leave me." She tells him seriously.
She seems to rather enjoy the eggplant colour Robbie turns as he splutters in aghast. "JADE… just. Just no. Why would you even think that?"
"Hey, it's happened before." She tuts, holding up her hands in defense, but she seems to relax slightly as she watches Robbie's discomfort, almost as if she appreciates Robbie's awkwardness.
"That's despicable." He chokes, frowning deeply at her words. Thinking about all the hoons that might try and hit on Jade causes an odd tightening in his chest. He lets out an involuntary sound that sound a bit like a mangled whimper. Jade's grin only grows as she watches him squirm. "I'll walk you to your car." He boldly declares. His mind is still flashing with probably unrealistic visions of hoodlums waiting to jump her as she exited. To be fair, this was a rather dodgy part of town.
Jade doesn't argue though. She shrugs again causing her high ponytail to bounce behind her which Robbie thinks is rather sweet. She looks very pretty in the early dawn light. If he were braver, he'd voice this, but it's clear he's reached his quota of bravery for the night as he formally gestures for Jade to walk in front of him towards the exit.
They're almost at the door when Jade suddenly halts. She bites her lip uncertainly, then spins on her heel and struts to the opposite corner from where Robbie had just been sitting. To Robbie's surprise, Jade comes to a stop in front of the young mother who she'd been subtly eyeing up earlier.
"What's wrong Emma?" She asks quietly.
The girl blinks rather rapidly at Jade's sudden appearance, attempting to wake herself up from the apparent daze she had been sinking in to. "Nothing Jade." She quickly responds. She looks rather caught off guard which is a stark contrast to Jade's determined expression.
Robbie's unsure whether he should exit and give the pair privacy or stay to aid either of the women who seemed stuck in a staring competition of sorts. Jade eyes were narrowing in warning and perhaps another emotion that Robbie couldn't quite place his finger on. He thinks to himself that it may be a mixture of concern and empathy. The lady, supposedly called Emma, seems to cave first as she eventually glances away sadly.
"Harry's a bit sick." She admitted quietly, gazing down at the baby in her arms with a look of distress. Jade's harsh features soften further in worry.
Robbie detects a hint of sadness in Jade's eyes as she reaches out to place a hand on the woman's shoulder, then thinks better of it and draws her hand back
"Look, Emma, are you sure you can't return?" Jade mulls tepidly.
"Yes, Jade. And Please hush." Emma silences, looking around the almost empty diner worriedly even though Jade had purposely spoken rather quietly. Jade wasn't usually one for tact or taking time to consider other people's comfort. Or perhaps she was, and Robbie had just never noticed it. He hadn't realized a lot of things about Jade West evidently.
"Go to the doctors." Jade finally sighs. She glances over at Robbie, but he's smartly looking in the other direction, pretending to be enthralled by a rather ugly painting hung on the diner's walls.
"I will." Emma squeaks, looking rather forlorn. "I just wish money wasn't so tight."
Jade nods in understanding then gestures to the cash Emma has already left out on the table.
"Put that back in your wallet. You're not paying here."
"But Jade-" she began to protest, looking somewhat alarmed.
"Listen to me, Emma. You go take Harry and get him some medicine. You should save us as much as you can in the meantime to get out of this dump."
"Jade-"
"Don't argue with me." Jade snaps as Emma opens her mouth again to respond. "Go home and try to get some sleep."
Emma quickly stands, and shooting Jade a watery smile of thanks, she hobbles out of her booth and makes her way to the exit. Jade watches her go with a satisfied expression and doesn't even seem to mind when Robbie moves to stand closer to her than usual.
"That was very sweet of you." Robbe croaks softly into her ear. "Are you allowed to do that though? I mean, tell customers not to pay?"
Jade looks at Robbie like he's an idiot (what's new), and pulls out her own purse from her pocket, throwing her cash onto the table.
"Oh, Jade-" Robbie begins, rather moved by Jade's display of kindness.
"Emma is a good mother. She loves her kid and would do almost anything for him. She's in a really shitty situation right now. This world could do with a few less assholes. The least I can do is fork out a bit of money to pay for that poor girl's dinner."
Robbie nods in understanding, but he's still quite bemused by her actions. Why hadn't he noticed how thoughtful Jade was? It reminded him of yesterday when Jade had prevented him from ordering food with gluten in it. Perhaps she's always been the silent carer.
"Looks like she could use some more help though. Doesn't she have a family she can turn to?"
Jade bites her lip awkwardly. "They don't know she's had a kid. They think she's at College right now."
Robbie gawks at Jade, a frown taking over his features.
"Nobody's perfect, Robbie." She tells him suddenly, sensing his disapproval. "She's a good mum. She does her best, and that's a lot more than can be said for most people in this world.
Robbie thinks about his own mum who's probably passed out on the living room couch currently. He nods fervently in agreement.
"You're a good person too Jade." He blurts. He doesn't know why this seems like such an important thing to tell her, but he exhales deeply once the words escape his mouth. Jade stares at him slightly dazedly, then weakly smiles.
"You're not too bad yourself, Shapiro."
And without saying another word, the pair leaves the diner together. It's the first time Robbie doesn't feel so alone.
/
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