It was a strange day at Wimpy's, that was for sure. The waiter had never seen anything like it, in all the years he'd been working at the burger shop. And when you worked at one of the busiest places in Sleepyside, you learnt everything about the small town and the people in it. And today, he learnt things that he probably didn't really want or need to know.
The group he knew so well, frequent visitors to Wimpy's, actually, for once looked very dejected. This was news on its own, as the group of teenagers was almost always the happiest, most rambunctious group of the day. Today, however, the faces of the four young adults were downcast and preoccupied, something obviously eating at their minds and making them evidently uncomfortable.
Upon entering the diner, forced smiles were given the waiter, who noticed immediately that the group of the most frequent visitors was missing two members: the blonde and the redhead who had once been the topic of discussion around the diner when they had gotten together over two years ago. The waiter suppressed a smile. They were hard to miss, alright.
The group of five was split into three groups- the two attractive couples standing close to their partners and the uncomfortable looking boy with them- a dark haired boy who looked like trouble. The waiter knew exactly what it felt like to be the third wheel. Or the fifth wheel, he supposed. The fifth member looked like a smile was playing on the corner of his lips, even though sympathy was written all over his face. Whatever the group was going through, it was definitely something interesting.
The waiter gave the group time to settle down before going to take orders- he, being a naturally curious human being, couldn't help but hear snippets of the conversation.
"That must have been hilarious," the dark haired boy was saying, obviously trying not to laugh.
The waiter could see the lack of amusement on the others' faces. Whatever the boy was talking about, his red-faced friends didn't seem to find it so hilarious.
"I mean, they seriously gave you guys a talk? In front of everyone?" This time, the devilishly handsome teen couldn't resist a chuckle. "I would pay to see that. You guys didn't record it, did you?"
Just as an evidently unsavoury retort was about to exit the mouth of one of the others, the waiter decided to take the opportunity to walk up to the group. "Would you guys like to order?" he asked with a polite smile, nothing on his face showing that he had heard the conversation that had taken place.
The other dark haired group member, the one with his arm around the chair of his honey-haired companion, spoke first. "I think we'll all just have our usual, please." He gave the waiter a kind smile.
The young waiter reciprocated. "Of course. So burgers, fries, and shakes all around?"
The group smiled appreciatively at him. "Thanks, Sam," the pretty, violet-eyed one said, batting her eyelashes.
God, that blonde dude is lucky, the waiter, Sam, couldn't help but thinking as he smiled back at her, and then to the group. "So, that will be…" He thought for a moment before pointing a pen at each person in turn. "Vanilla shakes for you and you, chocolate for you two, and strawberry for you?"
Their smiles were wide. "Thanks, Sam," the older, dark-haired boy said, flashing him a grin.
"No problem," Sam replied, and with a playful smile he added, "So I guess the other two are away for the weekend? The blonde who took strawberry and her vanilla drinking boyfriend?" He knew their names, of course. Who didn't?
Everyone laughed. "I'm so calling Jim 'Vanilla Boyfriend' from now on," the other boy, the waiter thought his name was Dan, said.
Ignoring him, the eldest of the group, the one who Sam knew was in Med School, smiled at the shaggy blonde waiter. "Yeah, Jim and Trixie are in New York for the break." He exchanged a look with everyone else, one that the waiter knew the meaning of.
Sam smiled mischievously. "Abandoned you for a romantic getaway, I see," he teased knowingly, winking at the group before going back to the kitchen to place the orders. Man, it was hard to dislike that bunch. They were so perfect that it was annoying, yet it was almost impossible to hate them. He mentally slapped himself. It's not their fault that they took all the cute girls.
Back at the table, Dan looked happily at his prey. It was way too easy to mess with these guys. But he knew that he could have lots more fun. "Speaking of Jim and Trixie," he began, eyebrows tilting up suggestively, "but what if we call in to speak the happy, possibly horny couple?"
Mart almost slammed his head on the table, while Brian glared his dark haired cohort, trying with all of his power not to slap him for putting that image into his head. Di and Honey exchanged looks of amusement and disgust, knowing that as inappropriate that Dan was, he might just be right.
"I'm sure they're just having lunch, Dan," Honey said reasonably, trying not to think about the other possibility.
Dan shrugged. "Well, then I'm sure they wouldn't mind the company we'd be giving them."
"Dan…" Honey began, but trailed off with a hopeless shake of her head. "It's on you if things go bad," she relented, putting a head in Brian's shoulder. The couple needed privacy, she knew, as they all did. She was actually kind of envious that they had peace and quiet to talk things over, while the rest of them had to lament over it as a group. She knew that sometime in the future, she and Brian would talk about it… once they'd both thought about it, but… she could imagine Trixie and Jim were talking about it right now.
With no other protests, Dan decided to take out his cell, punching in a number before leaving his phone to ring in the center of the table. Everyone waited as it rang. And rang. And rang. Just as they decided to call it quits and hang up, a voice picked up on the other side.
"Hi," they heard Jim say, sounding very out of breath. "Um, what is it, Dan?"
The group heard sounds of shuffling on the other side of the line as Dan responded. "Oh, nothing much," he said, sounding nonchalant, even with a grin spreading slowly across his face. "We're actually all here at Wimpy's, and we decided to call you guys and see how it's going. Where's Trixie?"
There was a pause on the other side, and after a few whispered words and some more shuffling, Trixie came on the line. "Hey guys," she said, her tone awkward and her voice as out of breath as Jim's. "What are you guys, um, doing?"
Honey and Di exchanged knowing looks. Seems like Dan was right. "Oh, nothing much," Honey said. "We just came out for lunch. You guys?"
Honey could almost hear Trixie's blush. "Oh, we're just… uh… waiting for a pizza delivery, actually."
"Yeah, uh, my parents went out for lunch on their own," Jim said to the group, "so…" He cleared his throat. "So… I'm assuming you guys are talking about the whole meeting thing too?"
Brian was saved from the thoughts of what his sister and best friend were partaking in with the appearance of a question. "Yeah," he replied, "It was… interesting, wasn't it?" They heard a small laugh on the other side.
"More like terrifying," Trixie said. "So you guys told Dan?"
The former gang member smirked. "Every little detail, Freckles." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Did they really tell you to get condoms?"
A unanimous groan rang out from both sides of the phone. "Just when I thought I was missing home," Trixie commented dryly through the receiver.
"Don't lie," Dan said, "You're having too much… fun to miss home."
"I'd slap you if you weren't so far away," Trixie threatened.
The Bob-Whites who were seated at Wimpy's heard a ringing sound through the phone. "Sorry, guys," Jim said, "That was the pizza. Give me a minute." They heard the door open and voices talk for a little while, before the door closed again and Jim came back to the phone. "You were saying?"
"I was saying," Dan continued, "That I'm guessing we're going to have to cancel our annual school's out barbeque on account of you guys hooking up when school's done."
If looks could kill, Dan would have been dead over a hundred times. As it was, a wad of tissue was thrown at him by Di, and Honey had slapped his hard on the arm.
"I'm hanging up now," Trixie warned, her voice sounding distraught. "Unless you agree to stop with the sick jokes." She breathed, trying not to laugh. "Like honestly."
Just as they were about to say something more, Sam came back with a tray of food. "Looks like our food's here too," Mart said, his eyes on the fries that the waiter laid before him.
"Yeah, I guess we'll speak to you guys again after lunch," Brian said, and after a few other good byes the group hung up.
Get condoms? Sam thought curiously as he walked back to the kitchen with an empty tray. God, that was a weird bunch.