"Buckle up!" Callie smiled at me as she buckled her own seatbelt.

We were in her car. It was fancy.

I didn't really know what kind of car it was. I sucked at that stuff. I knew that my mom had a Subaru and that was the extent of my car knowledge. I only knew that because Mom always says 'I love my Subaru.' Weirdo.

It was some sort of truck, though. All black- on the outside and the inside. It was a nice car.

"I like your car." I whispered as I very carefully buckled. I did not want to mess anything up. It had to cost a whole lot of money.

Callie laughed, "Thank you!"

I watched as she started to drive. Both hands on the wheel. Eyes glued to the road. Safe driver. Good quality.

"Where are we going?" I asked. I still wasn't quite sure.

"Out for lunch! There's this new burger joint that opened by the mall, I thought it would be fun to check out. Is that cool with you?" Callie glanced over at me for a second.

"Yeah, that place is good!" I nodded my approval.

"You've been?"

"I went with my friends last week." This new place was the talk at school when it first opened. So, my friends and I had decided we had to see it for ourselves.

"Oh fun!" Callie smiled, then looked a little hesitant. "Do you wanna go, then.. since you've already been?"

"We should totally go. It was awesome!"

She smiled, again. "Great!"

The place wasn't too far from the apartment, so we got there pretty quick. Luckily for us, places aren't too busy at 11:00 am on a Sunday, so we got seats quickly.

We got a booth, and sat on opposite sides.

"Oohhh. Milkshakes, smoothies" Callie said as we were both looking at the menu.

I giggled.

"Oh I totally want a Strawberry Kiwi smoothie. What about you?" Callie looked back up at me.

"Hmm. Probably a Strawberry milkshake." I said after scanning the menu. It was what I got last time. I loved strawberry milkshakes.

Callie smiled a little. "That's your moms favorite too." She laughed.

I nodded- that was where I got it from. I always ordered the same thing as my mom growing up. So, her favorites had become mine.

Callie ordered for the both of us, which I thought was sweet.

When the waiter left, I looked up at Callie.

"My mom really likes you." I wanted to make sure Callie liked my mom too. I was pretty sure she did. But, my first goal of today was to make sure. I didn't want my mom to be sad again.

Callie smiled, "I really like your mom." She responded.

"She's been through a lot." I said.

"You both have." Callie said with a nod. Her voice was calm, sweet.

"Yeah..." I thought about what I wanted to say for a second. I could feel Callie's eyes on me as the wheels in my brain turned. "My mom seems really happy around you."

Callie bit her lip, that smile still showing.

"I like that she's so happy. So, I guess I'm just saying thank you..." I laughed a little.

"Your mom makes me very happy, too. No need to thank me." Callie smiled more as the waiter came back with our drinks.

"Do you ladies know what you want to eat yet?" They asked.

Callie looked at me, and I shrugged. "I know what I'm getting." I said.

Callie nodded, "Go ahead and order." She quickly looked down at the menu.

I smiled, looking up at the waiter, "I'll just have a cheeseburger. No tomatoes please?" I hated tomatoes. My mom said that made no sense, since I loved tomato sauce. But, that didn't change the fact that I hated tomatoes.

"Cheeseburger. No tomatoes. Got it, and for you?" They looked to Callie.

"Ah, the... Big Bacon Burger" She laughed, "Sounds interesting." She shrugged, looking at me.

"Perfect. Alright I'll go out that in for you now!" They smiled before heading off.

"Funny name for a burger." Callie said.

I nodded, "Yeah, all of their names are kinda weird though, my friends and I were saying that the other day."

Callie laughed some more.

There was a little bit of silence. It wasn't really that awkward.

I broke it. "Callie?"

"Yeah?"

"I never got a chance to say thank you."

"For what?" Callie's eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

"Well... I heard you helping my mom when she, had a nightmare. You're nice to her. My dad was never like that." I spoke more quietly. It wasn't like there was anyone around, but this was personal. Not something I should shout out.

Callie's face softened. "She told me that she talked to you, I'm glad."

I nodded, "Thank you for helping her... when I couldn't."

"Of course." Callie smiled sweetly.

l smiled back. I was truly grateful that she treated my mom so well. It was what Mom deserved.

Some small talk got us through the whole waiting for our food portion, and when it finally came out, I think both of us were shocked about how Callie's burger looked.

"That thing is huge." I said, laughing.

"Yeah... Um. Wow." Callie laughed as well.

It was not only insanely large, but was covered in bacon. It looked pretty good, but also like way too much food to eat in one sitting.

Mine looked pathetic in comparison- and mine was your typical, overly fatty cheeseburger. That said a lot.

I easily took a bite, while Callie somewhat struggled to figure hers out.

I giggled as I took a sip of my milkshake.

She sighed, smiling. "Burger good, Olivia?"

"You know, you don't have to call me Olivia." I said after I swallowed. "Mom only calls me Olivia when she's mad or like... being super serious. Otherwise, everyone calls me Liv. Or some other weird variation of my name." I actually didn't like being called Olivia that much. It was to the point where I just preferred the nickname- it fit me better. I already fully went by Liv with my friends, my teachers, even around all of Mom's friends. So, it seemed natural to tell Callie she could also use my nickname.

"Well. In that case- Burger good, Liv?" Callie was beaming.

"It's amazing. Thank you." I smiled at her.

Callie seemed beyond happy just by that. It made her happy just to be able to call me by my nickname- I assumed that, to her, it was a sign that I liked her. Which, I was happy to show a sign of that. I did like her. She was good.