Superhero

Chapter 101

Addison yawned and made her way to the kitchen to fill her flask with water. It was Saturday and she wasn't exactly expecting Jordan to be there, but there he was, red-eyed and sipping on a cup of strong coffee.
"You okay, buddy?" Addison asked, making her way to the water dispenser. "Last night was rough, wasn't it?"
Jordan nodded. "I'm just glad the Superhero saved me when he did." He swallowed a mouthful of his coffee and groaned. "Oh man... this hangover. It's killing me!"
"You want something hot?" Addison asked as she filled her flask with hot water. "You can come with me to the shop, there are some hot meals that you can prepare."
Jordan frowned slightly but nodded. "Sure. You're getting ready for work now?"
"Yep. I wanna grab some lunch too."
"I'll drop you," Jordan offered. "Then maybe I'll hang out a bit since I'm free for the day."
"You don't have work?"
Jordan shook his head. "I don't work on weekends now."
"That's actually a good thing," Addison nodded, closing the cap of her flask. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's go before Galante gets here."
"He's actually not that bad if you ask me," Jordan remarked as he followed her out. "He's just a little clingy."
Addison groaned. "Very clingy."
Just then, Giuseppe appeared at the foot of the steps.
"Yo," Jordan greeted as he walked past him.
"Hi!" Addison added.
"Going to work?" Giuseppe piped up, much to their dismay.
"Addie is, I'm just going to hang around her shop for a bit," Jordan answered. "I'm having a bit of a hangover, some noodle soup would be good."
"Then why don't you come with me? I was just on my way to the ramen shop in Spinner's Street."
Jordan slowly turned to look at Addison, who shrugged with a smirk on her face. The redhead sighed and turned back to Giuseppe.
"I think I'll pass on your offer now, Giuseppe. Because I'm also going to Addie's shop to meet my friend. He's her coworker."
"That boy who greeted me like a student?" Giuseppe remarked as an image of Jeff appeared in his head. "And he also called me 'Addison's lecturer' as I left."
"That's him," Addison chuckled. "He's a fun person."
Giuseppe thought for a moment. "Maybe I'll come with you."
Addison inwardly groaned. "Umm... we're only planning to stop by for a few minutes, Giuseppe. After that... Jordan has to... go to work."
"Yep," Jordan nodded, playing along. "I'm only stopping there for some noodle soup. You can come if you want."
"Nah, it's fine, I'll go get the ramen myself," Giuseppe finally said. "I am meeting up with some friends."
"Oh... then I guess it's a good thing that I'm not coming then," Jordan casually laughed. "It would be awkward for me to be there with your friends and whatnot."
"True, true," Giuseppe agreed. "So I guess I'll see you guys later, then."
With that, he gave them finger guns and left. Addison found something vaguely familiar about that but shrugged it off as she followed Jordan out to his car.
"Well... that was a narrow shave," Addison remarked as she got into the front passenger car. "Also, you told him that Jeff is your friend?"
"I don't have much of a choice. Besides, he is still pretty fun."
"I agree, he's nice."

Jeff dropped his spoon in surprise as soon as Addison and Jordan walked in, amid his meal of chicken salad. He nodded as a greeting and started coughing when he choked on a chunk of chicken. The two were then left to watch as he frantically made a grab for the juice box beside him.
"You okay, dude?" Jordan decided to ask.
"I am, but just a little bit surprised that you're here," Jeff said right before letting out a burp. "Whoops."
"It's fine," Addison chuckled. "Also, Jordan here has a bit of a hangover after last night."
"Addie," Jordan groaned softly and nudged her.
Jeff nodded. "You want some canned soup? Or do you prefer instant noodles?"
"I think I'll go for some instant noodles," Jordan said as he made his way over to the instant noodles section. "I would like some coffee, but I'm not sure if I can sleep tonight if I drink it..."
"It would help your hangover," Jeff suggested. "And if you're really tired, the caffeine would actually wear off quickly."
"I recommend the sesame roasted chicken flavour, it's really good," Addison called to the redhead.
Jordan nodded and grabbed the sesame roasted chicken flavoured instant noodles before making his way towards the coffee section. He frowned at the rows of flavours and eventually made his way over to the instant coffee machine. Jeff shrugged and watched as the redhead decided on a cup of Americano.
"You sure you need something that strong?" Addison asked as the cup filled up. "Jordan... that's literally plain coffee."
"Oh come on, I'm not even gonna put cream or sugar in it," Jordan nonchalantly said.
"Dude, you sure about that?" Jeff pointed out. "That's the strongest coffee there. At least add some sugar."
"Fine," Jordan shrugged and grabbed a small packet of sugar from the tray beside him, together with a little stirrer, and made his way over to the counter, careful to not spill the coffee.
"You know, you can take one of those covers with you if you want it to go?" Jeff pointed out. "Addie, can you take one for him?"
"Sure," Addison nodded and picked up one of the lids and handed it to Jordan who painstakingly pressed it down onto the coffee cup. She was a little surprised that the cup didn't give in under the pressure.
Jordan paid for whatever he took with a fairly large amount.
"You need help with those noodles?" Jeff asked as he handed Jordan the change and receipt.
Jordan shook his head as he stuffed the change into his wallet. "No, no. It's fine."
Jeff shrugged. "Alright, then. I just asked since you seem a little... unstable."
Jordan glared at him for a moment before taking his food, nearly slamming his cup down on the table Addison was at, and made his way over to the hot water dispenser near the coffee machine. The others were left to watch as Jordan aggressively tore the packaging open, dropped the little plastic fork that came with the noodles, and prepared his meal.
"Anyone wants some music?" Jeff awkwardly said, taking out his little black speaker. He swept his gaze around, landing it on Addison who just shrugged, and grinned. "I'm just gonna play something. Aight?"
He turned his speaker on and connected it to his phone with Bluetooth, playing soft City Pop music.
"Is that Momoko Kikuchi?" Addison asked. She gasped slightly. "I know this song! But I can't place the name..."
"Ocean Side," Jeff smirked. "Soothing, ain't it?"
Addison nodded. "My study music. I love her songs."
Jeff smirked. "Same. Guess who recommended her music to me?"
Addison smirked back. "It was Jake, isn't it? He's always playing City Pop in his car, the reason I found her too."
"Yep. Jake spread it around."
Jordan spared them a glance as he filled his bowl halfway up with boiling water, then came over to the table.
"That fork's a bit flimsy, do you want a pair of chopsticks?" Addison asked, getting up.
Jordan stared at the yellow fork in his hand and nodded at her. Addison made her way towards the food warmer and grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the cup of cutlery. Jordan nodded an awkward thank you and started eating.
"How are you feeling now?" Addison asked.
Jordan nodded. "Better. This soup's really good. Is this a new flavour?"
"I think so," Addison shrugged. "I had it the other day and it was really good." She looked at Jeff as she went towards the freezer and noticed that he was resuming his meal. "What are you eating, Jeff?"
"Chicken salad," Jeff said between mouthfuls. "Homemade."
"Your landlord made it?" Addison asked, taking out a pack of bolognese pasta from the freezer before turning her gaze to him.
"Nope, I did," Jeff smirked as he swallowed his mouthful.
"Your landlord allows you to use the kitchen?" Addison asked in surprise.
"No, I made it in my room with an electric cooker." He gave her a slightly judgemental glance as he poked at his food, bringing it to one side. "You should get one, it's definitely better than eating out. A lot cheaper too."
Addison shrugged and made her way over to the microwave. "True, but I'd have to go grocery shopping."
Jordan turned to look at Jeff. "Don't try to convince her. It's no use."
"You don't seem to be any different either, Hoodie," Jeff pointed out. "You always eat out too, don't you?"
"Fine, where did you buy this cooker?" Jordan asked, turning back to his noodle soup.
"Online. I'd send you the link but I don't have your number, Dude."
Jordan gestured towards Addison as she bustled about. "Send it to Addie. Addie, send me the link, okay? I wanna buy one."
Addison mumbled a reply as she made her way over to the fridge for a drink.