How You Get The Girl | An Aruden AU

Eleven | New Romantics

"Baby, we're the New Romantics..."

"Can we maybe not eat food from the gas station?" asked Rudy, wrinkling his nose.

Aru looked offended. "You clearly never experienced the glory of gas station food."

Aiden and Mini turned to each other, exchanging a why-is-she-like-this look. Brynne didn't seem to mind that the restaurant looked incredibly sketchy. She clapped her hand once and declared, "Well, I'm starving. I'll eat anything at this point."

Brynne could eat anything at any point.

Rudy turned around and looked at Aiden in horror, but he followed Brynne and Aru inside the restaurant without any complaints.

The small restaurant had only three tables, all of them unoccupied. One of the light bulbs had given out on the ceiling, and the others seemed close to doing the same. A smell that caked Aiden's throat indicated this place  was not a smoking-free zone. From his right, he heard Mini mutter something about how second-hand smoke can still kill someone and pulled out her inhaler.

"I don't like this." Rudy was looking around as if a ghost would appear at any moment. "I don't like this at all."

"You sound like the paranoid kid in a horror movie," Aru reassured him. "It's fine. I've been here hundreds of times."

"You sound like the dumb daredevil friend who dies first." mumbled Mini in response.

At that moment, someone walked out from the kitchen. Thankfully, they weren't undead (or any sort of monster). It was just a middle aged man, with brown skin and a smile that crinkled his eyes.

He didn't look like a serial killer.

Honestly, Aiden had missed his name, but the waiter sat them down at a table, passing them all menus. Brynne immediately grabbed it and started looking at the options.

"Oh my gods. It's Italian food," she said. "I love Italian food."

Everyone loves Italian food.

"If we're going to have Italian food, can we at least go to an Olive Garden?" asked Rudy, nose scrunched.

Aru looked ready to fight Rudy. "Even Olive Garden can't beat this. Besides, it's midnight and this place is open 24 hours."

That made Aiden excited for the food. He ordered the fettuccine alfredo, and the service was surprisingly good. The food was there within 10 minutes.

When Mini commented on it, Aru shrugged. "It's not like they're busy with other tables."

Aiden took an empty plate, dumping half of his pasta out onto it, and gave the remaining plate to Rudy, who saw Aru eating her risotto and shrugged. He picked up his fork and twirled the fettuccine, then raised it to his mouth. His eyes widened.

"I told you it was good!" Aru smiled triumphantly, as if she had just won the Olympics rather than proving food at a restaurant was good.

Brynne didn't call the waiter and send any plates back to the kitchen, which was a first. She ate her lasagna in record time, finishing quicker than anyone else.

"This is better than Poppy's party," Rudy told his friends, mouth full with food. His eyes suddenly widened and he turned to Aru. "Don't tell her I said that."

Although it sounded more like don'f fell her I fed thad.

"I won't," she assured him. "It was kind of boring to be honest. I don't think parties are my thing."

Parties were never Aiden's thing, but maybe now wasn't the best time to mention that. His friends were all hanging out. Together. For the first time ever, really, since he only met Aru a a month ago.

They finished their food, but Brynne swiped the keys from Rudy's hands when they were getting up to leave.

"I'm driving us back." she said

"The best people in life are free..."