Disclaimer: I don't own Pretty Little Liars.
Previously on Trophy:
"Stop," Diane demanded. "And Wes, get yourself a date, too. Preferably a respectable girl and not a waitress or a hooker like your brother will get. If Ezra is unable to oversee the Fitzgerald Foundation and all our galleries, someone has to."
Ezra chuckled at the thought of his 18-year-old brother being anything but an irresponsible partygoer, though Diane did enjoy that Wes always seemed to be completely in the know. But he did know that he needed a date to the Field's gala, and he needed one soon.
"Aria," Holden said as soon as she walked in. "Can you roll silverware? We open in half an hour."
"Sure, Holden," Aria replied, waving to Toby. He waved back and drove away. "You're the boss. Who's coming in today?" Please not Simone…
Holden gave her a regretful look. "Sorry, Aria, Simone is coming in. Noel as well, but he's assisting in the kitchen. We're gonna be busy."
She groaned. "Who's cooking today? Alex or Garrett?"
"Alex,"
"Okay," Aria sighed, settling down to roll silverware. Simone walked in a few minutes later, talking on her latest generation iPhone.
"I have to go," she said into it, "I just got here…You know, the one on the dumpy street?" she laughed loudly. "Yeah, that's the one! Have you seen the other waitress here?" A pause. "What? Really? Not possible, you bitch. But he was supposed to be coming here to see me."
"Simone," Holden said, giving her a look. She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, whatever, Shana, I have to go. Tell your brother he can go fuck himself and his stupid little crush." She hung up.
"Go wipe down all the tables," Holden told her. "And be nice to the costumers today. You're being the hostess."
"But the hostess doesn't get any tips," Simone whined, shooting Aria a glare.
"Well, you only have this job to please daddy, right Simone?" Aria replied tauntingly. "Aren't you like twenty-three? Seems like you should have a better job."
She sneered at Aria. "Well, aren't you like twenty-five?"
"Nineteen," Aria replied.
"Well, I just need this job until spring. I'm going to apply for executive creative director at my daddy's company."
"Aw, was that a job that your daddy made up just for you?" Aria asked with venom in her voice.
Simone huffed and stormed away to begin cleaning tables.
"That's what I thought!" Aria called after her. "Bitch," she mumbled.
"Oh, kitten's got claws," Noel said, sliding into the booth beside her. "What's with you?"
Aria sighed. "Nothing, Noel, I'm just a little irritable."
"I see, is it-"
"If you say 'that time of the month', I will rip your balls off." Aria interrupted.
"Is it…is it…" he faltered. "Nope, never mind. I got nothing."
Aria laughed for the first time that day. "It's nothing, Noel. But thanks for your concern. Have you set up your kitchen stuff?"
Noel shrugged, beginning to help her roll the silverware. "I have a couple minutes. Plus Alex will be in to help."
Aria smiled slightly. "Okay. How are you, Noel? Didn't you just adopt a rat?"
"I bought a hamster," Noel corrected.
"Hamsters, rats, they're all the same to me." Aria replied. "Call me if you get a dog or a cat."
"Whatever, Aria," Noel replied, scoffing playfully. He glanced at the clock. "I'd better go back to the kitchen. I'll see you later?"
"For sure," Aria replied. "And try not to mess up the orders, Kahn. You're not the one who gets a bad tip for that."
"Sure, Aria," Noel ruffled her hair. "And if the order is wrong, blame Alex."
Aria laughed and dumped the wrapped silverware into a container. She walked around the tables and set them down, occasionally beaming at Simone's glares. Holden opened the doors at promptly 7.
People filtered in and out for the next couple hours, just like every morning. It seemed that the sun being out was making people generous tippers, despite how cold it was.
"Hey, Aria," one of the regulars at the diner, Craig, said.
"Hey, Craig," Aria replied brightly. "Will it be the usual? Number seven, extra bacon, sunny side up eggs?"
"And jam on the toast," he reminded her, as he did every day. "How's your brother? Have you seen him recently?"
"Oh, Mike is good. I Skyped with him at the library a couple days ago. He seemed happy to see me, and I want to go see him before Christmas, but it's a three hour bus ride."
"Well, let me know when you do," Craig said. "And tell him I said hello."
Aria agreed, smiling. The diner was full, forcing Simone to be nice to people that entered and tell them how long the wait will be. She walked quickly to the window that led to the kitchen and placed the order on the lineup.
"Aria!" Alex called. "I have table nine!"
Aria took the tray and walked it over to a nice family, dishing everything out to the family there. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked them kindly. Truthfully, she always wished the answer was 'No' but she didn't mind so much as long as the people were nice about it.
"Could I have more coffee?" the father asked. Aria nodded, smiling.
"Coming right up."
"I just don't want to get married," Ezra complained to his group of friends. "But my dad said in his will that I can have the gallery once I'm married, and if I wait too long my mom will sell her parent's paintings."
"Oh, relax, Ezra," Spencer responded. "You're just an old romantic. You want to have a story besides 'We met through my mom and got married so that our families could have a connection and make even more money'. You'll find someone soon, and if you can't…you'll figure something out."
"She's right," Wes nodded. "You want a girl that will watch black and white movies with you and talk about classic books and be excited when you bring home flowers instead of jewelry."
"You'll bring home jewelry, right, Caleb?" Hanna asked. "Skip the flowers, I want the jewelry. Diamonds, preferably."
"I prefer emeralds," Spencer said to Wren.
"Okay, Han," Caleb grabbed his girlfriend's hand. "I'll skip the flowers for like a year and get you a pair of earrings."
"Awesome," Hanna kissed his cheek.
"You're getting flowers and rubies," Wren said to Spencer.
"Emeralds," Spencer corrected. "And Hanna, where are we going again?"
"To a cute little diner," Hanna replied. "I know some people that work there." She got that guilty look on her face that she always got when she said anything about her life before she met Caleb. "My best friend works there. Well…we used to be best friends."
"I'm sure Aria isn't mad at you, Hanna," Caleb said. "She was happy for you when we moved you out of that disgusting apartment."
"Hey," Hanna snapped. "Don't say that. It was disgusting, but it was where I lived. It was my safe haven when my life was hell…or Aria was."
They arrived at the diner. "Isn't it cute?" Hanna asked excitedly.
"Yeah," Wren said. "It's so…authentic."
"Hey," Hanna snapped again. "I know that 'authentic' is rich kid for 'worn down'. I used to love this place. I would walk down with Aria and we would hang here for hours. Their pancakes are to die for."
"Yeah, it's cute," Caleb agreed, elbowing Wren in the guts. "And I'm hungry."
"Me too," Wes agreed. "Let's go," They entered the little diner and Hanna excitedly looked for Aria.
"Can I help you?" the hostess said loudly.
"Yes," Wes said. "We need a table for six. Now, if at all possible."
"It's a thirty minute wait for a party that big," the hostess replied. "What name should I put it under?"
"How about Ben Franklin?" Wes asked, pulling out a bill and sliding it across the table.
"Oh I see," the hostess replied, accepting the bill with a sly smile. "You had a reservation. Just a moment," she turned around. "ARIA! Have you wiped down table five?
"Yeah," Aria said back in a normal tone as she walked by the hostess with a tray covered in dirty dishes. "And you don't have to yell, Simone. I can hear your nasally voice from all the way across the restaurant."
Simone rolled her eyes, but grabbed six menus and led the group to a booth in the back of the restaurant. "Our waitress will be with you shortly."
They sat down and Hanna began to excitedly talk about the pancakes there, with Caleb or Spencer interrupting every once in a while.
"It is kind of cute," Spencer said once they had been there for a little while. "I like the feel of it. Is your picture somewhere on that board over there, Hanna?"
Hanna looked over to where Spencer was pointing and smiled. "Yeah, it's all people from the neighborhood. Regulars, mostly,"
"I feel a little overdressed," Wren said quietly, looking around. "These people all look like they're mannequins from Goodwill, and we look like we're mannequins from Chanel."
"Well, I think Hanna looks more like an Anne Taylor Loft mannequin, myself."
"Aria," Hanna complained. "Anne Taylor is like Forever XXI for old ladies, or rich people…" she trailed off. "Oh. I see."
Then they both simultaneously squealed and went to hug each other. Hanna pulled back.
"Aria, you remember Caleb Rivers." They exchanged a smile. "And this is Spencer Hastings and her boyfriend Wren Kingston, and the Fitzgerald brothers, Ezra and Wesley."
Aria shook all their hands, but lingered on Ezra for a moment. "Nice to meet you," she said quietly.
"You as well," he replied, holding onto her delicate hand for a little too long. He liked the way it felt in his hands.
"ARIA!" Simone screamed. "Get back to work! Stop harassing costumers!"
Aria pulled back, rolling her eyes, and pushed Hanna back into the booth, pulling a notepad out of the pocket of her apron, flipping to a new page. "I'm Aria and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with something to drink? Juice? Coffee?" she glanced at Wren. "…tea? We have earl gray."
"Tea would be lovely, thank you," Wren said. Spencer elbowed him in the gut.
"Scratch that," Spencer requested. Aria obediently crossed it off the order. "He'll have coffee, and so will I."
"Decaf?" Aria asked.
"No," Spencer replied. "Lots of caffeine."
"You got it," Aria said. "Hanna, apple juice and tea?"
"Of course…actually, just tea. With crème, please."
Aria resisted an urge to roll her eyes. Why not just milk? Apparently, Caleb had been taking Hanna to Starbucks.
"And could I have coffee, too?" Caleb asked. "Caffeinated. Hanna wanted to go shopping later, and I need a lot of energy for that."
Aria laughed. "I believe it." she turned her attention to Wes and Ezra. "And you two?"
"Tea," Wes requested.
"Do you have smoothies?" Ezra asked.
"Yes," Aria replied. "My favorite is the mango, but the strawberry-blackberry is also good."
"I'll have the mango," Ezra said. He didn't know why. He didn't really like mangos.
"Are we ready to order food now?" Hanna asked. They all agreed.
"Hanna, strawberry pancakes with maple syrup and toast?" Aria asked, already writing down the order.
"You know it. Thanks, Ari. But…maybe whole grain toast instead of the cinnamon toast."
Aria took the rest of the orders before leaving the group to their own devises. Wes immediately jumped on Ezra.
"You like her," he accused. "You like the waitress. Aria."
"What?" Hanna asked. "You like Aria? This is great!"
"Hanna," Spencer scolded. "You can't all have a love story like you and Caleb."
"And I can't like her unless I get to know her," Ezra said. "And she was just flirting with me to get a better tip."
"But you don't deny that you think she's pretty?" Wes asked.
"Well, of course," Ezra replied. "She's gorgeous." And she will be getting an extraordinary tip. But for some reason, she struck him as someone who couldn't be bought. Which was the opposite of Maggie.
"The perfect trophy," Wren said, putting his arm around Spencer. "Young, beautiful…"
Spencer gave him a look, and he kissed her on the cheek. "Just like my Spencer,"
She rolled her eyes. "Nice save, old man. Let's not forget about the nine year age difference between us."
Ezra was about to say that though Aria was young and beautiful, it didn't seem like she could be impressed with diamond earrings and evening gowns, but a guy wearing an apron with the diner's logo on it walked up.
"Um, hi," a guy said. "I was on break and Aria begged me to deliver your drinks…wait, Spencer? Wren?"
Spencer furrowed her eyebrows. "Alex? You work here?"
"Um, yeah," Alex replied, setting their drinks down in front of them. "It's part of my senior thesis on the working class verses the upper class' behavior toward wait staff."
"Oh…that's cool, I guess."
"Yeah. I'm working the kitchen today. So I'll see you later, at the Field's gala, if not before."
"For sure," Spencer replied.
The group talked for a while until Aria returned with their food, mostly about the dresses that they planned to wear to Emily's family's gala.
"I was thinking royal blue," Spencer said, "With a classy loose bun or something." Her voice lowered slightly. "I just want to outdo Melissa. Ian talked her into wearing this ugly brown dress, though, so it shouldn't be too hard."
"I know what you mean," Hanna said, "I met Caleb's ex at Mona's birthday party, and I want to look better than her to wipe that stupid smile off her face."
"I only have eyes for you," Caleb kissed her cheek. Hanna huffed.
"That's not the point-"
"Hey, sorry it took such a long time." Aria interrupted, "We're busy today, and a bit understaffed. So, strawberry pancakes for Hanna, huckleberry for Caleb, scrambled eggs and sausage for Wesley, hash browns and waffles for Spencer, oatmeal with a side of dried fruit for Wren, and French toast for Ezra," she lowered her voice, talking only to him. "It's my favorite."
Ezra grinned. "You have a good memory,"
Aria shrugged. "I guess that I like to remember things…or people." She grinned. "Have a nice meal. I'll check on y'all in a little bit."
"Thanks, Aria," Hanna said before turning back to her new friends. "Spencer, do you think you can find out what kind of a dress Kate is wearing?"
The response to Trophy was great, guys :) Thanks so much for your support with this!
Remember to tell me what you think! Love you all!
-Cookie
