part of us | e.d

twenty-two

RYLIN'S POV

i rest my hip against the counter, waiting for my to-go order for ethan to be brought out. grayson finishes paying at the register, then slips his wallet into his back jean pocket. the person behind the counter gives him the receipt and then he turns and starts walking my way. 

"ready to go?" he asks me, his eyes still scanning the receipt.

i push myself off the counter with my side, shaking my head slightly. "no, i ordered a shake for ethan and it's gonna be like 3 more minutes."

"that was nice of you," he responds, finally lifting his eyes from the receipt to meet mine. "did you remember to get hi-"

"a side of fries? yeah, of course." i grin, knowing he loves dipping his fries in his milkshakes as much as grayson and i do. 

it's interesting how much they have in common but then again how seriously opposite they are from each other. 

i grab the receipt from grayson's hand and scan it for a second. "damn, twenty-eight dollars for a few milkshakes and fries?" i ask him, instantly feeling guilty that he paid for our entire lunch.

he shrugs. "really? i didn't even check."

"they really jacked up the prices," austin says from behind me, eyes wide as he sees the receipt for himself. he reaches into his pocket and takes out a ten, handing it to grayson. "here, this should cover mine."

grayson of course denies. "don't worry about it, man."

"nah, take it, i'll feel like such a douche." he hands him the ten. "plus, i still owe you from when you lent me money a few weeks ago."

grayson gives in, taking the bill from him probably just to help austin clear his debt and conscience. he doesn't need the extra cash.

feeling inclined to do the same, i start reaching in my bag but grayson stops me. 

"rylin, don't even think about it. it's all good."

austin scoffs. "what makes her so special?"

"the only reason i took your money is because you do owe me from when you needed money for that sex shop, jackass. or else it would've been on me."

"oh yeah," austin nods to himself. "hey, thanks again for that."

"order for rylin?" someone from behind the counter shows up with a white paper bag. i turn around and walk over, meeting them at the to-go station.

"yep, that's me." i take the bag, then turn back to grayson and austin. 

"okay, we set to go?" grayson asks as he takes the bag from me to hold.

"no, wait, where's jade?" austin starts scanning the diner until jade shows up, as if on cue.

"i'm here, i'm here!" she takes a breath, holding austin's shoulder. "sorry i took so long."

i look behind her for emma, wondering where she went off to. "where's emma?"

"she left out the back exit. it's closer to where she parked her car."

"oh," i respond plainly. more like she didn't want to run into grayson and i again. i want to ask her what she and emma talked about, but everyone starts heading for the door so i just follow.

after we reach the street, we go our separate ways, grayson and i walking to the bmw. he offers to drive this time and i let him, reminding him to stop at the apartment before going back to campus.

he plugs in his phone to the aux cord and shuffles his playlist, setting his phone down on the middle console. 

i stare out the window as he drives, resting my arm on the handle attached to the door. i'm about to learn my head against the window but think better of it knowing grayson isn't the best driver.