thin white lines | l. hemmings

23

uh, prepare yourself...;)

Luke had kept his word. None of them spent too long cleaning themselves up after the encounter, but it was enough time for her to touch up her makeup and be ready for Calum to knock on her door.

The weather had stayed nice to that point, so they just decided to walk the streets of Pittsburgh until something caught their eye. Many things interested them but it took them a while to agree on somewhere to eat, and gain everyone's attention long enough to decide.

A small diner called Pamela's seemed to suit what they all wanted. It was small and pastel blue and pink on the inside to bring a vintage feel into it. A weird addition that Delaney didn't quite understand enough to join in on the boys' giggling over it was a wall taken up by an image of a space cat looking over the city.

There was a young girl, probably only a year or two older than Delaney, who led them to the half-booth they took over. Delaney slid onto the booth side of the table, Calum followed next to her so he was between her and Michael. Luke and Ashton sat opposite them in the chairs, which were positioned in a way that they faced the empty space between the three sitting across from them.

The girl handed them out the five menus, introducing herself as Brianna as she did so. Drinks were easy for them to order, so they did that right away. Since it was an all-day breakfast diner they didn't serve alcohol, they got waters and assorted soft drinks between them.

Brianna was back pretty quickly with the tray of different drinks, setting them each down by leaning over Luke from where she stood. They ordered right away, pretty sure of what they wanted from the first sight of the menu.

Together they were fairly quiet while they waited for their food. Delaney felt awkward after the glimpse she had into the room, but also because Michael had faced more punishment for sticking up for her. She hadn't even had the time to thank him for protecting her. Maybe they needed this breakfast for dinner as a pick-me-up to feel themselves again so she'd have the chance to thank him.

Their steamy plates filled with different combinations of waffles, pancakes, eggs, bacon and a few other things came in not too long. Brianna brought it with a smile, standing to clasp her hands. "There you are!" She said brightly, placing her manicured hand on Luke's shoulder, making him widen his eyes at the sudden touch. "Just let me know if you guys need anything else at all," she said, directed at Luke but to all of them.

He pushed a smile and nodded, the other boys didn't have to force a smile as they nodded. They actually had to hold back a laugh at Luke's obliviously confused expression. "Will do, thanks!" Ashton shouted.

"Nice one, Luke," Calum chuckled, diving into his meal with everyone else.

"What?" He asked, pausing with his knife and fork hovering over his plate.

"She was flirting, Luke," Delaney said, raising her brows and pausing from the amused grin she wore to bite off a piece of her waffle. He knitted his brows together in response, earning even more laughter from his friends.

"Yeah, I saw that," he defended, waiting now to eat until this was resolved.

"Did you?!" Ashton laughed. "Mate, you sat there like you were called out in math class or some shit."

"Maybe you actually talk to her when she comes back?" Michael teased, even though they had all seen that he knew how to talk to girls when he wanted to. Somehow that knowledge flew out the window as they found the opportunity to poke fun at him.

"See, I really don't understand how you get the girls you do because you're a lovely lookin' guy but if that's how you always respond to flirting..." Calum trailed off with his statement, snicker as he did.