Chapter 7 - Thank You, Captain Obvious
Author's Notes: I own nothing, save for Dahlia, Amanda, and Holly.
If looks could kill, I think one of us would be on the floor...probably Holly, who was in the middle of setting down our plates, and glaring at Amanda as she grabbed a wing. And when she took a bite of that same chicken wing at the same time Simon kissed me on the cheek, it looked like she was about to be sick. And that was before she started hacking up a lung. "What's wrong? Too much parmesan?" I asked her in concern, watching as she quickly took a drink of her soda.
"Oh, I'm sure I can think of what it was..." Dahlia supplied innocently enough, looking across the table at the strawberry blonde, who was quickly shaking her head while knocking her chest, declining Holly's offers of help.
"Sorry. Wrong pipe." She apologized to all of us between coughs as she continued knocking her chest. Dahlia had her soda in front of her face, in the process of taking a sip, so I couldn't really see her expression. Holly threw furtive glances over her shoulder as she went back to the kitchen, for the only thing missing, our fries. Next to me, Simon looked as concerned for Amanda's well-being as I did.
"Are you sure?" He asked her, eyes full of obvious worry at her health behind his glasses. "Do you want a glass of water or something?"
Once again, she shook her head, this time making Dahlia's head whip to look at her as she did so. "No, but thank you for the offer." She said with a smile now. "Really, I'm fine you guys. No food caught in my throat or Simon needing to perform the Heimlich on me." She glared at my roommate when Dahlia muttered something into her soda, obviously not caring if Amanda heard her or not.
"I would if you'd like me to, for good measure!" He offered her jokingly, grinning at her from across the table.
She picked up a drumstick, toying with it for a moment before biting into it. Once she swallowed, and her breath reeked of the stinky cheese, she spoke. "It sounds like you want me to choke. Are you trying to tell me you want to be my hero, Simon?"
He laughed in response to that, making me grin at him, mainly because I knew that was his tll when he got caught off gaurd with someone. "Uh...no. I'd never wish that on someone. The choking, that is. And I've never really been anyone's hero."
I had to disagree with that one. "I've thought of you as mine since before you left." He turned to me and grinned bashfully, the most of us missing a sour look from Amanda. "I'm serious! Everything that happened with Jace, I have no idea how I would've gotten through it all if you hadn't been there for me."
"Well, I wasn't really THERE for-" He started to say, but I slapped a hand over his mouth, effectively shutting him up.
"Yes, you were." I tell him forcefully. "Whether you were there physically. Or seeing your face over a Skype call. It didn't matter if you were over a thousand miles away. You were there for me in every sense of the word. And like I said, I don't care if it was from a distance or not."
His bashfulness slowly dissolved as that sank in, and he smiled at me softly. "I'm not leaving you agan. I promise." Once again, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to my kiss, this time to my forehead. The simple gesture made me smile...until I heard a clatter, then a gasp, and saw Amanda staring at the floor...or what I thought was the floor.
"Damnit! I'm all over the fucking place tonight!"
"What happened?" I asked her and Dahlia curiously, who's mouth was agape in something akin to utter disbelief.
"She dropped her drink." My roommate supplied icily, catching the eye of Holly, who was on her way over with our fries.
"What happened?" Our waitress echoed my question of a few seconds earlier, unwawre of what happened as she set down the fries in the middle of the table, avoiding the spilled beverage as she did.
"I dropped my drink..." Amanda admitted sheepishly, looking up at her in the same manner. "...I'm sorry, I guess I'm just having an off day."
Luckily, she waved off the suggestion. "I got it." She told us honestly. "And I'll grab you another drink while I'm at it." Just as quickly as she came, she wandered off, grabbing Amanda's empty glass from the floor as she did.
"You sure you're alright?" Simon asked her, smiling at her softly as he stole a fry.
She smiled at him in return. "I dunno. Maybe you'll have to call the men in white coats on me."
"Oh, good. When can they come pick you up?" Dahlia asked her, not turning to look at her as she ate.
"After they grab you first." Amanda retorted with a grin. Dahlia didn't look up, making Simon and I gape at the two of them a bit.
"Um..." I said intelligently, simply because I wasn't sure of what else to say.
"Where'd that come from?" Simon picked up my obvous confusion easily, as well as the unspoken question.
"She dropped her soda all over my shoes." Dahlia supplied frankly, looking up at the two of us.
I nodded quietly. That explained it...her tone of voice from earlier, the snarky comment. And, come to think of it, I hadn't heard Amanda apologize for the accident, either. Granted it wasn't as if she did it purposely, but still, an apology should've been issued without one of us actually speaking the command or prompting her. I could see why Dahlia was being frosty, at least to her.
"Well, it's not like I did it on purpose!" Amanda protested honestly, her eyes wide.
"No one ever said you did." Dahlia replied simply.
"But, you should still apologize for it, anyway. Even if it was an accident." Simon piped up.
Amanda appeared contrite after Simon actually told her to say something, and the way Dahlia was glaring at Amanda made it seem like she wasn't really all that keen on accepting. "Sorry. Really. I'm kinda dense when it comes to people and apologizing for stuff. Simon's right. I didn't mean to do it, but I still should've apologized for it."
Dahlia simply smiled flatly. "Funny how you realize it after Simon's the one who suggested it." None of us really knew what to really say after that, so she just waved a hand. "Apology accepted. Just, next time, be quicker on the draw to realize it yourself instead of having someone else point it out for you."
Amanda smiled at her softly. "Definitely. I'm sorry. Again."
Once again, my roommate waved a dismissive hand. "Again, no worries. Just know this, though. I'm keepoing an eye on you." She said it playfully, but I took note that the way her eyes were dead serious made me think that she meant every word of it. And that it was meant to be taken as a threat.