Together.

Chapter Nine

You're at the diner as the time hits 2.05 pm. You walk inside, it's quiet except for the few pairs of people having a late lunch. You realise that 2pm is the perfect time to eat out because most people have already eaten. You take your pick at a table, slide into the booth so your close to the window, and watch people on the street walk by as you wait for Gally.

When it hits 2.20 you consider texting him, but the door to the diner swings open. You watch from your seat as Gally walks in, freshly showered after practice; wearing his leather jacket.

He practically collapses on the booth opposite of you, "Sorry, practice ran over time this morning and then my car broke down." He messes with his hair after shoving his bag to the side.

"Jeez, really?"

He chuckles, "She's had it coming, I've been putting off fixing her up for a while."

"You can fix cars?"

He almost looks surprised. "Of course I can. You know my Dad owns his own mechanic shop, right? I work there sometimes."

You shake your head, "I didn't know that."

Silence falls between you two, and you notice Gally uncomfortably shifting in his seat as he stares down at the menu. You get the strange feeling of... awkwardness. And you're not sure why, especially now. This boy has slept in your room, and you didn't feel awkward then!

"Is something the matter?" You ask, dropping your menu on the table for the moment.

"No... nothing's the matter." He shrugs as he says that, and then continues to stare at the menu.

"Are you sure? I mean, it might just be me but—

"I don't really go out with people often, it's been a while." His eyes keep to the words on his menu as he continues to read. Or maybe just have something other than your face to look at. You think of Justin, and you wish you hadn't. "So sorry if I'm... I don't know..."

"It's fine, I was just concerned if you were... maybe still upset with me?"

He smiles to himself it seems, "For the record, I'm not. But I just realised that I could totally use that against you in the future," he looks up for a second, "Remember that time when you didn't want people to know we were friends?"

You both laugh, almost outrageously, and the awkwardness subsides. Fades into the background until it vanishes completely. You both order your meals whilst chattering over everything; school, homework, awkward first dates. Life. And after a lot of pestering and pleading, Gally allows you to take a Snapchat of you and him together eating lunch. It's inconspicuous however; subtle. He only gives you permission if his face isn't in the shot, which is good enough for you. If nobody was in the shot at all, people might think you're eating out by yourself and that just defeats the whole purpose of a Snapchat story update.

"So how much of that essay did you complete before handing it in?" You half-joke with him, but secretly you really want to know. You feel bad that the spat between you two kept you from tutoring him, and if he got a bad grade you know you won't forgive yourself.

"I finished it all, surprisingly." He takes a sip of his drink, "Must've had a good teacher," he says with a wink attached, and you suddenly feel proud but also... something else.

"Did you get your grade back?"

He smiles, kind of smugly but you can also see genuine happiness. "B-."

"Gally!" You shout in a sudden burst of excitement, "That's awesome!"

He looks around at the other people in the diner with embarrassment written all over his face, but you don't apologise because you totally have a right to be extremely proud of him. "From the D bracket to the B bracket? Seriously insane. I'm so proud of you!"