Le Trou Normand

October 19th | 4:45 PM

"All I'm saying, Will, is that you don't have to stay cooped up all day. You could get out, you know? Go to the movies. Go on a date."

"Ah, see?" Will leaned back in this chair, grimacing. "There it is. You've gotta stop with it, Alana. I'm perfectly fine on my own."

"Oh, don't be such a child, Will. I'm just encouraging you to try something new."

"The last time I tried something new I ended up in a psychiatric ward."

"Well, perhaps you shouldn't befriend strangers on hunting message boards then, should you, Will?" Alana lifted her eyebrows at him and smirked as she brought her pint glass to her lips. They were bright red today, a vibrant tone offsetting her navy blazer and pale satin blouse. Will shifted in his chair.

"Perhaps I should avoid interacting with strangers at all. I don't need any new friends and I certainly don't need a date," he sighed, looking out at the street.

"No? Just you and your dogs and your fishing lures?"

"And you," Will replied, flashing her a shallow smile.

"And me," Alana softened. "Has Jack called?"

"No," Will clenched his jaw. "I've tried reaching out a few times but he must be busy."

"He'll get back to you, Will, but it won't be with a job offer. Are you still doing that… grocery delivery thing?"

"Yes," Will snapped, jaw jutting out to show his irritation. "Sometimes I even make good tips."

"Oh yeah? So you'll be paying for our overpriced drinks, then?"

"No," Will replied, and this time he had a genuine smile and laugh. "No, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm a conscientious objector to places like this. I'd rather steal them."

"Now, now," Alana grinned, "let's not add criminal to your long list of descriptors. It'll look bad next to crazed and apathetic."

Will cast her a teasing glare before grabbing his beer and taking another swig of it. Alana laughed and shook her head at him as she headed off toward the bathroom, leaving Will alone with his thoughts. He didn't enjoy his thoughts at the best of times, let alone when he was out in public, and so his hand wandered toward his phone before he realized he was doing it, compulsively checking to see if he had missed any messages while it was on silent.

He had. It was another order from the doctor. Hannibal. Will winced, immediately setting the phone back down on the table and looking away, as if he'd seen something too indecent to be acknowledged in public. It felt indecent, the temptation to open the phone up and see what Lecter had ordered, even though he knew he should be refusing the job. Everything about the man and his abnormal interest in Will prompted suspicion. He was sure he'd watched some training video about harassment and how to deal with it—and surely being both scolded and sought after by that man would inevitably become a harassment case, if it wasn't already?

"You look horrible," Alana's voice cut through Will's thoughts as she strode back to the table. "What happened? Did our server make the mistake of speaking to you?"

Will cast her an unimpressed glance. "No," he replied, "I just… got an assignment from the app."

"Jesus, I thought you didn't mind the work? I can't imagine why you keep doing it if it makes you feel like that."

"No, it's just this one customer," Will said, eyeing his phone as if it might lunge forward and bite him.

"Oh?"

"He's just… off. I never feel like myself around him, but he keeps requesting me specifically and leaving me these great reviews."

"So he's into you, then?" Alana asked, sweeping some of her long, dark hair over her shoulder and smirking.

Will balked. "Don't be ridiculous. Why would you even say that?"

"Because your head is so far up your ass most days that you can't even tell if the sun's risen."

Will grimaced, grabbing his phone and rejecting the request as quickly as he could. "Well good. Another reason for me to ignore him, then."

"Hopefully he wasn't the good tipper."

Will sighed and shoved his phone back into his pocket.