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Chapter 5: Lunchtime
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"So, do you have a place in mind?" Claire asked. She held the steering wheel tightly with her right hand, and innocence was smothered all over her face as she stared at me straight in the eye, waiting for an answer.
I had no idea. There are tons of fast food restaurants that littered the city, but I was afraid that a restaurant I would decide on may be a bit too dull from Claire's point of view.
"I..." my voice trailed off, failing to give any answer.
"Can't think of any, eh? I thought so," She smirked.
She started the engine without saying any other word and drove to the end of the street. After a few minutes of constant left and right turns, Claire parked the truck in a secluded open space, away from the busy road.
"Come on, let's go," she ordered with a big grin. Both of us climbed out of the car, and we ambled back to the narrow sidewalk. When we got there, not a single eatery could be seen in the street.
"Here, Steve," she said as she started walking east. At the spur of the moment, I ran up to her and grabbed her warm hand and held it firmly, trying not to hurt Claire, since I'm predicting I would. She shot me with an awkward look, but was quickly replaced with a blissful expression after realizing why I've done it.
She tilted her head to the front again, and there I couldn't help but stare at her stunning features, both body and face alike as we had our very own romantic stroll. Her long, red hair tied into a ponytail, her innocent-looking blue eyes glistening from the afternoon sun, her youthful and admiring features… Even though she still appeared the same as always, I've never felt so gratified in my life every time I would see her.
It felt like… We really had a connection.
Claire abruptly curved to her right, causing me to stumble for a second, but still holding Claire's tender hand. I couldn't help but release my overwhelming hate over spoiling this precious moment through a shrill moan due to my utter clumsiness. Claire chuckled from my exaggerated reaction, thinking it sounded nearly the same as a zombie's, and I joined her in her quiet laughter. It was rather unusual that humor would suddenly just pop out of nowhere due to a simple mishap.
We strolled for quite a while as our hands were strongly clenched together, like they were entirely connected. It was odd that my mind couldn't linger off somewhere else.
I was totally and irrefutably in love with her.
And that's what counts. Nothing more could ever spoil our precious moment, except of course, our arrival at our destination. That came up in just a few minutes.
"We're here."
From the looks of it, Claire had chosen a diner for our lunch. I don't really care that much though, it's not like I could complain about it. I don't even have any money to spend, and it would be quite shameful to turn her down. Besides, Claire chose it, and I know it'll be great there.
"I've been eating here a lot back when I was a little kid," Claire reminisced, "Had my ten years of birthdays in this diner, from when I was six until sixteen."
"You must have a lot of good memories from that diner, don't you?" I asked her as she stared blankly at the entrance, possibly trying to recall her past experiences.
"Yeah, it's also the last place I met my brother… Once we got our last dinner together, he left just like that to Raccoon City to become a cop." She walked up to the large pole of the diner's sign and held it firmly, and looked above. There were neon lights up top that formed the diner's name, James' Diner.
"When I found out he got in trouble," Claire continued, her eyes fixed on the entrance of the diner again, "I went ahead to Raccoon City to find him, and then the outbreak happened. Thanks to Leon, Sherry and I got out of there alive."
I clenched my fists tightly and lowered my head at the mention of his name. The thought of Leon… Somehow it makes me jealous, the fact that he saved them, but me... I just had to be a pain in the ass for Claire ever since I met her.
"Don't be so envious, Steve, I know Leon's a bit too serious with all these anti-Umbrella movements than 'falling in love'," she said when she noticed my bloodshot eyes. I raised my head again and flashed a big grin to pretend I wasn't envious.
"I'm not," I said with a seemingly nervous voice. Claire raised a brow, doubting what I had said, but she chuckled.
"Steve, Steve, Steve, still the same guy who denies, denies, and denies. But hey, I've seen much improvement from you ever since we left Rockfort. I've noticed you've been quite mature over the past few hours," she pointed out.
"I guess you're right," I admitted. After thinking back, I really was naive, based from my behavior. But now, I'm assertive that my behavior had developed well over the past month. Well, who wouldn't improve after facing numerous amounts of monstrosities?
"Come on, Steve. We can't keep Sherry waiting for too long."
Claire entered through the double doors. I took a deep breath, and followed her inside.
Surprisingly, it was much better than I thought it would. The diner had a classy sense of style.
There were oak tables that are polished to a shine with comfy, plush chairs, several fluorescent lamps hanging on the ceiling, illuminating the whole restaurant with their strangely soothing glow, classic black and white tiled floors, vintage jazz instruments such as the saxophone and the bassoon set up as side decors across the walls, along with some novelty and valuable items.
The place was quite noisy at this time of day; there were lots of customers going back and forth through the whole building. People chattered continuously, their conversations overlapping each other, making it impossible to distinguish individual voices.
A bright-faced woman wearing a blue waitresses' dress noticed both of us, standing a few meters away from the entrance. Smiling, she went to us while holding a pitcher of beaming water. She was slender like Claire and had long, black hair, the ends of which reached her shoulders.
"Claire? Is that you? Gosh, it's been such a long time! How've you been?" She carefully placed the pitcher upon an open table and embraced Claire tightly. The fact that Claire was a long time customer, it didn't surprise me that she was famous around here.
"I'm doing fine, Lisa. How about you, still a waitress here in James'?" Claire asked after letting go of Lisa's warm, cordial embrace.
"Yeah, same old, same old. There are benefits though. I get paid like fifty bucks a day, James thinks I'm a customer hoarder," She said, laughing loudly. When she had stopped, her eyes swiftly caught mine. "Who's the cute guy? You're boyfriend?" She asked shamelessly.
"Sort of," Claire responded with a dull tone. I frowned at Claire's monotonous reply.
"Well, follow me, I'll lead you to your seats," She turned around, and with heavy stomps, she headed to a lone table across the entire diner.
Claire instantly sat down without any second thoughts, and quickly amused herself by mingling with the dining utensils that were all set beforehand. I, on the other hand, grinned at the waitress and took my seat, just across Claire's.
Lisa took out a notepad and held the end of her pencil to the paper like any other waitress or waiter who would take an order.
"So, what would you like? Romantic, lavender scented candles? And maybe some wine glasses and a bottle of red wine to go with it?" she teased, her voice almost squealing.
"No thank you, Lisa. I'll just take the usual." Her voice sounded serious, and oblivious to Lisa's attempt at making a joke.
"The usual? Still the same old you I guess…" Her smile had dissipated from her lively face, and wrote down hurriedly on her notepad.
She turned her head towards me with another smile again. "How about you, Mr. Cutie?"
I was extremely curious at Claire's usual choice, so instead of ordering myself a burger, I decided to try Claire's choice of food. "I'll take the exact same thing Claire's ordering."
I noticed Claire's eyes bulging out in shock after hearing my words. "I thought you wanted a burger?"
"I wanted to try what you like," I explained, "Burgers are boring for me now."
She laughed, her eyes nearly bursting into tears, thinking what I said was hilarious. Why would that be humorous in any sense at all?
"You'll regret it later, Steve-o," she said, and turned her attention back to Lisa. "Almost forgot, I'd also like a cheeseburger, just remove the cucumbers, since I'm bringing it home for a friend and she hates those. Takeout, if you would ask."
Lisa nodded and casually walked to the counter.
"What do you mean I'll regret it?" I asked Claire once Lisa was out of hearing range. She just smiled at me mockingly and kept silent. Her quiet smile only disturbed me much more, and I tapped the table with my fingers unendingly and furiously as I waited impatiently for our order.
"Special order, coming up!" It wasn't the waitress' voice anymore. It was heavy, sort of deep, and ruffled, like an old man. When I looked up, there he was. He was about six feet tall and had grey, messy hair. He had a beard so bushy I might just poke my hand right in there and come out with something. His face was riddled with wrinkles, but through it all, I could see a vivid smile forming. He was wearing a greasy apron and a chef's hat, and under the apron was a faded brown shirt and pants.
He held a tray like a waitress, and I didn't really know if he was teasing or not, but he looked like he did. I could smell a soothing and mouthwatering aroma coming from the tray, and I anticipated a very good meal up ahead.
"I knew you can't keep yourself from coming out of that kitchen, James." Claire was cheerful when she said those words.
"When I heard that order, I knew you were here! I couldn't help myself, being a very special customer and all." His laugh was oddly rough, a signal that he was probably in his mid-60's.
He placed the tray on the table, his hands trembling a bit, probably from the age. Right in front of me were two plates, both having the same content: a gravy-showered steak with mashed potatoes, a glass of milk, and an extra side-dish of sliced tomatoes. Everything looked normal, except for one thing.
"What's this yellow stuff?" I asked James. I noticed that there was a sprinkle of yellow tidbits throughout the steak.
"Oh, those are grinded Habanero peppers," he answered.
Somehow it reminded me of something, but my mind was acting funny, it wasn't functioning well to allow me to recognize what the Habanero pepper was. But I could feel my stomach churning at the thought of it…
I wonder why.
"You still up to it, Steve?" Claire said, challenging me.
"Its just a silly pepper, I could take anything spicy any day," I replied. I snatched the spoon up hastily, and took down a mouthful.
It turned out much worse than I expected.
I suddenly felt the burning sensation filling my mouth. It was like I had consumed fire, and it was unbelievably hot. I started waving my hands up and down and breathed in and out, desperately trying to ease down the burn. It felt like I literally ate fire.
"I knew it," Claire said, rolling her eyes and flashing a smile. I knew I've lost.
I gulped down on the glass of milk, emptying it in just seconds. I kept waving my hand; I couldn't stop, no matter how much I wanted to. It just felt so hot.
Claire began to dig in to hers. Her features remained intact at the contact of the grinded Habanero peppers inside her mouth. It was quite obvious that Claire was accustomed to eating these things.
I was able to gobble up the rest of my meal in one swoop, just so that I could show Claire that I could eat these. The pain started to rise, and before I knew it, I've already drank nearly eight glasses of milk, and the burn still didn't stop.
Claire kept chewing on her own food casually, and when she would drink her milk she would only take small sips. I cursed under my breath, and started to pound on the table with clenched fists. I actually had no idea why I did that.
"You're going to get fat drinking all that milk," Claire said after swallowing a mouthful of her steak. I ignored her though; I would literally do anything just so I could ease it down.
After about thirty, agonizing minutes and fifteen glasses of milk later, the pain finally subsided. Claire began to laugh with contentment. "Wow, I underestimated you Steve. Congrats." Her tone when she congratulated me sounded like an indication of ridicule.
"Shut up, Claire," I hissed at her in annoyance. She ignored me and kept on until Lisa arrived at our table.
"Here's your bill, and I'll take those plates if you don't mind." We both shook our heads, so Lisa went on ahead and grabbed the empty plates. Claire took the parchment that she placed on the table and began to take out money from her wallet.
I was amazed about how much money she had, I couldn't count them but I was sure that there were quite number of hundred dollar bills there. There could be thousands, but who would know?
"Didn't know you were that rich," I told her.
"Am not," she retorted, "It took me a long while to raise this much money."
"What do you do for a living anyway?"
"I run a motorcycle shop, and business is just going smoothly. Bikes are selling like wildfire during these times." She was too concentrated on her thoughts that I was afraid to ask something, but then she raised head and rested her chin upon her left hand.
"Steve… I wonder, since, you don't have anywhere to go now but with me, why don't you work in my shop? Just so you could earn a living. And hey, maybe we could raise enough for your college fund, right?"
College fund? It felt like forever since I thought about college. I thought I was trapped in that prison forever, but now that I'm back, I don't even know what to do with myself. I should've thought about what to do when I got out of there… Then at least I wouldn't sit here right now and just ponder about it.
"Sure, Claire. At least I'll spend time to be more useful around here than just be a constant pain in the-"
A sudden uproar of greetings suddenly smothered my words. My eyes started to search for the source, and there I found it. There, I saw a little boy, his face enlightened by the people that surrounded him, about to blow out a candle from a large chocolate cake.
"That reminds me," Claire began when she caught sight of the event, "When's your birthday, Steve? You already know mine, so why not share it with me?"
"My birthday's is coming around this February. I guess I'll be 18 then…"
"Then, advanced happy birthday Steve. Consider that as my greeting, don't expect I'll say it again."
After Lisa came back with a bag containing Sherry's burger and took the money, – along with nearly twenty bucks of tip –, Claire took the bag from Lisa's hands and stood up from her chair swiftly. "I'm sure Sherry's getting worried now. We better get going."
Claire glanced at Lisa's carefree face and shot her with a smile, and the waitress gladly nodded her head in agreement. I could easily understand their wordless communication – Claire thanked her. She handed the bag over to me before we went to the exit.
When we opened the double doors once again, a cold wind suddenly swept through us, brushing our hair lightly and giving shivers down my spine. I could tell that Claire must've felt the same too, but she pretended it didn't happen.
Somehow, I failed to notice the chilly weather before now. I knew it must be an after-effect when we stayed at that Antarctic Facility for too long. But seeing Claire, it could probably be just me. Or maybe it was another effect of that T-Veronica virus. I immediately shoved that thought away. I didn't want to think about that horrible virus, especially right now.
Claire quivered inconspicuously, but not for me. She was trying to hide her suffering, the harsh cold beating down on her frail skin. She folded her arms and tugged the collars of her jacket forcefully, trying to warm herself. It was the perfect chance to show my gallantry.
I wrapped my arm around the middle of her upper body (the end of which still holding the plastic bag containing Sherry's burger), and I placed my other hand on one of her arms as she cuddled into her jacket. Her skin was exceptionally cold, and I wondered if the contact of my skin did any good to warm her. I studied her features persistently, until finally she gave out a sigh of relief.
She nestled herself between the confines of her jacket and my right shoulder, and grinned. I never really did know how fragile she looked, no matter how adventurous she was. Her body was very slender, thinner than most women I've seen. Her arms were gentle and frail, and her pale skin was even and soft to touch. She desired to surpass her limitations, and from the looks of it, she was successful with that.
"Thank you," she whispered softly.
It was another stroll, though I constantly held her with my arm, trying to comfort her. The wandering eyes of the strangers we passed through were quite bothering if I say so myself. But Claire kept her pace and continued to lay the side of her head on my shoulders.
When we arrived at the truck, Claire was particularly absent-minded. She was silent, and the grin on her face continued to exist. Carefully, I pushed her from my shoulders, and when I did, she instantly shook her head. "Sorry," she apologized, and began to flush.
Our eyes met suddenly.
We gazed at each other's eyes for a long moment, our jaws locked and features remained unchanged. I couldn't count; did it last for about twenty seconds or did it last for nearly a minute? Each of our stares appeared blank, and I know she was thinking the same thing. Both of our minds just drifted off, but I was still aware that my face was only an inch away from hers.
I could feel the tempo of my heart starting to increase, then decrease, then increase again. It was acting erratically, and I don't think it's possible for a normal heart to do that. Were my mixed emotions affecting it?
It was then when she took the first action.
The tingling touch of her lips made contact with mine so quickly. At first I didn't respond with my own, but when she started to raise her eyelids to see why I didn't, I began. It was enthralling and intense, much more than I've expected. My emotions started to flow freely across my body – a mixture of pleasure, happiness, contentment, love… Yet there were disappointment and fear, two feelings I could not just get rid of so easily.
She wrapped my arms around my neck, and I replied by running my fingers through her silky hair. All of my concentration was spent on that very kiss, that very first kiss. I wanted it to stay that way; I wanted it to just last so much until I was satisfied. But she pulled away from me, and the heat went down drastically.
"I'm sorry," she apologized once again. "I shouldn't have…" She looked away from me, looking down and gazing at an imaginary crack on the pavement. I gently raised her chin, and locked my eyes on hers.
"You didn't do anything wrong, what are you apologizing for?" I asked her, my tone awkwardly passive. I tried my best to comfort her, but nevertheless, I wasn't actually lying either.
She ignored my question. "We should get going," she said once again and walked to the car. I frowned at how she repeated the same words over and over again throughout our date. If she regarded it as a date, that is. Before she climbed onto the front seat, she called me.
"I had fun. Let's do this again next time." She slid herself into the car afterwards, her merry expression disappearing along with her whole body through the obstruction of the hazy windshield.
-End of Chapter 5
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A/N: This took a long, long while to update, sorry about that. I've been quite busy with my school work for the past month.
This chapter is actually longer than I've expected, usually it would take about 2000 words per chapter, but now it got up to 3500! Consider it as a compensation for failing to update it for nearly a month…
I was actually considering removing that habanero pepper part since I thought it was absolutely ridiculous and lame, lol. But I guess I didn't… No idea why.
Anyways, thank you very much for the reviews! I'll try and update this story as much as I can.