"Two cheeseburgers with everything on it!"

Jon took the receipt of an order and immediately got to work on the food. Throwing two patties on the grill, he quickly cooked them then placed them on two buns along with onions, pickles, lettuce, mustard, and ketchup.

"Order up," he said.

He placed the food on the counter then took off his apron. It was time for his lunch break, something he was looking forward to all day long. He walked out of the backdoor of the kitchen and sat down on a crate. He took a box of cigarettes out of his back pocket then along with a lighter and lit it up. Taking a long whiff of it, he blew the smoke through his nose. He watched the cars on the road pass him by as he continued to smoke. Earlier that morning before heading to work, there had been a news report of the incident that happened in the alleyway. Jon had to quickly shut the t.v. off and clear his mind for the day. He was glad that his last robbery went smoothly and nobody got hurt. Even though a few weeks had passed since the incident, the entire scenario begin to play out again in his head.

It was only when someone called out to him when he was deep in thought.

"Hey!" one of his coworkers said. "You're sitting on my crate."

Jon slowly got up and stomped on his cigarette.

"You're really upset over a crate?"

"Nah, I just want you to move, hehe."

Jon shook his head and smirked to himself as he went back into the restaurant.

Renee grabbed a pen and a pad so that she could jot down customer's orders. She took a few orders then told the cook all of them. As she was pouring some coffee for the costumers, someone came in and sat down at the counter. He took his hat off and placed it down in front of him.

"Not to bother you, but may I please have a cup of coffee?" he asked.

"Sure thing," Renee said.

Renee gave the other people their coffee then poured the man his cup and placed it in front of him.

"Thank you, kindly," he said.

"You're welcome," she said. "Anything else I can get you?"

"Two pancakes with three slices of bacon, please."

"Coming right up."

The man was mesmerized by the waitress' beauty. Her short blonde locks, pink lipstick, and welcoming personality made the woman even more attractive and beautiful to him. If she was with someone, they were lucky to have someone gorgeous like her.

The chef handed Renee the man's plate of food which she placed in front of him.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," she said.

"You know, I'm not trying to be weird but I think you're very pretty."

"Aww, thank you." Renee's eyes lit up as she smile at the man. "You're pretty handsome yourself."

"Nah, I'm not," he said.

"But you are. Enjoy your food."

"Thank you."

After he finished eating, he left Renee a big tip then left the diner. Renee happily stuffed the money into her pocket and cleaned off the counter. That man being nice to her restored her hope just a little bit. It reminded her that not everyone in this world was cruel, evil, and selfish. It would take her a while to get back into dating since she just got over the death of Phil but she knew she'd find someone soon. Maybe it would be the man who was at the counter a few moments ago. The aura he gave off was a mysterious one, as if he usually kept to himself and didn't let too many people get near him. Who knows for sure. If he did come back to the diner, Renee definitely wanted him to tip her another fifty dollar bill for her service. Hell, maybe even a one hundred dollar bill at that!

After work, Renee ran to her car since it was raining cats and dogs outside. Since it would be raining for two days straight, she was glad she brought her umbrella even though she left it inside of the car. Turning on her engine, she pulled out of the parking lot and drove home. She made sure to avoid driving down the street of the alleyway where Phil was murdered. It was way too soon to even look down the very street where the alleyway is located. If she saw that very place she knew she would end up crying like a baby again and would end up filling the car with her tears. Renee drove to her brother's house to check on her son who was staying with his uncle for a few days.

Jon opened a can of cold beer, kicked his feet up on his couch, and began to watch t.v. He stuffed his face with a big bag of potato chips while chugging down a couple of beers. He knew this was obviously not the best snack but what the hell. This was a good snack and he definitely enjoyed every single bit of it.

However, his mind kept going back to the waitress at the diner. She was so gorgeous and elegant, even in her pink uniform. Jon decided to go back to the diner just to see her again. If she was in a relationship, however, he would have to forget it. If not, then hopefully she wouldn't mind if he wanted to get to know her better. If she didn't want to be bothered, then so be it. Jon knew he wouldn't be able to steal and do all of his other petty crimes if he did get into a relationship.

The thought of that brought back the image of that man he killed. The blood trickling down his neck and seeping through his fingers as he fell to the ground dying. Jon put the beer down on the coaster on his table and sat up. What in the world was wrong with him? Why was he like this? Robbing liquor stores, stealing from people. He had a job but the frustrations of lacking enough money drove him mad. He knew that committing crimes was definitely illegal and going back to jail was the last thing he needed to do. Especially if he wanted to be with someone. But part of him still got the rush out of robbing liquor stores.

Something had to give.

The next night:

Jon walked into the diner and took a spot at the counter like he did the previous day. Renee walked out of the kitchen and eyed him.

"Why hello again," she said.

Jon waved at her.

"Hi," he said.

"Two pancakes with three slices of bacon?" Renee asked.

"Yup. With a fruit smoothie this time. Strawberry banana smoothie."

"Coming right up!"

Jon quickly thought of something to say to Renee as she fixed him a cup of coffee. He couldn't sound creepy, no. Instead, he had to remind himself to remain as calm as possible. Renee sat his coffee in front of him then his plate of food.

"Thank you again," he said.

"No problem," Renee said.

"Umm...I'm not trying to sound weird...forgive me...but...are you on your lunch break?"

"Actually, now is my lunch break. Thank goodness. I hope everything is good for you."

"It is." Jon smothered his pancakes with butter then cut them with a knife and started eating them.

"I'm very envious of those pancakes."

"Grab a fork and join me."

"Oh no, no. That's your food. I can make my own."

"I insist. It's about time I do something nice for someone else instead of being a selfish monster."

Renee was a little shocked at what he had said but she just smiled and grabbed a fork. She walked around the counter and sat down next to Jon. He slid her his plate of food and smiled as she ate a pancake and some bacon.

"You know, you're a very nice guy. Why would you think you're a selfish monster?"

"I did some things I'm not too proud of. Not at all."

"We all have made mistakes. But you can't consider yourself a bad person for making a mistake. I mean, it's not like you killed somebody or anything."

Jon almost spit out his smoothie when Renee said that. He quickly shook his head and wiped his mouth was a napkin.

"No," he said quickly. "No..."

"See? What's there to worry about? All you can do is learn from your mistakes and move on. And do not let anyone make you feel bad, either!"

Jon smiled and nodded his head.

"Okay. I'll do that. Well, I'll try."

"Not good enough."

"I will."

"That's better."

"See, aren't you glad you decided to eat the pancakes with me?"

"Yes I am. I'm actually enjoying my time here at work now because of you."

"You are?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, now I'm enjoying my food with you, pretty lady."

"Aww, thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Do you live around here?"

"Yeah, just ten minutes away in the apartment complex by the freeway."

"Oh, okay. I live around that area, too. Say, would you like to go get lunch with me tomorrow night?"

"Sure!"

"Six is a perfect time. Is six alright?"

"Yup. You work tomorrow?"

"Yes, but I'll be going straight home afterwards so I'm going to give you my address."

"No worries, I'll come by and pick you up."

"Aww. Thank you."

"No problem!"

"I never got your name."

"Jon. And I can see from your name tag your lovely name is Renee."

"Yes it is! And thank you for the compliment. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"See ya."

Jon paid for his food, tipped Renee a hundred dollar bill, exchanged cell phone numbers with her then left the diner.

Later that night:

Jon was driving down the street after making a late night run to the store to pick up some paper towels. It was raining heavily so he took precaution while driving. The weather seemed to have lost its mind and decided to go crazy. He took precaution when driving down the road since it was also foggy as well.

He drove past a car that was parked along the road and heard someone screaming out for help. Jon pressed on the break, put the car in reverse, and backed up to see what was going on. Someone slammed on the window of the door on the passenger side and screamed "HELP ME!"

Jon rolled down his window to see who it was.

It was Renee.