TWs: Insinuated Eating Disorder, world domination mention, and pushy Edd (he's just on a mission to figure Tord out).
When the group got to the diner, they sat at a booth closest to the kitchen: Tord and Matt on one side, Edd and Tom on the other.
Matt immediately felt nauseous; just the smells from the kitchen were enough to overwhelm him. He grabbed one of the menus, hiding the fact that he had his head on the table instead of reading it.
Tord noticed this, knowing why. He decided to stay quiet, not wanting to draw attention to Matt, as the ginger didn't look like he wanted it right now.
"Hi, welcome to- ach, pieprz mnie, what are you doing here?" Pat swore under his breath as he frowned at Tord.
"Do you regularly use that language at work?" Tord quirked an eyebrow as he placed his head in the palm of his hand.
"If they can understand me, they've given no sign. So what, did you clog the drains or burn the building down over a few pieces of bacon?" Pat guessed.
"Neither. I'm just here for food."
"I'll believe it when there's no explosion in the next five minutes." Pat said as he got his pad and pen ready, "What would you like to drink?"
Tord rolled his eyes at the response.
"Cola!" Edd was quick with his answer, "Please."
"Lemonade," Tom replied.
"For his sour personality," Tord added, in which Tom glared.
"Shut it, commie."
When it came to Matt's turn, his head was still low on the table, so Tord decided to order for him.
"He would like milk: steamed with a pinch of cinnamon," Tord said, "Literally a pinch."
"Got it." Pat finished writing it all down, then looked at Tord, "I'm assuming you want-"
"Coffee with a bit of creamer; and 40 grams of sugar."
"It's like you live on sugar and caffeine," Pat grumbled.
"Nah," Tord waved his hand, "I just like the feeling of being high."
Pat rolled his eyes, walking away to the order station. Tord smiled, pleased with himself, as he opened his menu, glancing at Matt every other second to see if he was alright.
Once he found what he wanted, he sat back in the booth seat to relax, only for intense juniper green eyes to meet his piercing silver. Edd looked away a few seconds later.
Tord quirked an eyebrow, feeling his heartbeat faster than usual.
"So, what'll it be?" Pat put on his best 'customer service' smile as he finished placing all their drinks down.
"As if anyone will believe a smile like that." Tord laughed, "It just screams, 'Help me, I'm miserable here.'"
"My boss expects me to smile at all times while here, even in the kitchen, so yeah, I would say I'm miserable. Anyway, orders?"
Edd and Tom went first, then when it came to Matt, Tord decided to order. He gestured for Pat to come closer.
"Code: E-A-T," Tord whispered to him.
'Something small... got it.' Pat nodded as he wrote down a small sandwich, then looked at Tord, "I already know what you want."
"With extra bacon-"
"On the side, I know." Pat smiled as he collected their menus and walked away.
While the other three were talking, Tord decided to go on his phone while he waited.
"Hm... oh, what advice would you give to your younger self?" Matt asked as he read a question off his phone.
"Don't let anybody restrict your creativity, and be yourself," Edd replied.
"Stop being a fucking pushover and stand up for yourself." Tom shrugged.
"You weren't that much of a pushover." Edd glanced at him, "You also stood up for me, and I barely knew you."
"Yeah, after staring at the scene for five minutes trying to figure out what to do." The shorter picked at the dead skin of his dark-toned hands.
"It was one hell of a punch, though."
Glancing away, Tom looked at the ginger across from him, "What about you, Matt?"
"Oh, uh, me? Probably to loosen up a bit." Matt smiled, then grimaced, "And to stop wearing so many dark colors..."
"Yeah, to the point where everyone called you emo," Edd commented, making Tom chuckle lightly. Matt felt something in his stomach that made him sit up, and his palms became sweaty.
'Agh, not again.' Matt thought, exhausted from feeling this unexplained emotion he kept having at random moments. To distract himself, he turned to Tord to ask the same question to him, "Hey, Tord?"
The Norsk hummed, turning his attention to his friend.
"What advice would you give to your younger self?" The ginger asked.
Tord hesitated, thinking about it, "To be less selfish, to enjoy everything while it lasts, cause there's no telling when the things you'll enjoy doing and the people you enjoy hanging out with will slip from your grasp."
He was still staring at his phone, not noticing the silence and the stares he received from the others.
"Why do you ask?" Tord glanced at his friend.
"Uh- no reason." Matt smiled a bit.
Pat arrived with their food shortly after, noticing the awkward silence. After placing the last dish, he turned to Tord, "What- tell them about our ventures in Denmark?"
"No?" Tord quirked an eyebrow, "Those stories would traumatize them."
"Then what's with the silence?" Pat glanced at their table.
"Don't know, don't care," Tord shrugged as he put a piece of bacon in his mouth, "All I wanted was some bacon."
Pat rolled his eyes, opting to leave the table to clean another.
Matt decided he had enough of the silence and turned to look at Tord, "So- what happened in Denmark?"
Tord immediately shuddered after remembering it, "Harsh times..."
"First, it was Sweden; now it's Denmark?" Tom enquired, "Is your father taking out the Nordic countries first?"
"Trying- to take them out. He wants to take over who Norway has allied with first, then it turns into a battle towards the founders of NATO, and he hopes, the rest of the world."
"What about Norway?" Edd questioned.
Tord sighed, "He already has Norway under his thumb, unfortunately. It used to be so pretty, but now it's just like England; dark and gloomy."
The other three glared at him for that, making him laugh.
"What? I'm kidding!" Tord grinned, "For det meste."
After they were done, Pat came to the table to give them the cheque.
"Tord, be home by 1800 hours," Pat said as he put the money and tip in his apron.
"What? Why?" Tord asked. His roommate gave him a look that said 'Don't question me' before walking away, "Rude..."
"Matt, you feeling okay?" Tom spoke, "You barely had half of your sandwich."
The ginger snapped his attention to him, "Of course! I just had something earlier, that's all. I wasn't that hungry."
"But-"
"Anyway, let's go, guys. I have to get ready for a date tonight." Matt spoke.
Tord noticed Tom deflating more into himself as they left the diner- if that was possible.
The Norsk dragged behind the trio as he had done before, letting his mind wander about anything and everything.
He exhaled, thinking about his home in Norway. He never got the sense of homesickness, but he did miss his friends.
"Hey." A calming voice startled him out of his thoughts. He glanced to his left to see Edd.
"Hello...?" Tord uttered.
After a moment of silence, Edd sighed, "I don't hate you, Tord."
A silver eye widened, "Wha-"
"I'm not finished, idiot. I don't hate you, but I don't forgive you yet, not until you tell me the whole truth."
"But-"
"Still not finished, idiot. We've been best friends since high school, and I've basically told you my life story once I knew I could trust you. I told you the people I hate the most are liars, and a few days later, you moved out; then you turned up eight years later only to show me that you're the kind of person I hate the most."
Tord stayed silent, listening to Edd rant about the shorter's wrongdoings.
"Have you told anyone about your life story like I did you?"
The light brunette shook his head. Not even Pau knew the whole story.
"Why haven't you told anyone? Is there something preventing you? Is it because you're selfish, or... is it because you're prideful?"
Tord nearly tripped over himself, catching himself on a nearby pole. He acted as if nothing happened and kept on walking.
"So it is something... why would pride get in the way of you telling someone?" Edd pondered.
The Norsk huffed, "Please, can I tell you later, Edd?"
The taller crossed his arms, "You promise to tell me later?"
Hesitating, he spoke, "Sure, just don't tell anyone."
"You don't want the others to know?" Edd asked.
"No- not yet, at least."
Edd nodded, then went back to his friends. Tord sighed, still not ready to tell anyone, but maybe it'll relieve the weight and stress off his shoulders if he tells someone.
'Just maybe...'
✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧Translations✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧
Polish =
Ach, pieprz mnie - Ah, fuck me
Norwegian =
For det meste - Mostly
Cheque - British spelling for check
(Translations brought to you by Google Translate)