Greg walked at a fast pace, but slowed once he noticed that I was trailing, still slightly frightened of him. He walked next to me up to the McDonald's, holding the door open for me. I gave a small smile of gratitude and walked inside, heat blasting into my face. I stood to the side as he entered, giving the clerk a warm smile, to which she blushed.
"So, what do ya want to eat?" I shrugged. "Aw, you can't give me that. I'll get you something. A nice burger would do you good." I shrugged again, not sure what to say. I followed him as he stood in line, the smells of grease and sugars filling my senses. I was quiet when we reached the front of the line.
"Hey, Greg." I peered up through my lashes to see a pretty girl, blonde, with deep brown eyes. Pretty. And she seemed nice, too. She smiled brightly and looked at me. "Hi." I smiled a little and ducked my head.
"Hey, Lisa. This is Casey. She's from Kansas, doesn't talk too much. But she's going to be teaching guitar at the shop." I looked up a little to see her eyes grow a little wider.
"Really? You're starting that again?" Greg nodded and Lisa turned towards me in shock. "You must be pretty good for him to start up lessons again..." I smiled.
"Th-thank you." I cleared my throat slightly, but she had heard me.
"Not a problem, hun. Now, what do you two want to eat?" Greg looked at the menu.
"Um... I'll take a number five and... You want a happy meal, Casey?" I looked up, unsure of what that was.
"A, a wh-what?" He pursed his lips, and at first I thought I did something wrong and inhaled, holding my breath.
"That's fine, Casey. Um, Lisa, a hamburger happy meal?" I looked at Lisa, who nodded, smiling.
"'Course." She pressed a number of buttons and Greg paid. I watched his movements carefully, afraid he was going to hit me. Thankfully, the place wasn't too crowded and our order was out almost instantly. I followed Greg and sat across from him in a booth in a corner, keeping my breathing shallow. He put the red and yellow box in front of me. I opened it gently as he began to eat and felt the heat hit my face.
"Casey, can I ask you something?" I nodded a little, knowing that now he'd probably make me leave his store and find somewhere else to be. "When was the last time you talked?" I bit my lip a little.
"A, a, a l-long t-t-time." I stumbled slightly more than usual, trying to get out the words. He put down his burger and looked at me, resting his chin on his hands, which were intertwined with one another. I looked down. Wrong answer...
"Casey..." I looked up at him, the tears beginning to sting at my eyes. I blinked them back and looked at the table. He sighed. "Um, can I call you Case?" I nodded, and he chuckled, picking his burger back up and turning it around in his hands. "Case, I don't know why, but you're quiet, a mystery. I want you to know that you can trust me." I saw him bow his head slightly to try and make eye contact with me. I nodded slightly, still afraid. He reached up and I instinctively flinched away, although I should have just taken the blow. He lowered his hand. "Case, are you okay?" I scrunched my face slightly and bowed my head, my chin resting on my chest. "You thought I was going to hit you..." I closed my eyes, silently begging for him not to hit me. "Case? Look at me, please." I lifted my head and slowly opened my eyes, looking anywhere but at his brown eyes. I swallowed hard. "Case, I'll never hit you." I made eye contact for a millisecond, only long enough to see that his eyes were full of pain. I nodded a little, earning a small smile from him. "Kay, eat up then." I reached into the box, pulling out its contents. French fries, apple slices, a wrapped burger, and a plastic toy. I looked at the toy curiously, an odd thing. Supposed to replicate some sort of bird, I thought. I jumped when a phone began ringing. Greg pulled a smooth, thin, black phone out of his pocket and answered the thing."Hello?" I looked down, barely listening, knowing it wasn't my buisness. I unwrapped the burger, eating slowly and carefully. However, Greg's voice continued to interrupt my thoughts. "I'm at lunch with this girl... No, she's going to start working as the guitar teacher... Casey... They'll start tomorrow... Well, stop by sometime... Love you too, Ni." He hung up the phone with a smile and looked at me. "My brother, Niall. He's going to be in town for a month or so, staying with my dad. He's a nice kid." I smiled a little. "You got a boyfriend?" I choked on the small bite of burger I had taken. After I recovered, I looked at him.
